Goodbye Trondheim

Our last few days in Trondheim, the girls had mixed emotions.  At times they said they wanted to stay longer and other times, they couldn't wait to get home.  

We ran around town visiting our favorite parks and places one more time.

Then we packed up our bags and 

said goodbye to our apartment at 200 Bergljots gate and to all the nice people we had met in Trondheim

We were off for a few days of exploring the fjords and then home!

Birthdays

Both of our girls had their birthdays while we were in Norway.  It was a little tough without our usual resources and friends around, but we did everything we could to try and make their big days special.

June 3rd, Sydney woke up to balloons all over the house, some birthday signs and a special breakfast.

We celebrated with a sweet family from our new church congregation there. I had to borrow a pan from them to make this cake and it took me at least 30 minutes at the market that morning trying to find all the ingredients to make the chocolate cake Syd requested.  Who knew vanilla is a powder in Norway?!

Here's Syd about to blow out her candle.  Five years old!

We would be traveling on GG's b-day, so we moved it up a few days and she never knew the difference.  Grace woke up on her "birthday" covered in balloons and was so happy!

It was a beautiful sunny day and we ran a few errands and picked up the birthday cupcakes she had asked for that morning.

For both girls birthdays we spent the afternoon at this amazing indoor water park, Pirbadet.  It had a wave pool, water slides, huge jetted pools, a giant whirlpool with a current that pushed them around a little island and a kids area too.  They loved it and would go, go, go until they were exhausted.  I'm so glad we found this place!

I can't believe how fast these girls are growing.  My baby is three!
Here she is blowing out her candle

Kristiansten Fortress

Today I took the girls up to the fortress that overlooks the city.

The fort was built in 1681 and has all these cool stone bastions and tunnels.

  The girls loved running through all the passages and exploring the different levels around the main building.

 I loved the view from up there.  We could see all of the city and out to the fjords.

Day trip to Oppdal

This weekend we decided to explore another city, so we drove about two hours south to a town called Oppdal.  It was really fun to drive through the country and get a feel for our surroundings.

The countryside was so beautiful and green.  It reminds me a little of Washington.  I loved seeing all the   red, mustard and blue houses and barns on these rolling green hills.

I especially love seeing the unique church buildings, they're beautiful.

We had a picnic lunch at a lake and then hiked up a muddy trail to some small waterfalls.

There was beautiful scenery and lots of cool cabins that look like they were built with lincoln logs.

We ended our hike just as a big thunder storm rolled in and it started pouring rain.

I loved this gas station we gassed up at.  They had a turf roof on the store and even over the pumps.

Around town

The city of Trondheim is beautiful and we are here at such a great time of year too.  If we just had some buddies to hang out with, I could stay here all summer.  Here's pics of some of our favorite things.

The river that runs through the city and is just a block away from our apartment.

The library, where we've checked out mostly english books, but some Norwegian too.

The cathedral, the building and grounds are so beautiful.  We spend a lot of time in the gardens and climbing trees around the church.  I also love it because the huge spire can be seen all over town and helps me find my way!

This is the park closest to us and we have spent some time here almost everyday.

They have some cool and unique play structures here

This is the university in the distance where Pete has spent a lot of time for his work.  It's also a really neat building and can be seen from all over.

Natalie taught the girls how to make flower chains while she was here-so sweet!  They are still making them after she left.

Natalie Here!

One of the biggest highlights of this trip was having my friend Natalie come to visit.  Her husband JJ is working with Pete now and they came together, with no kids, for a romantic get-away.  But during the day while our husbands were working, she was mine to hangout and explore with!

 It was so fun to have a friend here, especially one that my kids love too.  She was so great to come along with us, even if it was just around town.  

 We spent one day at the beach were Syd took this great picture of us together.  I was sad when her five days were up!

Korsvika Beach

We met a great family at church that had us over for dinner and the girls loved their kids.  The mom, Eli invited us to a day at the beach and we were excited to explore a really pretty spot.  

Here's my girls with Eliahannah-(or at least that's how it's pronounced)  This was our one real play date while we were here.

This beach was still rocky, but had big rocks the kids could climb on too.  It was a beautiful place.

Munkholmen Island

In the middle of the Fjord off Trondhiem is an island whose history reminds me of Alcatraz in San Francisco.  In the Viking age they executed people there and then put the severed heads on stakes.  People coming into the Fjord were supposed to spit on the severed heads as tribute to the king of Norway! Then Munkholmen became a monastery, prison, fort and now tourist attraction.

We took a boat out one afternoon and discovered a beach there with real sand!

 Syd and GG with Trondheim in the distance