Statue of Varg Veum in Bergen, Norway

Sharon and I are on a cruise in northern Europe and visited Bergen, Norway on Monday. We took a bus tour that went to Edvard Grieg’s home and museum. When we arrived back downtown I asked if the statue of Varg Veum at the Strand Hotel was in the vicinity. When our tour guide said he had not heard of Veum and looked puzzled about the Strand I was not optimistic we would see the statue. However, the bus driver knew where the Strand was located.

It turned out the hotel had been taken over by the Scandic chain and was now known as the Scandic Strand. It was actually located where we were stopping to look at the fish market and Hanseatic League buildings.

We walked over to the hotel and Varg was standing against an alcove on the side of the hotel with a door leading into the building.

The bronze Varg looked very comfortable leaning against the wall. Sharon took the above picture of me with Varg.

From reading the Writing on the Wall I thought it was late winter weather to be cold and damp and grey in Bergen. It is the same weather in early September. After listening to our tour guide say it rains 241 days a year I realized it is cold and damp and grey all year long in Bergen.

I cannot say the statue fit my mental image of Varg but the author was satisfied and it is a unique way to honour an author who put Bergen on the world mystery book stage. I think other cities should consider bronze statues of their sleuths. There are a lot of statues around the world honouring less worthy subjects. To the right is a photo of Gunnar Staalesen with his sleuth, Varg.

Any mystery lover heading to Bergen has a unique statue to enjoy and a special photo opportunity.