On Saturday morning, as we were leaving the hotel, we were surprised when a taxi pulled up along side of us and friendly voices called out our names. Our friends, Bob and Johnna, had arrived a little earlier than we expected. We were all going together at noon to Troldhaugen, the home of one of Norway’s favorite sons, the composer, Edvard Grieg. Here’s a statue of Grieg next to the concert hall at Troldhaugen:

Troldhaugen is the name of Grieg’s house in Bergen:

Grieg (1843-1907) was born and died in Bergen. He was known mainly for his lyrical compositions for piano. As a wedding present, his friends surprised him and his bride with this grand piano, supposedly worth $100,000 today:

I was not familiar with Grieg’s work, other than the Fantasia-sounding, In the Hall of the Mountain King, from the incidental music to the play, Peer Gynt. Grieg wrote most of his pieces in this small house downhill from Troldhaugen,…

…inspired by this view:

We were treated to a fabulous piano concert in the concert hall before returning to Bergen city center.

It was a nice way to spend a rainy afternoon. We ended the day with a visit to the city’s art museum and a walk around Lille Lungegårdsvannet, the lake in the middle of the city park.

It was a little too cold to swim in.