In September 1987 & 92 I had taken the train from Oslo to Norway’s former capital and then a further train overnight to the Arctic Circle.
With time a bit tighter this time, we flew to Trondheim with Norwegian and unaware that there was now a train from the airport to the centre we took a bus from airport to station.
I found that I remembered virtually nothing of Trondheim. Maybe this was on account of the fact that on each previous visit rather than site see, we had preferred to take a side trip to Hell and back, well, just for the hell of it.
This time we would be staying the night but unfortunately had arrived too late to visit the hugely impressive interior of Nidaros Cathedral.
Indeed we had to content ourselves with a zoom view by day and a close up view by night. Nidaros was built between 1070 and 1300 over the burial site of Saint Olav (the king of Norway) in the 11th century, who became the patron saint of the nation. It is still the traditional location for the consecration of Norway’s kings.
We had a pleasant time even though traversing the icy pavements was pretty difficult in the staying upright stakes.
Trondheim Pavement
We stayed by the water for the last hour or so of daylight and ventured into the centre around ten for the cathedral and interesting wharf area with its colourful buildings.
Next time we have vowed to stay a little longer and do the city justice.
We were up bright and early to catch the 07.38 train from Trondheim to Fauske. The nine hour journey in comfort class (free coffee for the whole trip and large comfy seats) cost a bargain £33 each thanks to me pre-booking with NSB, the Norwegian national railway company.
The journey on the Nordland Line was a centre piece of the entire trip. Having made the trip twice before at night, apart from the first and last hour or so this was to be the first time for me in daylight. The snowy scenery was absolutely stunning as we followed fjords, cut through mountain & forest and passed remote homesteads.
My finger was barely off my camera for the first few hours. I will let the photos do the talking………
Our Trip Companion – Noren The Reindeer
We arrived in the town of Fauske right on time at 16.37. Unlike on the previous occasions when we had jumped straight onto a bus to Narvik, we were to stay the night on account of wanting to do the bus journey in daylight hours. After all, repeating this favourite of bus journeys was on my bucket list.
Despite the fjord side Scandic hotel being only ten minutes walk from the station we took a £15 taxi ride on account of the treacherous conditions under foot. We were to stay cooped up there until our early taxi the next morning.
Sorry Fauske, I still know very little about you despite three fleeting visits.
Coming next – Narvik & Abisko.
Wait! There’s actually a place called Hell?? (I just did a quick google). Never knew that! What beautiful photos from the train, really gives a sense of the journey and changing scenery. Plus, you got a bargain, in Norway. Now that’s a rare thing! Thanks for linking #citytripping
You can even get a passport stamp to prove you’ve been on the road to Hell! Indeed it was a rare bargain – i think we had ten coffees each too!
Haha – got to make the most of the freebies. That’s cool about the road to hell stamp!
Corr those pavements do look a bit dicey – any You’veBeenFramed moments? What a fab place this looks and amazing you got to see so much of the country from the comfort of your coffee-filled train. #citytripping
I managed to stay upright by walking like a grandad!
Beautiful pictures! I’ve always wanted to visit Norway but never had the chance.
#citytripping
You would love it. Flights are cheap now from London but Norway itself unfortunately isn’t!