Let me start out by saying that I won’t even come close to doing Trondheim justice with this post.  This gorgeous little city (actually Norway’s third largest, with 170,000 residents) is packed full of history and treasures that are well worth the visit.  I, unfortunately, just didn’t get to see them all because I spent nearly my entire week here either working, running, or sleeping and didn’t really plan in enough time for sightseeing.  Silly, I know, but true.

Even so, I’ve been charmed by Trondheim’s waterfront area: the sound of seagulls, the saltwater smell in the air, and the view of the mountains over the harbor — reminds me a lot of Seattle, in that sense. Even more so when at the harbor I discovered a replica of Seattle’s Leif Erikson statue, given as a gift from the Emerald City to celebrate Trondheim’s millennial anniversary in 1997!

The city sits on the meeting point of the Trondheimsfjorden and the Nidelva River, at about the same latitude as Fairbanks, Alaska. Even though it’s only April, the sun rises at 5:15am and sets at 9:15pm. (In the peak of summer, while the sun officially sets for about three hours, it never actually gets dark.)  Due to its ideal harbor location, the Vikings founded Trondheim in 997 as a trading post and it became the capital of Norway until 1217.  These days, Trondheim is mostly a university town, teeming with student life and culture.

I’ve done a couple of lovely runs through the old city, past the colorful old storehouses lining the water, and along the Nidelva River.  It’s a photographer’s dream, I tell you!  I’ve also spent lots of time photographing the Nidaros Cathedral.  First built in 1070, it’s the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world, and served as an important pilgrimage site during the Middle Ages.  The opening hours were only from 10am-4pm, so I never got a chance to go inside, but apparently the stained glass windows are amazing.

I would definitely like to come back to Trondheim for a visit so I could take advantage of everything it has to offer.  Right now it’s clear that the snow has only recently disappeared and that things may soon start to grow again, but I have a feeling that the summer months are probably quite amazing!

If you interested in more photos from my visit, the whole album is over here.

Have you ever visited Trondheim?  Doesn’t it blow your mind that the Vikings founded the city?