We went through Hell to get to Trondheim (Post #26)
Mike writes… We did indeed go through hell to get to Trondheim (in more ways than one) but first i have to take a moment to thank our very nice friend from the Kabelvåg summer hotel reception desk, Nadja, for being so helpful to us. Tusen takk!!
So… yesterday we left our hotel at 4:45 a.m. for our one hour walk to the ferry in Solvær. We had really been hoping the rain would hold off for this walk because we did not want to be wet all day. Unfortunately, there was some light rain but it was not too bad. Then, the boat ride… wow! I have never had motion sickness in my life on this earth but when the boat left the port I was sure it was my day to get it. The sea was SO choppy. I actually felt like my brain was leaving my head each time we dropped off a wave crest. Fortunately, while it did continue to be very choppy, the rest of the trip was not as bad as the first 2 minutes. I had no problems after that and Michele quickly tossed back a couple of anti-motion sickness pills which helped her out quite a bit. So, neither of us got sick. But many others did. Good thing there were plently of “sea sickness” bags on board!
3.5 hours later, we pulled into port in Bodø where i had some embarrasing moments trying to use my Norwegian on a Cafe employee. I have little problem speaking some key phrases but i have a lot of trouble with my comprehension. So, whenever i make the mistake of speaking Norsk (pronounced Noshk) to a local, they respond to me in Norsk and i have to ashamedly ask “Snakker du Engelsk?.” Oh well! I will just keep trying and hopefully my ability to understand will improve. I think the problem is i expect certain responses and when i get something unexpected, i am just lost.
Anyway, after a few hours of hanging around, we walked over to the train station to begin our 10 hour train ride to Trondheim. As i said to Michele yesterday on the train, i would MUCH rather be on a train for 10 hours (at least most of those we have been riding) than a plane. It is just much more comfortable to get up and walk around to the bathroom or the cafe car or whatever and generally there is more space. And, one is better able to take in the sights during the trip. Norway is stunning. Everywhere we looked the entire trip, there were mountains, lakes and Fjords. So little of the country is developed. At approximately 21:36 the train actually passed through a small settlement called ‘Hell’. While the name is cool, there did not appear to be much there.
Our accommodations here in Trondheim are excellent! Probably our nicest yet. We are staying in a true, ensuite hotel room. Though, we are paying dearly for it (around $115 US per night).
A few days ago, i was very pleased to find a website, www.metaltravelguide.com, which informs travelling headbangers about which clubs/pubs/bars play metal and hard rock. This should be an invaluable resource. Particularly since we are presently in the black metal capital of the world. Tomorrow night (Saturday) we intend to go to a local metal show which we found out about at a nearby record shop where we made a friend named Ole. I also bought a new shirt so as to not look too out of place tomorrow night (hailz to the fallen Emperor!)…
Today we also took a look at the Nidaros Domkirke which has some excellent architechture on its exterior West wall. Check out the guy with his head in his hands…
We have three more nights in Trondheim before we move on to the nation’s capital, Oslo. So, we will do a couple more posts about this city in the next few days. We hope to do some hiking on the local trails sunday. Should be awesome…
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Tags: Category #9: Norway
Michele Harmon
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