Vinayak Hegde

The journey from Tromso in the north to Trondheim in the west was long and involved 2 ferry rides, 2 bus trips and a overnight train journey. I traveled a about 800 kms in one day. I found Trondheim to be a charming university and historical town. Even today about a quarter of it’s population is students.

The Nidaros Cathedral

Trondheim was the capital of Norway until 1217 AD and was founded more than a millennium ago in 997 AD. The region around Trondheim has been populated since Prehistoric times. Nidaros Cathedral is a Church built in Gothic style. A church was initially built on the same place in 1070 though it has been damaged and rebuilt several times since then. The West front of the Cathedral contains many statues. A legend to the statues can be found here. The complex also has the Archbishop’s Palace and a small museum. Beneath the Cathedral there is a crypt chamber which has many old coffins recovered during excavation and restoration of the Cathedral. It is also possible to go to the Church Spires to get magnificent views of Trondheim City.

Monk’s Island

Munkholmen or Monk’s Island is a small island just off Trondheim port. It used to be an execution ground in ancient times until Benedictine monks built a monastery in the 11th Century. Over the years it has been used as a prison, fort and also a monastery. During World War II it was also used as an anti-aircarft gun station. Today it is a place for recreation with several small restaurants and cafes.

Camera Obscura

As a traveler, once in a while you hit across something that is not there on any website or guidebooks but delights you. The Camera Obscura (A Pinhole Camera) is such an attraction on banks of the Nidelva River. The building of the Camera Obscura was actually built by students of NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology). The building is made of wood and has a small hole and lens at the top which lets light through. The image is formed on the floor of the Camera Obscura after being reflected from a small mirror system. The images are really sharp and there are various levers to adjust the aperture of the pinhole and the orientation of the pinhole. It is really educative for people who do not know how cameras work as you are actually inside the Camera Obscura itself. More details at the website of the Camera Obscura.

Kite Festival

During my stay, I walked up to the Kristiansten Fortress situated on a hill. While I enjoyed the view of Trondheim Fjord from the hill, there was a sudden rush of students and their parents from the architecture section of NTNU who were organizing a impromptu Kite Festival as a part of the coursework. It was funny to see students trying to fly kites of different sizes and shapes including some monolithic duds which has no chance of flying. In the end the kites that flew well and stayed afloat were the ones which had the simplest design. A good engineering lesson learnt the hard way .

Tromsø is the largest city in Norway north of the Arctic circle. It has been inhabited since the end of the Ice Age. Most of Tromsø is situated on a small island and connected to the mainland by the Tromsø Bridge. The climate in Tromsø is surprisingly moderate for a city at this latitude thanks to the Gulf stream that warms the shore. Tromsø is home to the world’s northernmost university and is also one of the best places to see the Northern Lights being right in the middle of the Northern Lights zone. Unfortunately I was there at the wrong time (summer) and the sunspot activity is currently at it’s lowest so the chances of seeing the northern lights was pretty much zero.

I arrived late at night in Tromsø via a flight from Vilnius and stayed at a CSer’s place. It turned out the CSer’s father was an international diplomat and I had some great conversations with him. It also opened my mind to the other side of anthropogenic climate change as several scientists I chanced up during the trip told me that climate change was just a good way of getting funding for climate research but the situation on the ground (in Norway and Svalbard atleast) was different from what was being reported in the news.

Arctic Cathedral and Fløyen

The Arctic Cathedral is on the mainland and can be reached by crossing the Tromsø Bridge from the city centre. Due to it’s distinctive style and location it has often called the Opera house of Norway (alluding to the Sydney Opera House).

The Fløyen is a mountain overlooking the island of Tromsø and it’s summit can be reached by cable car. It offers spectacular views of Tromsø and you can see the whole island looking northward. The panorama linked below was taken from Fløyen.

View Larger Panoramic Version stitched from 8 photos

Other architectural Attractions

There are several interesting buildings and institutions in Tromsø such as the Polar Environment center built to resemble a stack of falling books, the City Hall, the Mack Brewery – a microbrewery which has been operational since 1877 and the Court building.

Recently London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) – Renga Ensemble performed with Karnataka College of Percussion Quartet (KCP4) at the Chowdiah Hall in Malleswaram. The pieces played were a fantastic blend of Western Classical and Carnatic music. The last three pieces played were the finest (“17th Cross”, “Bangalore” and “Guru”). This was also the first time I heard the instruments – The Basoon and the Double Bass. The beautiful compositions got a standing ovation from the crowd (twice). Sadly their music is not available on a CD. Otherwise I would buy it in a jiffy. Leave a comment if it is not so.

Vilnius is very laidback and underdeveloped as compared to the other Baltic capitals but it’s plain looks hide it’s erudite populace. Vilnius is the home to one of Europe’s oldest universities and the largest book fair in the Baltics is held here every year. Vilnius has been continuously inhabited since the early middle ages when it was the capital of the grand Duchy of Lithuania. Vilnius’s Old Town has several old buildings from medieval times and is extremely well preserved. It is also designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for it’s unique architecture. The Baroque architecture dominates Vilnius but there are examples of Renaissance and Gothic style architecture as well. Vilnius was very important city for the Jews (known as “Jerusalem of the North”) but that changed after the holocaust and very few Jews remain in Vilnius now.

Vilnius was one of the few places where I stayed in a hotel. The Panorama Hotel in Vilnius sits atop a hill just outside the gates of the old city and lives up to it’s name by offering beautiful vistas of the old town especially in the night. For a city of it’s size, Vilnius has a lot of churches – 65 in all. Many of these are situated in the old town and display different kinds of architectures and catering to different sects of Christianity.

The Vilnius Cathedral and Three Crosses hill

The Vilnius Cathedral with it’s imposing structure dominates the center of Vilnius. It is built in the neoclassical style. The interior of the Church has many statues and huge pillars The bell tower and the Cathedral are the unofficial symbols of Vilnius. Outside the Cathedral, there is large statue of Gediminas – who made the first reference to Vilnius in his letters and is considered to have founded Lithuania. The new Palace complex is just behind the Cathedral and was still under construction in August 2009.

From the inscription:

The Hill of three crosses is one of the symbols of Vilnius. Three white crosses were erected to commemorate 14 Franciscans, who according to legend, came as missionaries and were martyred by pagans on this site. The first wooden crosses were built in 1613 and later renovated, but removed by the Russian administration after the revolt of 1863. A concrete monument was built in 1916 according to A. Wiwulski’s design. The Soviet authorities destroyed the crosses, but from 1989, they have been standing in their original place, imprinted in the silhouette of Vilnius and in our minds as symbols of Christianity in Lithuania.

Finally after the memorable trip through the Baltics it was time to fly to the North of the Arctic Circle to Tromso. The Vilnius Airport was small and charming with a staff of just 6-7 people and small old aircraft hanging from the ceilings. It turned out that the people who checked in my baggage were the people on the plane. It was a small propeller-driven aircraft with less than 25 seats. I reached Tromso, Norway late after midnight.

Trakai is a small city 25Kms west of Vilnius – the Capital City of Lithuania. Trakai was the ancient capital of Lithuania and was founded in the 14th Century. Trakai is situated on a peninsula that stretches into the Lake Galve. Trakai has three castles – two on the shore and one on the lake island. One of the castles on the shore is in a state of disrepair. The Trakai Island Castle is a popular tourist destination and features on the cover of Lonely planet’s Gide to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Karaim Community

Karaims or Karaites are a small Turkic-speaking religious and ethnic group. They have settled in Trakai since the 14th Century. They follow Karaite Judaism. The place of worship is called the Kenesa (See pic below). Trakai’s Karaite Kenesa is an example of a surviving wooden synagogue with an interior dome. Their houses can be easily identified as they have three windows facing the road and are brightly coloured.