Day 7 - Wednesday, July 27 - In Bergen

 We had an enjoyable visit in the morning to a small farm near Bergen. The farm is quite ancient, having been sold by the King of Denmark in the 1400s and purchased by the family of the current owner in 1885. The farmer is quite an entrepreneur, beside running the farm with 15 sheep and 10 horses, the eco-tourism, is a professional pastry chef, teaches baking to prison inmates and is an accomplished pianist.

We were greeted by the sheep that came running for a treat. They were chased back by the farm sheep dog. We then met a Fjord horse pony/horse and a Dale horse, both historic Norwegian breeds. We went inside the room above the barn to enjoy apple and raspberry juice. The farmer described some of the challenges of working such a small farm - most farms require some sort of outside income or employment. The sale price of farms is fixed very low which makes it impossible to sell and buy a reasonable home. He doesn't have any family and will sell the farm to one of his longtime farm workers.

We then went across to the farmhouse which dates back to the 1500s for a snack of delicious pastries and hot chocolate. We had a short piano performance of a Grieg composition and were treated to a short dance in traditional Norwegian attire.

After lunch we took a bus ride to the Stave Church which was originally built in 1170. It is quite unique in being constructed of very large and long poles (tree trunks) which then have the walls framed around it. The church was about to be torn down in the 1800s when it was purchased and moved to the current location. Sadly, the church was set on fire in the 1970s by members of an angry music group and has been reconstructed.

From there we went to the summer home of Edvard Grieg which is on the shore of a small lake. The highlight was a performance of Grieg compositions by a Grieg competition winning pianist played on a Steinway grand piano.

Tonight we have left Bergen and are now sailing south along the coast.

The sun came out!

Norwegian traditional costumes

Dale and Fjord (right) horses

Farm sheep and dog


Stave Church

Grieg Studio

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