Trondheim

7/2012 Update:  a series of blog entries from a Norway cruise I was fortunate enough to take in the Summer of 2008. Although it feels funny to have relayed trip updates via a blog, it was a pre-Facebook way of telling friends/family about my travels.

It's just before dinner and we've left Trondheim, where we spent the day.  Trondheim is a much larger city, around 160,000 people and 1 in 6 are students.  A lot of higher ed going on here.  We got up this morning and left the ship for another set of tour buses for a ride around the city which included a section of the streetcar line.  The mountains aren't as high near here as they were in the previous stops, but still quite hilly and the ever-present fjord.  After the tour concluded, we had some time to walk around the city, which was nice for a change.  We went to the cathedral and the city center area.  The Cathedral was huge, old, and visually impressive.  The city center area was really nice with lots of interesting shops and a surprising lack of American chains.  Sure, there was a Mcd and a Burger K, but that was pretty much it, as far as I could tell.  Oh yeah, I had a tasty chocolate-covered waffle at a 7 Eleven(!).  And no Starbucks.  OK, off to dinner.

Around 10 tonight, they did a massive dessert buffet out in the area with the swimming pools, complete with ice sculptures, chocolate fountains, and giant bread carved to look like animals.  The nephews were quite impressed.  Almost ready to sleep, but even at 12:30AM, it still looks like dusk outside, though the Sun has actually set.  I'm mostly used to the schedule now, just in time to jet back to MN for some good 'ol jet lag. 

Besides the interesting array of retail in the city, I managed to make it to the Public Library, which besides being a nice modern library, boasts a real archeological dig inside the building. 

Fun.  I couldn't read the signage, so I'll have to wait until I get back and ask one of my Norwegian-speaking friends to translate it.  Today's bus tour guide, like the one in Flam, mentioned the impact being occupied by the Germans in WWII had.  This obviously still resonates with the public here. 

Oh yes, after I wrapped up my last entry, we *did* in fact see some ocean-going critters:  some dolphins.  We could actually see them jumping in and out of the water as they followed the ship.  Very fun.  Another thing we did at sea yesterday was go to the Indonesian High Tea.  The staff was dressed in traditional garb serving some very tasty Indonesian teas and desserts.  We ended up sitting with the ship's cruise director, who isn't named Julie.  She was very pleasant and extolled the pleasures of the Antarctic cruises the line offers.  Sounds great, maybe....someday.

I think that will do it for tonight.  My sister Meghan had her baby this morning, so I have another nephew to add to the collection!  Tomorrow, we dock at Geiranger for more sightseeing.