the unbearable brightness of being in Bergen

Something a little different today.  There’s a Stave Church a few miles outside Bergen and as we’d missed the one in Oslo, we took the opportunity to get away from the city and the crowds.

It’s located in the middle of a beech forest and the instructions for getting there are a little confusing.  We get off the tram at the right stop but find ourselves in the middle of a housing estate, with no directions where to go next.  I ask a passing local (and of course he speaks English) who points us in the right direction.  It’s nearly a mile away, up hill and it’s really hot again.

The road is empty as we make our way up - there are houses but we see no signs of life.  At the top of the hill, there’s a sign pointing into the forest.  Anniemay gallops away and I eventually find her facing me, smiling and giving a thumbs up sign.  I see it over her shoulder, through a gap in the trees.

It’s very small inside; there’s a review on Trip Advisor which says “you pay 60 Kronor, go in and come out again”.  Which is about right unless you’re a blipper and linger trying to take a few photos in the darkness.  The really fascinating stuff is on the outside.

We get the tram back to the centre of Bergen and decide just to wander around the ‘non-touristy’ bits, if such places exist here.  We sit in a park and watch the locals making the best of the sunshine.  We hear a choir and follow the sound to the middle of a shopping area.  They announce a song in English which they called “an Irish Blessing”.  I’ve never heard it before and it’s absolutely beautiful.  Anniemay records in on her iPhone.

Then we hear a young cellist playing outside a clothes shop.  Anniemay goes inside while I stop to listen.  Again, a lovely sound.

We’re not sure what to do next; it’s very hot and I don’t have the energy to do much more.  We have one more wander round the old fishing wharf, dodging in and out of the coach parties and boat parties as they drag their cases along the cobbles, then head back to our room to cool off.

Please see extras;
candle holder inside Stave church
roof detail
choir in middle of shopping area
cellist
random graffiti (an early Munch?)
woman hugging a big fish


And please see Anniemay’s blip for more.