Trondheim, Norway's First Capital

 March 3, 2023

I once stood on a street in Trondheim, Norway, looking up at a statue of a Viking. There came to my mind at that time a fable of the Norsemen that when a man won a victory over another, the strength of the conquered went over into his veins. Therefore, in this sense, adversity is good, for it produces in us a source of strength as we learn to conquer our weaknesses. —Alvin R. Dyer

The sun never seems to climb into the sky. It just floats across the southern half, hugging the horizon.

I don't know if Mr. Dyer is right, but it takes tough-minded people to live above the Arctic Circle and even in Trondheim, which is considerably further south. You have to really like winter and be okay with brief cool summers. Perhaps this explains why my DH's ancestors found happiness in the upper Midwest! But I recently learned a new Norwegian saying: "There is no bad weather. Only bad clothes!"

The River Nidelva. It's only 19 miles long from its source to the sea but there are 6 hydro-electric plants along its course. Norwegians refer to their hydro-electric power as "white gold."

Trondheim is where the first Christian king of Norway, Olaf Tryggvason was crowned and the custom continued after a fashion even after Trondheim was no longer the capital. The current king Harold V, was coronated elsewhere, but he was consecrated (which means the crown was displayed beside him while the priest put his hand on the king's head) in Nidaros Cathedral.  

Midmorning in Old Town and the shadows are still long.

Nidaros is the world's northernmost gothic cathedral. Construction began in 1070 and it was finally completed around 1300. The bones of the building are pure poetry, but we only viewed it from the outside during the day. We returned in the evening for a special organ concert arranged by Viking! They do this sort of thing so very well. One of the many reasons we love Viking!

The organ is built into the structure with ranks of pipes distributed throughout the entire space so when the extremely accomplished organist played antiphonal portions of her pieces, there was a true call and answer from one end of the nave to the other. To give you a sense of scale, the largest of the pipes in the photo below were 11 meters (36 feet) tall! Sitting there, enveloped by glorious sound and soul-lifting architecture, I had the odd sensation that the entire cathedral was one big organism and organ was its lungs.

 I was transported! 

Hope you enjoy the DH's Trondheim montage: