Another early morning. The Tveiten family is leaving for Stavanger to visit their new granddaughter. She is 5 days old and still without a name! We left our host gift and a card with the message that their English is 'very good.' Else had asked us to put in writing that comment we made the night before.
Got into Bergen and walked to Nordnes, the point opposite Bryggen. There were lovely rows of sycamores dripping from the rain and beautiful homes on the harbor. We played with my camera settings to capture the view of the ocean and suburbs beyond. We bought apples, crackers, chocolate, and brown Norwegian cheese at the Bunnpris grocery store for 50 Nkr (ten bucks), then made our way to Troldhaugen. Edvard Grieg lived and worked there for much of his adult life and where now is a great museum. The walk after riding the Metro took about 20 minutes, and it was HOT. We made it in time to look through the exhibit a bit and then attended a lunchtime concert of Grieg's piano music.
-Norwegian nationalist, much loved and sought after during his lifetime.
-Had a lucky stuffed troll and a little metal frog that he kept for good luck. He said goodnight to them both every night.
-His baton looked like a magic wand.
-He was tiny, and married his equally tiny first cousin.
The exhibit was very good; I bought two postcards, ice cream, and we sat in the cafe while we figured out our finances and plans moving forward. We walked back in the light rain, checked into our hostel, and played Nuts. The Bergen hostel has a neat vibe- lots of young travelers from all over (Sweden, Russia, France, South America), young families, and a spirit of sharing. People were watching TV, making food, spread out on the work tables with maps, and exchanging tips. We checked into Beds #1 and #2, a little white bunk-bed in the company of twenty others in the large economy dorm. We were given linens- a pillowcase, top sheet, and duvet covers.
Amund made dinner for us at his place, and after considering a traditional Norwegian meal, klub (potato dumplings with cheese sauce) he settled for lasagna, bread, salad, and beer. We stayed for 3 or so hours and talked all about the bombing/shooting, Norwegian politics, and life in America. When you are made to explain certain systems and technicalities of American living it is easier to see the oddities (especially the two party system, TV ads for politicians). Norwegians are happy, for the most part, with their system, paying high taxes in exchange for healthcare, comfortable retirement, education, student living stipends, and high minimum wage for public service jobs.
The experience of walking into a hostel room of 50 beds, which may or may not have sleeping people in them, is quite strange. There are some lights that stay on on the edges of the room and all the bedding is stark white. The morning is a more negative feeling, especially if you are the inexperienced hostilians who need to leave by 7:00 am.
-Norwegian nationalist, much loved and sought after during his lifetime.
-Had a lucky stuffed troll and a little metal frog that he kept for good luck. He said goodnight to them both every night.
-His baton looked like a magic wand.
-He was tiny, and married his equally tiny first cousin.
The exhibit was very good; I bought two postcards, ice cream, and we sat in the cafe while we figured out our finances and plans moving forward. We walked back in the light rain, checked into our hostel, and played Nuts. The Bergen hostel has a neat vibe- lots of young travelers from all over (Sweden, Russia, France, South America), young families, and a spirit of sharing. People were watching TV, making food, spread out on the work tables with maps, and exchanging tips. We checked into Beds #1 and #2, a little white bunk-bed in the company of twenty others in the large economy dorm. We were given linens- a pillowcase, top sheet, and duvet covers.
Amund made dinner for us at his place, and after considering a traditional Norwegian meal, klub (potato dumplings with cheese sauce) he settled for lasagna, bread, salad, and beer. We stayed for 3 or so hours and talked all about the bombing/shooting, Norwegian politics, and life in America. When you are made to explain certain systems and technicalities of American living it is easier to see the oddities (especially the two party system, TV ads for politicians). Norwegians are happy, for the most part, with their system, paying high taxes in exchange for healthcare, comfortable retirement, education, student living stipends, and high minimum wage for public service jobs.
The experience of walking into a hostel room of 50 beds, which may or may not have sleeping people in them, is quite strange. There are some lights that stay on on the edges of the room and all the bedding is stark white. The morning is a more negative feeling, especially if you are the inexperienced hostilians who need to leave by 7:00 am.
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