Trøndelag – Page 3 – ToBatheOrNotToBathe

Two Spa or not to Spa!

Tobatheornottobathe celebrates 2 years these days. Hooray!

Our youngest daughter, Une, is home from France this summer and helps with practical tasks inside and outside the house: painting, masonry and miscellaneous. That is really good for us. It’s actually very nice to have a longer visit at home, and very satisfying to make progress on the house, which ‘Should have been completely finished at once (10 years ago), not almost-finished like everyone else are doing it!‘ That did not happen of course, we were so tired of house building and fixing, that when the house was good enough to live in, we stopped working and never quite reached the end. The first item on the program that has actually been finished this summer is painting the flagpole (and casting a new foundation, since we suddenly discovered that the old one just crumbled away). It was 10 years since the last time. Yes, we have to do regular maintenance in between activities to finish the house, and then it takes even longer.

Since 2 years of bathing and blogging coincided with the completion of the flagpole, we had to flag. Photo: Une Hunstad Løwø

In the absence of a longer holiday/trip abroad this summer, we wanted to celebrate with something spectacular and different, and so the 2-year’s bath became a SPA in Trondheim’s old mansion: Hotel Britannia.

You are welcome even before you enter. Who is looking forward to the SPA?

Apart from all the hot pots in Iceland, we have had no intention of reviewing water parks in our blog. But we really enjoy to treat ourselves with a little SPA every now and then. And Tospaornottospa was very excited about the wellness lounge in the basement of Britannia. A fun effect in the jacuzzi that didn’t have bubbles was the northern lights in the sky.

Northern lights in a relatively decent color right here, but occasionally it was blue? None of us have ever seen that!

Except that, there was a 12 m pool for swimming and a lot of different saunas, but what is the purpose of all the variants? Who wants to sit in a semi-lukewarm room with 55 degrees Celsius? But the Finnish sauna was absolutely perfect. And we always appreciate the possibility of a cold water dip. Hot and cold alternately, that’s the best! A bowl of ice to rub you with was a fun feature as well.

Idun was absolutely sure when we started the exploration of Trøndelag’s bathing spots: ‘If we put in a little effort, we will easily manage to bathe 2-3 times in all 39 municipalities in Trøndelag in one year!‘ Well, that was a bit optimistic. Not all weekends can be devoted to swimming, and besides, there is also bathing outside Trøndelag from time to time. Now, after 2 years, we are about halfway there. So then it’s just a matter of looking forward to 2 new years? We have to admit that the expenses for the 2-year celebration are not exactly in line with the income of the blog, which is rather precisely at 0. But it’s fun!

A Bath in the Iron Age

On the island Jøa you can travel in time! And that is thanks to Jan Tranaas, who has built an Iron Age house in Storvika.

Storvika (The Big Bay) is located on the west side of Jøa, Namsos. The long house is quite well camouflaged.

People have lived at Storvika/Tranås for at least 2,000 years. Here there are burials from the Iron Age, i.e. before the Viking Era. The finds contain traces of both the houses where people lived and the mounds where they were buried. Remains have been found for a ‘long house’ (more than 50 meters), a home for dozens of people, perhaps up to 50. Finds from Tranås include scissors, a sickle, a knife, parts of a sword and rivets made of iron, a spinning wheel and a baking plate of soapstone as well as a bronze pin. These finds are from around AD 400.

The Iron Age house on Jøa. For the next visit we will be wearing woven woolen clothes!

Building an Iron Age farm has cost Jan 20 years of thinking, 5 years of construction, 5,000 working hours and NOK 2 million. Well spent, both time and money, Tobatheornottobathe thinks, because the result is really fabulous. The new (from 2013) longhouse is 27 meters long and consists of stone, timber and turf. Naturally, we do not know in detail how the houses were built in the Iron Age – apart from the stone wall and the corner logs. Jan justifies his construction partly with findings from Sweden. The house in Storvika is heavy and solid and can withstand a storm or three. And that is needed, because the weather can be harsh at the coast of Trøndelag.

‘Janheim’ is furnished for guilds. Could an Iron Age wedding be something?

Jan’s dream has been to recreate the story of who the people in Namdalen originate from and how their ancestors lived. Today, there is scarce information about the way of life before the Viking Era. He thinks we need more knowledge about the time when the ‘Trønder‘ cleared the land, started cultivating the soil and for the first time built houses for people and cattle. People and animals lived together, the cattle provided warm houses during wintertime. Iron Age Jan has put coins under the logs, with the year when the house was built. So, if someone rediscovers the site in another 1,500 years, they don’t need the hassle of carbon dating to find the age of the house.

Tobatheornottobathe is considering a birthday party at ‘Janheim’! Maybe it is even possible to stay overnight here?

Storvika is an adventurous place, completely sheltered from modern times. We had a splendid bath in amazing surroundings, and a fantastic weather. The November bath will probably look a little different.

Our swimming gear was not quite ironage-ish. Next time perhaps a woolen bikini made by the single-needle knitting technique? Or just nothing at all.

References:
– Namdalsavisa 25/11-2013: ‘Jernalder-Jan hadde en drøm’.
– Information on site.

Hovsodden

In the Middle Ages there were only three churches in Namdalen: Nærøy, Overhalla and Fosnes at northern Jøa. Fosnes parish included, among others; Namsos, Flatanger, Otterøya and Gjæslingan.

Today there is only a chapel at Fosnes, as the church site has been moved to the village of Dun in the middle of the island. On the other side of Fosnesvågen you will find Fosnes Camping.

Early Christianity was good at cultural assimilation. The first churches were often placed on existing worshipping sites (hov), but this did not happen on Jøa. Peculiar! Placement of the church site was a very important decision, and around Jøa they had a dispute about this. A legend tells that in order to reach an agreement, fate (God) was allowed to prevail in the following way: The timber foundations of the church were pushed into the sea from Kirkenesset at Salsnes. The church was then to be erected where the logs drifted ashore. And the logs, they drifted ashore in Fosnesvågen on Jøa. But then no one rescued them before they went out to sea again. Now they ended up at Seierstad (today’s ferry quai) at Jøa. But again they drifted out to sea before being salvaged, and time passed. When the logs ran ashore for the third time, it was once again in Fosnesvågen. The logs were picked up and the church built at Fosnes (this is quite reminiscent of how the conquerers in Iceland let the Norse Gods decide the location of the farm by throwing the high seat logs into the sea and notifying where they drifted ashore).

We went from Fosnes to Hov on the east side of Jøa (where the church should have been placed), but there were not much visible left of the old times. Further towards the sea, however, is Rakkavika, and that’s a nice place to have a bath.

We wondered a little about the name, whether a ‘rakker’ had lived there (the rakker used to be the executioner in Norwegian towns, and also the one who emptied toilets and latrines). However, this far out to sea and in areas so desolate, it is unlikely that anyone at Jøa was employed to empty the toilets or run as executioner. It may seem that the word comes from rakke = a ring where the sail is attached to the mast (the ring protrudes from the sail), and in nature something that sticks out is called a headland. Tobatheornottobathe therefore concludes that the name ‘Rakkavika’ means Oddevik (Headland Bay), a really charming contradiction. Comments are welcome!

From Rakkavika, there are beautiful hiking trails in several directions. Because of that, we actually did not bathe there, as we wanted to see where the paths brought us. A well-arranged trail leads out towards the sea, to Hovsodden. Benches and tables, a barbecue and a view map are placed there. A fantastic place with a wonderful view!

Hovsodden. Splendid view towards the ocean.

From the barbecue area, an easier, marked path goes all the way to Jøa’s westernmost point. For small children’s feet, this is a really nice ‘mountain tour’, with the possibility of climbing the ‘Rakkabolt’, Jøa’s ‘Kjeragbolt’.

Once at the sea, you will find the finest white beach you could wish for. At least if you have small children with you.

Beautiful white sand on the beach at Hovsodden. The interesting, yellow geology is a rock of Styrofoam.

Tobatheornottobathe prefer to bathe from rocks in stead of sand, so we went even further out, to Oksholmen (The Oxen Islet). And yes, it was a really wonderful bath.

The coastal rocks were black of algae, and warm! It was really nice to dry off in the sun. For sure it is just right to swim in Rakkavika, but perhaps even better to have a bath at Hovsodden.

Juvikfolke 100 years

Tobatheornottobathe sought out the Olav Duun Festival on the island Jøa in Namsos municipality in the north of Trøndelag. We wanted to get to know Olav Duun, his writing and the island where he grew up – and we were also pretty sure that 3 days as islanders would provide opportunities for great swimming experiences.

Tractor eggs with a view towards the Dun village.

The Dun farms are located approximately in the middle of Jøa, characterized by a beautiful agricultural landscape surrounded by charming crags. On one of this there was an old fortress. In Gaelic, fortresses are called dún (such as Dún Aonghasa, which we have written about in another post). Some historians have other theories about the source of the name Dun, but we found this theory very likely, wether the Irish borrowed the name from the Vikings or vice versa. Here in Dun, Ole Julius Raabye grew up. When young, he was a fisherman for many years, before moving to Levanger in 1901 to study teaching. At that occasion Ole changed his name to Olav Duun.

Olav Duun’s childhood home. Earlier placed where the building on the right is now.

Olav Duun worked hard. In addition to his job as a teacher, he published 31 books in as many years. The sixth volume of his masterpiece ‘Juvikfolke‘ was finished in 1923, so 2023 was the 100 years celebration. He wrote with a non-standard grammar, almost writing in dialect. Which might be the reason many Norwegians from other parts of the country find him hard to read. Duun was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times, but never received it. In 1925 he lost it to Georg Bernhard Shaw by one vote. The ‘Aftenposten‘ newspaper in Oslo was so sure that Duun would win, that they published a paper on the day the award was to be announced with the headline ‘Today Olav Duun will win the Nobel Prize‘, only to withdraw the statement in the evening news. There has been “Fake News” before!

View from the writing room in the childhood home of Olav Duun.

From a nice tour in the Duun house, we went quickly over to Jøa’s cultural house ‘Fyret‘ (The Lighthouse) and a presentation of ‘Juvikfolke‘ as a 3 hour monologue by Hildegunn Eggen.

The Jøa community center has emphasized the name ‘*Fyret*‘ by erecting a lighthouse directly in front of it. It is borrowed from Kystverket (Coastal department) and previously was used somewhere along the Møre coastline.

Jøa is perfect for cycling. From Fyret, it’s only a few minutes trip down to Faksdal, where the old quai provides a good atmosphere, good food and good drink.

What’s more – at Faksdal Brygge it feels just right to jump off the quay!

Jøa

North-west of Namsos municipality is the island of Jøa. About 400 wonderful people live here spread over 55 km². The island is shaped like a triangle with charming crags in the northern and central parts, and a flatter, more marshy landscape in the southeast. The name comes from Norse ‘jóð‘ = ‘that which is separated from‘.

The Norwegian author Olav Duun grew up on Jøa, and although he lived for many years in Holmestrand (southern Norway), all his books were set on this island. More about him in another post.

‘Dun’ church with a view north towards Brakstad on the right.

The legacy of Duun is well maintained on Jøa, and every two years they make a ‘Duun Festival‘ in June. We wanted to go there! Tobatheornottobathe had missed Hildegunn Eggen’s farewell performance at Trøndelag Teater, the monologue ‘Juvikfolket’. A play that in 3 hours brings out the essence of Olav Duun’s masterpiece in 6 volumes. So when we heard that there would be an absolutely last chance at the Olav Duun Festival 2023, it was easy to decide to go. It takes some hours to drive to Jøa from Trondheim, but it was well worth it, and Friday after work we went straight to the ‘book bath‘ (a moderated talk with book writers) at Brakstad, by the northwestern coast of the island.

The orange tent at Brakstad. Some partying here as well, although it is a little different from the Roskilde festival in Denmark.

We didn’t just do book bathing, of course. At Brakstad, nature is so fantastic, with sea and islands and islets and sun up and down, that we had to swim several times. And humming a little to DDE’s summer song ‘Lange Late Daga‘ (Long Lazy Days), which actually mentions Pøbben (The Pub) in Brakstad. Pøbben has this motto: ‘When good people serve, good people can drink‘. However, the DDE text is a bit illogical, so Knut forced himself to switch to Ulf Lundell’s ‘Öppna landskap‘ (Open Landscapes) after a while, another song that feels just right at Brakstadsundet.

You will have to search hard to find a sunset more stunning than Brakstad in June!

Pøbben at Brakstad often serve shrimps, which are fished in the sea you can see from there. And although they were not so big, the taste was really great! To have an excuse to order some ‘Gammel Dansk‘ at the bar, we had to take a night bath first.

We had rented a Transit from ‘Bilkollektivet‘, which we were going to use as a mobile home. It was unfortunately a bit demanding, with cool dew at night and strong heat in the morning as soon as the sun rised.

All the more tempting with a fresh morning bath, as we in Tobatheornottobathe like to see it!

Knut is considering the possibility for a morning bath…

…but the decision was in practice already taken!

A book bath or any type of bath is just right at Brakstad Hamn!

Skjækerfossen

Verdalselva is quiet and calm and got its name from that fact. But you don’t have to go very much further up the valley before there are bigger heights and waterfalls. We wanted more fun, and drove up Helgådalen (the Holy River Valley) in search of a suitable waterfall or two. Then suddenly we saw this:

The river Ulvilla is a tributary to Helgåa river.

… and that took us back to the heavy duty parties at the Trøndelag countryside in the 80’s, when the song ‘Ulvillavisa‘ was often in the repertoire: ‘Får æ’tj ei pøls, så hoppe æ i ælva, i Ølvilla.‘ (“If I don’t get a sausage, I’ll jump into the river, into Ulvilla!”) Funny! Maybe we could even bathe in Ulvilla, as the song suggests?

Ulvilla power plant. Constructed back in the days (1917), when the power plants were as beautiful as any church.

It remained a thought. The lower part of Ulvilla was just not very tempting, so we dropped the bath. But not without protests.

And it’s certainly not a crisis if you skip a bathing place or two in Verdalen. There are plenty to choose from, not least a large number of waterfalls in the rivers Inna, Helgåa and Skjævra. Our next attempt was Granfossen in Helgåa, but it was a bit difficult to access the waterfall with the footwear we had, so we went on to Skjækerfossen.

What a place! The waterfall is 22.5 m high, wide and beautiful. And this is historical ground. There used to be furnaces for nickel ore from the Dyråa mines in Skjækerdalen: ‘Værdalens Nikkel og Kobberværk’. The ore was transported to Skjækerfossen by horse in winter, since Dyråa river doesn’t have enough slope to run the smelter cabin’s bellows. The sulfur was removed by burning charcoal, resulting in emissions causing forest death in a 50 m wide area every year. Dead trees were cut to firewood for the smelting process. The nickel was transported by horse carriages to the fjord (at Skånes), a transport that was more expensive than the Skånes-England transport, and therefore greatly contributed to the Verdal nickel industry lasting only 10 years.

Skjækerfossen anno 1917. To the right you can see remains after a mill, sawmill and a smelting furnace. Photo: Gunnar Holmsen/Verdalsbilder.no

There is also a memorial by the waterfall, honoring the border refugee guides, who saved many lives during WWII. It is estimated that 7-800 people fled to Sweden through Helgådalen during the 5 years of war. None of these routes were ever revealed. The stone was unveiled in 2006.

A tent camp was set up at Skjækerfossen in the spring of 1945, as they were looking for 25 members of the Rinnan gang, who tried to flee to Sweden after the peace treaty. Magne Solheim from Målselv arrested Henry Oliver Rinnan at Flyvollen farm on the 14/5-1945. Rinnan was convicted and executed by a firing squad at the Festningen Fortress in Trondheim 1/2-47. Rinnan assisted in the torture of at least 1,000 people, the murder of more than 80, and he was convicted of murdering 13 people.

There was a bit of climbing to Skjækerfossen.

However, we didn’t need a tent – to get a bath. On the other hand, there was a bit of climbing in rough terrain, and as usual we laughed at the idiocy of carrying swimwear in bags instead of backpacks.

Skjækerfossen was wearing winter clothes in the form of an ice curtain.

But swimming in Skjækerfossen? No, it was too scary for Idun. The waterfall is deep, and Idun was afraid she wouldn’t be able to drag herself back onto the ice. It was therefore only Knut who bathed.

… with subsequent intense discussions about how to solve this problem. What we needed was a ladder, but it is not particularly practical to bring a ladder into the car. The solution: Laider, of course. And we actually had one at home, in Trondheim, which the children got from grandpa and once used in a tree in the garden.

It was great! An absolutely splendid bath. No dangerous incidents of the type of ice falling down (we didn’t swim tight up to the waterfall).

However, the ice is sharp, so a little blood on the knees must be expected. Otherwise, like the Icelanders, we say: ‘Everything was just fine!‘

It is quite fabulous to have a bath in Skjækerfossen. Also mid-winter! But of course; the water flow is most likely more impressive in spring and summer.

Verdal

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!

The Old Bridge. Verdalselva is beautiful, quiet and calm.

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!

The equipment for ‘Øras dager’ is ready by Nybrua (the New Bridge).

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.

It was almost right to swim in Bjarnebukta January 2023.

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.

Christmas at Persaunet

Hurray! Finally Christmas! The children were home again and Christmas holidays had almost started. THEN corona revision 2 struck, and Idun fell to the ground, voiceless. Or, no, it’s not called ‘the ground’ but ‘the sofa’.

Idun tried to lift the mood with an ugly christmas dress, but it didn’t help much. Photo: Une Hunstad Løwø

Christmas Bath 2022 became a split session, where the corona patient and the French delegation dropped any cold baths. U1 and Knut, on the other hand, went to Sjøbadet to swim at the great facilities there.

But no sauna, we missed that because of the tradition of Cinderella movie watching. And the 24th of December was a fabulous day to take a walk in Trondheim.

Once at home, Knut just had to get bathing again. CovIdun also wanted a Christmas bath!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Tobatheornottobathe!

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.