Norse Legends

As Laurent mentioned in his post on our stop in Ålesund we took an excursion to the Viking islands of Giske and Godøy via the ingenious system of three undersea tunnels that were constructed in the late 1980s to give unrestricted access to their various communities.

Statue of Rollo, Duke of Normandy in Ålesund given by the city of Rouen.
Photo by Delusion23

They are referred to as the “Viking” islands as traces of early settlements have been discovered throughout the small archipelago. Burial mounds and graves of significant size have been found on Giske, Godøy, and Vigra. It is believed that Gange-Rolv or Rollo, the first Duke of Normandy, was from the Islands. His descendent William was to become King of England in 1066 and was the founder of the Plantagenet line. A monument of Rollo stands in Ålesund, a gift from the city of Rouen in 1911 on the 1000 anniversary of the founding of the region of Normandy. Despite challenges from Danes and Germans who also claim Rollo that statue is good enough proof for most Norwegians.

From the island of Giske looking towards the Norwegian Sea – some of the most dramatic skies I’ve ever seen. This was the tail end of Hurricane Dorian.

Our main destination on Giske was the 12th century stone church that serves to this day as the centre of worship for the Island. Unlike many early churches it was constructed of white marble. As there are no marble quarries anywhere in the region the provenance of the stone is a mystery. Only small traces of the marble are visable though the chalk that covers the walls today.

It served as the private family chapel of the noble Giske family but fell into disuse during the time of the Protestant Reformation. In 1750 Hans Holtermann, a wealthy businessman, bought the estate and with Hans Strøm, clergyman and scientist (?) began a restoration of the derelict building.

Certainly this house of worship fell,
Forgotten by the whole world,
A Holtermann received it,
A princely owner and guardian,
And raised thee to thy former might.
And the king approved of the work.
Now, oh Church, saved,
May you sing God’s praises.
Epitaph by Hans Strøm (1726-1797) on the restoration of Giske Kyrkje in 1756.

We were not able to see the interior of the church which was a great disappointment. When it was restored in the late 1700s Jakob Sørensøn Giskegaard (1734–1827), a local woodcarver created an unique reredos, pulpit and organ loft. The photo below was taken circa 1910 and a left click will take you to a series of pictures that reveal what we missed.

Photographer unknown circa 1910 – National Archives of Norway

Both of my faithful readers will tell you that I am a taphophile – graveyards and cemeteries to me mean the stories of people and places revealed. Incised on stone and iron names and dates tell us that for a time someone lived, loved, laughed on and then left this earth. One of our group mentioned to the guide that Giske seemed to be a common name on the memorials. He explained that it wasn’t the family name but an indication of where they were born and indeed a few of the stones bore the names of other communities in the region.

Fashions change even for grave markers – it appears that during the mid-19th century these white marble medallions were popular.

The stone wall around the churchyard was an astounding piece of masonry as was one of the outbuildings. The structures must have been at least five feet thick and obviously built to withstand the winds that come off the North Atlantic.

Here are a view shots from the tour bus window as we travelled from Ålesund to Giske and Godøya. We can only imagine how beautiful the landscapes – fields, small fishing communities, and forest stands – would look in the sunshine. But you have to admit those skies are pretty dramatic.

October 8th is Touch Tag Day – you’re IT!

Norse Legends

In the early hours of tomorrow morning (4:50 am EDT) the hours of daylight and the hours of dark will be equal for one day. For the Norse this was the Feast of Mabon – the end of the harvest. It was the day when the making of mead was begun in preparation for the five days of the major celebration of Winternights which began October 29th.

*Skaði*, the goddess of the hunt who presided over the preparations for winter that began at the Autumn Equinox.

The agricultural season was drawing to a close and the preparations for the season of the hunt were begun. Skaði was the goddess who presided over both the preparations for the hunt and the hunt itself. She was descended from the race of giants who had ruled the earth before Odin became all powerful. The giant Þjazi‘s was her father and when the gods killed him for kidnapping Iðunn, the goddess of youth, Skaði donned a helmet, a coat of mail, and “all weapons of war”and made her way to Asgard to seek vengeance. The gods offered her atonement and compensation until she was placated. She was also given the hand of Njord in marriage, and as a further reparation Odin took Þjazi‘s eyes and placed them in the night sky as stars.

As we begin our own preparations for winter let us ask that our mead be sweet and strong and that our hunt be successful. And that the fruits of the harvest see us through the winter to come.

September 22nd is Hobbit Day – well bless your hairy little toes!

True Norse Legends … contd

Last year when I was researching Edvard Grieg for the online programme notes for our Symphony I had no idea I would be visiting the home that he and Nina had built outside Bergen. I’m not all that big on cruise ship tours but a visit to Troldhaugen was a given. We were fortunate that our tour wa led by that rarest of creatures – a well-versed and well-spoken guide. A brief tour of Bergen – which made us want to see more of this beautiful city – was followed by a visit to a stunning example of a Stave Church and finally a stop at Grieg’s home and a short piano concert in the small but acoustically perfect hall on the grounds.

Grieg was not quite five feet tall. He suffered from a collapsed lung and deformity of his thoracic spine and often assumed the pose shown here to hide the deformity.

Troldhaugen, designed by Grieg’s cousin Schak Bull, derives its name from two Norwegian words Trold (troll) and Haugr (hill). Grieg was just under five feet tall and his wife Nina was several inches smaller – this led to the local ragamuffins referring to them as the “trolls of Troldhaugen”. The Griegs lived there from its completion in 1885 until the composer’s death in 1907. After his death Nina moved to Copenhagen but her ashes were brought back and interned in the mountainside crypt with her husband’s.

There was a small matching building a few feet from the house, as a joke I said that it must be the outhouse. Turns out that it was!

Grieg often said that Troldhaugen was his finest opus!

The approach to the house.
The small matching building at the back is …..the outhouse.

Unusually for the time the interior walls were left as bare planed logs which gave an added warmth to the rooms. It was difficult to take pictures as there were two tours groups during our visit. The house is filled with mementos of visitors, awards and family. Pride of place is given to the Steinway that was somehow smuggled into the house as a surprise birthday present in June 1892. It was custom built to allow for Grieg’s small stature.

A tea kettle set to pour for afternoon tea.
An interesting little ceramic.
Grieg’s Steinway that was smuggled (??) into the house as a surprise present on his 50th birthday.

A view from the front entrance.
A slightly different angle but the same glorious view.
Down a steep path – the small cabin where Grieg did a good deal of his composing after 1885.

The Troldsalen or Concert Hall is ingeniously sunk into the landscape and the turf roof renders it almost invisible as your cross the wooden bridge to the house. The hall seats 200 people and has a remarkable acoustic. More remarkable is the view of the Composer’s hut and Lake Nordås through the panoramic window at the back of the . And I know the word “magical” can be over-used but there was something “magical” about listening to pianist Rune Alver perform a selection of Grieg’s works in that setting.

A sign directed us to go down a series of stone stairs and paths to Grieg’s tomb and we joined a few people heading down the slope to the water’s edge. But we couldn’t see any tomb and pretty much gave up finding it. However on the climb back I glanced up and there in the rock was the site were Edvard and Nina’s ashes are interred. One evening when Grieg and his best friend Frants Beyer were out fishing on the lake, the last rays of the sunset hit that spot of rock. “There I would like to rest forever” said Grieg. Schak Bull designed the crypt in the rock with Edvard and Nina’s names carved in Runic characters.

And here is Rune Alver performing one of the pieces he played at our little concert.

September 21 is National Clean Up Day – so I suggest we all take this to heart and clean up our acts!

True Norse Legends

What little of Bergen we were able to see only made us want to explore Norway’s second city more. However typically on cruises only a few hours are devoted to each stop. During the day we were able to briefly connect with and pay tribute to three of Norway’s true legends: Henrik Ibsen, Ole Bull and Edvard Grieg.

It seems that there is a revival of interest in the plays of Henrik Ibsen – four of his plays are receiving major productions in London at the moment including the monumental and oft cited as unproducible Peer Gynt. As with all true classics Ibsen has as much to say to audiences of the 21st century as he did to those of the 19th.

A walk around Den Nationale Scene, which is currently undergoing major renovation, revealed a rather startling memorial to the great playwright.

A left click will give allow a closer look at this rather frightening memorial to Henrik Ibsen.

The National Theatre stands at the head of a long avenue lined with cafes, restaurants, theatrical venues, shops and an inviting pedestrian median. In a day that was constantly shifting from bright sunshine to stormy and rain-filled clouds it was a difficult to get photos in the ever changing light. The avenue ends in a park with a lovely 19th century gazebo and lake.

The pedestrian mall ends with a tribute to the great Norwegian violinist Ole Bull. He was instrumental (forgive the pun) in the creation of the theatre at the other end of the avenue. He had a fascinating life and as well as his musical accomplishments he bought land in Pennsylvania and founded a colony which exists to this day.

Again a left click will take you to a closer view of this memorial to a Norwegian Legend.

These days Bull is perhaps best remembered outside Norway as the one who recognized the genius of the 15 year old Edvard Grieg. Bull was related to the Grieg family by marriage and encouraged Edvard’s parents to send him to the Leipzig Conservatory.

Grieg was the next legend we were to encounter later in the day when we journeyed to his home at Troldhaugen in what was once the countryside outside of Bergen.

September 20th is Punch Day – I first I thought we were celebrating the puppet and wondered when Judy Day was but it turns out it’s punch as in “let’s have a glass of…”. Skål!

Norse Legends

Okay time for an actual Norwegian legend. The gorge that forms Gairangerfjord must have almost a hundred waterfalls of various sizes but the most famous are the Seven Sisters and their Suitor. Th legend tells of seven sisters of remarkable beauty who playfully let their hair spill down the mountain side into waters of the Fjord. When the spring thaw all seven of them come out to tease a single waterfall across the gorge – the Suitor. In the heat of summer several of the sisters choose to hide from the sultry weather and only one or two will appear. In recent years they have been hiding away more often. At the height of this past summer only one let down her tresses.

But ever hopeful if there is only one or if all seven appear the Suitor beckons, trying to convince one of them to join him. But the Sisters, though they continue to tease their Suitor, will not be separated. To drown (?) his sorrow at being rejected the Suitor has turned to drink and has a bottle perpetually at the ready. Overlooking it all is the face of a troll turned into stone when he was exposed to sunlight – a common fate for these dangerous and stupid creatures.

We hadn’t seen these legendary cascades when we came into the Fjord – well maybe anyone up at 0330 had but certainly no one in our stateroom. To accommodate us slugabeds when we came to the Sisters and Company on our way out of the Fjord the Captain did a 360º pivot so photos and videos could be taken. It took a 7 minutes to make the maneuver but gave everyone a splendid view of the Sisters, their Suitor and a few of us even saw the Troll.

Again the video is very rough with the original sound of the wind, fellow voyagers and the expedition director narrating. And it does last the full seven minutes so feel free to adjust your viewing as you see fit.

Though they are spectacular they are only the 39th tallest waterfalls in Norway. The country is so blessed in waterfalls that hydro electricity is a main – and reasonable – source of power. The Seven Sister cascade 410 meres or 1,350 ft into the Fjord and the tallest has an initial free fall of 250 metre or 820 ft.

September 18 is Rice Krispie Treat Day and also the day that – Air Canada flight load willing – we leave Europe to return home. More about the trip later.