With its 600 inhabitants, Leka is one of Norway’s smallest municipalities, but that does not prevent an immense commitment to theater. Herlaugsgildet theater group was established in 1977, and they have set up the play ‘Herlaugsspelet’ for many years. But in 2024 it was ‘The saga about the Helgeland mountains’ that was the theme. We wanted to see that!
The path to Lekamøya (The Leka Virgin Mountain) starts from Solsem.
Tobatheornottobathe’s short version of the saga goes like this: King Sulis in Sulitjelma and King Vågakallen in Lofoten argued about who had the biggest kingdom. But there was one thing they agreed on, namely that the youths were difficult to manage. Vågakallen had given up his unruly son, Hestmannen (The Horse Man), and King Sulis had sent his 7 daughters to Landegode close to Bodø, so that they would be brought up by the wise and beautiful Lekamøya.
Lekamøya mountain looks like a woman with stretched arms and a shawl. Photo: Ole Hamnes, license: CC BY NC SA 4.0.
It didn’t work out very well, because the seven sisters just wanted to play and bathe, preferably with the Horseman. But his eyes had fallen on Lekamøya, and there was a lot of back and forth before he shot his arrow after her. The arrow went through Trollhatten which still has a hole through it, and at the same time the sun rised and everyone turned to stone. The color on the west side of Leka island is explained by the fact that Lekamøya dropped the bucket of mysost (whey cheese) in the same moment, and the stones were colored red.
On the way to theater in Frøvik. The mysost bucket on this milk ramp won’t blow away anytime soon.
The play ‘Lekamøya and Hestmannen‘ was quite well set up, with several references to Herlaugspelet. The outdoor stage is absolutely beautiful, located on a headland with water visible on both sides. The play had many scenes mentioning bathing, certainly a show to Tobatheornottobathe’s taste!
The seven sisters, here are 5 of them, appreciated bathing and all sorts of fun, especially if the Horseman was around.
This theater day in 2024, the weather was brilliant, almost too much for Tobatheornottobathe. Sunny and 27 degrees celcius… It all went as it had to go – there was a swim in the break!
At Leka, a bath is perfect when the theater has a break.
Just after the ice age, the sea level at the Trøndelag coast was up to 100 meters higher than today. At Leka you can find a cave 78 m above sea level, Solsemgrotta, formed by a fault that was excavated by the sea, while this was the beach zone.
Lekmøyhammaren and the hard choice: Turn left towards Solsemgrotta, or right towards Lekamøya?
In 1912, the cave was explored for the first time by 3 young men from Solsem. The cave is approximately 40 meters long, 5 meters wide and 8 meters high. Once inside, they discovered cave paintings in the dark part, the first cave art found in Norway until then. The boys behaved well after the discovery, by notifying the Science Museum in Trondheim. Later the cave was examined by archaeologists Theodor Petersen and Claus Hjelte. They made drawings of the cave and the cave paintings, and collected many objects for further investigation.
View northwestwards from the cave.
Remains of many different animals were found, a total of 1,868 bones. From catching and hunting, they found shells from clams and snails as well as bones from seals, cod, flounder, herring, black bream, gray grouse, puffins, vultures, sea eagles, goshawks and rock doves, but also livestock bones from cattle, sheep, goats and horses. The cave has clearly been used for a long time, from the Bronze Age (1800 BD) to the Viking Age (1000 AD).
View westwards from Solsemgrotta, towards today’s farmland.
The use of the cave has been much debated. We have many caves in Norway that have been used as shelters. Solsemgrotta, however, has a difficult access. The path up to the cave is today a rocky trip, but was of course shorter in older times, when the sea level was higher.
The entrance to Solsemgrotta is closed today, to preserve the art. Access only with a guide.
The problem is the slope from the cave entrance. There is a steep drop of 3 meters into the cave before it flattens out, today equipped by stairs and ropes. In older times you must have needed a ladder and/or ropes, which would have been very impractical with children. The conclusion is therefore that the cave must have been used for rituals. The remains of two people are explained by the fact that they were brought there after their death.
The cave entrance is steep, no place for children. The cave cannot have been a residence.
We were at Leka island to see the play ‘Lekamøya og Hestmannen‘, and in that connection guided tours to Solsemgrotta had been set up. It was a great tour, with a good guide. So far, only 10 caves with rock art have been found in Norway, all along the coast between Namdalen and Lofoten. In comparison, thousands of petroglyphs have been found in open air, all over the country.
The cave painting on the east wall. Copy of archaeologist Claus Hjelte’s drawing. It is not allowed to take pictures inside the cave.
The cave painting on the east wall in Solsemgrotta depicts 13 people, one of whom is holding a large solar cross. 9 of the figures are clearly marked as men. Of those who lack male attributes, there are two who have obviously important functions: One holds the solar cross and the other holds a torch. According to our guide, the non-male figures were first categorized as ‘castrated men’, not as women (!). This probably says more about women’s position in the early 20th century than women’s place in the Bronze Age society. Was there an interest in mass castration of men in the Bronze Age? Were the women invisible in the early agricultural society?Tobatheornottobathe is in no doubt, and concludes that the portrayal of women has never been uninteresting, not even in the Bronze Age.
Rullavikstranda at Solsem. Sem comes from Norse ‘Sæeimr’ = Home by the sea.
Unfortunately, Solsemgrotta has no pool, so bathing inside the cave is impossible. At Leka, however, there are bathing places everywhere, and of course we took our cave bath at Solsem. Down by the sea we found a beautiful bay, Rullavikstranda, with fine sand, but decided to jump from the not quite finished floating jetty. It’s wise to look around a bit before swimming, as we discovered a jellyfish where we first wanted to jump in. It is best to swim outside the range of the jellyfish, also at Leka.
You can jump right in if you want to, or wade out from the beach, if that’s your thing
In the far northwest of Trøndelag lies one of Norway’s smallest municipalities: Leka. It is well worth a visit!
From a distance, Leka looks quite ordinary: a few islands scattered across the sea with a modest mountain sticking up. On further investigation, however!
The story of Leka started 500 million years ago, when the American continental plate (Laurentia) and the European one (Baltica) drifted against each other. In the collision, the ocean floor plate Laurentia was pushed under Baltica, but a piece came loose and was turned on its side. This piece is today Leka! 60 million years ago the plates began to drift apart again. A rift arose between what later became the Atlantic Ocean and the Mid-Atlantic ridge. However, the rifting occurred west of Leka, and therefore we have an island in Trøndelag that actually belongs to the American continental plate. Let’s hope they don’t ask to get it back!
Very interesting geology at Leka!
The yellow-red mountains on the west side of Leka were a mystery for a long time, but in the 60’s researchers found the explanation. The island consists of all the layers from the old seabed crust, turned 90 degrees. Here the layers are so thin that by walking for a few hours you should be able to see all the layers from 7 km down into the mantle to the top of the former seabed. The beautiful colors come from serpentinite and olivine. Fascinating! And this natural ‘exhibition’ of all the rocks (a complete ophiolite complex) is the reason why Leka was chosen as ‘Norway’s Geological National Monument‘ in 2010.
The rocks on Leka do not provide much benefit to the vegetation, and the soil is poor. View north towards Vega Island.
The name Leka is uncertainly explained, but may come from ‘to leak’, i.e. from the streams on the island. The municipal coat of arms pictures an eagle’s claw and refers to a well known eagle catch, which took place in June 1932. Svanhild, aged 3 ½, disappeared while playing, and over a hundred persons were involved searching for her. In the evening, Jentoft Svendsen, Leif Andersen and Karl Haug climbed up to an eagle’s nest, as they had noticed that the eagle was behaving differently than usual. To get up, Jentoft had to stand on the shoulders of the others, and just below the nest he found Svanhild with her dress torn but otherwise in good condition. They were sure that the girl could not possibly have climbed there on her own. On the other hand, ornithologists have claimed that the eagle could not have lifted her, since she weighed 12 kg. And thus the discussions have continued for almost 100 years! Tobatheornottobathe thinks it looks very steep in the mountain, and finds it hard to believe that she could have climbed there by herself. But sure? No.
The eagle’s catch in Hagafjellet. It must be a fit 3-year-old who climbs half the rock face here (to the tip of the arrow)!
Leka municipality consists exclusively of islands, and there are bathing spots almost everywhere. We had hired a van to use as a tent, and stayed at the ‘bobil camp’. There you can book a place based on your desire for either proximity to water or a view. Not hard to guess what Tobatheornottobathe prefers?
Tobatheornottobathe will always choose to sleep by the water if possible. But how come this choice is different from a view? Seriously? Isn’t this what you might call a panorama?
Since parking 5 meters from the sea, there was bathing going on both morning and evening at Leka. A bit tricky to climb down the rocks, but clear water, and the bay was warm and nice to have a swim in. By Sunday morning, however, the weather was windy, and the water suddenly had turned brown. Not disgusting of course, so far out to sea, but not as beautiful as the day before. Things like that happen, but all the baths were nice, because at Leka for sure, a bath is always right!
At the far end, north-west of Namdalen lies an eldorado of an archipelago called Vikna. It’s really nice here! The number of islands and islets (6,000) is more than the number of inhabitants (4,500), so there are all possibilities for fishing, boattrips, paddling and swimming.
Vikna, view towards the Dalafjellet wind power plant.
At the far end of Yttervikna lies Frelsøya (Salvation Island), a relatively low island with some marshes, lakes and hills cut by coves. ‘Who was saved here?‘ one might ask, and the answer is quite logical: Anyone who has suffered shipwrecking on the open sea, or perhaps hit the reefs further out, where the waves break all year round. For example, the English cargo ship ‘Zurich’ sank off Frelsøya in 1899, with the captain as the only survivor. He was found on a raft of planks.
Vik in Vikna with a view towards the open sea and ‘fallgarden’, the dangerous reefs that have caused many shipwrecks.
From the wooden material that drifted ashore from Zurich, Peder Kristiansen erected a new house on Nordneset, Frelsøya, in 1906. The house on Nordneset was demolished in 1968, and the wood was later used again – in a new building at Ramstad. Reuse at its best!
Frelsøya; the outermost island with the phallus. Knut was much more excited about the potency here than Kuløyfallosen’s appearance.
There have never been more than 3 farms on Frelsøya: Brusneset (depopulated 1949), Krambuneset (depopulated 1959) and Nordneset (depopulated 1968). All other settlers were fishermen who did not keep animals.
Krambuneset anno 2024. A holiday paradise!
Despite a modest population base, neighbours weren’t always buddys at Frelsøya. Court records from 1593 state that ‘Joen Frelsøen has to pay half a ‘daler’ in fine because he cut his neighbor’s hand.‘ This happened at about the same time that Niels Eriksen Frelsøe was imposed a similar fine ‘because he hit Hågen Frelsøe twice in the head with an ax hammer‘. Exciting neighborhood!
The neighborhood at Krambuneset is a bit better in the 2000s than 400 years earlier. Thanks for the loan of the cabin, Mona Kristin and Svein Gunnar!
We were lucky enough to visit Idun’s sister Jorunn, and her husband Berner, who owns parts of Frelsøya. This implies pleasant time together – and a morning bath every day. Thank you for the trip! A morning bath is just right almost anywhere on Frelsøya.
Ref: ‘Viknaboka Gards- og ættehistorie‘, Bind III av Bjarne Borgan
Innermost, in the north-eastern corner of the Trondheim fjord, lies Steinkjer, the county capital of Trøndelag. The name comes from the word ‘stein’ meaning stone plus ‘kjer’, from Norse (bridge) fundament or dam. The town, which has had city status since 1857, has 12,000 inhabitants and is well situated between the outlets of the rivers Steinkjerelva and Figgja. Many of the surrounding villages have fertile soil, on former maritime seabeds, and the town grew up due to trade of forest and agricultural products, hence the nickname ‘City of the Contryside’.
Steinkjerelva river has several opportunities for crossings. We will definitely come back here!
Many ancient monuments have been found in and around Steinkjer, both petroglyphs, burial mounds, stone circles and bauta stones (the stone in the name Steinkjer seems to mark an interest in stone that has lasted thousands of years). When we went swimming on September 2nd 2023, we joined the opening of Steinkjer’s new cultural center, including a special exhibition called ‘Heim’ meaning ‘Home’. The point is to return to the municipality finds that have long been stored elsewhere, including at the Science Museum in Trondheim. One of the ‘objects’ in this first exhibition was a burial site from around 1500 BC (early bronze age). The burial site was inside a circular wall inside a 14 meter high stone pile at Frøset in Steinkjer municipality, which was opened in 2002 in connection with road works. The burial site contained burnt bone remains from animals and a child under the age of 10. The burial site must have been clearly visible from the sea in the Bronze Age (sea level 15 m higher than today), and the location was hardly accidental, especially when you know that sand from the beach was transported to the burial site and placed in the grave.
‘Heim’. Exhibition with the aim of taking the ancient memories home. Illustrated here with a rebuilt children’s grave.
‘Heim’ has since been upgraded, and a new and larger exhibition opened in June 2024. From the cultural center you have a beautiful view of the Steinkjer River. There has been large-scale housing construction here in the 2000’s. Saying that, there are indeed very few old buildings in Steinkjer, after massive German bombings on 21/8-1940, where 80% of the building mass was destroyed.
Steinkjerelva with the train bridge and the city beach in the background.
On the north side of the outlet of the Steinkjer River, from the 17th century there were sheds and boathouses for storing agricultural goods awaiting shipment. Timber was also stacked here. The buildings and quay disappeared during WWII, but the area retained the name Naustvollen. In 2014, the river bank was covered with beautiful white shell sand from Ytre Namdal. And sim sala bim, that’s how you get a completely new city beach. This is a really nice place indeed!
Steinkjer city beach.
In 2024, new sand will be covering the beach. The city beach has become very popular, and measures to retain the bathing spot have been well received. A bath from the city beach in Steinkjer is perfect, also if you are only passing by.
Beautiful winter atmosphere at ‘Sjøbadet’ in Trondheim.
Sjøbadet (The Sea Bathing House) in Trondheim is one of the oldest associations in the city, founded in 1858 with a formal/physical opening on May 1st 1860. The bath was initially a joint-stock company called ‘Søbadedindretningen i Trondhjem’. The first bath was placed in the inner canal (by Ravnkloa).
The ‘sea bath device’ in Trondheim, 1860.
Due to unhealthy water, the bath was moved to St. Olav’s pier in 1880, thanks to the bath’s patron, City Engineer Dahl.
New location at St. Olav’s pier.
At the start, Sjøbadet was for men only. Eventually, the ladies were given access a few hours a day, but it was not until 1927 that a separate women’s department was added. The annual report from 1879 says that the ladies stopped going into the sea because they were disturbed by the dock workers.
The sea bath has long been a splendid place to hang out.
Tone Hoff became the bath master in 1968, and noticed men standing for a loooong time in the diving tower, staring down into the ladies’ sunbathing area. So she shouted to them: ‘Stop glancing!‘, whereupon some jumped into the water and others climbed ashamed back down the gully.
The diving tower, 2023.
Rasmus Rohde has made a nice song about this: ‘Sjøbadet‘. Check it out on YouTube! (However, with a somewhat exaggerated description of the bathing temperature. As you might know, the Trondheimsfjord is very deep, and the water never really gets warm).
Tobatheornottobathe recommends Sjøbadet at its warmest (and coldest…)!
In 2011, the Sjøbadet was moved 1 (!) meter to make room for ‘Nordre Avlastningsvei’, and the bath was rebuilt. For many years, members dreamed of building a sauna. More and more people took into ice bathing in winter, and it was quite certain that a sauna would increase both the use of the bath and the number of members dramatically. Still, there was a lot back and forth, the uncertainty of the finances of the sauna project was big, and the years went by. But finally, on 9/8-2018, after many hours of voluntary work, sauna manager Taru could say ‘Tervetuloa‘ to the first sauna experience at Sjøbadet. The number of members exploded, and for a period a waiting list existed, to get onto the waiting list for membership.
The sauna at Sjøbadet indeed has a panoramic view. Sauna master this winter day in 2023 was Taru Uusinoka.
Tobatheornottobathe highly appreciate both Sjøbadet and its sauna. A better location is hard to find! Various sauna rituals with and without ethereal oils, aufguss, Finnish traditions etc. are carried out here. All members are sent a sauna program every week, so it is easy to choose what suits you the best. If you do not have a membership, it is still possible to visit the Sjøbadet in summertime, for a reasonable amount of money. In summer, there’s a paid lifeguard, who also serves coffee, waffles and sausages between 12 am and 6 pm (2024). When the ‘Trønder summer’ occasionally strikes with wet and cold weather, sometimes the sauna is heated in summer as well. Check FB if this is tempting! In winter, a monthly ‘Folkebadstue‘ (People’s Baths) is organized (2024), where non-members can try both the sauna and ice bathing. Hereby strongly recommended!
Sjøbadet is still going strong. Not bad after 166 years (2024).
In addition to bathing and sauna rituals, there are also other happenings at Sjøbadet, both in terms of performances and concerts. On Midsummer’s Eve 2017, you could dance norwegian folk dances all the way into the dressing rooms, to music by Gammel-Snaustrinda/The Dirty Old Band.
A cold and wet Midsummer eve in 2017. Gammel-Snaustrinda plays to raise income for the sauna construction. Photo: Berit Rusten
Why do you have to take a several-day safety course to work offshore? Where does that idea come from? Most people probably don’t think much about this, but when it’s your turn to join a course, that’s when you start wondering.
Teddy bear ‘Kristin‘ is ready to go offshore. There has been much debate about the use of hoods in the helicopter. The rescue suit is much more effective with the hood on, but it is not very comfortable in a normal transport situation. The compromise is that everyone must put on the hood before take-off and landing, while during cruising it’s optional. Teddy bear ‘Troll‘ has lost his suit and was not allowed to join the photo.
When drilling off the coast of Norway started in the 1960’s, it was with completely blank sheets. We had many mines in Norway, and we were big in shipping, but no expertise in drilling and producing oil and gas at sea. It was necessary to lean on American companies, which had both expertise and capital. The first drilling on the Norwegian shelf was done by Esso in 1966, they had experience from offshore fields, including in the Gulf of Mexico. In the 1950’s, the personnel were transported out to the rigs by boat – a method that had its drawbacks. One thing was the use of time. The most important argument against was seasickness. There was a risk that the workers were ill and in bad shape when they started work offshore. The very first helicopter to be certified for civil aviation was the Bell 47B in 1946. Throughout the 1950’s, helicopter types with room for more passengers appeared, and it was decided from the beginning to use helicopters for all passenger transport to and from the Norwegian continental shelf. The authorities wanted a Norwegian supplier to handle the helicopter traffic, and the contract went to Helikopter Service A/S. Two Sikorsky S-61 machines were purchased, they made four trips per week. With this activity, the income was far from sufficient, and Esso sponsored Helikopter Service A/S with approximately 60,000 dollars per month at the beginning. It was Phillips who found the first viable (huge) oil discovery ‘Ekofisk‘ on Christmas Eve 1969. The first decades were characterized by a certain ‘Cowboy mentality’. The focus was on efficiency and production, unions were banned, and safety was often so-so. Rescue suits, for example, were not used.
Survival suit with breathing lung (hose and valve can be seen at the doll’s right shoulder). The suit helps you to be rescued, but since survival cannot be guaranteed, it is recommended to use the term rescue suit instead. Photo: The Norwegian Oil Museum in Stavanger
It soon proved impossible for the authorities to have control over everything that happened in the petroleum industry. The development sometimes went so quickly that the regulations were constantly lagging behind, and control offshore was difficult and time-consuming in terms of logistics. The development of safety systems was pushed forward by accidents. If you look at Ekofisk, this development alone resulted in 45 deaths, of which 1/3 were linked to helicopter accidents. The head of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate’s security department, Arne Flikke, resigned in the summer of 1974 due to a lack of resources to exercise control. The solution was internal control. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate was supposed to check that the systems were in order, but they were not supposed to go into detailed checks on each individual installation. The companies that did not put in place a functioning internal control risked being ‘punished’ at the next license award. In 1978 there was an investigation (the Leiro committee) which recommended a 3-week safety course for offshore employees. However, this had not been implemented when Aleksander Kielland tipped on the 27th of March 1980. In this disaster, 123 people died. Of the 212 on board, only 76 persons had undergone safety training. The safety courses are therefore a consequence of the Aleksander Kielland accident. Rescue suits were not required by the offshore contractor companies, and almost everyone who died in the Kielland accident were employed by contractors. Therefore, the Norwegian Maritime Directorate decided in the autumn of 1980 that all offshore employees should be equipped with rescue suits.
Knut is testing a rescue suit. The Diving Group at NTNU has for many years sent members to these tests, where you stay in cold water for a couple of hours, with temperature sensors literally everywhere. Photo: Lars Lyse Moen
The most important functions of the suit are insulation (retaining heat) and buoyancy. When evacuating in water, the use of a rescue suit will increase the probability of survival considerably.
An offshore security course (2024) consists of a 4-day basic course, which must be refreshed with a 2-day repetition course every 4 years. One of the main elements is training in the use of rescue suits including breathing lung and helicopter underwater evacuation (HUET). The breathing lung is a waterproof bag that is mounted in the collar of the suit. A hose, valve and a nozzle are fitted to the bag. In an emergency situation, air is blown into the bag and the valve is closed before coming into contact with water. Then you have some air to breathe in until you get up to the water surface. The rescue suit has a lot of buoyancy, so when you first get out of the helicopter, you don’t need to swim to reach the surface. Having said that, this course, or a rescue suit for that matter, will not help the slightest if the gearbox breaks (as in the Turøy 2016 accident).
Idun is very ready for HUET (Helicopter Underwater Escape Training) at RelyOnNutec. The center of gravity of a helicopter is high up. In the event of an emergency landing on water, you must be prepared for the helicopter to tip over so that the rotor faces down. Photo: RelyOnNutec
Before you get as far as the helicopter, you have to go through a number of introductory exercises to get used to the breathing lung. Idun was so out of practice that she breathed into the hose without closing the valve first (while we were still on land checking the equipment). It was 3 years since the last offshore trip and 4 years since the last course. Repetition is indeed necessary! The exercises in water went better. First, we had to lay face down in the water and breath into the lungs for 20-50 seconds. Then pull ourself along the edge of the pool by a rope, lying face down. The last exercise before the helicopter was to hang upside down on the edge of the pool, with your foot around the pool ladder and your head down. Not at all complicated for someone who likes to swim. If you are unfamiliar with water, the situation is of course completely different.
The rotatable helicopter is a piece of pipe with a grating floor, seats with seat belts and windows that can be pushed out.
The heart rate rises considerably entering the helicopter. During the helicopter exercises, everyone has an instructor who only looks after you. Fastening the seat belt (4-point) properly is practiced, which is the first thing to do if you hear the pilot say: ‘Brace, brace‘. There are various stories about things that have gone wrong on the courses, and a classic failure is turning the seat belt knot inwards. The opening mechanism is easy to trigger, but a colleague of Idun had once turned it so that it faced his stomach, with consequent stress, he lost his grip on his reference point (the window), and ended up on the roof (floor) of the helicopter when it turned upside down under water. Then it’s ok to have instructor help!
The instructor’s inquisitive look at Idun turned to laughter when she realized that ‘Wow, you actually like this!‘ After 4 evacuations from helicopter under water, the conclusion is that it’s quite fun when ‘Toworkornottowork‘ turns into ‘Tobatheornottobathe‘!
Bertnem bridge in Overhalla municipality, Trøndelag.
What on earth can bridges be used for on an abandoned track? This is a question most people find no reason to ask. But when a railway bridge crosses your part of a salmon river – then it’s an interesting problem to discuss during the late late hours of the night. The solution for Bertnem bridge over Namsen River was: Place some train wagons on the bridge and use it as a hotel!
Be aware of trains at Øysletta. However, this train is not moving.
The 52 km long Namsos Railway between Grong and Namsos opened the 1st of November 1934, after a construction period of 12 years. Passenger traffic was shut down in 1978, while freight transport of grain took place until 2005. Today, you can cycle with a dressin on parts of the stretch, both by Namsos town and by Bertnem Bridge in Overhalla municipality.
The Namsos Railway. Formally closed in 2021.
In order to actually be allowed to put four carriages on a railway bridge, a good portion of ‘Trønderly‘ optimism and stubbornness is required. It took Torger Haugen 5 years to get the permit, but the result is well worth the effort. The stunt costs NOK 55,000 per year in bridge rent, but since that includes bridge maintenance it may not be extravagant. And the ‘Namsen Salmon and Train Experience‘, has really become something special!
This is what it looks like when four railway carriages and a railway bridge are transformed into a hotel. The hosts (2023) are Elizabeth Hamsund and Torger Haugen.
The Bertnem Bridge is barely two hundred meters long and crosses the Namsen – one of Norway’s best salmon rivers. Here you can fish from the railway bridge! Price per kilo of salmon from this salmon adventure is not low, but if you put in a little extra, you can be rowed in the river by your own salmon guide, with an almost guaranteed catch. However, we started our ‘Salmon Experience‘ the day after the end of the 2023 salmon season, and our salmon experience therefore consisted of dinner made from wild salmon, which was both tasty and enjoyable.
The restaurant wagon at Bertnem bridge.
Among the 6 guests this evening were representatives from the former rock band Prudence, the Pe-Torsa revue and of course Tobatheornottobathe’s own band. Culture was therefore very much in place at the train, and the evening turned out both long and pleasant.
Before eating wild salmon above Namsen, a bath in Namsen is highly recommended. Below the Bertnem Bridge you will find easy access to the river. The water is clear and nice (and drinkable, according to the host – if wanted). A pleasant bath, not at all cold this first day of September. But be aware that there is a camera on the train sending a livestream of this bathing area!
A ‘Train and Bathing Experience‘ in Namsen is just right!
After the bath you can relax in or between the train carriages, where nice outdoor areas have been created on the railway bridge.
Namsen Salmon and Train Experience.
And if it gets too boring as the train is standing still, a QR code resulting in train sound is displayed outside the sleeping compartments. That was very confusing indeed! Sitting there, on folding seats from the 60’s, with train sounds from your mobile, while you enjoyed the view of Namsen, the brain didn’t like the fact that the sound indicated that the train was moving forward (as it usually does), while the eyes saw that the movement was going across. Of course, Namsen River runs perpendicular to, and not along the bridge.
Knut enjoys the view of Namsen – ‘Queen of the Rivers‘.
A bath-train-salmon adventure at Namsen can be both fun and strange.
P.S.: For the season 2024 all salmon fishing is prohibited. We really hope that’s not the end of this train adventure!
The Namsen is Central Norway’s largest river and defines large parts of Northern Trøndelag, we are talking about the Namdalen region. The river is over 200 km long, with an average water flow of 285 m3 per second. From the source in Børgefjell (southeast in Nordland), the water goes via nine power stations before it joins the sea at Namsos.
Namsen downstream Bertnem bridge.
The name was from old Nauma, hence Naumdalen/Namdalen valley. It is uncertainly explained, but may come either from ‘naust‘ = boat house or ‘navis‘ = boat. The ending -sen comes from Norse ‘sær‘ = sea/lake, i.e. the river from Naumsjøen.
Namsen, Queen of the Rivers.
Namsen has long been known as one of Norway’s best salmon rivers. In 2020, 28 tonnes of salmon were caught in Namsen. In addition to the anadromous strain (salmon that spawn in the river but otherwise live their lives at sea), there is also an indigenous species that never goes out to sea: Namsblank. The Namsblank is genetically very different from other salmon species. It is much smaller, and spends its entire life in the upper part of the Namsen river.
Unfortunately, the stone below will get no new marks in 2024, since the salmon fishing has been shut down!
Salmon memorial for catches over 20 kg at Grande Canari. No Namsblank here.
Grande farm, with its 862 acres, is the fourth largest farm in Trøndelag (third if you ignore the area owned by the Norwegian Defence Authorities). After 300 years as a priest’s farm, it changed to a new era in the 19th century as a salmon farm. This adventure was started by English ‘salmon lords‘. By Grande farm, Namsen is wide, quiet and shallow. There are several ponds and islets here, and a rich bird life. What can you call such a nice area? Grande Canari, of course!
Grande Canari. River bathing doesn’t always have to be scary.
We wanted to go swimming at Grande Canari! It is super easy, just drive past the golf club and you’re there. However, you have to accept that the road standard is sometimes not always at its best.
Tighten your bra, take out your dentures…along the whole bloody way!
A bath at Grandi Canari can be just right – even if the water is shallow.
Overhalla municipality in Namdalen, with almost 4,000 inhabitants, is one of the larger Namdal municipalities in terms of population. It was a special name for a municipality, you might be thinking, which ‘hall‘ are we talking about? But the name has a completely natural explanation. After the national assembly, Namdalen was divided into two parts, and the upper half of Naumdølafylke was called ‘œfri halfa‘ (“Upper half”) in Norse: Overhalla simple as that.
It is lush in Overhalla, with a lot of agricultural and timber production.
Overhalla was populated a long time ago. In the municipality, archaeologists have excavated remains of settlements from 1000 BC, a number of burial mounds, burial stones and other finds, including the Hunna sword. Of old stuff, however, Ranem church from 1187 is the most eye-catching. The church burned in 1899, but has been beautifully rebuilt with a wooden roof and tower.
Ranem church in the Romanesque style is built of local stone, both quarry stone and marble.
Tobatheornottobathe has become very interested in waterfall bathing, but it is not always easy to find suitable pools below them. And especially in Namsen, as it floats quietly and nicely mile after mile. We really wondered if the ‘Queen of the Rivers‘ herself had a bathing secret or two for us. The question was: Are there any fun swimming spots here? We got a tip about ‘Sælkhylla‘ or ‘Sellægshylla‘, about 10 km from Ranemsletta, on the south side of the river.
We don’t know what the name means, but this bathing post is at least well signposted.
Sælkhylla is a great place! Here you can swim carefully in the small bay within the rapids, or you can go onto the rocks.
Careful does it. Step by step.
The height of water determines how far out you reach, but we made it to the nearest reefs at least.
Sælkhylla. Certainly not a waterfall, but rapids can be fun, too.
Then there were discussions. We didn’t have any wetsuits with us, and the conclusion was that we shouldn’t try to float through the current.
To float or not to float…
But – we found a nice jacuzzi, perfect for a bubble bath!
Sælkhylla – a funny place: jacuzzi with a built-in shower.
However, some caution should be taken. It is said that a girl drowned here a long time ago, and the body was found in Namsos 3 weeks later. Be careful!
