Tropical Trondheim.

We woke to a gorgeous morning in the Bobil parking area in Trondheim. The gig in the sports centre had gone on until at least 1am but there was no bother once it finished, it sounded good but it didn't keep us awake. Joyce got out for a jog before the heat of the day kicked in and after breakfast we packed a rucksack with some lunch and headed out for a walk around Trondheim, the boys were smothered in factor 50 and I put sun cream on for the first time this holiday also, it was forecast to be 22'c with full sunshine. We had a city map and it had a 13km long route around the outskirts marked on it and we decided to follow that. We set off around the Nidelva river with Saint Olav's Cathedral standing tall on the other side, it is ever present wherever you are in this city. We headed up towards Kristiansten Fortress. It was so hot the boys had to have more factor 50 on once they had shed their T-shirts.

Kristiansten Fortress was interesting, and even better-free!! Built to defend Trondheim from an attack from the east, and  originally built between 1682 and 1684 it has over the years been enlarged to it current size. It was used during the Great Northern War in the early 18th century and defended Trondheim from Swedish invasion. It was used by the Germans in WWII during their occupation of Norway. Members of the Norwegian resistance were executed at the Fort during this time, then after the war and the Fort returned to Norwegian hands Henry Rinnan a member of the Gestapo and 8 of his followers were executed here in 1947. The defensive tower is impressive with 1.5 meter thick walls, and various artefacts and war memorabilia on display inside.

After leaving the Fort we headed back down towards the city centre and found a spot by the river to have lunch, lots of guided tours were out and about either on foot or on bike's, these were probably parties from cruise ships that are here at the moment. A beer with lunch in the sun would have been nice but I thought we might be on the road later so elected not to bother. There was a stage and music arena set up beside one of the old dock areas, Robert Plant, Sting and other will perform over 3 days as part of "The Big Challenge Festival" in which scientists, speakers and artists will question how we can influence the future and how the future will influence us and how we will face technological and the environmental challenges to come. I think this would have a been a great time to be in Trondheim, it would have been very interesting and would also have been great to see a big music act in the superb surrounding of the dock area. It's not t be for us however, we will be moving onwards and upwards.

We carried on over the Bridge of Flowers, a modern stainless steel bridge and on towards the Rockheim music museum, this was somewhere I had wanted to visit. It has all sorts of memorabilia and interactive displays from the world of music from the 50's to the present day but focuses mainly on Norwegian bands and influences on the music scene. Its a great place and the boys and I think Joyce enjoyed it also, Callum had fun playing a drum kit made from pots, buckets and biscuit tins and other household items, he also got a wee lesson on a Ukulele. It would probably be possible to spend the best part of a day in here, there's so much to see and do. The museum was opened in 2010 in a 100 year old converted grain warehouse, it's a strange looking building and cost 300 Million Kroner to build. Not far from here is the Trondheim science centre a modern and only just completed building, various futuristic scientific projects are being built and tested here from drones t autonomous boats, 2 of which are sitting in the harbour. After the museum we had a well deserved ice cream in the sun, the boys had been good a deserved them, and it was over 20'c-my trigger point for an ice cream, lol.

We walked along the sea front and eventually back to van, we had a pressing issue in that our loo was almost full, I doubt we could have squeezed another night out of it and this unfortunately forced us to move the van and leave Trondheim, it had to happen anyway as we need to move on up. Its a pity though, we met a guy called Finn from Trondheim earlier in the year whilst skiing in Italy and he promised us a tour around the brewery he works in and I have been in contact with him. However, he has been away on business and is not back until Monday, so unfortunately we cannot catch up with him either. Maybe on the way home if we come this way we can.

So we have moved up the E6 a little now, it appears the E39 is no more. We have found an aire, with toilet emptying and fresh water fill so we have had a fine dinner in the sunshine, the boys are burnt out and its bedtime soon. Tomorrow we head north towards the midnight sun. A great couple of days in a lovely and friendly city, its a shame to leave Trondheim.