Trondheim

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We continue our journey north, arriving at Trondheim after eight hours and three ferries. Cost of these (expletive deleted) ferries is adding up. Insult to injury we waited on one 45 minutes. When combined with road tolls and eight plus dollar gas, moving about the country ain't cheap. Traveled much of the day on an E (European) designated road. In Germany, France, Italy, or most any other country an E designation is equivalent with our Interstate system, and generally better constructed. In Norway, not so much. There are limited access highways near major cities, like Bergan, Oslo or Trondheim, but out in the country, the E designation carries a bit more variability. It seems to mean the road will be wide enough for two cars-most of the time, and generally have a marked center line, although these folks are often short of paint. Speed limits are also a tad different. In Germany there are roads with no speed limit, while in other countries, they generally correspond to ours or a little higher. Here the highest we have encountered is 90 kph, about 57 mph, and that is rare. There are no, nada patrolling cops, but there are speed cameras for which notice is posted. Yep, we slow down when we see the notice. Yet, Norwegians rarely exceed the speed limit. When someone does, it usually has a D tag, Deutschland (Germany), or it's a rented car (yep, like ours).

Atlantic Road? We had been anticipating this short National Tourist Road. Bird indicates car companies sometimes use this stretch for commercials. But, it was a bust. Our pictures from the earth reveal bridges and little more. The picture to take is from the air, but the wind was quite high, and given the fright we had on the Troll Road, we were not about to challenge Norwegian winds again. Sorry.

Hopped and skipped over to Trondheim about mid-morning on Friday. This rather large town (third largest in Norway) is only three degrees south of the artic circle, and a bunch of people live here! It was the capital of Norway during the latter part of the Viking age. There is a massive cathedral that was constructed between 1070 and 1300. While there previously have been many churches in the town, only two remain. Scandinavians are not very religious.

Couple of housekeeping notes. We acquired a spot of dust on the camera sensor while photographing the Puffins a couple of days back. Seems they took revenge on the humans hassling them with the boat. Until we can have it cleaned, we will attempt to work around, but should you notice a black spot toward the upper left part of a picture, don't be alarmed. This is likely the last post before we cross the artic circle, unless we see something dramatic. Excepting drama, next post will be from the Lofton Islands in three days or so, and...seven ferries!

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Photos

Olav
A very high statue of King Olav Tryggvason who founded the city in 997. The sculptor must have had and old photograph of the King as the statue was not erected until 1922.

Warehouses
These warehouses on the river date from the 18th century.

Cathedral
Told you it was big.

Back/Side of Cathedral
Declined to enter as they declined to allow photographs. I mean, why no pictures; we have encountered this a couple of times before. This time we fight back!

Fortress From City Center
Constructed in the 17th century, and later used by the Nazis to execute members of the Norwegian resistance.

Entrance to Fortress
Title says it all; not much here.

View of City From Fortress Walls
Fjord is to the right.