Rick stops his coverage of Norway slightly north of Sognefjord, for good reason: Norway gets more spread out and tough to see. But if you don't visit Trondheim, you've missed the city where Norway tries things out. Whereas everyone trudges the Olso-Nutshell-Bergen route, or if you have money and time the Hurtigruten route, fewer visit Trondheim, but should. This is the oldest city in Oslo, but also its youngest. It's where Norway's technical university is located, and far from being trapped in its history like Oslo can be or overrun by cruise ship tourists like Bergen is (at least around the old harbor area), Trondheim is young in spirit and actuality, packed with Norwegians (and a fairly large contingent of immigrants and students) willing to experiment and explore the edges of Norway's rather conservative culture. It's a flat city amenable to bicycle transport, and the locals use the many bike lanes to get here and there. The vibe is similar to Portland, OR, or Vancouver, BC, but not so hipsterish...just a lot more casual and open, with blonde hair often dyed interesting shades. Make no mistake, though, there are a lot of movers and shaker here as well, but they're not annoying as they can be in the US cluster centers.
Trondheim is a 4-hour train ride from Oslo, or a quick internal flight. You can get to it by Hurtigruten or car as well. If we hadn't decided on Trondheim as our last stop in Norway, I would have come away with the conclusion that after 30 years Norway was still much the same conservative, "nice" society, just with more money and modern trains. Trondheim showed us that even in the most expensive country in Europe and the most conservative country in Scandanavia, there's still room to breathe freely and try new things.
Budget 2 nights and a day each to get there and back. Trondheim has international air service as well, though not direct to North America. Think different.
Posted by
Atlanta
3262 posts
Hi Shaun!
Thank you for a really comprehensive report on travel to Norway and specifically, Trondheim.
One of the things that's kept us from visiting Norway is the cost. Is it any less expensive to travel there as you venture further north?
Posted by
Medford, OR, USA
5837 posts
RE: Is it any less expensive to travel there as you venture further north?
Yes. Norwegian Trekking Association DNT) guided tours are a bargain. While tours are open to members, anyone can join at 700 NOK per year. https://english.dnt.no/
Examples:
https://english.dnt.no/aktiviteter/826254/
Rondane National Park (5 days/4nights)
Cost to/from Oslo full board = 5684nok + 700nok membership = 6384nok (About $784 USD at Interbank + 3%)
that calculates to $157 per day or $196 per night per person including transportation to/from Oslo.
The package includes: Accommodation, tour leader, all meals
(breakfast, sandwich/thermos, normally three-courses dinner) except
of: First day only dinner and last day only breakfast,
sandwich/thermos.
Some things in life are still free, the freedom to roam in Norway being one. Just don't order beer.
http://paidpost.nytimes.com/visit-norway/freedom-to-roam.html?WT.mc_id=2016-May-enewsletters-VisitNorwayOO-0527-0630&WT.mc_ev=click&tbs_nyt=2016-May-enewsletters-VisitNorwayOO-0527-0630
Jon Karl Christiansen, Oslo's Chief Forester for the Agency for Urban
Environment, motions toward a granite statue. It’s an irregular shape,
polished smooth except for a small geometric etching and —
conspicuously — a pyramid rising from its center. “That,” says
Christiansen, pointing to the symbol, “is the city hall. And the
pyramid, where we are standing, is the geographic middle-point of
Oslo.”The statue is located in the most used recreational area in Norway,
near Sognsvann Lake, where, like most Norwegian outdoor spaces,
allemannsretten (pronounced ALL-eh-mahns-ret-en) — meaning “every
man’s right” or “freedom to roam” — is the law of the land. This is
especially true during Norway’s sun-drenched summer season, when
trails are used for jogging, lakes and ponds for swimming and acre
after acre of forest for camping, regardless of whether the land is
publicly or privately owned. The rules of allemannsretten are simple,
with some minor exceptions: Anyone 164 yards from an inhabited
dwelling can camp there for up to two days.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
Thanks for your post. I've always been curious about Trondheim; next time I get to Norway, I'll be sure to include it.
Posted by
Alexandria, Virginia, USA
504 posts
In our trip, we started in Tromso, flew to Trondheim, and then took the Hurtigruten to Alesund. I agree about Trondheim. The cathedral is one of the best I've seen. Be sure to take the tour up the (medieval) stairs to the roof. Den Gode Nabo (the good neighbor) is a pub that has seating in a barge on the river. Also, the Ringve garden and musical instrument museum is well worth the visit.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8304 posts
Some of the big cruise ships go up there in Summer--and they go a long way north of Bergen.
We were in Bergen last September, and the weather was unusually perfect. (It rains 20 days in Sept. usually.)
I will admit that the millentials in that city are the most breathtakingly beautiful/handsome we've ever seen. And they were also very sweet and spoke great English.
Posted by
Alexandria, Virginia, USA
504 posts
Almost everyone in Norway speaks good English.
We were in Bergen in early September, just when the new university term was beginning. There were platoons of students in funny costumes walking around town as part of some orientation ritual. Not folk costumes--hula girls, robots, teddy bears, etc.
Posted by
OP
Portland
15 posts
Sharon -
Norway is, as it was 30 years ago, staggeringly expensive. Rick's basic guidance is spot-on. For two, traveling independently on trains and ferries, figure on $400-500 per day eating dinner every other day at a modest restaurant. Wine is heavily taxed and ... uhm ... lousy, but universally available in the Vinmonopolet stores. Figure on $16-25 / bottle for stuff that costs $8-10 in the US. Beer is cheaper, but not by much. Secret: stock up at the Duty Free Vinmonopolets in the airport on your way in. If you like soda, get used to $4 / bottle. $20 for takeaway lunch is normal. Find a Joker or Coop store...they're half the price of the convenience stores, and prices are fairly uniform throughout Norway.
There's not a tremendous difference in price in the major towns, although Trondheim is a touch less expensive for lodging. But on our trip, which included Oslo, Balestrand, Bergen, Alesund, and Trondheim, Olso was actually the cheapest (Park Inn). Alesund was a great tourist stopover and gateway to the Sunnmore Alps (and Geirangerfjord), but a bit more expensive. It really depends if you're on the Hurtigruten route or not. If you've ever been on the Inside Passage to Alaska, it's much the same thing - the small coastal stopovers can be pricey, but Anchorage is less dear. When we were at Alesund, there were two megacruisers docked - 6000 people in this small city of 45,000 that is less wide than the cruise ships are long. But when they leave, ahhh.
Geirangerfjord is amazingly beautiful. It deserves its World Heritage Status, and it is different than any of the Sognefjord arms. It is a very tight inlet, however, and when 4-6 cruise ships and ferries and zodiacs and kayaks are all in at Geiranger, it has something else...smog. Ship exhausts are not well-filtered. Even still, the Sunnmore Alps are fantastic, and we would have loved to have stayed longer.
Oh, yes, one more thing: take a day to stroll Grunerlokka in Oslo. Oslo has great cultural sites, but the fun is where the young folks are, and they're there. Then wander through Groner, it doesn't take much time at all - but it really is a mini-India/Pakistan/Turkey. An unexpected delight.