On Monday, September 9, we docked in
Trondheim again. We were here a week ago and had a city tour. Today we took a
walk along the pier. Trondheim is the third largest city in Norway with 180,000
people. In a country of only 5 million, that is pretty large. Trondheim is at
the head of Trondheim Fjord. On our bus tour we went to a view point so we
could look down to get a feel for the city. It is the second oldest city in
Norway from around 800. It was built in the curve of the Nidelva River which
gave it a lot of protection from attack. This was very clear from our view
point. We could see Nidaros Cathedral and the white buildings of the fort on
the opposite hill. We could also see our ship in the port.
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| Trondheim Norway |
Later we visited the Nidaros Cathedral
where St. Olaf is buried. It was built on the site of a miraculous fountain
that sprang up from his grave. The Cathedral is one of Europe’s greatest Gothic
memorials. We drove by a 140 room house built by a widow who didn’t know what
else to do with her dead husband’s money! Now it is a summer home for the king
of Norway and his family.
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| Suzanne & Don, bridge over the Nidelva River, Trondheim |
We went to a wooden foot bridge over the
river in the old part of town. It was quite a lovely bridge. We were intrigued
by the rows of wood houses built on stilts along the river bank. They were
formerly homes of fishermen, but now wealthy families, looking for vacation
homes, are buying them up and refurbishing them. This seems to be true in many
of the smaller villages along the coast – as fishing declines, the tourists move in!
We also saw a unique thing called a
bicycle lift. It was at the base of a steep hill. The bike rider puts his foot
on the cable, pushes a button, and it goes up hill, dragging the bike and rider
with it! It is the only one of its kind and it wasn't working. Now what does
that tell you?
On our walk we saw the statue of Lief
Erickson. He had sailed from Trondheim when he went on his voyages of
discovery. When we left Trondheim and turned around in the fjord we saw an
island called Munkholmen. It is the site of a former abby, then a prison, and
now a place where the locals go to relax. We also saw a very unusual
lighthouse, Agdenes Lighthouse at the point where the fjord enters the sea.
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| Approaching Kristiansund with a typical bridge |
In the afternoon we stopped for half an
hour in Kristiansund. We had not seen this town on the way north because it was
night. So, we were very surprised to see what a beautiful city this was. It is
almost a perfect example of a Norwegian village. The houses come right down to
the wharf. They are painted all the colors of the rainbow. They also go
marching up the hill behind the city. It is surrounded by green mountains, the
water is clean, and the city is neat and clean. We were sorry that the stay
wasn’t longer so we could see more.
Hey, you can see Seattle towards the top right of the first picture!
ReplyDeleteAnd why would fishermen build such large houses? Or were they small until the tourists bought them?
Well, yes - I didn't mention that most town's have some kind of large tower - for communication, I presume. But, that, and the weather are about it for reminding me of Seattle!
DeleteThe fisherman's huts were large because the whole crew of the fishing boat had to squeeze in. They often slept nose to tail, as our tour guide told us!