Midsummer I - Vikings & Trolls

This lovely Scandinavian holiday was another of the main reasons for this trip, so I was pretty psyched to spend Norwegian midsummer in Trondheim on June 23rd, followed by a little side-trip to Sweden, where midsummer was celebrated on the 24th. Another of those expectation versus reality stories ensued. To be expected: huge bonfires, drinking, partying, eating fish, dancing 'round maypoles....but here's what actually happened.

The journey to Trondheim was one of the smoothest of the entire trip. It was also tied as one of two longest distances covered in one day of hitchhiking: 538 km (the other being Riga to Białystok - also around 530 km). We left early and the day started off well. After asking which way to the highway, François got offered 100 Norwegian krone by a guy in Oslo, who insisted we take the train. Soon enough, we found a ride with a lovely couple on their way to a funeral in Ålesund (second lift with people headed to or coming from a funeral...). They were incredibly kind and shared their lunch sandwiches with us as we discussed the floods that had recently occurred around Lillehammer. Some of the roads were still blocked and the damage to some properties was very visible. The woman was originally from the Faroe Islands, which was an interesting coincidence because François had gotten into the hilarious habit of asking everyone "Do you know how to get to Faroe Islands?". He had been looking for a way to possibly boat-hitchhike there from Norway, but turned out it was unfeasible. She also highly recommended Lofoten Islands and the southwestern coast of Norway. And after so many votes for Lofoten, it was now materializing as a concrete destination.

In Lillehammer, they dropped us at a gas station while they went to buy some groceries, with the generous agreement that they would drive us a bit further North (until the fork to Ålesund) if we still hadn't found a ride to Trondheim by the time they finished their shopping. However, despite still being quite some way from Trondheim (about 5 hours), it took all of 3 minutes to get a direct ride! While we were waiting around the gas station, a sizable Viking boat caught my eye. That's right. It was sitting on a trailer while the people from the two cars accompanying it were inspecting it, or chilling around. I thought it would be awesome to get a ride with the Viking boat if they were headed towards Trondheim. My hopes weren't too high, but I decided to go ask anyways.

O Viking Vessel! <3

A couple of minutes later we were settled in a mean-looking 4x4 with a view of the Viking boat being pulled by the first car. It turned out the convoy was headed to a BYOB (Bring Your Own Boat) Viking festival in Trondheim. Hurray!

While François and one of the younger boys snoozed for most of the ride, I absorbed Norwegian culture from Kristoffer, the driver. Troll legends, imported Canadian muskox, great trekking locations, music (Edvard Grieg; Bigbang; Electric Woodland)... The scenery became more and more breathtaking and reminded me of Western Canada. We stopped for a rainy lunch break and I took the opportunity to mingle with the local troll.

I also had a second go at attempting to fix my camera, prompted by encouragement from Kris, who was studying mechanical engineering in Trondheim. I gently nudged the mirror and it finally unjammed! Success! My pinky can do the job just as good as 500 krone. Like a boss.

Back on the road and soon arrived at destination. Following the 5-hour trip with Kris, it felt like we had known each other for much longer. I'm always thankful and amazed by how quickly bonds can form when hitchhiking; you seldom feel lonely or among strangers. There's a sort of unique trust and connection that inevitably permeates when you share a significant amount of time in a tiny space on wheels.

Kris promised to drop us off at our host's place once the boat was brought to the festival camp and the rest of the group had set up. The festival was basically a small group of people living out a weekend of Viking reenactment. We got to go in for free and have a quick look around during the preparations.

Real Vikings Recycle

The Festival Camp

We shortly headed off to find our host, Marco, but we only had an address and no idea about directions, and Kris was unfamiliar with the street name. But I happened to be half-consciously looking at the street signs, when one of them caught my attention. After checking in my notebook again, turns out that was indeed Marco's street -- stop the car! Trondheim is Norway's third largest city, so this very lucky coincidence saved us a lot of wandering about! I was however a bit sad to part ways with Kristoffer. The rest of the evening was enjoyed with Marco's company and some warm food - a lovely and quiet way to end a day of such good turnarounds.

 ***

I remember having a conversation with Kris at some point that went something like this:

"So, is this Viking festival part of the Midsummer celebrations then?"

"Midsummer? Hmm...no, not really."

"Oh... Well, is there anything going on in the city for Midsummer?"

"Not sure. I wouldn't count on it..."

So much for Norwegian Midsummer. Oh well, fun was had anyways.