Kay and Sylvia's Norwegian Adventure 2015: Arrival in Bergen

We traveled from Rosendal to Bergen by 'fast boat' (Hardangerfjordekspressen), which takes about 1' 40". As you can see by the photos, it was a beautiful trip. Of special note - Toralf and others have volunteered hundreds of hours restoring the sailing vessel Gurine built in 18974-75. The shipbuilder was the same who built Roald Amundsen's vessel, Gjoa. It is a beautiful ship and quite special - similar to the Statsraad Lehmkuhl tall sailing ship in Bergen from 1914. When finished, it will be a prized addition to the Rosendal harbor.

Our room at the Augustn Hotel wasn't ready yet (tourist season!) so we stored our luggage and went to Bryggen and the antique store I always frequent here. I have enjoyed getting to know Kari and Eivind, the owners, over the years and we always have good conversations. Then we went to have some Bergen fish soup at Bryggeloftet and took a cab home. Mother thinks that walking is good for her. I walked by her side and helped her with a few steps into a few shops. We checked into the hotel around 2:30 and took a nap!

We met Jostein Aarvik, a friend of mine, for tea in the lounge of the Augustin around 4:30 and had a good time catching up on all the news. Jostein was the organist of the Fana Church when the children's choir performed a concert there on tour in 2010. It is a beautiful old stone cathedral and looks quite like the Kvinnherad Church. Jostein lives in Sandviken (an older section of Bergen) and is now an organist at a church close to his home. Jostein's wife, Ines Maidre, is a concert organist, and now is in Estonia (her home country) to give concerts and to see her mother. Next week Jostein and their youngest son (a violinist) will join Ines and the two older children (another violinist and a violist) in Estonia for concert performances. Ines was planning a concert tour to America in Fall 2011 so I arranged for her to give a concert at Bethesda in September 2011. I had just moved to Utah and offered to arrange a concert there. The next thing I knew, Ines was part of an artist series at the Madeleine Catherdral in Salt Lake City where she performed an excellent concert. I have visited them in Bergen several times when I am in the city to teach at the Hogskole i Bergen (Bergen Teacher's College).

It only took a couple of minutes for me to appreciate being in Bergen in November and March. There are so many tourists during the summer! I like the city to myself!