Hurtigruten Day 2 - Trondheim

We awoke to a beautiful sunlit morning about two hours out of Trondheim, our major stop for today. Trondheim, founded in 997, is Norway’s second oldest city and its third largest. We docked right close to downtown, so the we and the Briggs decided to forego the paid tours and make up our own. Linda and I spent a couple of days in Trondheim six years ago, and were excited to revisit this lovely city and savor its highlights.

Two waterfront sculptures

After docking, Jim and Marcia headed off for a bus tour to the cathedral and music museum. We took a 20 minute walk to the cathedral and then continued on a loop through the oldest part of town. Of course, the 20 minutes easily turned into an hour as we stopped to admire buildings and take pictures.

Born in 1936, Tellefson still plays concerts

Luckily, we arrived at the cathedral just in time for the start of the English-language tour. We learned that even though construction of the church began in 1070, the work continues even today. The legend is that disaster will occur if it is ever completed so they make sure there is still work to do. The church has been rebuilt several times. It burned several times over the years and fell into severe disrepair in the 1700s due to general neglect. The most recent restoration began in 1814 when Norway got its first constitution and the cathedral was to be used for coronations. Restoration work began in earnest to prepare for the big event. Most of the work was completed in time but a couple areas had to be screened off for the coronation.

As in any construction project of this type that takes centuries, a good many stories develop. The earliest part of the church was done in the Romanesque style with curved arches and minimal ornamentation. As that work was ending, the archbishop took a tour of England where he saw their new Gothic Cathedrals. The Gothic style differs in two significant ways. First, the arches are pointed and there is more ornamentation. Second, the incorporation or flying buttresses made it possible to build higher and leaner because the buttresses distribute some of the weight away from the central walls and pillars to side walls. More and larger windows are now possible. The result is a much more elegant building with more light and the opportunity to create those gorgeous stained glass windows we automatically associate with European cathedrals.

This dates from the time Trondheim was Norway's capital city.
Thus the road to Russia begins here.

The church still seems darker than other Gothic Cathedrals we have visited. I asked the guide who explained that this is partly due to the use of soapstone for many of the walls. Skin oils help darken soapstone as it ages. Another reason for the lack of light is that the architects visiting French cathedrals for inspiration noted the darkness of their stained glass. What they did not realize was that the French windows needed cleaning. Even so, this is a beautiful cathedral and the stained glass is magnificent. With enough time it would be interesting to view the windows as the early worshipers did. Because most of them could not read or write, the windows were created to tell the stories of the Bible providing the illiterate with the Bible in glass for their education. Unfortunately for the blog, they allowed no pictures while inside the building.

The statues on the front of the church also have stories. One of the lead architects of the reconstruction in the 1800s was afraid of heights making it impossible for him to climb up to inspect and direct the work at the upper levels. He got his wife to do that for him. We are not sure how much coercion was involved, but she did get her recognition. One of the front statues has the architect holding the cathedral in his hands. Just below him, his wife climbs a ladder on an inspection tour.

Dylan? I'm not sure

 A more recent addition is the statue of Angel Gabriel that tops the left tower. The sculptor was adamantly opposed to the Vietnam War and wanted to do something to show that. He decided to use Bob Dylan as the model for the face of the angel.

Centuries old bridge

What happened to my bicycle?

For the walk back to the ship, we crossed the Nidelva River on an old drawbridge so we could walk amongst some of the old warehouses that still line the riverbanks on both sides. But first we had to stop and check out the bicycle lift. The town built a cable system to assist bicyclists up the hill. When the rider pushes an activation button, a footrest appears for the rider. By placing one foot on the footrest, the rider is propelled up the hill. They claim that this is the only one of its kind in the world.

Reminds us of Bryggen in Bergen

Today, many of the old warehouses have been turned into small shops, eateries, workshops, and residences. The old meandering street culminates in the old industrial area that has been redeveloped into some beautiful waterfront condos and restaurants, similar to what is being created along the Columbia River at the old Boise Cascade site in Vancouver, something we are looking forward to when we return home in August.

New condos and restaurants; old equipment

New pedestrian bridge

The entire site is enhanced with the old equipment left behind as a kind of artwork. We crossed over the old canals built to facilitate ship repair. The old locks and cables used to pull the ships out of the water remain along with a couple of old cranes creating an interesting juxtaposition of old and new.

Kjeungskjoer Lighthouse

These rocks and small islands are called skerries

Our day ended after midnight. Many of us stayed up later to get a glimpse of Torghatten, the hole in the rock. At certain times, the sun shines through this hole creating one of those spiritual scenes the ancients created at places like Shonehenge and Kivas in the America Southwest. Out timing did not allow that spiritual view, but we were able to see the hole shortly after midnight. The crew had a special offering for us with a nice warm drink and music on the afterdeck while we waited in the cold and wind. It helped that we had a glorious sunset. The sun dipped below the horizon, so it was not quite a midnight sun, but close. We will have a real midnight sun for the next several days to look forward to if we can manage to stay up that late.

The hole in the rock