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Religious purists in all probability assert {that a} pilgrimage requires strolling relatively than taking a prepare. I wasn’t inclined to spend three weeks strolling to Trondheim. So I made a decision to offer the prepare a shot, exhibiting up one morning at Sundsvall railway station in Sweden for a solo three-day pilgrimage by rail.
The railway from Sundsvall to Trondheim casts a 287 miles (463km) thread throughout central Scandinavia, for lengthy stretches paralleling the pilgrim path referred to as St Olavsleden (St Olav’s Approach). Whether or not by prepare or on foot, this can be a beautiful transect by means of a deeply rural area. The route extends from the Swedish shore of the Gulf of Bothnia to Norway’s Trondheim Fjord, the place St Olav’s Approach ends at Trondheim’s Nidaros Cathedral.
King Olav (AKA Olav Haraldsson) set out from Sweden’s east coast for Trondheim in early summer time 1030, however sadly by no means made it. The story goes that his expeditionary power was waylaid, and Olav was fatally injured by the blow of an axe within the Battle of Stiklestad. The king’s physique was interred in Trondheim and he was promptly acclaimed as a martyr and a saint. Work began on the good cathedral that as we speak is each a shrine to Olav and an icon of Norwegian nationwide id.
Forests and fermentation
Rain falls relentlessly because the regional prepare from Sundsvall runs up the Ljungan Valley, the hillsides tilting sharper as we head inland. At Stöde, there’s a misty view of the putting white church that overlooks the lake. Two hours into the journey, I determine to appease the climate gods by stopping off for a few hours at Pilgrimstad, a neighborhood that after relied on logging however now performs the pilgrim card to good impact. I take the waters on the holy properly, then restore to the close by microbrewery to pattern Mystic Pilgrim. The waiter assures me that this ale is simply as holy because the water from the properly and comes with “a transparent aroma of English malt with hints of herbs and honey”.
The gods are usually not happy and the rain falls much more closely as I trudge again to the station for the journey to the lakeshore city of Östersund for a primary in a single day cease. Östersund is a significant railway junction, and the jumping-off level for the seasonal 14-hour once-daily rail journey to Gällivare, which is approach up north past the Arctic Circle. For these with an urge for food for limitless forests, this route operates in 2023 from 19 June to 26 August.
Östersund is immediately likable, a lakeshore haven with a touch of cosmopolitan fashion within the wilderness. I’m rewarded with watery night sunshine and take a ship journey on a restored Nineteenth-century steamer known as MS Thomée. There’s chilled white wine and shrimps galore as we cruise around the island of Frösön, which has all the time been an necessary approach station on St Olav’s Approach.
A royal border
The following day I’m again at Östersund station for the prepare as much as Storlien. As on yesterday, the prepare could be very fashionable, showcasing Norrtåg’s putting blue and yellow branding, with a wise bistro space for self-service snacks and drinks. We glide west by means of ever extra forbidding landscapes, making tracks for the border with Norway.
I’m unsure whether or not to interrupt my journey, however the useful prepare supervisor means that Mörsil may be possibility. “You’ll discover one of the best truffles in Sweden at Sundings konditori,” she says. Mörsil is an everyday stopping-off level on St Olav’s Approach so I pause for 2 hours and discover this small neighborhood within the hills which, with the approaching of the railway in 1882, developed right into a well being resort.
After a candy diversion at Sundings, I’m again on the prepare heading for an in a single day cease at Storlien. Alighting within the drizzle, I’m wondering if I’ve made a critical mistake. It appears uncompromisingly forlorn, however the resort on the station platform, Le Ski Lodge & Steak Home, is welcoming. A room with a view of empty railway tracks, the patter of rain on a tin roof, a log fireplace burning within the bar that’s massive sufficient to accommodate all the inhabitants of Storlien.
Storlien cuts a dash in Swedish media as the preferred Easter getaway for the Swedish royal family. “Sometimes they even drop into the hotel here,” says the waiter in the restaurant. That royal connection apart, Storlien is the beneficiary of price differences across the Swedish-Norwegian border, making this border community a favoured target for shoppers from Trondheim.
To Hell and beyond
Next morning I board the red Norwegian train that twice daily runs down from Storlien to Trondheim. It is still raining and I am the only passenger on board. We slip down from the hills and within an hour catch a first glimpse of the upper reaches of Trondheim Fjord. Barren moorland has been replaced by green pasture and red wooden farmhouses. I am very tempted to stop at Hell, for all the same reasons that every tourist fancies a selfie in Hell. But I pass on Hell and stay on to the train’s next stop at Hommelvik where a former warehouse on the station platform has been converted into the Café Rampa, a homely spot for brunch with plenty of cushions and wooden beams.
The Rampa is a spot where I can gather my thoughts before hopping on to one of the local trains that run from Hommelvik into Trondheim. On my journey west from Sundsvall, I have read a lot about King Olav. Approaching Trondheim via the empty wastelands of central Scandinavia, there is a sense of returning to civilisation as the train nears the Norwegian coast. In Olav’s day, Trondheim was the capital of Norway and still today the city punches above its weight. From the station, I walk slowly up to the cathedral, pausing to inspect the statue of Olav on the building’s magnificently intricate western facade. He is depicted holding an axe, a reminder of his fate at Stiklestad in July 1030.
Two women from England standing nearby tell me that they have followed St Olav’s Way all the way from Sweden’s Bothnian coast. “A month of walking,” one says. I humbly admit that I travelled the same route but by train, taking just three days for the journey. I make a mental note that I cannot really lay claim to being an expert in slow travel.
Travel notes
Nicky took three days over the journey from Sundsvall to Trondheim, but it’s easily done in a single day. It takes between six and seven hours with just one change of train in Storlien. The one-way flexible fare is 681 Swedish kronor (about £53), which can be purchased on the Norrtåg website. This fare does not permit stopovers. This is a perfect route for using Interrail passes as these allow unlimited breaks of journey. There are no fees for seat reservations and no supplements for pass holders.
Nicky Gardner is the editor of Hidden Europe magazine and the co-author of Europe By Rail: The Definitive Guide, available from guardianbookshop.com
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