On Monday we arrived in Trondheim where there are some wonderful old buildings. Like poor old Alesund, the city was destroyed by fire, this time in 1781. (To lose one city to fire is unfortunate but to lose two is shear carelessness!)
None of these buildings date back to the city’s origins when King Olav I founded it in 997 but some are very old and all are superbly preserved.
The Cathedral is one of the country’s largest and most important buildings. It’s here where the new King is crowned.
Next to the cathedral is the Bishop’s Palace – Scandinavia’s oldest secular building dating back to 1160.
Not far from the Cathedral is the Gamle Bybru (Old Town Bridge) crossing the River Nidelva.
Lining the River Nidelva are beautifully preserved warehouse buildings, some dating back as far as 18th century.
On the far side of the river are some of the old buildings from the 1780’s. There’s a vibrant “pavement cafe” feel about the place – which is surprising, considering that we’re reliably informed that the sun hardly ever shines in Trondheim.
We walked back to the centre of the city (all of it very walk able) as we hadn’t seen the Stiftsgaarden (Royal Palace) where the King of Norway stays when he’s visiting the city. It’s the largest surviving wooden building (1778) in the country.
Not all the city is covered with lovely old wooden buildings – some are 60’s and 70’s and should stand in shame with some of Britain’s structures of that period. The newest buildings, however, are much more interesting – some merge seamlessly with the sky and some, like this one, are covered in murals.
They like their electric cars in Trondheim. Drivers just pull up, plug in and walk away.
We’re not sure whether they have to pay?
As we set sail from Trondheim the cloud lifted and we were treated to a beautiful sunset right on the strike of midnight. This photo was taken just as the sun went below the horizon – still almost perfect daylight!
Just as the sun goes down- it’s a wonderful moment.
After the sun goes down the insane come out to play! Only joking! This is Peter, one of the Entertainment Officers in his “Robin” outfit.
Today (Tuesday) we have a sea day. At mid day we crossed the Arctic Circle (James tried to look for it but must have missed it!) It’s definitely been a sea day – we’ve had lots of sea. It’s been trying to climb up the side of the ship! The seas are “heavy” with strong winds and the weather is likely to delay our arrival in the next port by a few hours. Our cabin this cruise is low down and right at the bow and our window often looks like a washing machine as the waves beat around the hull.
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