Trondheim

There’s something depressing about seeing how full the laundry bag is becoming and how small the piles of clean clothes are. It is a sign the holiday is on the downward slope.

We were up a little earlier today. The ship was slipping gently into Trondheim, through the early morning greyness and low clouds.

After an early breakfast we met up in reception and disembarked. It was raining and there was little prospect of it drying up. We climbed aboard the tour bus and our guide and driver started a banter that lasted for the whole trip. Interestingly, even among themselves, they spoke English. They seemed to be obsessed with Harry Potter and there were plenty of references to the characters throughout the tour. 

We stopped first at the Nidaros Cathedral - and shrine of St Olaf, patron Saint of Norway. It was a very ornate cathedral from the outside, but was built in the local stone. Being granite, this was grey and made the Cathedral somewhat somber. From there we zigged and zagged through the city and up to an overlook where we could see across the city and out along the Fjord. (Trondheim fjord is the 3rd longest of the fjords at 130km - on average it is 3-5km wide, but at its widest point, reaches 20km). The next stop was a tram station where we boarded an historic tram that took us back down into the city centre. We left the tour at that point and set off to find a coffee and pastry (I, of course, skipped the pastry - my body is a temple and requires careful maintenance to achieve this Adonis-like figure).

Leaving the coffee shop we headed to the Old Town Bridge. We failed to take the direct route. Google Maps seemed to be having a moment. As a result we walked in the wrong direction for a while before giving up and using a paper map. We eventually found the bridge. It is a spot in the old town where colourful buildings line the river and, even in the rain (which still hadn’t stopped) look so picturesque.

We parted ways with Jane and Trevor at this point. They wanted to do some souvenir shopping. We decided to walk back to the ship. Soaked, we got back on board and headed to our suite to put on some dry clothes and have a quiet afternoon.

Today is Kim’s birthday. We sent her a message first thing and I have tried to call her a couple of times this afternoon but can’t make contact. I think she is travelling back to England from Italy, so she may not have a signal. (Nope. Got that wrong - she’s travelling home tomorrow but has been sightseeing today).

We had a video call with Zoe and Ellie. Magda and Timek were there on their last evening before returning to Poland. It was nice to see them and nice to see that they are staying in touch. After the call we went on down to dinner.

The evening’s entertainment was “Killer Queen” - a celebration of the music of Queen. This was a high energy show that saw the theatre packed to the rafters. We had made sure to arrive early and grab some good seats. It was a brilliant show with all of the classic Queen hits sung brilliantly and choreographed perfectly. I’ve said it before, I am not a great one for musical theatre - but this was exceptional. When the show was over, we found a quiet corner to sit and chat over a drink before finally heading for the suites.