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Thursday, 26 July 2012

Trondheim

Hi - sorry to have been quiet for a week or so, but we have been away on holiday! And, since we are living in Norway, what better way to spend part of your summer holidays than to travel in Norway.

For those of you who are a little shakey on their geography, Norway is a long thin country, stretching over 1,000 miles from top to toe (over 1,700 km) - it is actually the longest country in Europe! There are lots of mountains, and the coastline is punctuated by thousands of large and small fjords, islands and inlets, all of which make road building and maintenance challenging to say the least. I would hazard a guess that Norway has the largest amount of tunnels per road kilometer than any other country! In fact, it is easier to get to Kirkenes at the top of Norway via Sweden and Finland, than it is to drive up through Norway, as the roads are better!

So, unlike friends of ours, we took the easy route and booked plane tickets, first to Trondheim and then on to Lofoten. Lofoten is one of the most beautiful areas of Norway (well actually there are so many it is difficult to make comparisons!) and lies north of the Polar Circle (remember this is a 'summer holiday'!!).

Anyway first stop, which is what this post is abou was Trondheim. Trondheim is famous for

well this was outside the tourist office - cute isn't he?  No seriously, Trondheim is famous for this



Nidaros, Trondheim cathedral, which took over 300 years to build (started in the 11th century) over the tomb of St. Olav (Olav II, reigned 1015-1028) the first christian king of Norway.

In the Middle Ages, Trondheim was the religious and political capital of Norway, but during the 14th century, Bergen with its strong links to the German Hanseatic traders, became more important.  Now, Trondheim is the third largest city in Norway (after Oslo and Bergen) with a population of around 150,000.

Trondheim is a mix of old and new - it is always the old though that makes the best photos! Here are a few -

The back of Stiftsgaarden, the largest wooden palace in Europe. Still used as a royal residence today, the palace dates from the 1760's, and was built by a wealthy Norwegian family before ending up in royal hands in the mid 1800's. The interior is original in many places - a really interesting tour!


The old town bridge over Nidelva (River Nid)


Old houses in Baklandet, built after the fire in 1680.

Below, is one way to get across the river! This little row boat takes 12 people. and is a reconstruction of one that used to ferry people across the river to the station over 120 years ago, before a bridge was built in this part of town. In the old days the ferryman would row across the river summer and winter - now it is only May through September!



Nidaros cathedral from the 17th century fortress that overlooks the town.

Well, we were ony there for a day, and it hardly rained at all, though tempertures were on the cool side at around 16 degrees C.  Still as the Norwegian say 'there is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing'.  

I have to go back though - on Sunday we came across the most amazing looking (from the outside at least) second hand/antiques warehouse. A huge building that stretched across one whole block from the river to the next street. Of course, since it was Sunday, it was closed, much to my husband's relief!





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