Do we owe you an apology? In our constant struggle to present every place as authentic as possible to you, we must have slipped. Bergen is the city of rain, sporting no less than 220 days or 3000mm/sqm of rain per year. But the musky smell of the wooden walkways of Bryggen, the old quarter of the Hanseatic League will not really develope today under a sun that is trying to mimick mid-summer. People are sitting outside in T-shirt (and less), having a beer in one of the many bars and cafés surrounding the harbour.
OK, the crew of staff is pleased, as they receive one of the biggest loads of provisions for the season - 110 palletts of goods and parts and everything. A terrible amount of work. So we better get to town, so we don't have to watch this…
The excursions of the days bring us closer to what Bergen has to offer. Which is a lot! So much that I rather dispense here with the formal introduction of this immensely important trade location, of the several impacts of history, from Vikings to Hanse and WW II, of the fires that threatened and destroyed the wooden buildings, about the UNESCO world heritage list, recently listening the historical harbour area. Instead please find here a variety of impressions of a sunny walk in the city of rain. Which can be, actually, very delightful.
The afternoon excursion takes us to Fantoft and to the famous Stave Church. An orgy in carved wood, burnt down years ago by a maniac heavy-metal musician for publicity (he succeeded insofar as it brought him a 16-year prison sentence and certainly a few headlines.) It was completely rebuildt later and is now to be seen in all its beauty. A little further on is Troldhaugen, the Troll Hill, retreat and domain of Edvard Grieg. Norway has many famous names in music and theater, like Ibsen, Bjørnson, Holweg, Tveitt. But Grieg outshines them all by his work, for which he found all the inspiration he needed in this place: Sitting on a mossy hill, overlooking the fjord, it is a place of immense peace and beauty. The house is kept in its original state, unfortunately no pictures allowed inside. After visit of house and museum we get a piano recital in the splendid concert hall. Grieg's Lyrical Pieces with the backdrop of fjord, tree and sunshine - nobody wants it to end…
But it does, and so we get back to FRAM together with the last pallets. Lines are cast and we set course for our final destination, Oslo. To keep minds off that thought, the crew presents surprising skills in their newly choreographed crew show. See if it works...
