Forging a Life in the Fjords

Tales of an American in Norway

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A view of Trondheim from the Old Town Bridge 

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First Day in Trondheim

On Saturday morning, a small group of my roommates and a few other international students went venturing into the rainy streets of Trondheim. After a 30 minute walk into town, we arrived at the Nidaros Cathedral, a famous historical site in Trondheim. Nidaros was founded in 1070 and was built on the burial city of Saint Olav (the King of Norway in the 11th century). The architecture and history of the cathedral is very rich and it’s stunningly beautiful. Additionally, we climbed to the top to enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the city. 

Afterwards, we stopped into the adjacent Armory, which detailed the military history of Norway. Fun fact: the Norwegian troops skied into battle when the fought Sweden in the Napoleonic Wars. I knew skiing was very popular in Norway but I never imagined soldiers on skis... Even as a non-history buff I thought the museum was interesting. And it was free which was a bonus! 

After the museum, we wandered through the beautiful streets of Trondheim and finished the day picking up some much needed supplies for our rooms and kitchens at IKEA. 

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A Room of Many Langauges

I made it to Moholt! The journey from New York to Trondheim took about 18 hours and consisted of an unnervingly quiet airport, multiple flights, and unruly children.  Stewart Airport could probably contest for the world’s smallest international airport....

Stewart Airport... Where are all the people?

On the flight to Bergen, I had the pleasure of sitting next to a 3 year old and her poor naive father. The kid attempted to do a handstand on her seat as her dad slept soundly through the whole event...  I truly wish I could enjoy a 8 hour red-eye as much as she did.

 After an extended layover in Bergen and a quick flight to Trondheim, I took the Værnes Ekspressen to Moholt. The bus ride was quite beautiful and gave a nice Despite it being 9 pm, it was bright as day which made finding the building easier. When I got to my room, I met my three lovely roommates from Turkey, Poland, and Ghana. We each have our own bedroom, but we share a bathroom and kitchen. It’s amazing to think that our apartment represents four countries and three continents. It's a drastically different environment compared to the small town where I lived in the USA. 

The bedrooms in Moholt are fairly spacious and have large windows. I was also impressed by our kitchen which has plenty of storage space, an oven, and two refrigerators. 

I was lucky to find my bedroom complete with a rainbow view on the first night (which kind of made trudging through the rain with my soggy luggage worth it.) 

Overall, despite exhaustion and jet lag, I’m glad to be settled in Moholt and I’m excited to experience life in this new home.