Monday, 11 March
Steps: 15700 with 10 flights
Song: I am sailing by Rod Stewart
Cruise day 3
Trondheim – Rørvik
We sailed on open sea again through the night, but I had taken a seasick pill so I slept like a bomb. Our ship docked in Trondheim from 6am to 12 noon. Trondheim is 3rd largest city in Norway. It was founded in 997 and has approximately 180 000 inhabitants.
After breakfast, we decided to catch a bus to the Nidaros Cathedral. We didn’t find the bus stop, so ended up walking. It took about 25 minutes, looking at the city as we went. In some places the snow had turned to ice and was very slippery. It was also freezing.
The cathedral was very impressive, a huge gothic building with a huge rose window. It began as a wooden chapel erected over the tomb of St. Olav, the Viking King who became the patron saint of Norway and was built in stages which took over 200 years and also renovated in subsequent years. Unfortunately they don’t allow pictures of the interior.
We crossed the old city bridge and walked through the old wharf and back to town. We waited at the bustop for the 11:14 bus, which did not arrive! Very strange, so we had a good walk back to the boat which was leaving at 12.
After lunch I went to lecture on Vikings, learnt a bit more about them, but the presenters are so monotonous and dull it was hard to stay awake.
We had a good dinner and went to bed early, but at about 9:30 we were woken by an announcement that the northern lights were active, so we got dressed as fast as possible and rushed up to deck 8. The deck was packed and it was so cold with icy wind blowing straight through you. There was a vague light in the sky and we waited for about half an hour, but nothing developed. I went back to bed to thaw out and we had another announcement after midnight. Se we trundled up again. This time there was a good show, nothing breathtaking, but definitely worth getting up for.
What I learnt: Until the moment I stood on that deck to look out for the lights, I had no idea what cold was.
Kim's journey 