Trondheim

 Trondheim is a 7-hour bus ride from Alesund.  It's pouring rain, so of course, we get lost trying to find our Airbnb.  Forty-five minutes later our packs and we soaked through, we stumble into the warmth of our apartment and a host to welcome and orientate us to the building and the city.

 This was the capital of Norway from 1030 to 1217 and is on the banks of the Nidelva river.  The city is quiet now as most of the 36,000 university students are on summer break, leaving a population of 190,000 plus tourists.

On the first day, as seems to be our habit we explore the old town with its narrow twisting medieval alleys and the historic wharves that date from the 18th century.

People are celebrating Mid-summer and for two days the streets are closed off to tents and a market.  There is music and vendors have come from all over to sell their goods.  We taste (& buy) reindeer sausage and lovely cheeses; admire the workmanship of various craftspeople and enjoy people-watching.  One tent is irresistible French pastries; so a slice of chocolate/raspberry torte that is so rich and dense comes home ... heaven!!

The Nidaros Cathedral is our first taste of the kind of buildings we guess we will see throughout Europe.  Its beauty is beyond anything we have seen in North America.  It is the world's northernmost Gothic cathedral, built from 1070 over the tomb of St. Olav the Viking King who brought Christianity to Norway.  

The grounds include the Archbishop's Palace where the Norwegian crown jewels are on display.

At the end of the day on advice from our host, we ride the tram at the bottom of our street.  It journeys through sections of town and into the countryside we otherwise would not see.

Our whole last day is at the Trondelag Folk Museum.  This is a wonderful open-air and living museum as well as exhibits in a building.  The current exhibit that gets our attention focuses on the Sami people of Norway.  There are two other exhibits including one of everyday life in Norway through the ages.

The village is buildings of original construction with period household goods, staff in period costume and some skilled craftspeople working and selling their goods such as the hat maker and the potter.  The pharmacy and dental exhibits make us glad to be alive now.

Pharmacy

A homemade car

The ski museum of Norway is also housed here.

The Sami have for centuries been the subject of discrimination and abuse by the dominant culture.  They were also known as 'Laplanders' and followed a nomadic way of life.  Only in 1990 were they recognized as an indigenous people, entitled to special protection and rights.  They struggle today for land rights and to retain their culture and language which suffered from policies of assimilation.

 

This is a traditional goat (Sami hut) of wood, birch bark & peat.

The Sami picked up the reindeer antlers when they shed and made useful household objects from them and decorated them with delicate and elaborate carvings.  Below is a woman's tool kit worn on her clothes.

The Sami were also skilled silversmiths.

There is much to know about clothing and jewellery as it can indicate where a person is from, their marital status and perhaps even their family.

Three farms are part of this museum.  We can view buildings, furniture and equipment as they were years ago.  The last farm is a working farm with animals.  People hired for the summer can live in a part of this farm.  Many of the buildings are decorated with birch boughs in recognition of Mid-summer and tomorrow visitors can witness fake wedding ceremonies as they would have been held.

  There are two churches on the property, one of which is a stave church from  1171.   Stave refers to the construction technique.

This particular building had hand-painted walls and ceilings.

Corner cabinets utilized space and were often elaborately decorated.

This brilliantly conceived sleigh bed for children could be pulled out to expand and sleep, two kids.

The front door of one farmhouse.  This would have been owned by wealthier people.

 Another door.

The banquet table for the wedding.

The traditional wood stoves are beautiful

A boat outside the boathouse.

The stave church.  This one is very plain.  Many were elaborately decorated with wood carvings.

The alter in the stave church.  The choir was hidden from view behind the wood panels.

A farmhouse.  Note the sod roof which is still very common here, along with slate roofs ... but that's a different story for the blog.

We have been in Norway for almost three weeks and it has been cool & either rainy or cloudy every day.  This day before Mid-summer the sky is blue and the temperature soars to 17 degrees.  Everyone is happy.  It was the perfect day for walking an outdoor museum.

One of the young guides at the museum advises us to go to Solsiden this evening, a revitalized former industrial area on the waterfront filled with outdoor cafes, bistros and bars on one side and high-end condos and boats on the other.  The sun will just be setting around midnight.  Like everything else, it is a short walk from our apartment, so after dinner, we head out.  On the way, we cross a long pedestrian bridge lined on both sides with flowers...beautiful.

This too fits my imaginary picture of Europe.  People come and go.  There is no music playing, just the buzzing conversations of friends and family.  At different times in the evening we are joined by a couple a bit younger than us; two young women; then a couple of guys in their 30's.  It's a great evening and a good way to say goodbye to Trondheim.

Now we leave the county of Trondelag to head north to the city of Bodo in the county of Nordland where Paul's family is from.  Since arriving we have already learned the name of his great grandfather and the farm and church where he was from as well as the names of his great aunts and uncles.

Soon we will be above the arctic circle.