These posts cover our slow trip through the Scandinavian/Nordic countries from August 4 to October 30, 2026. I will be posting one long post about each area where we stay. I like to write one post about a particular place so that I can revisit our travels in one spot on my blog, according to location. I can also refer others to the post if they plan to travel to the destination and want ideas. I welcome you to read the entire post, read parts of the posts that interest you, simply look at the pictures, or not to read it at all. All who would like to come along are welcome.
You can find our itinerary here: anticipation & preparation: a slow motion journey through scandinavia.
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Friday, September 25 to Monday, September 28: On Friday, we took a 10-hour train ride on the SJ Nord from Bodø to Trondheim. We had stopped for three hours in Trondheim on our MS Vesterålen cruise, but we hadn’t taken the time to visit the inside of Nidaros Cathedral. Plus, this was the best place for us to rent a car to drive to our next destination in Geiranger.
The 10-hour train ride from Bodø to Trondheim that became a 12-hour ride
Back in May, we had booked the 9 hour and 46 minute train ride from Bodø to Trondheim on the SJ Nord. It was touch and go because many trains were cancelled due to work on the railway lines and the train wasn’t even running on the 24th or the 26th, when we hoped to leave Bodø. It turned out there was one train running on the 25th, so we nabbed it and altered our schedule. The train left Bodø at 12:27 p.m. and was due to arrive in Trondheim at 10:13 p.m. with 25 stops altogether.
It is known as the Nordlandsbanen railway line – a 729km (453 mi) railway line between Bodø and Trondheim. It is the longest in Norway and lacks electrification. Bodø is the northernmost train station in Norway.
We found out our first night at dinner with Paul and Julia on the MS Vesterålen that they would be on the same train on the 25th. They didn’t sit near us, as we were in seats 45 & 46, and they were in seats 11 & 12, but we chatted with them periodically on the train. It was nice to have someone we had met before that we could chat with from time to time.
On the other hand, there were some people we wished hadn’t been on the train. Twelve young women got on the train at Fauske (the 5th stop about 37 miles south of Bodø) and sat a few seats up from us. Onto the train they wheeled their humungous pieces of luggage which they had to hoist up, with great struggle, onto the overhead luggage storage racks. They were friends from school and were taking a 10-day trip to Croatia. Their matching sweatshirts yelped “Loudness” and they definitely lived up to the theme of their adventure. From the time they got on the train, they talked, yelled and laughed obnoxiously, frequently and loudly. Though entertaining at first, they soon became incredibly annoying.
We enjoyed the scenery of high tundra, fjords, lakes and rivers from the train, but of course taking pictures out of a fast-moving train doesn’t yield the best photos.
At about 2:30, we passed by the Arctic Circle Center at Saltfjellet, which the friendly woman running the café pointed out. She also pointed out some white reindeer bounding across the landscape. She told us that the Arctic Circle is actually moving about 14 meters a year. The Arctic Circle as a line of latitude remains the same on maps for the sake of convenience, but it actually shifts in position over time. In 1990, when the center was built, it was believed that the Arctic Circle ran straight through the middle of the building, officially 66° 33′ north, but actually almost 66°34′ north. But since it’s always moving, the actual circle now lies north of the building. Apparently, it will go all the way up to the Lofoten Islands before moving south again, which will take about 40,000 years.
We emjoyed dinner in the café car. Mike had Chili without meat, with flavorful beans, veggies and rice. I had Meatballs in gravy with mushy peas, potatoes and lingonberries. I didn’t care much for the mushy peas, but Mike happily ate them. Paul and Julia joined us with their glasses of wine (they had brought their own food) and we chatted about our travels and books and movies.
At 8:24 p.m., about 1 1/2 hours from Trondheim, when we stopped at the town of Steinkjer in the dark, we were told that there was an accident on the track ahead. We would have to wait until the police completed their investigation and gave the go-ahead. We had no idea how long the delay would be, but it turned out that we sat at the station for over two hours. During those two hours the decibel level of those young Norwegian women traveling to Croatia rose to jarring levels. The laughing from two of them in particular was particularly grating.
We found out the next day in Trondheim (from a Norwegian dentist from Steinkjer) that a young man had jumped in front of the train and it had taken quite some time for the police to investigate the tragic incident. How sad that a young man would feel the need to kill himself in such a violent manner, and also how sad that the train engineer now has to live with the memory of that young man’s death.
We finally traipsed into the Clarion Hotel Trondheim at about 12:30 a.m.
Clarion Hotel Trondheim
The Clarion Hotel Trondheim is a huge complex right near the harbor, the port terminal and the train station. When we arrived at 12:30 a.m. there was loud music playing for a party of about 400 people attending a conference. Luckily, once we closed the door to our room, the loud noise was blocked out completely, and we crashed immediately.
Trondheim
Trondheim is the third largest city and one of the country’s oldest. The city was founded by the Vikings in AD 997 as a trading post. Trondheim was also the capital of Norway until 1217 and new kings are still crowned there. The city is built on a peninsula and at its west end is linked to the mainland.
Nidaros Cathedral
Saturday, September 26: We had made a quick (3-hour) stop in Trondheim while we were on our MS Vesterålen cruise, but all we did at that time was to wander through the town and see the outside facade of Nidaros Cathedral. You can see that post here: a short cruise on hurtigruten’s ms vesterålen: bergen to lofoten, norway.
Nidaros Cathedral was built over the burial site of King Olav II (c. 995-1030) who reigned from 1015-1028. He brought Christianity to Norway and became the patron saint of the new nation.
New Norwegian monarchs are today consecrated at the Cathedral. In addition, the Cathedral is a popular place of Evangelical-Lutheran Christian pilgrimage, with several thousand pilgrims visiting each year.
In 1152, the church was designated as the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nidaros. In 1537, during the Protestant Reformation, it became part of the newly established state Church of Norway. It is the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world.
Built over a 230-year period, from 1070-1300, additions and renovations have occurred intermittently since then.
We started by admiring the western facade of the cathedral, which was inspired by English cathedrals. In addition to the rose window, three lines of sculptures, 59 in total, dominate the façade. In the first line are mostly apostles, in the middle line are the four Norwegian saints, and in the top line are mostly prophets and kings from the Old Testament.
Inside we found the stained glass windows from the restoration period. The windows tell the stories of the Bible, both from the Old and the New Testaments. The grand rose window on the western wall depicts the Last Judgment.
The nave is the largest part of the church. It was destroyed by fire in 1531 and the roof collapsed. The nave remained a roofless ruin for several hundred years before it was rebuilt in the 20th century. It was finished just in time for the 900-year jubilee of the Battle of Stiklestad in 1930.
The oldest parts of the church today are seen in the transept which intersects the main body of the cathedral and gives the church its cruciform shape. It was built in the 12th century in the Romanesque style with its rounded arches.
By the 14th century, the church had an organ. Today the church has 3 big organs. The oldest is the Baroque organ from 1741 which sits in the northern transept. The Steinmeyer organ beneath the rose window is one of the biggest organs in Northern Europe; it was placed in the cathedral in 1930 for the 900-year jubilee of the Battle of Stiklestad. In addition to these two, the cathedral got an organ in the chancel in 2015, built to accompany choir song.
Finally the Octagon was built from 1190-1210 and is the most ornate part of the cathedral. Around the Octagon is an ambulatory. The shrine of St. Olav with his body was placed inside the Octagon. During the reformation the shrine was removed because the people were not supposed to worship saints or their relics. Some people wanted to throw his bones into the ocean, but others protested and moved his bones to an unknown location. Still, pilgrims can visit the present altarpiece as a reminder of the shrine.
In conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the first national Sami assembly, a Sami altar was made by Sámi artist Folke Fjällström and consecrated in Nidaros Cathedral in 2017. The altar and the decoration of it is made of birch that is oiled and processed after Sami tree traditions.
A walk along the Nidelva
After visiting the cathedral, we took a walk along the Nidelva, a river that runs through Trondheim. The meandering river stretches approximately 30 kilometers and is a defining feature of the cityscape, with beautiful wooden houses lining the river most notably in the Bakklandet district. Nidelva has played a crucial role in Trondheim’s history, serving as a vital waterway for trade and transportation.
It was a beautiful sunny day, and we simply enjoyed wandering aimlessly and admiring the chartreuse trees and the pretty landscape. We were misled into believing a small stenciled mural of a boy fishing was by Banksy, but it was actually @EHAstencil (Instagram).
Gamle bybro
Gamle bybro, built in 1681, is a landmark bridge with red portals over the Nidelva. It leads to Bakklandet’s colorful timber wharves on stilts.
A stroll along Nedre Bakklandet
Bakklandet was once a working-class neighborhood that was home to craftsmen, small-scale merchants and other workers, yet suffered under poor living conditions. Bakklandet has been ravaged by fires and threatened with demolition due to road construction. At one time, it was almost demolished to make way for a 4-lane highway, but residents squatted and protested to put an end to that plan.
Now it is a charming and photogenic cobbled street lined with cafes and shops.
A lunch break & a conversation with a Norwegian dentist
After our wanders, we headed to the National Museum of Decorative Arts and Design in the center of the city. Sadly, we found it was closed as the museum’s 40,000 works and objects were being digitized, packed and transported to new storage facilities.
Since we couldn’t go in the museum, we instead looked for a bench to sit on where we could eat the lunch we’d brought. All of the benches were wet except one where a Norwegian couple was sitting, and they offered to move over so we could sit beside them. We struck up a conversation with the friendly young man, a 42-year-old dentist, Bjornor, who lives in Steinkjer (his wife didn’t seem comfortable with English and took off to pop into various shops). He was the one who told us about the young man who threw himself in front of the train the previous night. Bjornor also recommended taking a scenic drive to Tännforsen Waterfall in Sweden, known as Sweden’s Largest Waterfall. We talked about his three children; his eldest daughter was in school in Trondheim studying nursing and that was why they were in Trondheim, visiting her. We also talked about the political situation in the U.S. and the right wing governments gaining ground in Europe and how they manipulate and brainwash people with propaganda and scapegoating of minorities. It was a long and interesting conversation and we were happy to be able to get to know a Norwegian young man and to learn something about the concerns and thoughts of a local.
dinner at Frida Cocina Mexicana
We went out to a wonderful dinner at Frida Cocina Mexicana. The atmosphere was lovely, cozy and warm. I enjoyed a delicious Shrimp with Mezcal: Pan-fried scampi in a creamy mezcal sauce, balanced with fresh citrus and mezcal’s characteristic smokiness. Mike enjoyed Frida’s Enchiladas: Chicken corn tortillas filled with cheese and beans, fried and served with green salsa. This was one of our top meals of our travels so far.
A country drive outside of Trondheim
Sunday, September 27: This morning we picked up a Volvo rental car to take a drive outside of Trondheim, plus to drive to Geiranger on Monday and then from there to Lillehammer on Thursday. We would have the rental car for almost five days and it cost us a fortune. Everything in Norway is outrageously expensive; there are no two ways about it.
We left the Sixt Rental place at 9:30 and headed northeast to Størdjal on the E6 and then headed east on the E14 into through farmland, rivers, and generally gorgeous scenery to Tännforsen, the “Largest Waterfall in Sweden.”
On the way back, we drove a more northerly route, which was also gorgeous but in a completely different way. We loved the black, white or red farm complexes, the sheep grazing in fields, the golden already-harvested fields, the bubbling streams and waterfalls, the yellow birches mingling with the dark green pines, and the red lichen dotting the landscape. It is difficult to capture scenery from a car during a road trip, but believe me, it was a stunning drive.
Tännforsen, the “Largest Waterfall in Sweden”
Tännforsen is one of Sweden’s largest unregulated waterfalls and has been popular with tourists since the mid-19th century. The waterfall and its surroundings were designated a nature reserve in 1971.
The waterfall falls over a jutting section of slate bedrock, which is a remnant from the formation of the Scandinavian mountain range some 500 million years ago.
The almost constant mist from the waterfall encourages the growth of interesting plants on the rocks and the trees around the waterfall, including no fewer than 21 red-listed lichens. Actually, for me the surrounding forest was the highlight of the reserve. It is a fairy-tale forest, with whimsical moss, lichens and feathery ferns. It’s the kind of place that invites one to lie down on the cushiony ground as if embraced by a cloud.
Here is a short video of our drive from Trondheim, Norway to Tännforsen in Sweden.
Leaving Trondheim for Geiranger
Monday, September 28: Our last morning in Trondheim, Mike went out to the Pirbidet, an aquatic center right next door to our hotel. He swam laps there, helping him to feel he’s at least attempting to maintain some kind of fitness regime.
We packed up and took off by 9:30 a.m. in our rental car for our 6+ hour drive to Geiranger.
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