June 16, 2017

  Trondheim, Norway, is where we were docked today.  Trondheim is Norway’s third largest city on the Nidelva River.  It is situated at the end of Trondheimsfjord, which is Norway's third-longest fjord measuring 130 kilometres long.

   We are getting close to the Arctic Circle, Trondheim’s latitude is 63° 43’ N which is close to the latitude of 63° 44' N of the Canadian settlement, Iqaluit, Nunavut, on Baffin Island lying along Frobisher Bay.

  Trondheim was founded in 997 as a Viking trading post and was the capital of Norway until 1380. In the spacious Town Square, Torvet, there is an 18 meter high column where a statue of Trondheim’s founder, Viking King Olav Tryggvason, stands atop.

  It became a religious center, when it was known as Nidaros. It was close by where King Olav Haraldsson, who brought Christianity to Norway, was buried after his death at the Battle of Stiklestad.  He was later declared a saint and was named St. Olav. Over his grave was where the first church was built.

        We were off the ship sightseeing by 9 a.m.  Beside the gangway was an eight piece band playing tunes as passengers disembarked the ship. The sky was mostly cloudy, the temperature was 16 C and the wind was light.  We met Bruce and Veronica by the ferry terminal and were told that the building had free Wi-Fi.  We were able to connect with the tablet, but there was not a power plug to connect the laptop since its battery is weak.  We found our way to the Information Center, after crossing a bridge over the train yard then walking along the wharf area known as Bryggene.  There we found power and Wi-Fi and were able to upload two days of text and photos, but as people arrived with cell phones and tablets, the connection slowed and the upload speed for more photos ground to a halt, so we returned four hours later to a quiet Information Centre and had 11 photos and one day of text uploaded in less than ten minutes.

   First we passed the Church of Our Lady which is set is grass lawns and is run by the City Mission.  Above two fighter planes flew low over the city at almost the speed of sound.  Three and a half hours later, on our way back to the ship, two fighter planes cruised by again at a low altitude at almost the speed of sound.  Next we entered the Town Square. One side houses the giant shopping mall, Trondheim Torg.  The other side has restored centuries old wooden buildings today housing cafés. A short street away, the towers of Gothic style Nidarosdomen, Nidaros Cathedral, could be seen.  The building has had additions creating a large church with building styles of different centuries. The first cathedral was built between 1070 and 1300.  The oldest surviving section was built in the 12th century with new parts added in reconstructions after several fires during the centuries.  There is a series of small scale models showing the five major changes over the centuries.  In 1702, a major fire raced through the wooden structures of Trondheim.  The stone cathedral has beautiful stained glass windows and two organs.  On the hour, the bells of the right tower chime the hour. Photos are not allowed in the church, but postcards can be purchased, however, there is a limited selection. Nidaros Cathedral is where the coronation of the Norwegian kings and queens is held.

    Next door to the Nidaros Cathedral is Erkebispegården, the Archbishop’s Palace, some of the buildings have been restored.  Many historical relics were destroyed in a 1983 fire which consumed two historical wooden buildings on the site. There is a new Archbishop’s Palace Museum which includes thousands of artifacts found in excavating the new foundations.  A new understanding of the uses of the site has come to light.  After 1537, the original use was forgotten and it was a military headquarters and armory.  During World War 2, it was occupied by the German army.  In 1152, the Roman Catholic Pope named Nidaros as the seat of the Northern European See with the Archbishop’s domain covering the territory of Greenland, Iceland and the islands of Orkney, Shetland, the Farros and Man. An archbishop ruled on church matters from here until the Reformation in the early 1530s.  The reigning king turned the property over to the military and the local history forgot about its former life.  The military history of Norway and its relationship with Denmark, Sweden and Russia during the last 1,000 years was housed on the site in the Armory and Resistance Museum.  Beyond the grounds is Erkebispegaren park along a curve of the Nidelva River.

   Our visit to see the King’s crown and other royal Regalia was shortened by a fire alarm which required the wooden building to be evacuated.

   We had walked about 6300 steps, as we followed the northern border of Nidaros Cathedral grounds to Gamle Bybro, the Old Town Bridge.  The first bridge on the site was built in 1681 connecting the Kristiansten Fortress to the town.  The current bridge was constructed in 1861 featuring two portals on the western side, originally it was used as a rail bridge.  On the steep hill leading to the fortress is a bicycle lift, which asssists cyclists up the hill.  It is free, but tricky for a rookie to get the correct position of the bike and his foot to keep contact with the 6 cm x 6 cm x 3 cm triangle shaped foot rest, about the size of the ball of an average foot. With the body straddling the bicycle and the left foot on the left peddle, the right foot remains pressed against the metal triangle and gently propelled upward.

  The Kristiansten Fortress was built after the 1681 Trondheim fire.  During World War 2, Germany occupied Norway using the fortress as the place to execute members of the Norwegian Resistance. The German battleship Tirpitz was based in the vicinity during 1942 & 1943.  The fortress saved Trondheim from a Swedish invasion in 1718.  The main four storey building of Kristiansten Fortress, known as the Donjon (dungeon), was constructed for cannons and houses a defense museum. The former commandant's small house is now a coffee house.  These buildings were restored by 1997 in time for the 1,000 year jubilee celebrations for the founding of Trondheim.  The ramparts with their cannons give a splendid view of the city and harbour below.

   We tramped back down the hill to the Bakklandet district, which is one of the oldest parts of Trondheim. Here along the cobbled streets bordering the Nidelva River are brightly painted old wooden terrace houses and the old wharf warehouses of the historic city center.  This area is home to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.  Crossing the river, we retraced our steps to the Information Centre, which only had a handful of people. We were able to make the final photo upload in less than ten minutes.

   The clouds were building, the temperature was 19C and the wind was stronger as we passed the Stiftsgarden, the official Norwegian royal residence, which is the largest wooden palace in Scandinavia.  It was built between 1774 and 1778 in late baroque style.

   On the 15 minute walk back to the ship a few raindrops fell, but there was no need to get out the umbrellas. Steps 13692. We had lunch on deck 9 from the Lido buffet where we joined Bruce and Veronica and compared the sightseeing that we did. As we left them, we walked up to Deck 12’s Explorations Café for cappuccinos and the dark clouds finally dropped the rain and that continued as the ship sailed out through Trondheimfjord.  The captain’s 3:30 announcement told us that the high was almost 20 C but the higher winds and rain were causing the temperature to drop.  We are to expect highs of about 5 to 10 C for the few days above the Arctic Circle. Although officially there will be sunrises and sunsets, there will be 24 hours of daylight for the next few days. 

   As we glanced out the windows on the way to dinner, we noticed that the ship had sailed into a fog with a visibility of about 150 meters. We had arranged to meet Bruce and Veronica for dinner in the dining room this evening.  We enjoyed the conversation and the food.  Our choices were appetizers of Baby Shrimp Cobb and Celery Slaw or Smoked Mackerel with Lentils. The chosen main courses were Barbecued Rack of Pork with cooked spinach and potato or Pumpkin Sage Ravioli with ricotta, basil and pistachios.  We shared the desserts of Strawberry Pavlova or Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake.  We skipped the cordial due to the souvenir glasses being out of stock.  Our server told us that to order more from the Seattle head office takes 66 days!

   We caught the end of the vaudeville entertainer Richard Gauntlett’s act as he was restrained in a straightjacket and then encircled in a six meter chain with the ends padlocked. He escaped in about a minute. Then we went to the Explorer’s Bar on Deck 2 for cocktails and waited for the string quartet and pianist to perform on the Lincoln Center Stage classical and jazz works from American composers. The fog was still thick as we looked out the windows.

   Then back to the cabin for blog composition or off to the Casino.

Steps 17368