Where’s Bertie?
He's in a large car park in some woods, but with a bit of a view, in between Flatåsen and Ringvål (both of which are to the SW of Trondheim). Exact location: 63.36684, 10.30157.
Knowing that Trondheim is a popular place and only has motorhome parking for around 16 vans, we decided our best bet was to arrive between 10 and 11am as in most places that's the time of day when people tend to start leaving. The exception to this general rule is large towns and cities, but it still seemed the most appropriate strategy.
It was just 5 degrees out as we left last night's kipping spot and made our way along a gorgeous valley with the river rushing alongside the road. As we descended and the sun got its hat on the temperature rose, such that by the time we arrived in Trondheim, at 10.30, it was 12 degrees.
There we found the motorhome parking slots (both the free-for-24hr-max-stay and the paying ones) to be full. There were, however, a couple of car slots available and we can squeeze into a car slot, so we did (after the German van who had pulled in ahead of us and parked across both spaces had seen the error of his ways).
Whilst better than nothing, this was not ideal. These spots cost 23 NOK (call that £2.20) per hour. It was 10.30am and the charges apply till 8pm. We opted to pay for a couple of hours and have a very swift look around the town.
The cathedral was the obvious starting point, being as grand and big as Oslo's was small and plain:
We tried to identify who was represented in the many statues adorning the front wall. We managed to get Adam and Eve (Adam is in this shot; I didn't capture Eve standing next to him), but it took a bit of discussion to agree that the chap on the bottom row, second from right, was Gandalf...
We didn't go inside. Aside from lacking time, it was 90NOK a head, and it was rammed with tour groups. Instead we wandered next door to the historical Archbishop's Palace...
...and had a quick look around the ground floor of the military museum. We had no time for the other two and a half floors.
A walk through a busy market took us to the Tourist Office where various useful brochures were obtained, then in our final half an hour it was to the waterfront we headed. I've seen pictures of the wharf there with very colourful buildings, but we didn't find them. Instead I got distracted by finding the laundrette that Google had told me was thereabouts.
Back at Bertie with two minutes to spare, I took a quick scout around a nearby street and found the parking there to be unrestricted, with plenty of space. We moved and I predicted that within ten minutes another motorhome would spot us and follow our lead. I was right and it only took five minutes.
After lunch Mick was left behind whilst I set off for the 2km walk back across town to the laundrette*, where the wash cycle was long enough to allow me to zip off to the Tourist Office to download some more newspapers. Not knowing how long the drying would take (and having hung the synthetic items around the room, so I could put the drier on high heat), I waited in the stifling temperature of the room until it was done. It was refreshing to step back outside, although not as refreshing as what came later...
View from the bridge next to which Bertie was parked.
A quick sortie by Mick as I returned had him come back at a run, saying "Quick, a motorhome is leaving!". So much haste was made that we failed to notice, for the second time today, the unmarked speed hump on the way (cue the complete and involuntary rearrangement of the contents of Bertie's cupboards), yet someone still got to the newly vacated space before us. We gave up on Trondheim and left, taking a detour to the SW because we knew of a car park there that looked nice.
The car park did indeed have a good view of the adjacent lake, but it was also sloping and closely overlooked by two houses, so we only stayed long enough for me to go for a swim. Being a fresh water lake, and having forgotten to include my costume in the laundry, it seemed like as good a way as any to rinse the salt out from last weekend's sea swim. As for the water temperature, it was very cold indeed. I didn't stay in long!
We didn't have to retreat far to find a more suitable car park. Almost full when we arrived at around 6.15pm, we started to deduce that there was an orienteering event going on. Now, at nearly 9pm, it is emptying, although two cars have just arrived with bikes. It's not as if they're going to run out of daylight!
As for us, I think we may go to Hell tomorrow.
^^(* Considering Norway's reputation for its high cost of living, the laundry was remarkable for its value. A large wash was under £4 (only £2.50 for a small machine), and drying was just under £1 (and the machine was an automatic one that only stopped when the clothes were dry, rather being for a set time). I've never done laundry that cheaply in the UK; only Spain has come close. In other cost news, diesel this morning was down to 11.5NOK/litre. We didn't stop for any. By this afternoon it was up to 14.7. What is the logic behind such frequent wild fluctuations?)
He's in a large car park in some woods, but with a bit of a view, in between Flatåsen and Ringvål (both of which are to the SW of Trondheim). Exact location: 63.36684, 10.30157.
Knowing that Trondheim is a popular place and only has motorhome parking for around 16 vans, we decided our best bet was to arrive between 10 and 11am as in most places that's the time of day when people tend to start leaving. The exception to this general rule is large towns and cities, but it still seemed the most appropriate strategy.
It was just 5 degrees out as we left last night's kipping spot and made our way along a gorgeous valley with the river rushing alongside the road. As we descended and the sun got its hat on the temperature rose, such that by the time we arrived in Trondheim, at 10.30, it was 12 degrees.
There we found the motorhome parking slots (both the free-for-24hr-max-stay and the paying ones) to be full. There were, however, a couple of car slots available and we can squeeze into a car slot, so we did (after the German van who had pulled in ahead of us and parked across both spaces had seen the error of his ways).
Whilst better than nothing, this was not ideal. These spots cost 23 NOK (call that £2.20) per hour. It was 10.30am and the charges apply till 8pm. We opted to pay for a couple of hours and have a very swift look around the town.
The cathedral was the obvious starting point, being as grand and big as Oslo's was small and plain:
We tried to identify who was represented in the many statues adorning the front wall. We managed to get Adam and Eve (Adam is in this shot; I didn't capture Eve standing next to him), but it took a bit of discussion to agree that the chap on the bottom row, second from right, was Gandalf...
We didn't go inside. Aside from lacking time, it was 90NOK a head, and it was rammed with tour groups. Instead we wandered next door to the historical Archbishop's Palace...
...and had a quick look around the ground floor of the military museum. We had no time for the other two and a half floors.
A walk through a busy market took us to the Tourist Office where various useful brochures were obtained, then in our final half an hour it was to the waterfront we headed. I've seen pictures of the wharf there with very colourful buildings, but we didn't find them. Instead I got distracted by finding the laundrette that Google had told me was thereabouts.
Back at Bertie with two minutes to spare, I took a quick scout around a nearby street and found the parking there to be unrestricted, with plenty of space. We moved and I predicted that within ten minutes another motorhome would spot us and follow our lead. I was right and it only took five minutes.
After lunch Mick was left behind whilst I set off for the 2km walk back across town to the laundrette*, where the wash cycle was long enough to allow me to zip off to the Tourist Office to download some more newspapers. Not knowing how long the drying would take (and having hung the synthetic items around the room, so I could put the drier on high heat), I waited in the stifling temperature of the room until it was done. It was refreshing to step back outside, although not as refreshing as what came later...
View from the bridge next to which Bertie was parked.
A quick sortie by Mick as I returned had him come back at a run, saying "Quick, a motorhome is leaving!". So much haste was made that we failed to notice, for the second time today, the unmarked speed hump on the way (cue the complete and involuntary rearrangement of the contents of Bertie's cupboards), yet someone still got to the newly vacated space before us. We gave up on Trondheim and left, taking a detour to the SW because we knew of a car park there that looked nice.
The car park did indeed have a good view of the adjacent lake, but it was also sloping and closely overlooked by two houses, so we only stayed long enough for me to go for a swim. Being a fresh water lake, and having forgotten to include my costume in the laundry, it seemed like as good a way as any to rinse the salt out from last weekend's sea swim. As for the water temperature, it was very cold indeed. I didn't stay in long!
We didn't have to retreat far to find a more suitable car park. Almost full when we arrived at around 6.15pm, we started to deduce that there was an orienteering event going on. Now, at nearly 9pm, it is emptying, although two cars have just arrived with bikes. It's not as if they're going to run out of daylight!
As for us, I think we may go to Hell tomorrow.
^^(* Considering Norway's reputation for its high cost of living, the laundry was remarkable for its value. A large wash was under £4 (only £2.50 for a small machine), and drying was just under £1 (and the machine was an automatic one that only stopped when the clothes were dry, rather being for a set time). I've never done laundry that cheaply in the UK; only Spain has come close. In other cost news, diesel this morning was down to 11.5NOK/litre. We didn't stop for any. By this afternoon it was up to 14.7. What is the logic behind such frequent wild fluctuations?)
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