Twenty-five years ago, I remember being at Troldhaugen, Edvard Grieg’s summer home, with my husband, Carl Crosier, and trying our hardest to stay awake. You see, it had taken us 30 hours, including flights and layovers from Honolulu, to reach this peaceful place.
We checked into the hotel upon our arrival, and then set out on public transportation to Troldhaugen. When we saw that there was going to be a concert, we waited for several hours for the piano and cello recital to begin. Then, we could hardly keep our eyes open as we listened to the concert!
I’m here, twenty-five years later, with Brekke Tours and Travel, an agency out of North Dakota, and surprise, surprise—Jo Ann Condry, whom I met on the Historic Organ Study Tour to northern Italy two years ago, is here too!
What I am appreciating now, though, is that we have a local guide to give us a complete history of the house and Grieg’s life. Here is a life-size statue of this man, all 4’11” of him! He married his first cousin, Nina, who was two inches taller than he. His wife is the one who came up with the name “Troldhaugen,” which means “troll hill.” They had only one daughter, who died at the age of 13 months, and never had any other children.
Grieg never thought his music would last—he termed his compositions “popular music.” But of course, his music is now performed all over the world.
Grieg needed complete quiet and solitude in order to compose, and built this special “Composer’s Hut” to do just that.
Grieg and his wife are buried on the property, near the water.
We then had a walking tour of the UNESCO World Heritage set of colorful wooden buildings, which have become an icon for the city of Bergen.
The “skillingsbole” was highly recommended, so Jo Ann bought one and I had a little piece to taste.
We then rode a funicular to the top of the mountain for a most spectacular view!
We’ve been very lucky on the weather as Bergen is known for its rain—however we have had absolutely none, and none is forecast. Yay!
Tomorrow morning we will move out of the Clarion Admiral Hotel and be on our way to Voss and Balestrand, via the famous Flam Railway, ranked as one of the top 20 train rides in the world.