It was yet another hot and cloudless day. Yet, despite the great weather, a lot of tourist spots and stores still aren’t open. People tell us that the weather we are experiencing is not typical for this time of year, and we are very fortunate to be on the receiving end. 

We hit the road early as we had planned to make several stops for pictures and stretching our legs while driving to Kristiansund today. Every corner we turned, the winding highways gifted us with breathtaking views, but there weren’t a lot of places to pull over, like we find in the Alberta Rockies, so I had to settle for a few shots out the car window.

We had decided very early in the trip, when we found out there’s a Hell in Norway, we might have to visit. After all, we can come back from this one (might not get so lucky the next time). It was a couple of hours out of our way, as we had to drive north to Trondheim first, and although there was nothing in Hell but a parking lot, a bathroom and a tourist store that wasn’t opened yet, we are glad we went. It was a fun memory for sure, with some great photos along the way! 

We had plenty of time to tour Trondheim. We ended up at the Nidaros Cathedral, built over a span of 230 years, from 1070 to 1300, when it was mostly completed. Many additions and renovations have continued since then––the latest being finished in 2001. It is the traditional location for the consecration of new kings of Norway. The central part of the church seats 1850 people, and as we sat in one of the pews, an organist played a massive organ, the music vibrating off the walls. We toured the museum across the courtyard, where they house pictures of many of the Coronations, and there was one photo of Queen Sonja standing with her king and looking beautiful with her hair (probably done by Tutti). Many of the crown jewels and robes from hundreds of years ago were also displayed here, and they were stunning. 

Next, we drove down to the waterfront to photograph the architecture. We stopped at a pizza place for an early supper before driving the next few hours to Kristiansund. 

Exhausted from the day’s adventures, we arrived at our hotel just before supper, ready to unpack for our 2-night stay. Despite our fatigue, we couldn’t resist a brief tour of the town before settling in for the night. Tomorrow, we have a boat tour planned, and we’re hopeful that it will live up to the promising advertising. Only time will tell, but we’re excited to see what the day has in store for us.