Trondheim and the Martnan Festival

On Friday, we arrived in Trondheim, the 3rd largest city in Norway. We were lucky to be there during the Martnan Festival celebrating Mid Sommer. We started our day as part of a tour group with Princess that took us to visit Kristiansted Fortress. The fortress from 1684 was constructed to defend against Sweden, but was never used in battle. Today is provides beautiful views of the city.

We then continued on the Nidaros Cathedral which was founded in 1152. It is known for containing the bones of St. Olav, Norway's patron saint. In Norway, most structures were made of wood. This large stone cathedral is rare, but was built here because Trondheim used to be the capital of Norway.

Next we walked next door to the Archbishop's Palace. It was built in the 12th century and served as the residence for the Catholic bishops until the Reformation. We were able to view the crown jewels of Norway and see some artifacts from the Palace and the cathedral.

After this, we left the tour and stayed in Trondheim to visit the Martnan festival. There were lots of food stalls, crafts, and local groups represented. It was fun getting to mingle with the locals and try some new foods. It was surprising how multi-cultural the city is. We say Thai food, sushi, churros, doner, shwarma, local meats and cheeses, and Italian olives. The samples were better than Costco. We even tried reindeer and whale!!