It took eleven visits, but I have finally cracked why I love Scandinavia; by now I have written about it so much that a definitive reason was bound to percolate through. There is a sense of peace that comes with a trip to the region which positively affects my mood. In the UK, life is fast-paced and even if we want to slow down, we often get caught up in the speed without realising. In Norway, when it’s you, nature, some local food (and probably some great wifi), your pace and mindset dial down.

My May 2016 trip to Norway was my fourth to the region in a year. In May 2015, I visited Skåne and Copenhagen, August 2015 was Oslo, Flam and Bergen and October 2015 was Stockholm. This trip was my third to Trondheim, where my friend Dave from Life in Norway lives and I feel duty-bound to give you eleven happy reasons why you should visit Trondheim.

Reason 1: Getting a direct flight to Trondheim is hassle free from London Gatwick; for under £90 you can get a return on one of Norwegian’s shiny new planes with intermittent wi-fi on board. Booking ahead will help keep the cost low, so save spontaneous trips for elsewhere!

Reason 2: Coffee and cinnamon buns. I love Dromedar cafe with good latte’s and good buns coming in about around £7.50 together. This is a small chain with the best location being on Nedre Bakklandet, right by the Old Town bridge, Gamle Bybro, which dates back to 1861 in its current form. 

Reason 3: The Nidaros Cathedral. It’s one of those places that seems to be super important but without anyone ever having heard of it. But it’s the most northernmost medieval cathedral in the world, the most important cathedral in the country and parts of the Cathedral have been modelled on Lincoln cathedral. We took the tour of the Cathedral and found it informative without actually focusing on the religious stuff. Phew. The most eye-opening fact was that sections of the Cathedral were used as stables for hundreds of years – but to find out why you’d need to visit.

Reason 4: The cafe at the contemporary art gallery. Trondhjems Kunstforening is a modern art gallery I haven’t managed to visit but I have ordered the chicken salad three times. Every time, the salad has been a highlight of my food year. It is enormous and bursting with fresh flavours, this is the salad of the kings. The garden is a lovely spot for eating and people watching.

Reason 5: Trondheim Microbrewery. Aha! Just my sort of place. The website might not have an English translation, but beer is a universal language. The IPA stands out in particular and my tireless experimenting of their beers has given me the knowledge to say this is a good place to hang out. You are welcome. It’s relaxed, people are drinking for pleasure rather than as a sort of bloodsport (at these prices, etc…) and the music isn’t ramped up to the point where you might as well forget ever talking to your friends again.

Reason 6: Solsiden. Fifteen years ago, an industrial part of Trondheim was transformed into Solsiden, a shopping, nightlife and restaurant location. The landscaping is gorgeous, ideal for sitting outside for a spot of people-watching. We chose Bare Blåbær for this task and, of course, there are many restaurants to throw your money at. Which leads me to number 7, in another part of town…

Reason 7: A reasonably priced Chinese restaurant in Trondheim! Shanghai Restaurant, on the banks of the river at 21 Kjøpmannsgata, offers large, tasty meals for about £13 with beers around the £6.50 mark. I ordered the pepper beef which came with a ton of rice. Even when my fellow diners were nibbling at my meal, we couldn’t finish it.

Reason 8: Rockheim! One thing I really like about Norway is that each city feels important in some way. Trondheim doesn’t feel like some provincial city and giving it the national museum of Norwegian pop and rock music sets that tone. Rockheim is as about as fun an afternoon as you can have for £10. It is all about interactivity here and if you ever come across my song – mostly me saying “Lindaaaa” like Jill does in Nighty Night over some confusing drums, feel free to draw up the record contract. It turns out I am not a talented guitarist, but I can dress boys up to look real pretty if given access to a dressing up box.

The building is fantastic, the exhibits are much more interesting than you would expect and the views from the top floor are superb. Rockheim is how all museums should be!

Reason 9: Trondheim’s ‘alternative district’. Ok, it’s small but it’s cute and as you’ll walk past it if you go to Reason 10, there’s nothing to lose. As Dave writes here, the bar called Ramp is where hipsters can go and be tattooed and beardy, free from the daily oppression they never face. Actually, I wonder if a hipster in Trondheim would wear one yellow and one pink Converse like one I recently saw in Tesco metro in Walthamstow? Around the area is a brilliant installation made of…bits of old plastic I suppose.  

More information on the district is here.

Reason 10: Ladestien, the trail leading past the Lade peninsula is a great walk that starts with the fantastic megasized megaphone that the University of Science and Technology gave to the city to play with. I had hoped it would blast out Lana Del Ray across the city, but that didn’t work. If it looks like a megaphone, you’d assume it is a megaphone. But still, it’s fun to run about on it.

The walk leads on to the usual Norwegian trio of big sky/water/trees, leading me back to my happy place. Along the way was a piano high above the path that is terribly out of tune. Who would take a piano, carry it about fifty feet up a hill? A cool Norwegian, that’s who. Legend has it that the piano has moved to another location in the city, so be on the lookout! Carry on along the water and you’ll reach a beach area where Ben, my friend on the trip with me, dived into the water immediately, like a true Norwegian. I am British so I ate my sandwich on a picnic table. It rained, then it stopped, then it rained again.

Reason 11: No trip to Norway is complete without a hike in the hills, with the big skies that make you feel smaller but equally remind you that you’re part of nature. When I lived in Devon, I started to develop a love for the open air, with Dartmoor’s piercing cold, windswept afternoons. None of it mattered because Dartmoor is Dartmoor. Now I live in London, the first spot of rain sees me scurrying into a cafe for fear of a head cold. Our walk around Bymarka was blissful. It’s a city forest with hundreds of kilometers of marked trails and once you get beyond the initial throng of people, you can find yourself alone, picking berries and in time, without a thought in your head. From the city centre, we took bus no. 10 right to the forest and walked a route marked as 5km, but with our meanderings, selfies and diversions, it was more like 8km. We walked to the tram stop at Lian where we took the tram back into town.

170,000 people call Trondheim home, and I bet every one of them is content to be there. It’s a real charmer of a town, in a country I adore going to. But there’s so much more to Norway for me to see, as Dave loves to point out. There’s Tromsø, there’s the Lofoten islands and maybe even Svalbard. Until next time!