Bergen, Day 4

Started the day off at Bergenhus fortress, with tours of Hakonshallen and Rosencrantztarnet (Hakon's Hall and Rosencrantz Tower, respectively). Hakon's Hall was built by Hakon Hakonsson between 1247 and 1261 to serve as King Hakon's banquet hall, store house, main defense fortification, and living quarters. Although it was burned in various Bergen fires (of which there were plenty) and even been blown up during a freak explosion in the harbor while Bergen was under Nazi occupation, the restored building still stands. Very cool to be standing inside a building with that much history. Hakonshallen is still used by Norway's royal family today - they dine there once a year at the opening of Bergen's International Festival. Rosencrantz Tower started out as a defense tower for the harbor during the reign of Magnus Lagabote (Lawmender) in 1270, was expanded in 1520 by King Christian II's captain, Jorgen Hansson, and then finally renovated and fortified by Erik Rosencrantz at the command of King Frederik II in 1560. The tower has seen use as living quarters, a powder magazine, a courtroom (for witch trials!), and a dungeon. Also quite cool.

Hakon's Hall

Rosencrantz Tower

After spending all morning there, we hunted down some lunch (mom and I had Thai... in Norway...), and walked to the Leprosy Museum. The museum (which I had been looking forward to) was much different than I was expecting. Instead of a modern, high tech museum devoted to the discovery and research of the leprosy bacilli, we were met with a number of highly informative poster boards (like the boards we're all used to seeing at museums) on the history of leprosy treatment before the discovery of the bacilli, theories on the spread of leprosy, the discovery of the bacilli, and Norway's role as a research center - and it was housed in one of the old treatment institutions. The old St. Jorgen's Hospital was where people with leprosy would be shipped off to live as comfortably as possible until their inevitable death. As interesting as it was to see all the epidemiological information and research, it was also really sobering to think that people died really painful deaths in the very rooms where I was reading about the horrible side effects of leprosy and just what it did to the human body. This disease has history and I was standing right in the thick of it.

The Leprosy Museum!

Acting completely un-PC at the Leprosy Museum. Apologies.

My parents bought me an early Christmas present in the museum bookstore: "Leprosy" by Lorentz M. Irgens, Yngve Nedrebo, Sigurd Sandmo, and Arne Skivenes. The book details the full history of the disease and the efforts to cure it. (If anyone wants to borrow it, the pictures are particularly compelling!)

Back at the apartment after some unsuccessful souvenir shopping, I took an accidental two hour nap before we went to the grocery store and picked up some pizza for dinner (Hawaiian - my favorite!). Tomorrow's an early morning... we have to be at the dock by 7:30am for day 1 of the family reunion. Next stop: Bømlo!