Our ship arrived at Trondheim at 6:30 AM so we got up early to explore the city while we had the chance.  Although most things were closed at that hour, we had a wonderful walk around the city (grey, but no rain!), seeing the main shopping area, the Nidaros Cathedral (a destination along the Pilgrim’s Way), several bridges spanning local rivers, and the Kristiansen Fort with views overlooking the city.  Trondheim, which loosely translates to “home of the good life”, is eminently accessible by foot and pedal, and even includes a free “bike lift” to assist cyclists up a particularly steep street.

Back on the boat, we spent most of the middle of the day relaxing inside at “Babette’s Cafe” on deck 7, keeping dry from the rain and fog outside.  We missed the sun, but the scenery was still very striking with the peaks shrouded in cloud.  And, as we understand it, the grey conditions are more representative of typical Norway weather than the bright sun.

In the late afternoon, we joined an excursion to visit the award-winning Atlantic Ocean Road, an 8-km long stretch of road and bridges connecting a series of islands between Vevang and Averøya.  On the way, we stopped at a historic stave church, which, at 700 years old, is one of the youngest of the stave churches.  For dinner we stopped at a local restaurant to sample their bacalao, a tomato based fish stew made from reconstituted dried stokfisk, as pictured.  (A staple of this area, it tastes better than it looks!)