Sunday, July 11th, 2004: Trøndheim, Norway

N 63
E 010

Dorotea to Trøndheim: 438 kilometres

The road gently rises until we are in the mountains, and driving through ski areas – including Ånn, the site of the 2007 world downhill skiing championships. The border between Sweden and Norway is barely marked. More obvious is one immediate change – in Norway, the barns and other farm buildings (but not the farmhouses) have grass roofs.

We arrive in Trøndheim and find a hotel for the night (with a bonus – a wireless network, and have good internet for the first time in over 2 weeks).

We head out for a walk to explore town, and to find a place for dinner. Trøndheim is a pretty town, a former capital of Norway during the Middle Ages, the home of St. Olav, the king who brought Christianity to Norway. It’s waterfront is dotted with cafés and bars overlooking the wharfs and waterways.

We have dinner in one of the few restaurants that is open on a Sunday, and discover that Norway is more expensive than Sweden was. Over dinner we talk about how Scandinavia was a hot travel destination 25 years ago, but how almost all of the tourists we have seen as we have travelled around have been Scandinavian or Dutch.