Scandinavian Awesomeness – Part 6

Headed south to Umea to spend the night  – long, long drive. After filling up, didn’t stop again until we had lunch at a little pizza place about 2 hours out of Umea. Pulled pork pizza – it was AWESOME. Just wish I knew where it was so I could share it with you all!

Going south we watched the temps rising steadily. Got to +6°C once we finally hit Umea. Parked on the street, probably illegally (just like we’ve done everywhere else!) and head into the hotel…words can’t do it justice, it’s just insane. Maritime themed and gorgeous – almost steampunk-like. The photos (some of which are up!) will hopefully give you a better idea 🙂 The holographic doors were the coolest.

Lovely lady at the counter was very helpful, including telling us the best and cheapest place to park. Quick dump of the bags then a dash to the car to park it *properly*.

Short walk back to the hotel then finally….a SHOWER! The water pressure was mind blowing – was even able to wash my hair…and stain all of the towels, sheets and pillows purple in the process!

After getting clean for the first time in 36 hours, off to dinner at The Bishops Arms. Very filling food – and they got Alex’s thumbs up, they did garlic bread! During dinner Alex discovered he had full eduroam wireless reception – something we had a chuckle over, as the university is about 5km away!

Head back to the hotel for an early night as the next day was yet another long day of driving to Trondheim.

Up early and time for breakfast – this time I wasn’t intimidated by the waffle machine, mainly because I watched someone else do it and then smear her waffle in NUTELLA! Best. Breakfast. Ever.

Quick pack up, more photos in the hotel and then dash out the hotel to the car for our 7 hour trip to Trondheim.

Surprisingly not that bad – few stops for fuel (in Sweden!) before crossing the border into Norway. So beautiful here – it’s like a totally different world. Scariest part of driving here – trucks that don’t stay on their side of the road and tunnels 😛

Finally made it to our hotel in Trondheim around 5:30pm and checked in. Really nice hotel and our room overlooks the river! Needed to go for a wander to get a SIM card, so headed into the centre of Trondheim. First shop we went to actually pointed us to their competitor!!! Got the SIM (tad more expensive than home…) and was finally reconnected to the internets! Then time to find food.

Went to a tapas bar that was close to the hotel and rated well on Trip Advisor. I’ve never had tapas before, so was a bit hesitant – really shouldn’t have been. It was absolutely gorgeous. Fresh bread, fresh tomatoes with red onion and pomegranate seeds, capsicum dip, aioli, marinated baby chicken legs, lamb with mango and papaya, salted potatoes, tuna with horseradish cream, chilli prawns…it was all delicious (except the prawns…Alex ate the prawns). So stuffed, no room for desert!

Back to our room at around 9:30, quick check of email etc. before snooze time.

Woke up at a decent time, around 6am. Calls to parents made (Hi Mums!) and then time for breakfast here. Pounced on by a statistic guy who was doing some kind of tourist research for the Norwegian government. Spent first part of breakfast filling out the rather in-depth survey.

Then it was food time – they had baked beans and sausages 🙂 Also profiteroles, but I’m saving those for tomorrow…

Next trek was to see if the only self-service laundromat in Trondheim was still open…it wasn’t. Think we’re either going to buy new clothes or revert to washing in the hotel bathrooms 😛 Short wander for a coffee and found an amazing coffee shop that I think Alex will be visiting at least daily while we’re here, as he said it’s the best coffee he’s had since he’s landed.

After that it was a quick car ride…TO HELL. No, literally, we went to Hell in Norway. Obligatory tourist shots in front of the train station (“Gods Expedition”) and a few shots of the ‘Hellywood’ sign, as Alex called it.

Park the car again (tiny, tiny parking spaces!) and a wander through central Trondheim. Had McDonalds for lunch (cheap and we’re trying one in every country – Norway best so far!) then off to see the Nidaros cathedral…except it wasn’t open 🙁 Bought a few touristy things (more god damn teaspoons!) and then a 2km walk to ROCKHEIM! *cue moshing*

Rockheim was amazing – best mueseum we’ve ever visited. Totally interactive, which was quite strange but made it a really unique experience. Most exhibits used your body (through motion sensors in the celing), laser pointers aimed at sensors to trigger stuff, or touch screens. Lots of thing to listen to and explore – and a whole ROOM dedicated to heavy metal! Spent a few hours wandering through and chatting to a really lovely guide – he and Alex started talking politics 😛

Had to buy a few things here, including some new shirts and guitar picks. I got to try an electric guitar for the first time – I have lovely long fingers apparently, so will be stealing Alex’s guitar when we get home and having a go at learning via RockSmith!

5pm – so time to have a rest and recharge the devices, after a quick stop off at a supermarket for some supplies – including some hand washing detergent…and yet another stop at the awesome coffee joint across the road >.>

I napped for an hour or so while Alex watched a few Twitch streams and found us a place to eat for dinner. Got ready in record time (for me, at least!) then a short walk to Una, an Italian restaurant that Trip Advisor rated well. Had to wait for close to an hour for a table, but it was worth it – the food was beautiful! They also served espresso martinis, so I was perfectly happy! Heard the bartender speaking while we were waiting – he dropped a “mate” in passing and sure enough, he was an Aussie (from Goulburn).

Very full, we head back to the hotel where Alex spots their espresso machine for the first time – 9:30pm and he decides to have a double shot coffee 😛 While he’s having his, I try out the restaurant bar’s version of the espresso martini – very nice, as this bartender (who’s from Alaska) uses sugar syrup in his 🙂

Now time for some washing – considering we have a heated bathroom, do a small bit of washing in our hotel room. It’s all currently drying on hangers in there 🙂

Late night, didn’t get to sleep until gone 11 and it’s only just gone 5am now. Time for a bit more sleep, then today will be spent at the Nidaros cathedral, Archbishops Palace museum and the Crown Regalia.

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