Open air museum of Sundsvall

Sunday night

We arrived in Sundsvall late on Sunday night.  Our hotel was about 900m from the station, but by the time we arrived, shops were shutting and dinner was off.  We dumped our bags and headed off for a short walk to seek out lactose free milk and something to eat.

On our way, we passed a few Irish waterfront pubs and contemplated the desirability of a cold beer/wine and a bowl of chips.  On our return we made the decision and headed in.  While waiting for our drinks and shared loaded fries, we were given a large bowl of popcorn.  It seems that this is the new peanuts.

We were also introduced to the Club World Cup opening event, with an out of place looking Trump.  We saw Chelsea kick three goals (apparently the finalscore) before closing time. The first time I have experience dtha in daylight!

The open air museum

After the obligatory buffet breakfast, on the receptionists advice, we headed off to walk up the nearby high ground to see a bit of nature and  see a panoramic view of Sundsvall.

What we didn’t know was that there was a museum created from a previously living village. Although predominantly targetted at children we explored the houses and farmyards. https://norraberget.se/

It showed how the traditional occupants lived and worked in the area.

I speak your langauge

This is a great opportunity to sing the praises of the Google Translate App. I have used it previously but often forget when I am setting off somewhere new.  Im sure there are more and better, but this is the one I have for now.

You download the languages that you will need when you have WIFI and then it will work translating for you offline.  You can take a photo of the text you need translated (very handy for menus, instructions or shops) or you can talk into it for a direct translation – perfect for asking for help.

Sundsvall waterfront

In the afternoon, we headed off to explore the waterfront. The temperature was slowly rising, hitting 27 at one point. We walked slowly.

We have seen a lot of interesting public artwork and sculptures in Scandinavia, and Sundsvall was no exception.

One noticable feature of Sweden was how they have embraced bee gardens; where flowering plants are allowed to grow unmowed.  They provided a nice change to manicured lawns.

Tuesday morning

A final explore around the city filled our morning.  Debbie discovered that you could buy a 2-bedroom apartment here for about $280,000.

It would probably be smaller thin this! but the city had a quiet appeal. We thought that, in the summer at least, we could live a remote-working life here.

Our train was due to pull out at 2:10pm, and we were keen to keep our room to freshen up before departing on a 6.5-hour train journey.  The friendly receptionist was happy to extend our 12pm checkout to 1:30pm. We rested, cooled down, refilled our water-bottles and then donned our four packs, hats and handbags and started marching.

St Olav Pilgrimage

The train journey from Sundsvall in Sweden to Trondheim in Norway roughly follows one of nine pilgrim ways to Nidaros Cathedral.

https://www.visitnorway.com/things-to-do/outdoor-activities/hiking/pilgrimage-on-the-st-olav-ways/

These are in honour of the first King Olav of Norway. Born 967 AD, he assumed the throne in 995 until his death in 1000. He converted Norway to Christianity and was made a saint in 1031.

It sounds like an interesting path to tread. St Olavsteden, from Sundsvall to Trondheim is the northern most camino in the world. About 600km in 28 days, and at least 4 times crosses the trainline if you need to bail for a stage. https://stolavsleden.com/

I have already started planning ………..

We borded the train, stopped at 27 stations, including Hell, changed to a bus in the Ski Resort town of Storlien,  andarrived many hours later in Trondheim.  By this stage we were the last passengers in the bus so the driver dropped us on the doorstep of the best-western-chesterfield-hotel-trondheim