It's wonderful what a good night's sleep will do.
Today began with a light breakfast and then a walking tour of the old town of Bergen. Once an "office" of the Hanseatic League (a medieval trade consortium with roots in Germany) Bergen's outpost specialized in dried cod, which resembles lutefisk. The tour included the Hanseatic Museum and the old fish market.
The afternoon included a bus ride to visit one of the few remaining Stave churches (wooden churches built around tall pine poles - the "staves" - upon which the rest of the building hung. Then it was on to Trollhagen, the home of Edvard Grieg. There we enjoyed a short piano concert of some of Grieg's works and a tour of his home. (The photo is the view from Grieg's home.)
The evening started with an educational lecture on "Norway - Europe's Most Successful Nation" given by guest lecturer and former diplomat Rob Warne. Just after dinner, the ship set out on a cruise to our next stop which is Flam, an isolated Norwegian farming community located in one of Norway's fiords.
