Norwegian cruise hits all the right notes
Oct 7 2009 By Jeff Humphries
When it comes to classical music, I'm the first to admit I'm a fully paid-up Philistine. I just don't get it. Like many an ageing rocker. So I surprised myself a little while back when I chose yes, chose to spend part of a tour of Bergen listening to a piano recital featuring the work of Edvard Grieg, Norways greatest composer and the man they called The Chopin of the North.
It was Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor, you might recall, that Eric Morecambe tried to play in that iconic TV comedy sketch back in 1971, during the Morecambe and Wise show, when the genius Andre Previn was conducting. Remember those classic lines:
Previn (exasperated) to Eric: "You're not playing the right notes."
Eric (equally exasperated) to Previn: "I am playing the right notes, Mr Preview, but not necessarily in the right order."
Anyway, this little cultural connection with Grieg was certainly out of character for me. But, eh, surely that's what holidays ought to be about trying something different. Something you just wouldn't do at home.
Bergen was the first port of call for my wife, Hazel, and I on a seven-night cruise from Dover to the Norwegian fjords aboard the Balmoral, the biggest ship of the Fred Olsen cruise fleet. It was only our second experience of cruising and, just like the first time, we loved it. Just about every minute of it. And, genuinely, almost every other passenger we spoke to seemed to be of the same opinion.
Mind you, if you're the sort who craves sun-kissed beaches and returning home with a tan to die for, this trip isn't for you. Try the Caribbean or the Canaries instead. They're all in the Fred Olsen portfolio, too. No. Sailing the Norwegian fjords is essentially about scenery that blows the mind, taking in the crispest, cleanest air you're ever likely to breathe.
There was something surreal, something serene, something sublime about relaxing in the Balmorals top-deck pool or hot-tub while gazing up at cascading waterfalls and snow-capped mountaintops with precipitous drops into blue-green water of unbelieveable depth. Awesome.
First port of call... Bergen
But let's get back to the beginning at Bergen, an interesting, attractive place. It actually does have one thing in common with Birmingham - it's the country's second city. The comparison probably ends there. Brum could hardly be further from the sea; Bergen's history revolves around the ocean wave.
It flourished as a member of the Hanseatic League an alliance of trading cities along the coast of Northern Europe from the 13th to the 17th centuries. Indeed one of its main attractions these days is Bryggen Norwegian for wharf a series of fascinating old wooden commercial buildings along the harbour and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
From Bryggen we strolled through the world-famous fish market before taking the funicular to the top of Mount Floyen for a panoramic 1,000-feet view of the city below. And then on to Grieg's house where, in the adjacent little theatre, I listened to the piano recital I mentioned at the start.
It's the house in which he and his wife, Nina, spent the summer months, just above the little specially-built wooden cabin in the garden where he wrote his music. And he's buried in the grounds near the waters edge. So I suppose you could say it's where he did his composing and where he did his decomposing. Sorry. Couldn't resist that one!
