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<\/a>Edvard Grieg Statue at Troldhaugen<\/p><\/div>\n
The day was brutally hot, and my walking was significantly worse despite an acupuncture treatment on the ship the day before in hopes it would help.<\/p>\n
The first stop was the Fantoft Stave church, which took us on a gravel path through the woods. Most of the people on the tour could barely walk, so I felt right at home. The church has a very small footprint, but it is very tall, with pagan dragons carved into the eaves, the entire wooden exterior coated in tar.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Fantoft Stave Church<\/p><\/div>\n
The hard part was that there were about four tour groups crowded around the tiny space, and it was almost impossible to take a picture or to get a real sense of the place.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Interior of the Fantoft Stave Church<\/p><\/div>\n
The next stop took us to Troldhaugen, again down a gravel walk. The first disappointment was that the roof of the Grieg house was under construction, with metal scaffolding all around, and a gauze covering around the outside with a transparent\u00a0image of the house.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Troldhaugen Wrapped in Gauze<\/p><\/div>\n
Our tour guide, a pleasant Japanese woman with a very faint voice, led us though the three tiny rooms, speaking English extremely slowly. Despite the heat, the entire tour group was crowded into a single room at time, and the tour seemed to take forever, with almost no useful information imparted at all.<\/p>\n
The setting by Lake Nordass was lovely, and I enjoyed a snack in the very modern caf\u00e9 in the museum. <\/p>\n
<\/a>Troldhaugen Museum Lunch<\/p><\/div>\n
Finally, we gathered for the concert in the next-door Troldsalen concert hall. The roof is stepped down toward the lake, with bright green sod on each layer.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Troldsalen Concert Hall<\/p><\/div>\n
Inside, the building is strikingly modern, with a lovely view of the lake behind the pianist.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Troldsalen Concert Hall with Nordass Lake View<\/p><\/div>\n
The pianist wore a traditional Norwegian costume and played very well. Too bad someone’s hearing aid was squealing, two of the women were fanning themselves with their crinkly programs, and a man at the back was noisily clicking photographs, even though we had been asked not to.<\/p>\n
The tour\u00a0was a little disappointing, but I am glad to say I have been there. I am surprised that Holland America (or someone) had not warned us about the construction on the house ahead of time. At least I would have been prepared.<\/p>\n
Photos \u00a9 2014 P.J. Gardner<\/a>. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In Bergen, I was really looking forward to the excursion to Troldhaugen, Edvard Grieg’s house by a lake. After all, Grieg is one of Norway’s most famous composers and we were promised a concert of his music on location. On … Continue reading