Trondheim

City Hall Administration building (?) City square, statue pf Olav Trygveson, one of the city founders Norway Kids' Tour, in square, setting up for a concert Trondheim is not a tourist city, unlike Oslo and Bergen and other places. The old city is very nice, but the rest of the town is a bit on the austere, if not dreary side. A few cans of paint would help. But please not the barn red that covers all of Scandinavia. We drove on northerly from Trondheim, on the E6, stopping just short of Grong, at a rest area on a beautiful lake. After much research and consideration we have decided to proceed still further north in Norway, driving the 3 star RV17 coastal route, pretty much to Bodo, then to the Arctic Circle.

Trondheim Cathedral

Bastille Day. We drove through unusually diverse terrain on the way to Trondheim, taking the longer but quicker route recommended by the tourist information guy at Andalsnes. Part alpine, part high barren plain, most of it beautiful valleys, rivers, and fields. As we proceed north we don't expect to see many more strawberry fields.

I very much enjoyed Trondheim Cathedral, the major attraction of this "gateway to the north." It is the national cathedral, Trondheim being once the capital, a martyrdom/pilgrimage site, the site also of coronations and burials of Norwegian royalty. It is gray soapstone, 11th-13th century, originally Romanesque, then Gothic, as is usually the case with this vintage. It has beautiful stained glass, unlike the rest of Scandinavia we have seen, but was very dark inside, in part because of the stone, in part because of its park setting, in part because it was a very gray day. No pictures inside were allowed; not that they would have turned out. The exterior is striking, the size, color, and, especially, the intactness of it all. The Protestants looted this cathedral when they took over, but did not deface it. So, if you want to see a real 13th century cathedral, unspoiled by war, revolution, or ecclesiastical change, Trondheim is a great treat. I don't know of anything else like it. The west face, the typanum, are really incredible.

Trondheim Cathedral

Two towers and a spire

West facade; the rose window inside was wonderful

JC and the rose window

Adam and Eve, the only other figures on the facade we recognized

Largest cathedral gift shop I have yet seen...an entire building; 

no Unemployed Philosophers Guild Jesus dolls here!

Interim Report

July 22nd. We are now back in Sweden, on its east coast, well north of Stockholm, headed for Goteberg, then Denmark, Germany and Paris. Briefly, we have been to Trondheim, then the Arctic Circle, then Bodo, then the ferry to the Lofoton islands, then up the Lofotons to Narvik, then still further north to Alta, and lastly, the North Cape of Norway, Europe's northernmost point. Midnight sun, etc. We have been driving back through the Lappland interiors of Norway, Finland, and now Sweden. Much more later, when I can edit photos.

Andalsnes' Train Chapel

We hadn't been to a cathedral or stave church in--what? days--so we decided to visit Andalsnes world-famous train chapel, situated right on the harbor

Sanctum Sanctorum

The High Altar, where Vicki gave thanks for another's day safe driving in the mountains

Hell on Wheels; or, Vicki's Worst Nightmare

Pix taken by Vicki's own trembling hand...

There's always a price to pay with beautiful alpine scenery 

Don't look down

Congestion, all along the way, stopping, squeezing past

Finally at the bottom

In troll country

   

Trollstigveien

The road from Olden, Styrns, then Gerianger, and then on past Ornvegen and the Trollstigveien, to Andalsnes, was the best Norwegian scenery we have seen; Trollstigveien reminded us particularly of the American west, Montana and Wyoming, at their early summer best

Green and granite, and snow

Like the Winds in Wyoming

Double-Pingora, Cirque of the Towers

Ornevegen

Rest area at Ornevegen summit; eight RVs there that night

Orenevegen view of Geirangerfjord

Strawberry fields in Valldal valley, on the Ornevegen road; we
bought a couple baskets; the Ornevegen drive was down a
beautiful valley, less the extremes of the mountains and fjords

Part of the Gudbrandsbru, a water feature on the
Ornevegen

Leaving Geiranger

Dining al fresco, like European campers do; our German neighbors approved of the currywurst, rotbet, bier, etc.

A big ship parked right next door and blocked our view

But Vicki got some good pix of the mooring; then we left

Fiord ponies visited the Grey Wanderer at our next stop; not exactly Shadowfax

Geriangerfjord from the Ornevegen summit

Us at Ornevegen

Vicki adds:

July 10, 2009 Geiranger, Norway


The past few days we have driven through the fiord area and it has been wonderful. Last night though as we drove to the top of Djupvasshytta (quite a mouthful) at about 5,000 ft the whiteout moved in. We had followed 5 tour buses to top of a steep, winding toll road and we were determined to wait for the view to clear. Which it did, at least for a few minutes, and it was magnificent as you could see all the way down to the fiord at sea level. I was unwilling to drive back down in the whiteout so we stayed the night and gave up waiting for the clouds to lift at 10 this morning. I decided to stay in the back of the camper and read on the way down as my nerves are shot. I can deal with winding roads, steep roads, drop offs with no guard rails. What I can't deal with is one lane winding, steep roads with two way traffic including tour buses! The tunnels have also been interesting as we have probably passed through over a hundred in the last 3 days, some as long as 6 miles. They are not normal tunnels—they have s curves, they go up (10% grade), they go down (8% grade) and they also can be 1 lane with two way traffic—and none of them have lights. So my nerves are a bit frazzled and I keep demanding Mark not to go over 10 mph. We are now at a campground at the end of the fiord and will wait for tomorrow to take the sightseeing cruise and then the Eagle's Road up the mountain as the weather is supposed to be better.


Right now outside our window is a huge cruise ship. Cruising the fiords is very popular and great for people who can't get around very well as you can see all the beauty from the deck. I talked to a man from San Diego who was on a 7 day cruise through 7 fiords and they were loving it. I have no idea what that costs but given the prices of rooms and food here, it is probably cheaper than doing it by car. Write to me. Vicki

Geirangerfjord Cruise

Sunday we did the brief Geriangerfjord cruise; Dalsnippa is
the mountain, way back in the middle, where we spent the night

It was the economy cruise

Geirangerfjord view

Seven Sisters waterfall; let's see, Sleepy, Grumpy, Sneezy

The main Storfjord, of which the Geriangerfjord is an arm

Maids of the Mist, Norwegian fjord ferry

And old fiord farmstead; these are being restored, making
Geriangerfjord another World Heritage site

Another Reason to Like Ferries

In this amazing sequence, a Norwegian fiord ferry actually
devours a tour bus

Munch, munch, crunch

You could hear the passengers screaming all the way
across the fjord

OK, it was a very slow day in Geiranger.

Geirangerfjord

Geiranger on the Geirangerfjord; we drove down the mountain, still in a 
white-out, Friday mid-morning, slowly, deliberately, in 1st gear all the way, 
then stopped at Camping Geiranger, right on the fiord

It rained the rest of Friday and was cloudy enough Saturday  to discourage the 
fiord cruise, so we spent the day cleaning  the camper, doing chores, etc.

Grey Wanderer is smack in the middle

About all there is to do in Geiranger is watch the cruise ships come and go

Some debark and stay a while, some just turn around and  leave for the next fjord

Me fjishing in the fjord; actually, me instructing Vicki on framing the shot to 
include my head, fishing pole, fjord,  etc; she was laughing so hard I am 
surprised the picture is in focus; so confident is she of my fishing skill that she 
has promised to gut, clean, cook, and eat any fish I catch

Inscription on an RV parked near us: "Dream not your life, 
live your dream"