EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL BERGEN

 When our daughter was younger, she particularly enjoyed a series of audio books based on music, one of which was Peer Gynt. In recent years she has enjoyed learning the piano & some of the pieces she has worked on, have been by the composer Greig.
Therefore, since we are in his birthplace & have been surrounded with music since we got here, it only seemed right that thinking of her & her piano teacher, we head out to his summer home, Troldhaugen to try & learn a bit more about this famous son of Bergen.

 There are times when taking a bus tour is the best option, & this excursion was one of those times. This meant that we had someone point out significant Greig related sites on our 25 minute journey & tell us  a bit about what a naughty boy Edvard Greig was when he was a youngster.  He used to get up to all sorts of tricks in order to miss school!!
  Our guided tour of the house was a little disappointing, but that is because there were just so many of us packed in, that we couldn't really get a good look at anything. (And I am one of those people who like a good look!!!!) And then we were quickly bustled into the next room.  Thankfully being tall meant Jeff could try & snatch shots over the heads of others, but it was annoying.
Nevertheless, the furnishings & art works gave us glimpses into the time & the man.
One wall was dedicated to artists impressions of Edvard. I thought that was a pleasant change from plaster busts & photographs.

There were only three rooms that we were allowed into & this is the lounge.  The house had a comfortably simple feel to it.  The walls were undressed timber planks & Edvard & his wife Niña, had specifically requested that the ceiling height be raised, to improve the acoustics.  Therefore, when all the doors of the downstairs rooms (the ones we were allowed to see) were open, the music apparently sounded  wonderful in each.

 Edvard & Niña were clearly a couple very much in love.  They had both suffered tragedies over the years & Edvard's health was always a concern. He'd had TB when younger & breathing wasn't as straight forward for him as for most people. This is one reason why they only spent summers here, the winters were too cold for him.
Niña sounds like quite a character, she entertained his guests, drank beer with them & smoked cigars!  She also sang & he wrote some of his music for her & understandably, her voice.
They obviously had a lot of very devoted friends, because on the event of the Greigs' 25th wedding anniversary, friends not only bought this Steinway piano for them, but snuck into the house & deposited it in the lounge room before the couple woke up!

 One of the reasons Edvard liked to compose here, was because of the natural environment & the quiet.  However, even in the house there was too much noise, so he had this composing hut built looking out over the lake.

Inside he would focus on writing new pieces of music & would work them out at this piano.  Because of his shorter stature, he kept a book of Beethoven compositions on his chair to give him a bit more height.  This apparently was not meant as an insult, because he loved Beethoven's work, but a practical solution to improve his working environment.

 All around the house is woodland.
He loved being in nature & he also enjoyed the myths & legends about trolls who could easily be imagined as living around his home. That's why the house is named Troldhaugen.

 The path led to a small jetty, their burial site & a view out onto the same lake that he could see from his composers hut.
We could totally understand how inspired he would be to create here.

 The highlight for us was a lunchtime concert of Greig pieces for piano.  This concert hall is built into the hillside alongside Greig's home & is the premier concert hall for chamber music in Norway.  It also looks out onto Greig's composing Hut & the lake beyond. It would be so amazing for any musician to play here.
The pianist was Rune Alver & his fingers just flew over the keys.  The sound was crystal clear & breathtaking & we appreciated the little snippets of insight he gave before each piece. To listen to that music whilst watching the water out the window beyond, was pure bliss.

 Back in Bergen there was a small farmer's market set up under tents, so we checked out their deer burgers (Jeff) & lamb hot dogs (me)! It was a good opportunity to purchase a few things for tonight's dinner as well, & then it was time to go walking again.

 We had no real plans, we just wandered.
At one stage, it was clear that everyone else was heading in a particular direction, so we followed along.  Eventually we discovered that they were amassing to watch soccer on big screens, so we took our leave & ventured further.
Along the way we came across a variety of brass bands, all participating in the festival currently on here in Bergen.  We had thought that there were only National bands , but we were wrong!
Our absolute favourite band was this one from South Africa. WOW! Could they play... and twirl flags... and dance.... and just keep pumping it out without any break between pieces!  No one could have left there without a smile & a bit of jive to their step!

When we had first arrived in Bergen a few days ago, we'd spotted the lake & fountain out the corner of our eyes, as we dragged bags over the cobbled streets, following directions to our accommodation.  At the time, we thought we'd like to come back, so our last stop in Bergen, was the lake... to see the fountain.
There is so much we haven't seen in this vibrant city, and we both feel we would have liked to have stayed longer. However, we have really enjoyed our time here, especially with such glorious weather to get out in & explore.
Tomorrow we head north, but we both feel a soft spot for this beautiful city & are a little bit sad to be leaving.