TRONDHEIM, NORWAY
Today, we arrived in Trondheim, our second port-of-call, so that would be another ‘day off’ and a lie-in; we were up at 9am, in time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast (breakfast ends at 10am).
Once again, it was hot outside, not at all what we’d expected. There wasn’t much of a view from the balcony, mostly due to there being a large industrial building in the way. From what we could see, though, there was an enticing looking wooded hill close to the port which we thought we might like to explore. But we also thought, since we’d never been here before, that we would like to take a look at the city of Trondheim, with its grand cathedral and hilltop fortress. In the end, we hatched a plan to, perhaps, ‘do the double’, thinking that we might be able to do both; city first, then a climb after lunch. With all this in mind, after breakfast, we headed ashore and took the shuttle bus into town.
Once we’d been dropped off, it was only a relatively short walk to the cathedral, which is indeed quite grand. By this time, it was getting on for 11am, and when we queued to purchase entrance tickets, we were told that it was currently closed, but would be opening at 1pm. This didn’t really fit in with our plans, so we left it and headed for the river, where a pathway led us to an old bridge. Of which, on the other side, and up a hill, was the old fortress.
I should say at this point that it was quite busy everywhere. This would mostly be because it was Sunday, but it would also be because of the weather, which was extraordinarily hot. In fact, so far, we’ve been surprised by the weather. Having agonised over what outdoor clothing to bring with us, I can’t believe I’ve been walking around Norway in T-shirts and three-quarter length trousers, and not even taking a coat out with us.
The old bridge crossing the river is clearly something of a tourist attraction, and today it was bustling, with lots of folks taking selfies. We also tried to take a selfie, but we’re rubbish at them; in the end a group of people asked me if I would take a photo for them, which I happily accepted – on the understanding that they would reap the deed by taking one for us… Who needs selfies? Although it is a bridge designed to take traffic, a sign at each end informed us that it is closed to vehicles between March and September.
On the other side of the bridge, the road climbed quite steeply. At the top, we finally arrived at the old star-shaped fortress where we enjoyed the views back across the city. The fortress itself is free to wander around, so wander we did.
After exploring the main building there (which is currently covered in scaffolding), and walking the perimeter wall, which is punctuated by cannons and guns, we found a shady spot to eat ice cream and enjoy a cold drink from the little cafe there, and also eat the bananas we’d brought from the ship. As we sat there, enjoying a moment of relaxation, we decided there and then that trying to ‘do the double’ was – on this occasion – not very practical, and began revising our plan. We decided to head back down to the cathedral, buy tickets to see inside, and then head back to the ship.
We’re pleased we did, because the interior of the cathedral was quite spectacular…
An event described as a ‘Summer Festival was in progress in one of the adjoining courtyards. There were a lot of stalls trying to sell stuff and a little bit of live folk music, but other than that there wasn’t a great deal to interest us. In fact, the only thing that really grabbed my attention was a selection of stilts left lying around a small green, encouraging folks to have a go. Everyone that tried them seemed to be struggling, so I surprised Tracey by grabbing a pair of stilts and showing them how it’s done. I was a little rusty, but it brought back many happy memories of when my father made my brother and I a pair of stilts each, which we used to stomp about the garden on, hence my familiarity with them (as I say, I was a bit rusty, and would never have made a street performer…).
