Trondheim

Trondheim from the Loving Bridge

Trondheim is the religious center for the country with the Coronation Cathedral. It was the capital in Viking times. Founded in 997, it has a population of over 150 thousand people including 40,000 students and faculty at the university here, making it the third largest city in the country. This is an agricultural center as well as a major fishing port. It also has a major pass through the mountains here to Sweden about an hours drive away where many Norwegians buy their groceries because of the cheaper prices.

Nidaros Cathedral

We kissed on the old city bridges built in 1682 so our love will last forever before visiting Nidaros Cathedral. The name comes from the name of the town in Viking times. Originally built between 1070 and 1290, it was preceded by a stone church to St. Olaf. Olaf was a Viking king, who plundered France and England, but also was baptized as a Catholic in 1014. He claimed kingship in 1024 and forced Christianity upon the population. He was declared a saint shortly after his death because of several miracles in his name and the claim that his body was still supple after they dug him up. The church is a mixture of Romanesque and Gothic styles with a wooden roof. The church burned in 1531 and the reformation occurred 6 years later leading to the abandonment of the church for 400 years. Reconstruction began shortly after Norway's independence in 1814 to restore the Coronation church. Inside the church is a beautiful Wagner organ, one of 5 remaining in the world. The rose window has brilliant reds in it, but a few years ago it broke when kids put a soccer ball through it. Underneath the window is a second organ with over 10,000 pipes.

As we left the town we passed the island of Munkholmen which has served as a prison.

As we continued to sail north we passed through the Stokksund Strait , only 42 meters wide. The ship sounded its horn before taking a sharp left through the strait to warn other ships that we were coming through.

The weather remained calm, so the ship was able to sail near the Hole in the Rock. We reached there about midnight and sure enough there was an island with a crevice in it and when we had the right angle, you could see a hole in the Rock. The hole is 120 meters long, 26 meters wide, and 36 meters high, formed by wave action.  During the night we crossed the Arctic Circle.

Hole in the Rock at midnight