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Published: July 31st 2008
Night trains; interesting in theory, but a little less than ideal in practice. Last night, David and I took a night train from Trondheim to Oslo… it was fast, efficient, and free (thanks Mary and Danny), but not (in my humble opinion) conducive to sleeping. The chairs recline to a decent degree, but that means that the person in front of you can recline their chair so it’s practically laying on your lap… and what’s a person supposed to do with their legs then? I have yet to figure out this particular dilemma, but quite possibly by the end of this trip I will have a handy solution (aside from just blocking the ability of the person in front of me to recline!) Incidentally, David disagrees with me on this gripe… he says it is the person’s right to fully recline no matter how it impacts the person behind them… I feel like there are social sanctions that necessitate only partial reclining regardless of what the chair in front of you is doing. Maybe we should start a poll on this subject?
Last night we left Trondheim after spending two full days experiencing the glory of this beautiful Norwegian town.
The Cathedral
Built over the course of many centuries and by the hands of many different Norwegians (including some of David's distant family!)Trondheim is the quintessential Norwegian city with stooped roofs on side by side houses, blue water, blond people everywhere, and of course the cathedral of the patron saint of Norway, St. Olav. We were visiting during the festival for St. Olav, which apparently meant culturally diverse acts on the main stage at night and a medieval market reenactment during the day, very interesting! The locals were very into the medieval theme, many of them dressed up for the occasion. Some were obviously volunteering for the festival, but others looked like they were just happy to have an excuse to don their favorite medieval capes and swords. David, myself and his forth/sixth cousin once removed, Torgrim, spent one afternoon at the festival where we learned how stained glass was made, gargoyles were carved, and what exactly a black smith does. It was both educational and fun!
With Torgrim as a tour guide, we saw the sights of the city in record speed. We visited the cathedral and took the tower tour. After climbing 160 narrow steps in the dark we were happy to see light and the beautiful views of the city below. Torgrim also took us to two other
lookout spots, one at the fortress and another in a restaurant that looks like a smaller version of the space needle. Trondheim as a whole was clean, busy, but very friendly and easy to navigate. Both David and I agree that we would love to come back there again.
The best part of Trondheim was visiting with David’s family there. We stayed with the Wullum family (Jon, Ingrid, Torgrim and Endre). They were so hospitable and fed us a meal almost every hour! David and I agree that we probably put on three pounds each over the course of two days! We especially enjoyed the night that we met Kari (born in 1920), David’s grandfather’s first cousin. She is a very interesting woman who gave David a lot of insight into his family heritage. She told us about what it was like growing up in Norway, what she remembered of David’s great grandfather, and about her visits to the family homested, Lillenes, as a young girl.
Today we leave Norway. We both agree that the best part of visiting Norway has been getting to know David’s family here. I think this was especially meaningful to David. Seeing his family
here has helped him piece together the various connections that make up his lineage. We have also loved the opportunities that we have had to experience the real Norway, through family meals and long conversations. I think he is leaving Norway feeling more Norwegian than when he entered. This afternoon we leave for Germany and are looking forward to castles, beer gardens, the autobahn, and a new language to try to master. Thanks for all your messages and prayers, we miss you all!
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Mary
non-member comment
Wow, again!!!
I loved seeing your pictures of Trondheim and the family there. It is another spectacular Norwegian place. Chelsea, hope you can make up for lost sleep on the night train...sorry about that!!! Safe travels this afternoon to Frankfurt. oxoxx