Trondheim … over 1000 years old and Norway’s first capital city. Today, the city is the 3rd largest in Norway with over 170,000 inhabitants. The name of the city at the mouth of the river Nid has changed several times. The oldest known name is Nidaros, which means ‘town by the estuary’. In the late Middle Ages it was called ‘the market town in Trondheimen’, later shortened to Trondheim, ‘home of Trønder’. Under Danish rule, it was generally known as Staden or Byen (the city or town). In January 1930 the Norwegian Parliament voted to change the name to Nidaros, but the residents did not agree. After a compromise, Parliament decided in March of the same year that the city be called Trondheim.
We arrived in Trondheim shortly after 7 a.m. by train. As we were relatively close to our hotel, the Radisson Blue, we opted to walk. We checked in and soon thereafter came down for the breakfast buffet. Refueled, we ventured out once more to explore the medieval charms of this ancient city. We stumbled upon the Kristiansten Fort (currently under renovation) … Gamle Bybro – the old bridge, first built on the site in 1681, the same time the for was under construction when a sentry & excise house stood at either end (the west side of the excise house still stands) … the Trampe Bike Lift (not presently in operation) – first lift in the world specifically for bikes.
We then journeyed to the Nidaros Cathedral and Norway’s national shrine. It was started in the year 1070 and is built above the tomb of St. Olav. In the same area is the Archbishop’s Palace, which was the Archbishop’s main seat from the middle of the 12th century. The Nidaros Cathedral and the Archbishop’s Palace are located side by side in the middle of the city center. The cathedral is the most important Gothic monument in Norway and was Northern Europe’s most important Christian pilgrimage site during the Middle Ages. Today, it is the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world, and the second largest in Scandinavia. It houses several exhibitions: Norway’s Crown Regalia and the Archbishop’s Palace Museum containing sculptures from Nidaros Cathedral, among other items. We opted to observe only the exterior.
We then boarded a bus to Sverresborg to see the Trøndelag Folke Museet. The museum was a disappointment, however, due to it being the off season (no one was in costume and the staff we did see were undergoing ‘spring cleaning’ and we thereby had to step around ladders, buckets of mop water, etc.) but we did enjoy the small stave church. A stave church is a medieval wooden church with a post and beam construction. This church falls under this category but lacks the tall arches so familiar to most.
After the museum, we were all feeling a little down .. it was our first day of rain and we wanted to do something memorable but also wanted to relax. We took the bus back into the city center and opted to get a quick bite at Burger King. We then returned to the hotel to put our bags away and began to walk to the pier … I’d came across an advertisement in one of the circulars … and DH and I opted to surprise the munchkins.
All along the walk, the kids were asking questions to try and discern where we were going. Even when we arrived at the exterior of the building, they didn’t know what it was. It wasn’t until we stepped into the foyer that they figured it out. “A pool!” They were ecstatic! Unlike the U.S., the hotels did not have a pool. Unbeknownst to us, however, they didn’t rent towels and we’d neglected to bring towels from the hotel. We thereby had to buy a towel … $20 for a small 2′ x 2′ … MeiLi and I graciously allowed the boys to use it and we walked around a little to air dry and then used a blow drier to finish the job.
The Pirbadet – is the largest indoor water park located on the seashore Trondheim. most of the attractions are in one large room, meaning young and old alike can enjoy time together. Our favorite activity was the well-being pool, situated beside a panoramic glass wall offering a spectacular view of the Trondheimsfjorden, where we enjoyed being massaged by the powerful bubble jets along the outer wall and relaxing on the bubble bench. MeiLi loved the youth pool with a lazy river, wide slide and jacuzzi. An evening at the Pirbadet was just what we needed.