FLASHBACK #46: Scandinavian Extravaganza (Pt.2)

Day 12 – Åre to Trondheim

After crossing the border into Norway later the next morning, we headed towards Trondheim. "Founded by King Olav of Viking fame in 997, Trondheim holds a special place in Norwegian history. It was the first capital of Norway and is still the city where new kings receive their ceremonial blessing. It is a popular pilgrimage site, an ecclesiastical centre, a regional capital, a centre for commerce and administration and a city of education and research. Only 500 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle, the climate is blessed by the warming presence of the Gulf Stream" - www.trondheim.com/engelsk/

"Norway´s national sanctuary and the most important monument from the Middle Ages, Nidaros Cathedral was built over the grave of St. Olav, Norway’s patron saint whose reputation shone far beyond the borders of his country. Construction started in 1070, but the oldest parts still in existence are from the middle of the 12th century. Ravaged by fire on several occasions, the church was rebuilt each time.."

We took a tour up one of the towers to gain an panaoramic view of Trondheim; it was surrounded by dense greenery and the light this late in the afternoon made the scene sort of glow.

Our accommodation for the night was a cabin a little bit bigger that the car, in Øysand, just outside Trondheim (see photo)!.

We had a relaxing evening, self catering and taking our food to the nearby beach where we joked that the scenery could pass for North Wales! The sunset was great, just like sunsets on holidays should be.

Day 13 – Trondheim to Molde to Åndelsnes

As we left Øysand, our journey down the fjords began. The weather wasn't too great, but the company was! The photos above show our first view of the fjords and the two things that we would encounter daily for the rest of the trip; ferries and toll bridges. On the first day, the costs of using these ferries and toll bridges built up to such an extent that I feared that would be bankrupt by the end of the week!

Our first stop of the day was in Molde, which is advertised as the "start of the Atlantic Road". We visited Romdsal museum, one of Norways largest folk museums est. 1912. There, we drank tea and ate cake in the quaint tea-room before driving up to the summit of Molde's highest peak to enjoy the view of the archipelago (third picture down from images above).

We left Molde in the late afternoon and headed towards Åndelsnes, where he weather took a turn for the worse. We referred to our thus far reliable list of hostels in Norway, made a couple of calls and made a booking with a more than suitable place to stay. Before we headed to the hostel, we stopped by the Tourist Information office in the town. There was limited information and the atmosphere on this rainy day left alot to be desired.

Leaving Judy at the hostel, Sweetpea and I headed to the supermarket and bought some food for the evening. With the rain being as heavy as it were, we planned to have another nice night in. After dinner, we found a cosy area with facing sofas and table. We poured ourselves a drink of our favourite tipples, grabbed our books and looked at the pictures taken so far with the digicam.

It emerged that a group of french guys were also staying at the hostel and, in broken English, they attempted to communicate, naturally focusing their attentions on the girls!

Day 14 – Åndelsnes to Geiranger

We planned to travel along the infamous Trolls Road (see photo on right), but I was going to be very disappointed; due to the exceptional rain fall, the treacherous road had been closed. I had been reading about the Trolls Road for a long time and agonised over whether or not to detour around the Trolls Road area in order to reach Geiranger, or to wait to see if the weather lifted. After a bit of coaxing, we moved on and I'm grateful now for Sweetpea and Judy's reasoning. Still, we saw some cows, didn't we, girls?!

We made it to Geiranger and, after a wander in the town and a coffee in a local cafe, we stocked up on food before heading to a hostel and enquiring as to availability. One particular hostel had availability and it was lovely - we literally had a whole house to ourselves!

I made a pizza and washed it down with a Bacardi and coke! Later on that cold evening, we bunched up on the sofa and listened to music. Judy started an interesting conversation about the things she would love to acheive.

The photo on the right is interesting, taken at Flydalsjuvet; you can see Sweetpea towards the treacherous edge.

Day 15 – Forde

Before leaving Geiranger, we visited the Norwegian Fjord Centre (www.fjordsenter.info). There, we learned about the fjord way of life from the dawn of time to the present day. There was a very moving slideshow called From Mountain To Fjord which presented classical music with a visual showcase of the four seasons in the fjords. We even got to experience an Avalanche, in an avalanche simulator which was kind of bizarre!

We left Geiranger in the late afternoon via Dalsnibba (1,476m), one of the Norwegian mountains. The roads meandered dangerously, fog setting in the higher we went. We came to a stop where you could continue or you could take a turn and, paying a toll, you could drive to the top. To be honest, I thought it was cheeky to charge a fee to drive to the top of a mountain, but the weather wasn't ideal anyway so we moved on…

So far in Norway, apart from when we were in Trondheim, it had done nothing but rain. I was warned by my friends in Finland not to expect too much which regards to Norwegian weather during this time of year, but what I saw a couple of hours after leaving Geiranger was amazing. It was as if the heavens opened up and we were welcomed into the quaint small town of Forde.

While we made dinner, Sweetpea entertained us with a sieve, pretending to be a professional fencer!