Bergen

We woke up this morning to find we were already in port, tied up next to another large cruise ship.

Our excursion was a panoramic city tour, then out to Troldhaugen (Troll Hill) to visit the summer house of Edward Grieg, and then also a rebuilt Stave Church.  Some years ago we had done this same tour but it rained really hard. This trip was not going to be any different. Apparently Bergen is the wettest city in Europe - I can believe it. 

Grieg's house is quite small, but it was only his summer retreat. Away from the main house he had a hut, overlooking the lake, where he composed. 

It is at the end of a very narrow, steep (and wet) path which leads down from this full sized statue of him. He was quite a short man.  After seeing the house we scuttled through the rain to the recital hall, which is visible to the left of the path. Here we heard several of his compositions played by a pianist. It was very enjoyable. 

The hall had good acoustics and a view through to the Greig's composing hut. I wonder if there are any other stages with a real view for a backdrop?

We went on in the rain to a reconstructed Stave Church, which shows that the early Viking Christians were loath to completely despense with their former beliefs - hence the dragons on the roof. 

We returned to the ship about fifteen minutes before it cast off - just made it.  Tomorrow we dock in Rotterdam - our cruise is over.  It has been great as we have seen everything we wanted to see. If we were younger maybe we would have done a lot more in Iceland - it is a place for the young and adventurous.