Trondheim

Our last big day of “a vacation within a vacation” was today.   Tomorrow we drive home and go back to our regularly scheduled vacation in Norway.  What a life.

There were only two things I wanted to do in Trondheim today and we did them both. 

There is a small rock island in the harbor, not far from the Trondheim shore.  (Think Alcatraz - top photo.) We’ve gone past it on the ferry a few times and I’ve always wanted to go out there and see it up close and personal.  It’s only open a few months a year, so this was our lucky day to actually see Monkholmen.

We got a private tour, as we were the only tourists in town, it seems.  The wind was whipping up good and the rain came and went, but being from the Northwest, that wasn’t a problem.

The first records of Monkholmen were from the Viking days, when it was used as a place to execute people.  Their heads were stuck on the top of long poles for all entering the harbor to see.  Nice start.  In a total reversal of fortune - it was a Benedictine monastery for about 400 years.  After that - it was a prison for another 300 or so years. 

When Denmark ruled Scandinavia, they sent the worst of the worst criminals to Monkholmen.  Most prisoners died there.  One very famous political prisoner was there for 18 years.  He had his own room and even his own servant while there.  Another guy, at age 19, publically insulted his future (high society) mother-in-law and she had him banished to Monkholmen for life, where he stayed until he died at the age of 72.  The tour guide said there are ghosts in that place.  No kidding.

The Germans even used Monkholmen to defend the port of Trondheim.  There is quite the history around that place, and I was thrilled to see it and have it all to ourselves for a few hours this afternoon.  The sun even peeked out for some nice photo opportunities – until the battery on my camera went dead.

My other goal for the day was to find a few thrift stores (no surprise there), but I was sorely disappointed with the quality and quantity of them in Trondheim.  Our town of Aalesund seems to shine in that arena. 

We are still looking for those lamp covers, but no luck again today.  Kory found a new painting he likes for our living room, so for a whopping $36 we will replace the copy of a nice picture there now, for a real piece of art with a very nice frame.  I don’t understand why old original artwork sells for so cheap in Norway, but I’m so glad it does.  We also bought Kaleb a nice Norwegian sweater for twenty bucks.  Another mystery, there, as the wool itself it worth several times that amount.  Lucky us.

The rain came and went, as did Kaleb’s complaints about his sniffly nose and sore throat.  We called it an early day after eating a late lunch and just went back to the hotel where we all did our own things with different electronic devices.   It was good to have some downtime, especially since the skin on my heel split wide open from going barefoot so much.  Every step is painful and I think I need superglue or something to seal the darn thing back up.  Good thing tomorrow is a driving day.

We’ve had a wonderful time on this trip.  Sometimes I just can’t believe how blessed we are to be able to travel and see so much and experience things that just aren’t otherwise in our little world of Skagit Valley.  The day may come when all this comes to a halt, but we are sure appreciative for all the times we’ve been free to roam.  It’s something we all love to do, so I’m thankful we’re able to do it.