Pilegrimsgarden

 Norway continues to surprise and delight. Trondheim founded in 987, was the seat of the king and Norway’s capital until 1217. Today the city is the third largest in Norway and in many ways is quite unique. Located in the middle of the country, with a fjord on one side and a river running through the middle, Trondheim is a delight to the eyes.

Colourful wooden buildings hug the river. Bridges and walkways allow a pedestrian to leisurely take in the history of a town that earned its living from the sea. Cars, as in all of Norway’s cities, have been banished so pedestrians can wander without fear, except for the ever-present danger of fast moving and sometimes recklessly ridden electric scooters.

 

On foot and lugging our gear to our accommodation, the Pilegrimsgarden Hotel is difficult to find. Our GPS tells us that the Pilgrims’ Hostel is located beside the cathedral, but it continues to evade us. Wendy’s repeated encouragement to Richard to ask for directions falls on hapless proud male ears. Finally, at Wendy’s insistence, the grey wooden building that looks a little like a large work shed is investigated from the other side. Thankfully the weary pilgrims (who have only trekked 2 kms from the railway station) have found their resting place for the night.

 

The Hotel/Hostel is the final refuge for a number of pilgrims’ routes from across Norway, which culminate at the Nidaros Cathedral. This huge cathedral with beautiful stained glass windows is the resting place of King Olav, the Viking king who brought Christianity to Norway. Work on the Cathedral began in 1070. At only a few degrees of latitude below the Arctic Circle, Nidaros is the most northern cathedral in the world. Legend has it that when the cathedral is complete it will slide into the fjord, so to be on the safe side the building has never officially been finished. Building work continues to this day, just in case.

 

Pilegrimsgarden Hotel is adjacent to the grounds of the Cathedral, close to the river. It turns out that is just the sort of accommodation we love. This clean and unpretentious guest house is furnished with homely touches, a collection of old furniture and surrounded by a colourful garden and a sunny courtyard. The hostel’s café is Trodheim’s best kept secret, known to the locals for its delicious bread made from ancient grains and fabulous cakes and pastries.

 

During our stay we chat with the staff about the history of the building imagining that it was a repurposed barn or stables dating back a couple of hundred years. To our surprise we learn that the building was built in the early 1940s by the occupying German Army as military offices during WWII. After the war the Norwegian Military used it for various administrative purposes and more recently it was converted into the Pilgrims’ Hotel.

 

How strange that in secular Europe we find rest, and great bread and pastries, in a converted Nazi military base that now provides spiritual refuge for increasing numbers of pilgrims making their way north to visit a Church of Norway Cathedral.

 

In the face of evil Jesus said:

 

Man shall not live on bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God.