WOO HOO, MEETING MY FIRST TRAVBUDDY, MARIT (tvillingmarit) IN TRONDHEIM, NORWAY

We are in Trondheim, (160,000 population). EEEEEEEEEEEK my wake up call did not ring. We woke up at 8am. the ferry docks at 8:15am. we got dressed up in light speed. I went to the dining room to make ham and cheese sandwich to go. We were waiting to disembark the ferry. My mum asked if Marit (tvillingmarit) knew what I looked like. I said “yeah I think she will figure it out that we are the only Filipinos getting off the ferry.” HAHAHAHA. I recognized Marit off the bat. She was waving a Norway and USA flag. We immediately gave each other a big hug. I introduced her to my mum. We took some pictures near the boat. We jumped in Marit’s cute car. Off we go to a scenic spot to see the Trondheim.

I took some pictures. Marit drove us to Nidaros cathedral. it was a few min. drive.

 

Nidaros Cathedral (Nidarosdomen), considered the most significant church of Norway, is located in Trondheim. It was the cathedral of the Norwegian archdiocese, established in 1152. Since the Reformation, it has been the cathedral of the Lutheran bishops of Trondheim or Nidaros. The architectural style of the cathedral is romanesque and gothic. It was an important destination for pilgrims coming from all of Northern Europe.

 

The cathedral was thought to be erected directly over the burial site of King Olav Haraldsson, who was killed in the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030.

King Olav was declared a saint one year and five days after his death, and pilgrims soon started flocking to Nidaros.

 

Work on the cathedral started in 1070 and was finished sometime around 1300. The cathedral was badly damaged by fires in 1327 and again in 1531. The nave west of the transept was destroyed and was not rebuilt until the restoration in early 1900s. In 1708 it burned down completely except for the stone walls. It was struck by lightning in 1719, and was again ravaged by fire. Major rebuilding and restoration of the cathedral started in 1869, initially led by architect Heinrich Ernst Schirmer, and nearly completed by Christian Christie. It was officially completed in 2001. Maintenance of the cathedral is an ongoing process.

 

Two large organs are installed in the Cathedral.

The main organ was built by the Steinmeyer firm in 1930, and was erected in the north transept. It then had 125 stops. In 1962, the organ was heavily rebuilt and moved to the west nave. Many stops were removed; some of them were used to build a new choir organ. In 1993-1994, the old Baroque organ built by Johann Joachim Wagner in 1738-1740 was carefully restored by Jürgen Ahrend. It has 30 stops, and is located at a gallery in the north transept.

 

Today, the cathedral is a popular tourist attraction. Tourists often follow the historical pilgrim routes to visit the spectacular church.

 

My mum went inside the cathedral while a Marit and I talked outside and took pictures. Then we walked to the city square there the statue of King Olav Tryggvason in the middle and also the inside the square there is a circular design that forms a sun dial.

We walked across to the royal palace of the king and queen of Norway. 

One of the largest wooden buildings in the Nordic countries, now called the Royal Residence, was completed in 1778 and stretched all of 58 meters along Munkegaten. The cost of the building was 7400 spesiedaler, in today's money approximately NOK 78 million...

140 rooms
Cecilia Christine Schøller, widow of the Privy Councillor, paid for this out of her large capital base, estimated at around five barrels of gold. The widow and her in-laws ended up with about 140 rooms at their disposal. However, she did not have many years to enjoy the splendid interior of her new house before she left for Copenhagen, where she died in 1786. Her son-in-law, General Georg Fredrik von Krogh, organized the lively social activities here before the heirs sold the house to the state in 1800.

Then the County Governor and the County Court moved in.

Royal Residence from 1906
When Karl Johan was crowned in 1818, the Royal Residence served as the point of departure for the coronation procession to Nidaros Cathedral for the first time. The County Governor had to find a temporary home for his documents and dossiers. The coronation tradition in Trondheim was continued with the crowning of the Swedish-Norwegian regents Karl XV and Oscar II. The year after the union was dissolved - in 1906 - King Håkon VII was crowned, and the name "the Royal Residence" was taken into use. The County Governor now left the building for good.
   
Royal chambers
This mansion was the splendid backdrop for the blessing of King Olav V in 1958 and King Harald V in 1991, for the city's millennium celebrations, and for the joint celebration of the sixtieth birthdays of the King and the Queen in 1997. The Royal Residence has the style and exquisite detail that make it a true wooden palace. It offers rooms for any occasion including official receptions, with halls across the whole width of the house on both floors, with Troningssalen - the Throne Room - on the ground floor and Dronningens salong - the Queen's Salon - on the floor above. It also has a number of rooms on each side combined with smaller chambers. There are no corridors, but enfiladed double doors between the rooms, so that when the doors are open the special character and colours of the rooms can be seen at a glance. Examples of the light, airy Rococo use of space abound, replete with elaborate embellishments and elegant adornments in the ceilings, wall paintings and tapestries reflecting the chinoiserie style. Everything has been fully restored in recent decades.

Then Marit took us a red bridge, the gate of fortune. This bridge was built in 1861. The carved gates have made it Trondheim's distinctive hallmark.

A sentry and excise house stood at either end of the bridge. The excise house on the west side is still standing and is now used as a day-care centre. The bridge and gates you see here were built by Carl Adolf Dahl, the executive municipal engineer in charge of public buildings and works in the last half of the 19th century. The wooden gate on the west side of the bridge is known as the Gate of Fortune.

Perhaps more beautiful than strong, heavy traffic is banned from this bridge. Stroll along the wooden walkway and look into the cool waters of the river where locals claim to have seen otters frolicking.

The Old Town Bridge crosses the Nidelva river and leads into Bakklandet. Enjoy the view of Kristiansen fortress and the distinctive wharves built along the river's edge. I took pictures.

Then Marit took us to Baklandet. It is a small town with cobblestone streets, small houses, and small stores. This idyllic neighbourhood on the east side of the Nidelva river features old timber buildings, originally the homes of the working class.

Now restored, Bakklandet is a charming mixture of houses, shops and cafés. this is such a cute town.

This neighbourhood of wooden houses represents a special cultural environment which is an important and recognized part of the world's cultural heritage programme. This special section of town is a strong part of Trondheim's cultural identity.

Bakklandet was first built in the 17th century, but was partly destroyed when the Swedish under General Armfeldt beleaguered the city. Reconstruction took place soon after as small houses were erected, for the most part occupied by seamen, fishermen and labourers.

This special atmosphere of the small houses lives on today. The houses have been restored and the neighbourhood is bubbling with life. There's something for everybody here: cultural-historical interests, special boutiques, cafe's and restaurants and that special feeling of a neighbourhood in harmony.

Then Marit took us to the Ringve museum.

It is a museum of unusual musical instruments. Ringve houses Norway's National museum of music and musical instruments with collections from the whole world. The interiors from the 1880s in the Great House provides a backdrop for guided tours with musical demonstrations during the summer season, while the exhibition "The Museum in the Barn" is available throughout the year.

Ringve is situated only 10 minutes from Trondheim by car, and is one of the old country seats on the historical Lade peninsula with buildings from the 1700s, 1800s and the 1900s.

 

The Ringve Estate was the childhood home of "Tordenskiold", a famous Norwegian naval hero. Today the Ringve Botanical Gardens, NTNU surrounds the Estate and the old English garden from the 1800s is included here.

 

The café "Tordenskiold Kro" and the popular Museumshop at Ringve are only two of the many attractions which make Ringve one of Trondheim's most important recreation areas.

 

Next to it was the home of a Norwegian naval hero Petter Wessel Tordenskiold. We did not go inside the museum. We are going to that when we come back south to go back to Bergen. The Ringve also has a botanical garden outside that houses trees, flowers, fruit trees, and plants in Norway. We had to be back at the ferry by 12pm. Marit took us to a coffee house near her house. It is inside a mall. We ordered coffee and a snack. We talked and laughed for 30mins. Marit is such an awesome host. She is so sweet.

she was born in Trondheim. She lived in Sweden for 20 years. Then she moved back to Trondheim. She knew the history of Trondheim very well. I think I need to learn my LA and Vegas history before any of you comes to visit me. HAHAHA.  Then she invited us to her house. She lives 5mins from the coffee house. She goes to work riding a bike. She rarely drives. Everything she needed is a bike away. She lives in a cute house. She lives right in the middle of town. She was telling us that the Russian woman that founded the Ringve museum, Victoria Sachkie lived next door to her before Victoria married a wealthy Norwegian man.

 

Marit gave a tour of her home. She had many pieces of art from her travels. She showed us pictures of her family. My mum asked for her addy to send her books about the USA. We hung out for a little bit. Then we had to go back to the ferry. I had such a good time with Marit. She is my first travbuddy to meet in person. She also gave me a book about Trondhiem. She is so sweet. I can’t wait to read about it on the ferry.

 

When we departed, there was a note saying that monk island use to be a prison island. It is similar to Alcatraz Island off San Francisco, CA.

There is going to be down time til Rovick at 8pm tonight. I will be either napping or blogging til dinner time. This is around 6pm. We don’t hit Bodo till 12:30pm anyway. I am going to probably sleep in or maybe not.

 

Trondheim is a city and municipality in the county of Sør-Trøndelag, Norway.

 

The city of Trondheim was established as a municipality January 1, 1838. The rural municipalities of Byneset, Leinstrand, Strinda and Tiller were merged with Trondheim January 1, 1964.

 

The city of Trondheim was founded in 997. Trondheim is today a centre of education, technical and medical research, with around 25,000 students, and is the country's third-largest city, with 162,000 inhabitants in the city proper (January 2007). The Trondheim Region has 246,751 inhabitants.

 

Trondheim is situated where the river Nidelva meets a large fjord, Trondheimsfjorden, and is the centre of the Trondheim Region. At summer solstice, the sun rises at 03:00 and sets at 23:40, but stays just below the horizon - there is no darkness from May 20 to July 20. At winter solstice, the sun rises at 10:00, stays very low above the horizon, and sets at 14:30.

Trondheim has a predominantly maritime climate, but mostly sheltered from the more windy conditions on the coast. The warmest temperature ever recorded is 35°C on July 22, 1901, and the coldest is -26.1°C in February 1899. The municipality's top elevation is the Storheia hill, 565 metres (≈1850 ft) above sea level.