Well, sunrise at 3am means that we rely on the solid curtains to avoid the melatonin kicking in early. We managed to sleep well and at 8am, by the time we were awake, we were docked at Trondheim.
The ship berthed on the Port side – but a very short pier.
No Ho-Ho buses in Trondheim, anywhere.
Approximately a 1km walk into town and steps or a lift to get across the railway bridge.
No passports or ID required. Just a walk off.
The glass building opposite reflected the ship, but what we didn’t know until we sailed away, was that it was a large modern swimming pool complex. Breakfast and once again, a new interesting couple to talk to, from Queensland.
Our cabin plumbing system was going off at 9:30am and at 9:20, as we were walking out, a maintenance guy came in to fix my bedside light which had come adrift. We hadn’t reported it but our ever efficient cabin steward Edward, obviously had.
A pleasant walk straight into town and Paula was heading for the cathedral, but we hit an interesting church first, where the choir was practicing for a free concert later and even inside the church itself, there were local ladies serving coffee and food to the less fortunate, but there were only 3 taking advantage.
Outside again and there were dozens of food tents, most still closed, but many just opening. Lucky us. It was a summer 3 day festival in Trondheim, called Martnan. In addition to all the food and produce tents, there was a sound stage and entertainment.
We walked through to the cathedral, where you paid for an entrance ticket in the adjacent visitors’ centre. Whilst I was in there, Paula had wandered over towards the cathedral, and a little old lady seem to appear from nowhere, singled her out and thrust two entrance tickets into her hand, then disappeared. Paula felt it quite a spooky but pleasant experience, so we then went into the cathedral. Despite any number of notices saying no video or photographs, needless to say, there were visitors who totally ignored them.
Back outside and to the closed off streets to wander through the stalls. What a great experience that was. So many stalls selling salamis and cheeses, confectionary and other goodies. At one stall, we sampled 3 salamis. Moose (nice), reindeer (also nice) and a salami flavoured with blueberries, which I liked but Paula wasn’t so keen on. As these were professionally packed and labelled, I’m pretty sure that if declared at the NZ border, they would have been allowed in, but as they weren’t cheap, not worth the gamble.
At one point, a nutty bearded Norwegian on a bike pedalled right through the crowds, abusing everyone in his way! Thankfully, all the other Norwegians we have met have been extremely friendly and helpful and just about all spoke excellent English.
Amongst the food stalls were the usual burgers and hot dogs, waffles, ice creams, plus Chinese and Asian food, a grilled cheese stand and a stall selling Thai food from those massive paella pans, for 100NOK, or 150NOK for a larger portion. (Approximately £7.50 small, or about $14NZD.) That was very tempting.
We wandered into the adjacent shopping mall, which wasn’t very large, though there was an extensive booze store, but we have no idea of prices. Paula managed to purchase a hair colouring kit and the shop assistant was most helpful. As with previous ports, there was a Seven11 (or is it 7eleven – I can never remember?) plus a local equivalent, but we opted for a coffee shop where we enjoyed filled rolls and fresh lemonade poured over ice. No Fi-Fi as in the assistant’s words, ‘We just want our customers to concentrate enjoying their coffee’. Just outside was a street musician, kneeling down over a small dulcimer, playing a very spirited rendition of my least favourite piece – Für Elise. Sadly, that was all he did play - over and over again. By this time, my camera battery had just about died, so fewer photographs than I would have liked.
Although it was bright sunshine, it was a case of jacket on, jacket off, jacket on again, all the way back to the ship.
Again, we loved the place, but the Martnan Festival was what really made it. Had there been no festival, although a very pleasant stop, a tour would have been essential.
Rather than the sickly sweet hot chocolate, a cup of tea on board was the first stop, before hitting the cabin, where Paula used her purchase to good effect.
After a decent dinner, where our new addition had softened a bit, we headed for the theatre for an act we hadn’t seen before. Irish comedian (sic) William Caulfield. There was hardly a joke I hadn’t heard before and judging by the reaction of other people as we left, I can’t see his second show in two night’s time, being very crowded. We certainly won’t be there that is for sure.
We stood around in the casino, watching 4 American’s play ‘craps’ (I think that is what it is called), but we couldn’t understand what was going on, other than seeing 3 x $100 bills disappearing down the croupier’s slot. Most of the 8 or 10 tables were unoccupied other than 3 people playing Blackjack.
Once again, bright sunshine at bedtime and the sun still well above the horizon (it wasn’t even cold on our balcony) and according to the Princess Patter, no sunrise or sunset times for tomorrow, just the statement ‘Midnight Sun’. Expected temperature, a high of 10 degrees, with the following day, 5 degrees! Yes, that is the expected high, not the low.
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