Trondheim

Hello again! Time for another little update. So the last time I wrote, I was just leaving Arstun Farm. Right.... I really must do these updates more often!

So anyway. I’m now at the Amdal smallholding just outside of Trondheim, which is about half way up Norway (definitely further north than Bergen) and on the coast again. I really like Trondheim. It’s a lovely little town (OK city) that’s got a good solid ‘old world’ feel in the centre but it still manages to comfortably incorporate modern shops and life. Fancy a peek? Here you go...

See pretty isn’t it? This is probably a really good way to show you how norwegian cities tend to sprawl across the landscape, rather than huddle around one main part. Limited high rises, just the ability to regularly build on sloping ground. Oh incidentally, Trondheim was Norway’s first capital and is still the coronation city for Norway’s Kings. Yup, that’s me, Cathi ‘swallowed the tourist guide’ Reynolds.

See the big green topped cathedral in the trees? That’s Niadros Cathedral. Built over the grave of King Olav Haraldsson in the 11th Century it’s a dominating feature of Trondheim, and inside it looks like it should be used for the dark wizards version of Hogwarts!  I’d show you with some (as per usual) stunning and informative photos but there were more ‘NO Photography’ signs and ‘helpful’ guides lurking in the cathedral than you can shake a compact at. Plus it's so dimly lit I’d need my tripod to make sure you could make out more than a dark blur! Anyway, take it from me, tonnes of beautiful dark stone, an excellent wooden ceiling in the nave and a remarkably restrained attempt to cover a third of it in gold/decorative carvings. Which is more than they managed on the front of it...

Looks like a mini Notre Dame doesn’t it? I’m a bit sketchy on this bit, but I’m pretty positive that the front was rebuilt in the 16th Century. Or maybe later. I did wander around the attached museum that has some really cool original stone carvings and statues but I honestly can’t remember the date that well. Still, Notre Dame look-a-like or not, I quite like it.

The first few days in Trondheim were spent walking as much as possible and hanging out with another Couchsurfing host called Miguel. He’s Portuguese and has only been in Trondheim for 6 months. Lovely guy, he’s an excellent cook and one the first of many people to actually get me playing Guitar Hero. I am, without a doubt, the WORST player of Guitar Hero ever. I do however become an acceptable beginner after sharing two bottles of wine. Strange that.

One of the great things about his place was the location. He lives in an area called Bakklandet, which is on the east side of the river that runs around the centre of Trondheim. It’s absolutely lovely. Lots of little wooden houses near the river, some cool cafes (serving acceptable hot chocolate, but great coffee flavoured cream toppings) and a few great little shops. You know the usual secondhand/vintage clothing and furniture ones that make me walk slowly whilst going ‘Ooooo’.

It’s also where there are two key tourist spots for Trondheim. The first is the Old Bridge (Gamle Bybro), which used to raise for passing boats...

It looks a little Eastern to me. Just off this is the main tourist shot that you’ll see if you look up Trondheim on the web...

Lovely isn’t it? I really like this shot, It makes the point about painted wooden buildings in Norway being really attractive pretty well I think.

Oh and if you find yourself in the area at any time I can highly recommend going to Baklandet Skydsstation. They do really good food (the Bacalou was great), and it happens to be one of the cutest places I’ve ever eaten. They even have a little outdoor/indoor area that would be great on a summer evening...

Completely love it.

I also managed to take a walk around the city from the fjord side and got to see some lovely views as I wandered down the paths to another cute little cafe called the Sponhusset. Ok hot chocolate but great waffles! Take a look! At the scenery not the waffles...

That’s the one of the things I love about Norway (and Iceland too) you’re never far away from proper countryside views and air that brings a smile to your face when you take a deep breath full.

There are also lots of little gems to stumble upon whilst you wander around Trondheim. Have a peek...

Got to love a bit of firepower in a city. These ones obviously don’t get used anymore, but they do have some working ones, locked under a bit of army green tarpaulin behind the bush! This was taken at the fort that’s above Bakklandet, it gives you a great view out over the city and would be a great place to chill out on a warm, sunny day. Even though all the interesting bits were locked up, it was still a cool place to explore...

So after a couple of days exploring Trondheim I met up with Ingeborg, her husband Tormod and their baby girl Elinor at the airport. Ingeborg is studying geography at the local university and Tormod is doing his Masters in Archeology. Elinor is studying how to be adorable, she’s remarkable adept! They bought a farm about 40 minutes from Trondheim a few years ago and have been slowly doing up the house. It’s in a lovely area, although its a good 20 minutes to get onto a ‘main’ road. The trees were a stunning mix of evergreen, copper, ochre and yellow leaves. I wish I’d gotten a proper picture before it snowed!

I can however show you the truly weird sunrise I had on my first morning...

I know, freaky isn’t it!

There aren’t many animals on this farm, just some chickens to start with. However there is a truly awesome barn that Tormod and Ingeborg are planning on rebuilding, next year I think. It’s a great place for photos though and I got this one the other day...

how cool is that? I can’t tell you how hard it is to resist the urge to just put glass on that side and convert the barn into a house.

Anyway, that’s all for the minute. There’s been a fair bit going on in the past few weeks so I’ll update you on my travels in seperate blog post. Right now, I’m going to have a bite of my porridge cake and a cup of tea.

Catch you soon
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