Let Trondheim surprise you

Why did you choose Norway?

Honestly, I didn’t “choose” Norway, Norway chose me. Austria. Belgium, Italy and France (the most common destinations) were amongst my initial options. But on my course (industrial engineering) lots of people ask for the grant, so it was really difficult to get the destination that you wanted (average grades, language degrees…). All I knew for sure was that I wanted to go, be it wherever it may be.

I have to say that once they gave me the news I started to do research about the country, the culture, the prices, the transport… And above all I started to investigate the city where I was going to live for 10 months: Trondheim. At the start I thought: wow, I’m going so far! But the desire to go increased as the date drew closer.

Trondheim as a city

Trondheim is the third most populated city in Norway, located in the ‘north’ with around 184, 960 inhabitants (like Alcalá de Henares for anyone who knows it). I say ‘north’ because Norway is a very long country, and it looks like it’s in the north given that it’s around 7 hours from Oslo by train, but it’s also more than 10 hours from Tromso (a very northern city).

Trondheim is a very beautiful and welcoming city. There is also the Trondheim fiord, which is the third largest in the country. For those who don’t know, a fiord where the sea enters into the country.

Although it’s not as big is Oslo, for example, it has a lot of charm and there are thousands of things to do and lots of places to visit.

What to see and do in Trondheim

There are lots of things to do, lots of them are things that you’ll have never done before in your life and will be a completely new experience! Here I’ll give you a list of things you can do.

To begin with, the centre of Trondheim is beautiful with the main square and the statue of Olaf. There you will find quite a large shopping centre (Trondheim Torg) with standard shops like H&M, Vero Moda... and a McDonald’s.

One of the main streets is Munkegata, which is full of great shops and bars, mind you, be careful with the prices!

You can also visit the famous area of Bakklandet where the Old Town Bridge (the Bridge of Happiness), one of my favourite places in the city. It’s impossible not to pass by and take a photo.

Also, in this area you can rent canoes for around 120 krones. I think it’s a good plan and you’ve got to do it at least once!

Nídaros Cathedral is also very beautiful, sometimes there are concerts, and I’d recommend going to one some time. It’s built in Gothic style and what surprised me is that there is a cemetery just next to it (it’s very common there). Studentersamfundent and the cathedral are separated by a very pretty bridge. On one side there’s the Old Town Bridge and the Bakklandet area that I mentioned before, and on the other side is Bymarka.

You can also head to the fiord because there’s a really nice path. I loved going for walks there. There’s also a stone path that takes you to the lighthouse, which you need to do at least once!

A really cool viewpoint is the Kristiansten Fort, where you can see aaaaaall of Trondheim. It’s a really cool place to take some food and enjoy yourself with some lovely views.

Of course you need to visit the Solsiden area. It’s a really pretty place full of bars and restaurants. They are quite expensive, but for a beer or a coffee it’s really good.

Somewhere else you need to go is Burmaklippen, a hidden rock in which you can take photos and also look at the lovely views. It’s more or less close to Moholt and it’s a great weekend plan!

Finally, Bymarka is a gorgeous natural area to spend the day hiking in summer/autumn or to go cross-country skiing in winter. You can get there by bus (from the centre) or by tram.

As well as the centre, the fortress, the cathedral, the bridge and the Bakklandet area, there are many little charming places. One of them is close to the fortress, it doesn’t have a name and in fact it’s not a tourist site, but I love it. It’s between the Tyholt Tower and the fortress. I recommend a walk through this area, and you’ll arrive here:

There’s another place I love, which is the pipe. It’s

Hay otro sitio que me encanta que es el pipe (tubería). It’s close to the path to the fiord, where you can take incredible photos and enjoy a unique sunset.

If you continue along the path, you arrive at Korskiva beach. This area is gorgeous, and it perfect for having a barbecue at dusk. The daring amongst you can bathe in the middle of May in this icy water!

There’s also the Pirbadet Pool. It’s a type of “waterpark” with several pools, slides, saunas… Very advisable because there are also great views: the fiord!

I recommend that you discover the city for yourself on a daily basis. One day, go out into the street and walk without knowing where you’re going, and you’ll discover great little places. Mind you, good luck with the hills!

Food

You could say that the food is one of the “worst” things about Norway. I say the worst because, being from Andalucia, I’m used to very varied and tasty food. There, you’ll miss lots of the typical ingredients, or they’ll be so expensive that you won’t be able to have them.

The first time I went shopping was crazy. I had no idea of what brands, places, prices etc. were best. As time passes, you get used to it and you know how to manage your money a little better. Then when I went back to Spain, I took back ingredients that didn’t exist in Norway: saffron, Avecrem (stock cubes), lentils, noodles… And of course pepperoni, ham and chicken soups that take no time to make and are delicious! I spent around 200-250 euros per month on food.

Although almost everything was really expensive, there were other products that weren’t badly priced, for example, Mexican food was quite affordable (tacos, salsas, nachos…) Of course you need to try Norwegian salmon, and on a special day reindeer or moose meat.

Our favourite recipe was salmon with pesto, cheese and tomato. It doesn’t require much effort and it’s delicious!

The cheapest supermarkets were Rema1000 and Kiwi, and Bunnpris wasn’t bad either and they sometimes had really good offers.

Many people take advantage and do their shopping in Sweden… Yes, Sweden. There’s a bus that goes every Thursday from Moholt to a supermarket in Sweden. The prices are “a little” lower there, but the most noticeable part if the price of alcohol. So, if you don’t have friends that bring you alcohol, I recommend going some time!

Drinking/eating out

You can forget all about going out to eat tapas every day. Norway, in case you haven’t been, is a very very expensive country and the quality of life there is much higher. The places where I usually went for a drink were:

- Tyholt Tower: also called Pizza Tower. You can enjoy some lovely views of all of Trondheim and a pizza buffet for only 99 krones (around 10 euros). As well as the buffet there are loads of other things, although this was the cheapest.

- There’s another pizza buffet place in the centre, where the pizzas were also quite tasty, that was called: Napoli on Kongens Gate.

- Super Hero Burger: the perfect place to have a beer or a very delicious hamburger – it’s not your typical McDonald’s. There are also loads of board games and people usually go to spend the afternoon/evening there.

- Mormors Stue: a very pretty café in the centre of Trondheim, where you can pay about 80 krones for unlimited tea, coffee and cake; the cheesecake is gorgeous!

- Sot Bar: is another quite affordable burger place in Solsiden. A hamburger can cost you 150 krones (16 euros) without chips or a drink. But oh well, once a month won’t harm!

- For a coffee, all you have to do is go to the Bakklandet area. There are thousands of welcoming cafes there.

- Cowsea: another restaurant in Solsiden. There’s more variety there, from sushi, to hamburgers, to salmon… Average price: 250 krones (26 euros).

- Sushi Bar: if you like sushi, you can’t miss this restaurant. There’s one in Solsiden too.

Partying

An important topic: partying in Trondheim. Although it’s not like a city that we’re used to (at least for the Spanish), it’s a city with lots of parties. When we went out there, we had pre-drinks at home and then we went to a pub/disco in the centre. Of course keeping to the Norwegian schedule: eat at 6/7pm and start drinking at 8pm since the pubs there close at 2am. The typical places there are:

- Downtown or Studio26: it only costs 120 krones (13 euros) to get in without a drink.

- Wildside: they only charge for lockers, 30 krones (4 euros).

- Circus: it was more of a bar than a disco, and they played more of a variety of music. They don’t charge to get in there either.

- Studentersamfundent: it’s a student association situated close to the Gløshaugen campus. The association is run by students who do it voluntarily. The atmosphere is really good and there are lots of things to do there, from going for a drink or dinner in a restaurant to spending a Saturday night there (there’s a club with over 3 floors with different atmospheres and types of music). Lots of Norwegians often go there too and if you become a member (I think it’s 500 krones for the whole year) you get some discounts. Another option is to become a volunteer and get to know lots of people! I definitely recommend it!

- If you want more ‘Norwegian’ places, you need to go to Solsiden, where there’s a really good atmosphere at night.

There were two options for buying alcohol: buy it in the supermarket (bear in mind that they didn’t sell all types of drinks there, only up to a certain percentage of alcohol); the other option was to buy it in Vinmonopolet where they sold all types of alcohol, wine, beers…

If you live in Moholt… Prepare youself for the journey home! The bus pass doesn’t cover night buses, so you have two choices: a taxi between 4 people what costs around 200 krones (20 euros between 4, so 5 euros), or walk home… A nice little hour to walk off the drink!

Accomodation/transport

The most common option there was to stay in a SIT residence (they’re in charge of residences, gyms, courses…) There was a lot of residences, although the cheapest and most popular was Moholt which is where I stayed. It was around 3900 krones a month (440 euros), bills included. It’s the cheapest thing you’ll find there. I liked in a 10m2 bedroom (plenty for one person) and shared a kitchen and bathroom with 3 people.

To tell you the truth, it’s a really cool place to live, because you’re in a multicultural university atmosphere where there are people from aaaall over the world, and when I say all over I mean all over! During my time there, I shared a flat with an Italian girl, a French girl a German girl and one from Singapore.

For transport, I advise you to get a bus pass at the ATB. The price depends on how many months you pay for, 3 months of unlimited buses (without night buses) was around 120 euros. The website for the buses is: https://www.atb.no/

To become a member of SIT you just need to follow these steps:

https://www.sit.no/en/sports/become-member.

University

This university is the second most major university in Norway, and the best in the technology sector. It had incredible facilities and a range of activities and societies to meet people. You don’t just go to classes and study there, you can practise all types of sports (volleyball, animation group, judo, football, dance…), spend time in the several cafés, lie on the lawn…

Also, as an NTNU student, you can rent cabins. This was what we did when we fancied doing something different. We spent one or two nights there (one was enough for me) in cabins with no light or electricity, in the middle of nowhere, but surrounded by incredible scenery. The thing is to go in winter, you’ll never see so much snow in your life, and in summer you can enjoy combining a bath and a lake with icy water and a sauna.

Http://org. ntnu.no/koiene/

Another idea is to go to Studenterhytta, a cabin where you can spend the afternoon, or go to have lunch/dinner (the chef cooks incredible dishes! ). It’s in the middle of Bymarka and there’s a bus that goes there from Moholt.

Tourism in Norway

Norway is a beautiful country. To travel around Norway all you need to do is rent a car, which is the cheapest way of travelling.

To rent a car there are two options: through Sixt o Nabobil. The cars that Nabobil rent are private, so they tend to be cheaper than at Sixt. All of my experiences of renting cars have been positive and if you like driving, you’ll love driving on the roads there, they’re very nice!

On my travels, I was able to visit: Bergen, Aalesund, Røros, Gerianger, Stavanger, Innerdalen, Lofoten Islands...

If you like skiing, people usually go to Are. It’s a city in the middle region of Sweden where alpine ski is very famous. I personally didn’t go, but I’ve got friends who went and had a great time!

To travel outside of Norway, you just have to look out for the cheap flights… I got a return ticket to Gdnask (Poland) for 20 euros. Although I’d recommend getting to know Norway as much as possible, since it’s an incredible country where you’ll discover beautiful scenery that you’ve never seen before. Here are some photos…

Climate

Well, to finish with, let’s talk about the climate. It’s true that you’re going to get cold. I felt it even more being from Seville! But it’s nothing extreme and in the end you get used to it. When I arrived in August, it was good weather, sunny and with lots of daylight hours (only 5-6 hours of darkness). In winter (December/January) it will be much colder. The average temperature is -5 to -10 degrees. One week it went down to -15. I’ll also say don’t worry much about clothing. The clothes I took were ones that I usually wear here in the middle of winter, although with a good big jacket that covered me down to my knees, gloves, hat, scarf, and some good boots that protected me from the cold and the snow.

Of course, you can’t miss the Northern Lights. In Trondheim I saw some gorgeous ones (although the most beautiful were on the Lofoten Islands). You’ll just need to pay attention and look for a dark place to see them.

During the winter, daylight hours are scarce. But oh well, different plans always crop up. You’ll do more homely activities: meals at home, films, going bowling…

After Christmas, you’ll see how little by little the daylight hours start growing and you start to make different plans! When it’s 0 degrees you won’t believe it and you’ll want to go outside! Hahaha…

My experience ends here! I had to shorten it a lot, but I hope it will be useful for you! I hope that you really enjoy yourself and never doubt whether to go or now: let yourself go and Trondheim will surprise you!