Norway Adventures

Dear Family and Friends,

Chuck and I have returned from a wonderful two week trip to Norway.  We had a great adventure touring the coast of Norway with our friends, Ronnie and Andre.  We cruised on Hurtigruten, a combination ferry, cruise, and cargo ship.

Chuck and I flew to Bergen, Norway through Amsterdam on KLM.  Bergen is where our cruise began and we arrived the afternoon before we were to board. We like to give ourselves a little extra time just in case our flight is delayed.  

We had a free morning in Bergen to explore.  We woke up to rain, but we were not daunted. We put on our rain jackets and headed out.  Our hotel was just a block from the famous Bergen fish market that is in the center of town.  So we headed there and hung out for a while.

We also took a tour of the Edvard Greig house. Edvard Greig was a Norwegian composer and pianist.  He is Norway's most celebrated human icon. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor and Peer Gynt (which includes Morning Mood and In the Hall of the Mountain King.)

Here are some pictures of his home.

The living room area.

I loved the closed in entrance porch.  

The weather and the flora reminded me so much of Seattle in the winter.  It was misty rain and incredibly green.  

The grass covered roof on the building below is where we were fortunate enough to listen to a piano concert of Greig's music.  

The link is to Morning Mood...when you hear it you will know it.  Click here: Morning Mood  I can certainly see how he was inspired to write such beautiful music, living in such a peaceful setting.

We were not allowed to photograph during the concert but here is a picture of the piano on stage with a large window and beautiful scenery in the background. 

We got back to our hotel, Clarion Hotel Admiral, about 3:00 pm.  Although we could have gone to the boat to embark, the receptionist at the desk said that the rooms on the ship would not be ready until about 6:00 pm.  

We chose to stay in the lobby of the hotel with good wifi, instead of sitting in a terminal for 3 hours.  

At 5:30 pm she called us a taxi and we were on our way for a big adventure.

In our next post I will share about the Hurtigruten, a very unique cruise ship.

Love,
Nancy