Blog – Page 10 – ToBatheOrNotToBathe

Inside Langjökull

Iceland has more than 400 glaciers. Vatnajökull is the largest one, while Langjökull is number two. In Langjökull, a very special tourist attraction has been created: They have dug tunnels in the glacier, so you actually can walk inside it. Correction: They dig tunnels every night – with a mini excavator, otherwise the tunnels will be flattened in no time.

We took the glacial tour in 2020, during the corona, and the number of visitors were very low. The whole trip is spectacular: You are driven in special minibuses, with large tires that can be filled or deflated depending on whether driving on road or on ice. On the glacier, they release air from the tires so that the car can float on snow. Then a bumpy ride starts, on the ice, where next to the ‘road’ you can see crevasses here and there.

A minibus that goes equally well on land and on ice.

Once inside the glacier, you put on ice crampoons, and then time is just right for enjoying the moment in a completely foreign world.

The glaciers are formed from snow that is deposited layer upon layer every winter. They are therefore a chronological journey through time, and studies of glacial ice can tell a lot about the conditions on earth a long time ago. We could see ‘annual rings’ in the ice, and a clear black stripe contained ash from Eyjafjallajökull’s eruption in 2010.

Eyafjallajökull’s eruption is clearly visible inside Langjökull.

The Italian news consequently referred to Eyaflallajökull as ‘Il vulcano con il nome impronunciabile‘ – The vulcano with the impronunciable name.

The ice tunnels covers a total of 800 meters, and there are several rooms that have been excavated. You can get married inside Langjökull! Our guide entered the ‘cathedral’ alone and sang for us. The acoustics were incredibly in the ice.

Water is a big problem in Langjökull, it flows everywhere. If it rains outside one day, this is noticed as an increased amount of water inside the glacier 3 days later. Here and there there are crevasses, in one spot they had built a bridge over. Another crack went down from the tunnel wall. They used it as a drainage – and this drain roared like a troll! Because of this, our 3-years old British companion cried of horror all the way out.

The Icelandic glaciers are in decline. If the trend continues, they will all be gone by the year 2200. This was easy to see near the glacier, where they have put up signs showing the glacier limit in previous years.

It is a while since the glacier reached here.

After a glacier expedition, time is just right for a bath, and preferrably a warm one. We went to the Krauma spa. This bath gets its heat from the hot spring Deildartunguhver. Here, 180 liters of boiling water flow per second! The spring heats the villages of Borgarnes and Akranes, which are up to 100 km away. Krauma opened in 2017.

Krauma is an absolutely beautiful facility, almost entirely black. Wonderful!

A bath or three at Krauma is just right. They also have a small ‘cold pot’, for those of us who like to alternate between hot and cold baths.

If you need something to eat before driving on, you can buy food at the kiosk by Krauma. The meat soup is very good. But this is not lamb soup, here they probably cook it on the ewe itself. And the soup, it is to be consumed in the greenhouse!

Hvammsvík

Hvalfjörður has a history dating back to the conquest period, and is mentioned in the ‘Book of Conquest‘ (Landnámabók). The name most likely comes from the fact that there were walruses here when the Vikings arrived.

The area experienced a tremendous rising during the Second World War, when the Allies stationed 40,000 soldiers here, and up to 200 ships filled the fjord. Code names for Hvammsvík were ‘Falcon Crest’ and ‘Falcon Beach’

In Hvalfjörður there is smoke everywhere! Hvammsvík was a hidden gem for a long time, a hot spring used only by the locals. A bath in this hot pot could be quite an interesting experience. Firstly, the landowner did not want traffic on his land, and closed off the road, it was private. But it didn’t help much, because the pool was right down on the beach, and the common law accepts walking by the sea. It was therefore ok to park the car by the highway and go down to the beach to bathe. The other exciting part was the hot pot itself. It was built up in the simplest way, and the hot water came unfiltered and unregulated into the tub via a hose. Sometimes in just perfect temperature, sometimes way too hot. Here you just had to be careful! One solution was to take the hose out of the pool during bathing, to avoid scalding.

Now everything is different! We were in Hvammsvík at the end of September -22, only two months after opening. This is great! The building is constructed in typical corrugated iron aesthetics a la WWII, but in black. The foundation is reuse of a barracks foundation built by the Allies during the Second World War. It’s rough, it’s tough and very stylish.

Rough corrugated iron architecture in Hvammsvík.

There are a total of 8 warm pools in Hvammsvík, of which one (the furthest one, at the top) is the old, original one. Another pool is situated just above sea and is flooded by waves and tides. It’s not hot there when the high water splashes over, but fun!

A bath or nine at Hvammsvík is just right! We assume you can guess where the ninth bath is?

After some baths, a gufubað (steam sauna) can be just right. And at Hvammsvík we found the most wonderful steam room we have ever seen. It was big. It was dark (like entering a cave). It was fresh in the air (smell of conifers). It had wooden benches. And it was very, very hot. Recommended!

And if you get hungry after the bath, they have some really good dishes to serve as well. Welcome to Hvammsvík!

A visit in the restaurant is just right after a bath or nine.

Grilstad Marina

East of central Trondheim, between Nedre Charlottenlund and Ranheim, is Grilstad. Originally this was only a farm belonging to the Archbishop of Nidaros, named after an old river name: Grýtla. The name comes from ‘gruvla’ which means to dig or mess up. A sausage factory, Grilstad factories, was built on the farm in 1957, which is still in full operation. Below Grilstad farm there was a fine shore which has been planned to be developed since the 1960’s. However, the plans were put on hold due to high costs and a lack of filling material.

Grilstadbekken (Grilstad river) has an outlet at Grilstad coast. Photo: WikiStrinda

The construction finally started in 2005, with filling material from the Strindheim tunnel project. Grilstad Park is planned with 1,000 residential units, 110,000 m2 commercial buildings, and in addition Grilstad Marina, a harbor/pier with 800 boat berths.

Grilstad Marina, the prospect. Photo: WikiStrinda

This must be like paradise, you are probably thinking, with a beautiful and peaceful sea panorama. A quay has been built close to the filled-in islands. On the land side there is a sand volleyball court, barbecue grills, benches, lawn and plantings. Great!

Indre Kanal (the Inner Channel) with the quay.

Oh no, it’s not that simple. The bathing area has become too popular. Young people come there to have a bath. They make noise. They jump into the water from the bridge. Ugh! That’s not how we like it!

Knut is inspecting a popular, but oh, so noisy, bathing place.

We visited Grilstad in July, and there were no young people there. None! Had they all gone on vacation? Or did it really work to mount a 100 meter long fence along the quayside to prevent bathing in the canal? The matter has, following complaints from the residents, been up for debate in the City Council repeatedly. The argument for a bathing ban has been the safety of bathers. Of course, you have to bring up safety, you can’t argue against that. Or can you? The debate concerns 100-150 meters where there could be a conflict between boats and bathers. There are about 20 boats that have their parking place there. What speed do you need to drive your yacht this distance?

We took a test bath. There was no fuzz, but we didn’t make much noise either. The water was nice and crystal clear, but it was low tide, we couldn’t see the bottom, and we didn’t jump. A great bath!

Swimming in Grilstad Marina is perfect, even though the ladder down from the quay was a little wobbly at the bottom.

After a bath, food is always right. We ate at Flipper Kafe, on Fullriggerøya (Sailboat island). The sandwiches aren’t the cheapest, but that’s no wonder, because the portions are huge. And after the meal, to play shuffle board might be just right. That can be quite fun, at least for some of us.

Havet

Nyhavna (the new harbour) in Trondheim has for a long time been ready for urban renewal. The industry is retreating, and the municipality wants to make Nyhavna a brand new district. Here, a mixture of offices, apartments, culture and artistic arenas is planned. One of the most positive things that has happened so far in this transformation is ‘Havet’ (The Sea). Just a short cycle ride from the center you have a varied offer for sauna bathing and swimming in the Trondheimsfjord.

The location is such that you have a varied view:

… towards the industry at Ladehammeren in the east.

… towards the scrap dude (metal recycling) in the north.

… towards Dora 1 (submarine bunker from WWII) in the west.

Alternatively, you can of course be the view yourself:

Kjerstin and Idun as ‘*Bellaview, bellaview, bella ciao ciao ciao*‘.
Photo: Kjerstin Moseid Bryhni

At Havet, you can book single hours or whole saunas for 2 hours. Try it! This is splendid! The furnishings (benches) are spread out in different levels and odd angles, you don’t have to sit in a row if you don’t want to.

Cold baths are carried out in the openings between the saunas.

Yes! We are all really looking forward to this!

Some of us where missing some steps up to the roof, to be able to jump from there, as we have seen on other floating saunas.

A couple of hundred meters away, the municipality has built a diving tower in collaboration with Havet. There you can jump and swim for free. But it is just a little too far from the saunas to function as a common facility.

During ‘Kulturnatt Trondheim’ (Cultural Evening Trondheim) in 2017, there was a competition ‘What is your dream for Nyhavna?’ Our bathing friend Taru won, with the answer: Sauna. But she won by a lottery draw, the idea in itself was considered undoable both by the municipality and the consult bureau arranging the contest. But now they are here, a lot of saunas!

Thank you so much, Taru, for an absolutely brilliant idea! For once, it happened in Trondheim that all this came into place quite suddenly, without a long-term localization debate and a lot of back and forth.

Our sauna had a ceiling partly made of glass. Imagine sitting here and enjoying the stars in the sky and maybe the aurora borealis in winter time?

In not too long time, the sauna concert concept at Havet will probably start up again, and then you can experience a sauna and a concert – at the same time! However, we had do to the concert part another place and ended the evening at Ladekaia, watching Vømmøl.

Bathing and a concert the same evening is just right! Photo: Kjerstin Moseid Bryhni

Kabelvika

From the beautiful wooden town of Levanger there goes a ferry to Hokstad on Ytterøya. Bring your bike and discover this pearl in the inner Trondheimsfjord!

A bike from Levanger that didn’t follow us to Ytterøya.

Just east of the ferry quay at Hokstad, there are remains of Ytterøy Kopperverk. Mining on Ytterøya started as early as 1630, as one of Norway’s earliest mines. 5-600 people worked in the mine around 1870. The copper works were sold to an English company and renamed “Ytterøy Mining Company”. The English owners settled on the island, and the mine had the largest production in the country. The peak year was 1867, when 35,000 tonnes of ore were shipped out (95 tonnes per day). This corresponded to 25% of the world’s needs. The ore reserves were largely exhausted by 1880, and activity declined accordingly. Operations were closed down in the interwar period. It can be dangerous to explore the mining area, please do follow the paths! In the spring of 1870, there was a large mudslide by the mines. 7 people died, including 3 children.

In the 1840s/50s, the Ytterøen mines were set up to extract pyrite. This was to be used for the production of sulfuric acid at the Leren Kromfabrikk in Trondheim, but that project failed.

Remains from the mining, east of Hokstad on Ytterøya. Photo: Yvonne Thuv

We lived in Skolbakken (the School Hill) east of the mines when we were on Ytterøya this summer. It’s nice here! Our hosts, Yvonne and Jens, needed help salvaging their submarine, but we spent so much time sightseeing, swimming and time together, that no help came out of it.

The hosts’ submarine was a little too much into its perfect element.

The road through the forest became a fascinating affair. Here is a viking ship of a very special type:

The bathing took place in Kabelvika, where the power cable to Ytterøya was landed earlier. Here there are a lot of pebbles! Our recommendation is to use wet socks or preferably swimming shoes in such cases, but of course we didn’t remember to bring them. For our evening bath, there were 4 of us, each with their own solution to the problem:

Idun wore her sandals all the way down to the water front.
Knut stepped over the pebble field without caring much about it.
Jens didn’t bathe.
Yvonne committed to the the Finnish national sport of wife-carrying.

Apart from the pebble problem it was a really nice bath at dusk. From Ytterøya’s south side, you can see a lot of lights from Levanger and Fiborgtangen. Wife carrying baths on Ytterøya is just right!

Nice twilight bath on Ytterøya. Photo: Jens Vigen

After a bath, time is perfect for going on a visit. It was Hauke’s birthday, so we went home to Randi and Hauke. He wanted a visit of the Norwegian King and Queen for his birthday, but since he had forgotten to send the invitation, Hauke had to be satisfied by a couple of neighbours, as well as a couple of Trondhjemmers with accordions. Good enough, right? On a birthday visit, time is perfect for a taste of ‘Grønn Glede’ (Green Happiness). It was very, very green, but you survived, Knut? Extremely healthy this is!

Jörstadsjöen Dampskibskai

‘The very first steamship to enter the Trondheimsfjord was the English Georg Canning, in 1837. During a stay in Trondhjem, the ship was rented out for a pleasure trip to Steinkjer. Everywhere, the steamship caused great excitement and sometimes horror. In Mosvik, the men resolutely refused to row out to the ‘Smoke boat’ (“Røykbåten”), which could go against both wind and current.‘ (From the information board at Jørstad)

15 years later, a fixed route network was established at Innherred, served by steamships. On Ytterøya, Jørstad was listed as a port of call from 1850.

Jørstad, on the north side of Ytterøya, with a view towards the Skarnsund bridge.

‘D/S “Nidelven” was built in Trondhjem and was the first passenger steamship to be made in Norway. The hull was built at Trondhjem’s shipyard, it was made of pine, copper bolts and skin. The boiler and machine were built and installed by the Factory at Nidelven (now Trondhjern’s Mech. Verksted).’ Today the factory contains apartments, where we lived ourselves in the 1990’s. Coal consumption was 3 barrels per hour. The first trip was made on Trondhjemsfjorden on 24th of November 1850, including singing, music and great festivities.

Ordinary people did not immediately become familiar with ‘Nidelven’. The farmers simply called it ‘Røykbaaten’ (the Smoke Boat). Photo: WikiStrinda

In the first years there was no quay at Jørstad, people and goods were rowed out to the steamship. Indherred’s Aktie-Dampskibsselskab built the quay and the ‘Litjpakkuset’ (the Little Warehouse) at Jørstadsjøen in 1930. Now the goods could be hoisted directly on board. For easy lifting of horses and cattle, the steamship had its own cattle box. A cattle box copy can be found on the quay, and Idun just had to try it.

D/S Nidelven’s route at Innherred was a big disappointment, as the traffic in no way covered the expenses. Travel by steamship was considered luxury. People from Innherred traveled to Trondheim mostly by small boats. This took time, but then they could also spend the nights in the boat while they were in town, and a city trip usually took a week or two. The ‘Nidelven’ was later put into different coastal routes, but that was not a success either. She was too large for fjord shipping and too small for coastal shipping, and was scrapped on 18 October 1895 after many years out of circulation.

We took a commemorative bath for the steamship traffic from the beautifully restored quay. It was ‘Stiftelsen Ytterøy Bygdetun’ who started work on the quay in 2005.

It’s nice at Jørstad! Photo: Yvonne Thuv

Then it was just a matter of jumping in!

A bath from Jørstad Dampskibskai is just right. Photo: Yvonne Thuv

The last boat that went between Trondheim and Steinkjer was the motor ship “Steinkjer”. The boat was purchased by Indherreds Aktie-Dampsibsselskab in 1968, and put into service in December the same year. On 12 September 1974, “Steinkjer” made its last passenger and freight trip between Trondheim and Steinkjer. After 118 years, there was definitely put an end to the continuous passenger traffic by boats to and from Steinkjer. However, the story does not quite end here. If you’re lucky, say in early August, a steamship may still appear.

Maybe the sail steam ship Hansteen will come? Knut, Yvonne and Jens are waiting anxiously.

Sources: WikiStrinda, ‘Gamle Dampen’ by Olaf T. Engvig and Jørstad info board.

Ytterøya

Far, far away, in the inner part of the 126 km long Trondheimsfjord lies a pearl: Ytterøya (the Outer Island). You might find this slightly unlogical, but the name is logical enough, since Ytterøya lies outside Inderøy (the Inner Island) (which is actually not an island but a peninsula). The ferry to Ytterøya leaves from Levanger in the southeast, which is twice as far away from the island as Mosvik in the northwest, but somehow that is probably logical too. The island is small enough for you to leave the car at the mainland and take the bicycle instead. Once up from the ferry quay, turn left and cycle around the largest (western) section first. It is beautiful at Ytterøya!

By the church, with a view north-west towards the Skarnsund bridge.

The island is 13.5 km long and 4.3 km wide at its widest, with a varied and sometimes rather hilly landscape. The soil is rich on nutrients, and together with marine deposits, this provides a rich flora. Ytterøya has been inhabited for more than 5,000 years. In earlier times, the island was divided in two (near the church), but land rising has made them connected. Both petroglyphs and burial mounds have been found on Ytterøya.

The inland on Ytterøya, also called the Prairie.

There are about 50 farms on the island, which has around 500 inhabitants. It is good to live here – also for the animals!

Happy atmosphere for people (?) and cattle on Ytterøya.

However, the groundwater has been sinking steadily in recent years, and the large chicken slaughterhouse has been decided moved, which gives some concerns about the future. Melkerampa (the Milk Ramp) in Midtbygda (the Village in the Middle) has grown a bit out of the old ways, so there you will find both a shop and a bar and quite a bit in between those two.

There are many beautiful bays to visit for a bath at Ytterøya, but the sandy beaches are somewhat absent. Therefore, you’d better bring your swimming shoes if you don’t like walking on pebbles.

We went to the lighthouse to swim, it’s a beautiful place on the south side of the island, but perhaps a bit private.

Idyllic scene at Sørnesset, by the lighthouse. The black lump on the buoy is Knut’s swimming trunks (underwear, since he had forgotten his swimwear). The panties were almost forgotten here too.

Bathing at Ytterøya is ‘very pleasant indeed‘.

Tromsø

The name Tromsø comes from the Indo-European ‘straumr’ = to flow (the water in the strait). In earlier times, Tromsø was a kind of border to unknown territory. Tromsøya became ice-free 10,000 years ago, and there are traces of humans dating back 11,000 years. The church site of Tromsø is mentioned in written sources for the first time in Håkon Håkonsson’s saga: “He had the Christ Church built in Trum’s and made a christian parish there.” The cathedral in Tromsø is located at Tromsøya (Troms island), while the beautiful ‘Arctic Cathedral’ is located on the mainland, in the district of Tromsdalen (Troms valley), on the other side of the 1016 m long Tromsø Bridge.

If you have a few hours free in Tromsø, we recommend a bus trip to Tromsdalen. Tromsdalen is a valley that leads from Tromsdalstinden (mountain) down to Tromsøysundet and Tromsøya (Tromsø). Arthur Arntzen made his debut with Oluf in Tromsdalen. Get off at Tromsdalen church (the official name for the Arctic Cathedral) and go inside. The Arctic Cathedral was inaugurated in 1965 and it is just beautiful! The shape gives associations to icebergs, and the glass fields between the ‘blocks of ice’ let light through both inwards and outwards. The church was designed by Jan Inge Hovig (he was married to Ingrid Espelid Hovig a whole week before he died of a heart attack). The entire eastern wall is decorated with stained glass.

The Arctic Cathedral is also beautiful seen from the inside.

From the Arctic Cathedral there are only 10 minutes to go to the mountain lift. Here you will find a splendid view towards Tromsø and the dramatic landscape that surrounds the town!

Tromsø seen from Fjellheisen (the Mountain lift).

We defied the hints from Trip Advisor and planned a dinner with a view. It turned out as warned: 3 out of 5 dishes on the menu were sold out, so we had a burger dinner with a view. The burger’s fried mushrooms were very good. Nothing more to say about the food, really. After the view and food, a hot sauna and a cold dip is just right. Take the bus back and go to ‘Pust’ (Breathe).

Pust is a floating sauna located in the middle of the marina in Tromsø. Highly recommended! The house functions as a human mountain. We observed several pairs of people climbing up and eating their lunch on the roof of ‘Pust’.

Women and men have changing rooms on opposite sides, to meet in the sauna in the middle, with a brilliant view of Tromsdalen, the Arctic Cathedral and Fjellheisen.

From Pust there is a fabulous view towards Tromsdalen and the Arctic Cathedral.

The best thing of a sauna is that you hardly notice that the water is cold. Even in mid-August it was only 9 degrees. Is it cold water from the depths that is pushed up in Tromsundet?

A bath or several at ‘Pust’ is just right!

Ersfjorden

Senja is Norway’s second largest island, with an area of 1,586 km2 and around 8,000 inhabitants.

The island has a varied landscape, and has been called ‘a Norway in miniature’. Southern Senja is mountainous with an archipelago, rocky cliffs and pine forests. The inner/eastern parts consist of a friendly lowland with fertile hills and birch forests, while the outer and northern parts are wild with deep fjords and high mountains that run straight down into the sea.

Tungeneset (Cape Tounge) with the Ersfjord and Okshornan (Ox Horn Mountains) in the background.

Sometimes, the row of mountains are broken by the uttermost beautiful, white beaches. The most splendid of them all is perhaps the beach in the Erik’s fjord, or Ersfjorden as it is also called.

Ersfjordstranda (the Ersfjord beach) – a Copacabana of northern Norway?

We have bathed here many times. It is basically a ‘must’ to go here and swim every time we visit Idun’s older brother Frode in Sørreisa.

This time, however, there were far more people watching than bathing. Strange…

An incredible number of people who didn’t want to have a bath!

Their loss, ‘Tobatheornottobathe’ think. We had a great bath!

The spectacular view feels even better when you’re in it.

The 40 inhabitants in Ersfjord have experienced a big change when the Geitskar tunnel opened in 2004. Previously, it was a 115 km drive to Senjahopen (the nearest village, with 300 inhabitants). Now it is 3 km. This has led to much more tourism, as it became possible to drive around Senja. What else is there to do in the Ersfjord? Visit Gulldassen (the Golden Toilet), of course! They are quite good at spectacular toilets at Senja. Square meter price for this one: NOK 300,000! Quite a price. But nice? Oh yes, it is.

The Golden Toilet in Ersfjord. Price: NOK 3.75 million.

A little ironic, though, that the architect had put in a window in the roof, to enable seeing the northern lights while contemplating and doing your business. But currently the toilet is closed both at night and in wintertime…

Bathing and rest room visits are just right in Ersfjorden!

The Troll Church Cave

In anticipation of a somewhat more cooperative winter weather, we will recommend a fabulous bathing trip from the summer of 2021: Trollkyrkja (the Troll Church) in Hustadvika municipality (formerly Fræna), Møre og Romsdal. The kids were inspired by the James Bond movie ‘No Time to Die’ and booked a trip along ‘Atlanterhavsveien’ (the Atlantic Road), and from there Trollkyrkja is an excellent detour, located in the heart of Trolldalen, by national road 64 between the fjords Frænfjorden and Kornstadfjorden.

From the parking lot there is a nice path through the forest before the ascent begins.

Magical atmosphere on the way to the Troll valley.

Don’t worry, this is not a hard climb. It’s fine! After a while the forest opens up and you can see the mountains behind Trollkyrkja cave.

The ‘Molde and Romsdal Tourist Association’ made Trollkyrkja known, secured and passable as early as 1890. And the trip still is well arranged with a marked trail, small bridges and wooden walkways where needed.

It takes about 90 minutes to walk up to Trollkyrkja. Originally there were 4 caves, but one has collapsed.

Yes! This is a great place! We think the name is more than modest enough (completely logical for relaxed people from Central Norway): It could just as easily have been named the ‘Troll Cathedral’. The caves are washed out of a large limestone vein, and in the lower one the water falls 14 meters into a white marble pool. Absolutely gorgeous!

And the bath? Amazingly cold! Even at a nice and warm day in July, you experienced ‘frost smoke’ as you entered the cave, and the kids said it was very cold to wait for the crazy old bathaholics.

A little too shallow for swimming, but it was absolutely worth a small dip.

The return trip? Was great, except for ‘the guard of cows’ that would not let us pass on the trail.