28-Feb-2025
So, first things first: Here's our Airbnb in Stjørdal ("Sturgeon Valley"). We'ge got a small but fine private apartment with a combined kitchen and living room, a tiny bedroom that barely fits two, and a bathroom with a washing machine and a dryer.
It also has this very well-designed stand-alone combination of shovel and brush.
And here's my laptop-friendly workspace.
Now, breakfast (also lunch since we slept in pretty late today): As a base, we've bought us some knekkebrød in two different flavors: "Original" and "Sea Salt and Herbs".
As topping, Robert found one of his other target cheeses: Gamalost. That one is very interesting. It has only 0.6% fat and neither looks nor tastes like cheese. It's texture is very rough too, almost like bread. I try some of it, and while I find it easy to eat (unlike the very extreme blue cheese I had as part of the cheese and meat platter a few days ago) I don't particularly like it either, and neither does Robert.
Instead, I got myself some super-tasty brunost to put on my knekkebrød.
Afterwards, we head out to explore the northern part of Stjørdal. That should lead us up into the hills. Here's the
tour map on bikerouter.
We set out at 13:00, which is pretty late, but that's just how much we slept in. Today looks like a rather gloomy day.
Right next to our Airbnb place, there's a buddy, which is a Norwegian pet food store.
I notice that the emblem of Stjørdal seems to be a wyvern, for I notice it on several public buildings, as well as some manhole covers.
We soon find ourselves inside a small forest park.
And then it's up into the hills.
There, we enter another, slightly bigger forest park: The monsberga friluftsområde.
This one features a fitness trail with the stations being described in a photographic way for accessibility.
Also, a bank that has been chained... to a lock.
This forest park is actually situated on top of a cliff, and I can actually go all the way to the edge of the cliff and get a great view of the surrounding landscape... or at least I would, if the weather was any better.
Speaking of weather, it has now started to rain, so Robert and I seek out a nearby rain shelter to take shelter from the rain.
The rain doesn't stop from this point onward, but it does lighten up a little after a while, which we take as a chance to carry on.
In the distance, the sun over the Trondheim fjord taunts us as we get only wetter and wetter.
Eventually, we reach the edge of the ledge, and from there get a good view of the valley below.
Up here, I also find a few Christmas Pig Caches. Apparently that's a thing around here.
And then, we trudge down back to the center of Stjørdal, occasionally taking shelter in bus stops along the way.
And there's that mocking sunlight in the distance again!
Eventually, we reach the inner town of Stjørdal, and make a beeline for the station, where we hope to find some dryness and warmth.
However, it turns out that the very beautiful little station building of Stjørdal is currently undergoing renovations, so tough luck!
So we hurry on to the Torgkvartalet shopping center, where we finally manage to get out of both the rain and the cold.
One of the shops in here is very nice.
And I also register a fourth chain of Norwegian supermarkets.
It's now only 17:30, but since we've done a lot of walking in the cold rain, we're already hungry and ready for an early dinner. So we head for the Torgcafeen on the third floor, where they have a very affordable all-you-can-eat buffet. I go for some very delicious (and big) meatballs, which I chaotically mix with some fried chicken and a spring roll.
After that, we head back to our Airbnb. On the minus side, it's still cold and rainy outside. But on the plus side, our Airbnb is literally one block over, so we get there in just a few minutes.
Back at the Airbnb, I realize that I am soaked to my underwear, and since the place doesn't seem to have any radiators to put them over (I am guessing it has floor heating or something), I just toss all the wet stuff that I still want to wear during this trip in the dryer and have it take care of that. I think that's the first time I've only used the dryer in an Airbnb, but not the washing machine.
And that's already it for today. It was a pretty short and uneventful day on account of us sleeping in, and the rain cutting our exploration a bit short- Hopefully, tomorrow the weather will be a little bit better. Only one way to find out. Stay tuned, and be of great cheer! =^,~'=
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