Norway: Bergen (Grieg's Museum)

We finally arrived at Bergen around 3pm after a 8h train ride from Oslo.

Bergen
-2nd largest city in Norway (big city with small-town charm)
-Gateway to the fjords (fjords' "capital city")
-city of culture(chosen to be Europe's cultural city in yr 2000)
-Scandinavia's greatest attraction



Norway is full of hills. And this is what makes it so beautiful
Imagine all the houses on this hill lit up at night



We forgot to check the weather prediction
It was raining heavily when we arrived. And it was freezing cold....



The tourist info centre was damn beautiful with huge wall paintings depicting the Norwegian industries eg. shipping and fishing
There are useful exhibitions of many tourist attractions to occupy the many tourists waiting for their queue number



Trolls originated from Scandinavian Folklore
They, together with the Vikings, seem to be the mascots of Norway. You can get these figurines as souvenirs everywhere. Just like our Merlion for S'pore.



It was too cold and wet to travel around. So we had to spend the rest of the day in
Bergen Vandrerhjem YMCA going thru all the pamphlets obtained at the info centre and planning our tour



It was still raining the next morning but at least it was smaller.
Went to the famous fish market just opposite where we stayed. The fishmongers were peddling all sorts of fish meat (even whale). The difference is that some of them sell the meat as a meal by placing them in breads or baguette.
Even for a fish mkt, the prices seem exorbitant.



Holberg, a famous Bergen dramatist, historian and essayist
Edvard Grieg composed the Holberg Suite(click to listen) to honor Holberg



Troldhaugen(the Hill of the Trolls)



Troldhaugen is where famous Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg(1843-1907) lived for 22 years. It is also the site of his museum, which is one of the main attractions for me in norway.

Who is Grieg? My faithful readers may ask. In order not to alienate you guys, I have placed hyperlinks to his popular songs all over this post. I'm sure you have heard some b4.






Click the above pic for a good summary of Grieg



Basically, this guy was proud of Norway and so Norway is proud of him.
It was at a time when Norwegians were greatly concerned abt finding their national identity after centuries of foreign rule (sounds familiar?). Edvard Grieg was the utmost ambassador for Norway and Norwegian culture. Through his music, other countries got to know Norway's cultural treasures.

Eg. Grieg explored Scandinavian folklore and wrote several pieces abt troll: In the Hall of the Mountain King (a bit soft)





Grieg with Nina, his wife. His wife is also a celebrated figure. She was not merely the famous composer's wife, she sing beautifully, was fluent in several languages and had a pleasant unpretentious manner.



Piano Concerto in A minor (Grieg's groundbreaking piece)-I remembered our Orchestra played this during Sec School



Believe it or not, Grieg's dying moment was special according to the words in the above pic



30-40 thousand people lined up the streets to pay their last respects; condolences came from kings and emperors; all the flags in Bergen were half-mast; church bells were chiming and an enormous funeral procession occured



His house is now a museum...



...filled with memoentos of the composer's life



"Troldsalen", a concert hall opened near his house 80 years after his death



Procession of the Trolls



This little hut is the composer's hut for him to compose songs drawing inspirations from...




...the Lake Nordas



Morning (popular piece)



Edvard and his wife Nina are buried in a cliff-hewn tomb in the grounds looking out to the Lake...
It's carved "Edvard & Nina Grieg" on the surface of the rock.
The surrounding is Very Beautiful and serene with the sound of trickling water down rocks.