Text: Vibeke C Strømmen

Photos: Vibeke C Strømmen & Martin Fossen

After living here in Trondheim all my life, (Martin has lived here for quite some time now), today was the first time we got to experience the city from a river perspective. The Nidelv River has always seemed scary to me. Lots of power and the fact that there have been drowning accidents in it more than once, makes me a little scared. Yet the river has its own song that it is quiet and beautiful, and it is. If you are calm, sober and have some idea of ​​how to behave in, around and along water you should do fine.

Thanks to Instagram, you come across accounts that address a lot of what you are interested in. For us it`s paddling. Trondheim Kayak (not to be confused with Trondheim Kayak Club), has 4 daily trips down the Nidelv River They offer tours for tourists and locals and many, if not most, of their guests have never been in a kayak before. This means that it is not very demanding paddling so it was with confidence that we started in the same place as them.

2 yellow dots:We started at Tempe and finished by Skansen.

When paddling on a river, it is both most natural and most comfortable (read less tiring) to paddle downstream. Some paddle upstream, but mostly for training. We paddle mainly for the cozier's part. This means that we must have good logistics. The kayaks should be set out at starting point and picked up further down. Luckily we have 2 cars and solved it as follows:

We drove both cars to Skansen, the final destination of the trip. There we left one car, the one without the kayaks on the roof of course. Then we drove up to Tempe which is located on the banks of the Nidelv River. Trondheim Kayak has its headquarters here and we drove the car all the way down to their house. Here it was a short distance to where they set out their kayaks. Here we took the kayaks off the car roof, took the kayak stand off and put them in the luggage compartments of the kayaks. Thus we could put the racks on the car that was left at Skansen when we arrived there. When everything was taken off the car, we parked it at the end of Bostadvegen where you can stand for free for 3 hours during the day.

While we were carrying the kayaks down to the water, we met one of those who work in Trondheim Kayak. Martin first greeted in Norwegian, but got the answer «english please». The person was a very nice Croatian. He said that he was in Norway to work for Trondheim Kayak to learn how to run such a kayak / tour company. His plan was to do this for 5-7 years and then return to Croatia and offer multi-day kayak trips along the beautiful coast they have. He said that there were over 1000 islands along the Croatian coast, with caves and islets and good accommodation options for a tour group. We thought it sounded like a very nice plan and we hope his dream will come true. He gave us some good tips on where it was best to be when we got out into the river. The right side down was the best, so we followed that path.

Red line shows the whole route.

A very curious female mallard really wondered what we were doing and was not afraid of humans / poodles. It came right next to our kayaks, but was scared when we lifted the oars. Khaleesi obviously wanted to take it, but she was placed in Martin's kayak under an upgraded splash cover.

This trip was also a test of a new system for Khaleesi to have a more pleasant time on our kayak trips. I have, with the help of my mother, improved the splash cover by sewing on an extra collar where the dog's head sticks up. This means that she is not pushed down, and has a better opportunity to move. The collar also has a tightening mechanism so it does not become too loose around the neck. As a poodle, she is by nature very curious and wants to see everything and smell everything. With the new, spacious splash cover, she gets to move more and can relax more than she did last year. Furthermore, we have improved the seating system in the cockpit. It was created by Martin that buildt a wooden block that covers the metal bar that is at the bottom of the kayak. On top of that we got hold of a narrow balance pillow from XXL which Martin cut to fit better between the legs. The result is that Khaleesi came higher up so that she can more easily lie down during the trip without having to keep her head down in the cockpit. The improvements made her feel much more comfortable than she has in the past.

We left Tempe and did not have to paddle very hard as the river up here have some speed. We just floated along. Just relax, take time to see and enjoy the scenery and take many pictures. This was also a kind of maiden voyage double up. Firstly, it was the first time for me to paddle on the Nidelv River, secondly, this was the baptism trip for my kayak that has been named. A company in Agder (Dekorshop) made a punched stencil that we glued to the kayak. The name is «Good Vibes». I have this as a tattoo on the underamen as well. Since I have been called both Vibben and Vibsen, it was not that far from "Vibes", which is one of the reasons for the name choice

From Tempe and down to Skansen, there are ten bridges you pass if you take the waterway. The first after Tempe is Stavne Bridge. This is a combined walkway - and train bridge that connects Byåsen and Tempe / Lerkendal together. Among other things, the bridge is frequented a lot when there is a football match at Lerkendal Stadium.

After passing it, you slide further down with Marienborg on one bank and St. Olav's hospital on the other. Here, a few years ago, another bridge was built over the river, the Hospital Bridge or the Cecilie Bridge. After this you approach the small peninsula called Øya. This place has always housed the city hospital and many of the houses built here were built to house the hospital's work staff. By the river bank you see some beautiful homes with well-kept gardens, and we guess that this must be some of the most expensive houses in Trondheim. What is fun about kayaking is to see things from other perspectives and as walking or driving on the peninsula you do not see these houses. Had we not paddled here we would never have known that there were such beautiful houses along the river. We felt like tourists in another city, either a place in Denmark or England where such houses can be located by the canals.

Nice looking houses on the riverbank.

Down here on Øya, there has always been an athletics and tennis court and a large sports and culture hall, formerly known as Nidarøhallen where everything from handball matches, large exhibitions to exams are held. Nidarøhallen was recently replaced with the much larger Trondheim Spektrum, much to the frustration of some of the city's residents, but to the delight of others.

Trondheim Spektrum

On the other side of Trondheim Spektrum is Ila church and we glide under the footbridge called Nidareid bridge which connects the two banks. As we glide down we see a father and son sitting in the sun and feeding ducks and seagulls. There are also the occasional dog that its out walking its owner.

Just a few hundred meters below the Nidareid bridge comes another bridge called Gangbrua. Here we begin to notice that the wind has picked up it`s pace quite strongly from the south, that is, opposite us. So there we paddle, in glorious sun and up to 20 degrees and have to work hard to move forward. At least it seems that way, compared to the good drive we had further up where the river is narrower.

The next crossing point is Elgseter bridge and it is after this bridge you feel the real trip begins through Trondheim. On the left hand side we get the mighty Nidaros Cathedral with the open recreation area called Marinen is situated. Straight ahead and high up you see Kristiansten Fortress where a large Norwegian flag is waving in the wind. We calmly glide towards an area that many residents and tourists thinks and feel is the best thing about Trondheim, Bakklandet and Gamle Bybro, (Old Town Bridge).

Bakkelandet is an intimate and sweet neighborhood with the city's oldest bridge as a draw. Gamle Bybro with the "Portal of Happiness" was built in 1681 in connection with the construction of Kristiansten Fortress. The special houses on each side of the river are worthy of preservation and have a long history dating back to the 18th century. I have looked out over these houses all my life, but now paddling between them was something very special. Just glide by, snap photos and enjoy.

Gamle Bybro with "Lykkens Portal"

The Old City Bridge with the "Portal of Happines.

Slowly we came to Bakke bridge. Here is the large hotel Royal Garden on one side and the new Adressabygget which houses the city's largest and the country's oldest newspaper, Adresseavisen (1767). Boat moorings are on opposite sides and we can see Solsiden a little further ahead. Verftsbrua connects the city center to Solsiden with its shopping center and nightclubs. We turn left and paddle under Brattørbrua and enter what is called Gryta. Here it is narrower and moorings are located on opposite sides. The police station is up to the right and a little further ahead is Trondheim Central Station.

Towards Gryta.

After Jernbanebrua we look at all the boats, many of them in the million kroners class. 2 kayaks from Hasle is then not a strange investment. There were also some jet skis there - we do not like them! We pass Ravnkloa where you can spot the tower on Nidaros Cathedral up to the left. In the summer, boats go from Ravnkloa to Munkholmen. This island, only 13 acres about 2 kilometers out in the Trondheim Fjord, is one of the big tourist magnets and a great place to visit. See Wikipedia. We are now approaching our final destination for today's trip. Skansen in Ila is not far away and the last bridge we slide under is Skansen bridge. From here you can continue out into Trondheimsfjorden or go ashore as we did, on a descent ramp for boat launching.

The trip took 1 hour and 20 minutes and we took it as calmly as we could. This trip can be highly recommended. We will definitely do it again. Thank you Nidelva for behaving well towards us. You are quiet and beautiful, at least downstream of Tempe.