North in Trøndelag, shaped like a triangle, between the inner Trondheimsfjord and the Swedish border, is Verdal municipality located. Here, ‘the border between municipalities’ was set a very long time ago, and there have been only 3 changes in historical time (!). The first change occurred when the border river against Levanger (Rinnelva) changed its way, while the second occurred shortly after The Black Death, when the farms at Leksdalsvannet were abandoned. The third boundary change came in 1917, when a new school was needed in Feren, Meråker municipality. And, actually, Verdal did get away with no changes in the much debated municipal reform in 2020.
Verdal has 15,000 inhabitants, of which more than half live in the administrative center Verdalsøra. Humans have lived here for a long time! There are a number of ancient monuments in the municipality, especially many burial mounds, but otherwise Verdal is perhaps best known for the site Stiklestad Battlefield (called “Stekstad” by the locals).
15 km upwards from the fjord, the two rivers Helgåa and Inna run together to form Verdalselva. The name comes from the old word ‘Ver’, which means quiet, calm. This sounded perfect for a swimming adventure. We wanted to swim there!
But this January evening was very dark. We became aware that ‘how to climb into the river’ was not very clear. And Knut had that bad prolapse back. Actually, this bath turned into a ‘not’.
… at first attempt, that is. The next day, in daylight, we went a little further upstream. And just downstream ‘Nybrua’ (the New Bridge), we found Bjarnebukta (Bjarne Bay). This seemed to be a great place to swim!
The water was still and beautiful. And the ducks swam to meet us. Bjarne, however, we didn’t see. Is it Bjarne who owns the place? Or has there been a bear (“Bjørn” in Norwegian) here a long, long time ago? Please notify us if you know!
Well… The bath itself was nice, but the swimwear didn’t quite have any deliciuos scent afterwards. Perhaps Verdalselva will not be our favorite bathing place after all? It seems that Verdal municipality never takes any quality check of bathing spots. So bathing is at your own risk.
After a bath in Verdal, it is a good idea to go to the theatre. Verdal Teaterlag is a very active institution, while we are optimistic and chose the musical ‘Otpimist’ with music by Jahn Teigen.