We got a pretty early start from our accommodation and were on the move. Since we'd missed the Atlantic Ocean Road the day before, we decided to drive across it before heading to our final destination in Trondheim.
Our first excitement was the lawn mowing trucks, they held a long extension arm with a mower attachment and moved up and down the road clearing the grass:
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| Mower |
The Atlantic Ocean Road (
Atlanterhavsveien) is a 8.3km long road that runs between the islands on the west coast of Norway. It was designed in 1989 as a tourist drive and is specifically designed to be impressive.
To start with, we drove from North to South down the road. Once we reached the end, we stopped in the tourist shop and then turned around and did South to North. In order to get to Trondheim without needing to go on the big toll roads or by ferry we then did the the road again North to South, stopping midway for some photos. I think three trips was enough to really take in everything, so we then headed off to Trondheim.
To get to the road we also passed through the Atlanterhavstunneln (Atlantiuc Ocean Tunnel). The tunnel itself is 5.8km long and runs beneath the Bremsnesfjorden at 250m deep - one of the deepest undersea tunnels in the world.
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| Under the sea... under the sea... |
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| The rocky area leading toward the north end of the road |
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| The coastline |
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| Our first sight of the north end of the road |
I didn't get too many photos on the first pass, but here's the view of the road suddenly dropping off to nothing!
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| Where's the road go? |
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| It looks a little like a crazy roller-coaster |
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| Coming down over the end |
After the first pass, we took some photos from the tourist centre at the south end of the road:
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| Shoreline |
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| Map of where the road runs |
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| Information |
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| Looking back at the road from the north |
Here's the video of us crossing from south to north:
After that we stopped in the middle of the road to admire the bridge:
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| Bridge |
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| Heading out to take some photos |
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| The bridge wasn't the only attraction |
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| Boardwalk around the middle island |
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| Sign showing the aerial view |
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| Us by the bridge |
Next stop, Trondheim!
Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway and was founded in 997 as a trading post. It was the seat of the Catholic Archdiocese of Niadaros between 1152 and 1537 and hosts an impressive cathedral. It is also the end of the St Olav's Pilgrim trail between Oslo and Trondheim - a pilgrims trail used since 1032.
King Olav II Haraldsson was canonized as a Saint Olav in 1031 and was the most esteemed nordic saint in the middle ages. He was born in 995 to the viking king Harald Grenske (great-grandson of Harald Finehair). He brought Christianity back as the main faith after being baptized by the Duke of Normandy's brother in Rouen in 1014.
The pilgrims trail ends at the Niadros Cathedral, built in 1070, being the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world.
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| Pillar for Olav Tryggvason - (Saint Olav, King of Norway 995-1000) |
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| Statue commemorating "The Last Viking" - a novel published in 1921 |
We started at the cathedral, but I'll save the best for last. The harbour and Bybrua (town bridge) was our second destination, the picturesque old town of Trondheim.
The Bybrua was built in 1860-61, with the first bridge in its place being built in 1685.
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| Bybrua |
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| View along the harbour from the bridge |
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| Bybrua |
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| Old shore front |
Now on to the cathedral, I've explained enough, so here's the pictures:
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| Side of the cathedral |
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| Side entrance |
At this point we we thinking this was a pretty cool cathedral, but nothing too exciting. Then we walked around the front:
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| Panoramic of the Cathedral (the slight lean is due to the panoramic function) |
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| Front |
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| Left side sculptures |
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| Middle |
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| Top |
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| Right |
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| Left Tower |
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| Close up of the leftmost top sculptures |
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| Close up of the rightmost top sculptures |
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| Right Tower |
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| Top middle |
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| Wall ornamentation |
We then headed around to the other side and got a few more shots, none quite so ornate though:
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| Side Door |
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| Gargoyles |
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| Rear door |
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| Corner tower |
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| The end of the pilgrims path |
The final sight to see was the Archbishop's palace attached to the side of the cathedral:
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| Information |
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| Palace |
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| Museum |
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| Sculpture |
After finishing up at Trondheim, we headed out to our accommodation for the night, the Øysand camping ground. We had a comfortable apartment with a washing machine, so we managed to get most of our clothes washed (and dried by locking it in the bathroom and turning up the heaters). Not a bad place to spend the night:
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| View from the back step |
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| Looking left of the above shot |
Driving for today:
Atlanen Turistsenter - Atlantic Ocean Road (North to South) - Atlantic Ocean Road (South to North) - Trondheim - Øysand Camping 279km
Total distance to date: 1900km
And only two small time-lapses this time:
Kristiansund to the Atlantic Ocean Road
Over the Atlantic Ocean Road (North to South):
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