Michi Photostory

Trondheim is the third-largest city, the Viking capital, the religious capital, and the third most populous place in Norway. According to Wikipedia, as of January 1, 2016, they have 187,353 people. It is situated in Sor-Trondelag where Nidelva river and Trondheim Fjord meet. 


During our summer vacation in Norway, we’ve been to Trondheim several times. First is when we arrived from the Philippines, next is when we went to Røros, when we accompanied my husband to Trondheim Bus station, when we went to Iceland, and lastly when we went back to the Philippines. 



Among the five times that we’ve been to Trondheim, we had one day to explore the city or should I say few hours only. We planned to have a Day Trip in Trondheim before my husband went back to the Philippines but unfortunately, our plan was not pushed through because we could not leave early. My mom needs to attend a funeral, sakto pa talaga sa trip namin. We had no choice but to wait for her.


We also need to consider the schedule of the Ferry Boat, so we were in Trondheim past 2PM na. Upon docking, we immediately went to Trondheim Train Station so we can store the luggage of my husband before we start our walking tour. The locker was big enough, one 30kls luggage and one hand-carry luggage were able to fit inside. 


The weather was not nice but rain or shine we started our tour in the city of Trondheim. We don’t have an itinerary or map so we literally just walk and look for the tourist spots. We’re happy to see another side of Norway, we’ve been seeing mountains and seas for the past two weeks so finally, hello cityscape. 


I’ve been to Trondheim before because my aunt invited us to stay in her house for a few days so we were able to see the city but it was loooong time ago and all I can remember is we went to the Royal Residence and Tyholttårnet. Sharing with you, our walking tour. 

Munkholmen 


Munkholmen is an islet in Trondheimsfjord, it used to be a fortress prison, monastery, a place of execution, and a World War II anti-aircraft gun. We always see this fortress whenever we ride the boat on our way to Trondheim. This is a popular tourist spot so if you want to see the fortress up close, you need to ride a boat. 

Saint Olav Tryggvason Statue 


The 18-meter Saint Olav’s Statue is located at the center of the city square of Trondheim. It is near the Trondheim Torg and Royal Residence. You can see a cobblestone around the statue which serves as a gigantic sundial. St Olav was a King of Norway who built the first church in Norway, founded the Trondheim city, and played an important role in why Norway became a Christian country. 

Nidaros Cathedral


Nidaros Cathedral is the biggest church that I’ve seen in Norway so far. It is the biggest church in Northern Europe and it was built over St. Olav’s grave in the year 1070. It is where the consecration of the King of Norway is held. Unfortunately, we were not able to see the interiors of the church because it was already closed at 2PM. There is a cemetery beside the church too. 


Archbishop’s Palace 

Beside the Nidaros Cathedral is the Archbishop’s Palace where you can see the archeological museum. But the same fate, it was already closed so we were not able to go inside. 

My son was not in the mood already, he doesn’t like to walk and he doesn’t like to take pictures anymore so we decided to finish our walking tour. We just went to the bridge before going back to Trondheim Torg to eat. 

Old Town Bridge (Gamle Bybro) and Bakke Bridge (Bakke Bru) 



Old Town Bridge connects the Kjøpmannsgata main street to the Bakklandet neighborhood. The bridge was constructed in the year 1681 by Johan Caspar von Cicignon. This bridge is also known as the “Gate of Happiness” 

Bakklandet 


Bakklandet is a neighborhood located on the east side of the Nidelva River between the famous bridge, which is Gamle Bybro and Bakke Bru. It is known for its wooden houses and narrow streets. 

McDonald's at Trondheim Torg

We ate at McDonald's. They say that Norway is a very expensive country and I would not deny that. We just ordered snacks for 4 people and our bill is more or less P1500. Pero kung sa Pinas baka wala pa P600 yung order namin.


Even though this is fastfood, it took them so long to prepare the order. After eating you need to clean your own table. No staff that will clear the table for you, self-service lahat.

Stiftsgården or Royal Residence 

While walking, we’ve been seeing a lot of yellow buildings and my mom kept on saying, “Baka yan na yung Royal Residence” so she kept on taking pictures of us basta may yellow. Lol But I told her na malaki yun, hindi yan yung nakita ko dati. On our way back to Trondheim Torg, we finally saw the Royal Residence. Nasa right side pala siya, nagturn left kasi kami agad. 

Stiftsgården was built in 1774, it has 140 rooms and is probably the largest wooden building in Northern Europe. It is used by the royal family and guests in Trondheim. 

We just took a quick photo and we went back to the train station to get my husband's luggage. How I wish, we have more time to explore the city but we needed to catch the boat and my husband needed to rest for his long-haul flight. 


We accompanied my husband to Trondheim Bus Station, we did not go with him anymore to save on bus fare. NOK150 one way per person is not cheap. The bus is straight to the airport where Radisson Blu Hotel is located. My husband spent the night in the hotel to catch his morning flight the following day.

Read: Radisson Blu Hotel Trondheim Norway 


Then we ran to the Ferry Boat Station, buzzer-beater kami, we’re the last passengers to get in. Good thing inabot namin, or else we need to wait a few hours for the next boat schedule. My sister fetches us at the seaport. 

We went to S&R Nuvali last Saturday, it’s been months since our last visit. My son wanted a specific brand of milk and it is not available in the grocery that we always visit. Out of stock yata, mga 1 month na wala siya stock so we went to S&R to buy his milk. 

After doing our grocery, I asked my husband kung saan kami maglunch and he suggested Kuya J. I said, kakaKuya J lang natin few days ago so I suggested Rose & Grace. (nagtanung pa ko noh, ako din masusunod) hehehe!

It’s been years since our last visit in Rose & Grace because we were not satisfied with our last visit. Read the story here. But since we are looking for affordable Filipino restaurant, we paid a visit again. Rose & Grace is a level-up carinderia where you choose your food at the counter and they will reheat it for you. They also serve complimentary bulalo soup which is refillable too.


We just ordered bopis, ampalaya, bbq and rice. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that bbq is one of my son’s favorite food. So if there is bbq in the menu, 90% yan ang order niya. 

I was not able to check the price of each meal but the bill is P600+ (4 persons) so parang mas mura pa sa fastfood noh? Rose & Grace also sells imported chocolates and cookies, famous pasalubong and toys.

We’ve started dining at Kuya J restaurant last year at Solenad 3, Nuvali. It is one of our favorite Filipino restaurants because their price is affordable compared to other restaurants so pasok siya sa budget.  

Read: Kuya J Restaurant Nuvali
Kuya J Southwoods Mall

Just this month, we watched Wonder Woman at SM Sta Rosa and I was surprised when I saw the Kuya J restaurant near the cinema. May bagong kainan na pala sa SM Sta Rosa and this is nearer compared to Solenad branch.


My husband and I ate at Kuya J after doing my errands. The interior of the restaurant is quite similar to Nuvali branch but their menu is different. Magazine type ang menu and they already have “Salo-Salo Delights”. 



While browsing the menu, I noticed that they already increased their prices, ang bilis ng inflation. Hehehe! We just ordered Kuya J Kare-Kare P410, Rice P45 each and Kuya J Ube Halo-Halo P109. We were already hungry so we asked the staff to serve the halo-halo immediately. 


It took me more than a year bago ko natikman ang halo-halo because whenever I ordered this, not available lagi. I’ve been hearing and reading a lot of good reviews about their halo-halo and true enough, their halo-halo is different. The ice itself has a different texture and it doesn’t easily melt. It is good for sharing. 

Good thing we asked them to serve the halo-halo because it took them 35 minutes to serve the Kare-Kare and rice. This is one thing that I dislike in Kuya J, they will always tell you that they will serve the food in 15-20 minutes pero hindi naman nangyayari.


So better to eat dessert first before the main course. The Kare-Kare is more on beef, there is only one ox tripe. I prefer ox tripe pa naman sa Kare-Kare. The serving is good for two persons. Next time I will try the regular halo-halo. 

Update: August 2017

It was my birthday so hubby was on leave. There is no grand celebration because my son was in school so we just went to SM Sta Rosa for errands. Then we ate at Kuya J restaurant because hubby wanted to taste the Kuya J Halo-Halo Espesiyal. 


As expected, they took them so long to serve our meals, 15 minutes to serve the halo-halo, and more than 30 minutes to serve the meal. We just ordered Sizzling Pork Chops P205, Relyenong Talong P130 and Rice. 



My husband liked the relyenong talong but I did not like the sizzling pork chops. The taste is okay but it is too bland for me. We've tried the Kuya J Ube Halo-halo and Kuya J Halo-halo Espesyal and we can't tell the difference except for the color. hehehe! 

Have you tried Kuya J restaurant?

Since we are going to celebrate Father’s Day at Mind Museum, I asked my husband if we could eat at Texas Roadhouse. My husband was able to try this restaurant when he was in Austin Texas last February. He was so satisfied with the food and service so when I’ve learned that they already have branch in the Philippines, nagkaroon ako ng hope na matry.

Read: Texas Roadhouse, Austin Texas 
There are two branches of Texas Roadhouse, you can visit the branch in S’ Maison Conrad or Uptown Bonifacio and we chose the latter. Knowing that it is Father’s Day, we had an early lunch, as in past 10AM nandun na kami and we were the first diners. The staffs greeted my husband "Happy Father's Day"


Looking at the interiors of the restaurant, it is similar to the pictures of my husband. (the photos that he took in Austin) There are televisions and different displays of deer too. 



The staff ushered us to our table and gave us one bucket of peanuts and one empty bucket. I mentioned before that they have unlimited servings of peanuts, yes you can eat all the peanuts you want. But you need to put the empty shells in the bucket unlike in USA, where you can just throw the peanut shells on the floor. 



We browsed the menu and my husband suggested the “Shareable Combos” kasi ito daw yung inoorder niya sa Austin. We ordered Sirloin & Pork Belly P1125 + extra rice P85. The combo meal includes two made-from-scratch side dishes. My son likes to order the Mini Cheeseburgers but I told him to order the Junior Steak Bites P325 instead since the same lang naman ng price. (+Service Charge)

The staff informed us, na 6oz lang daw yung Sirloin and hindi katulad nung steak na nasa menu. But we still ordered Sirloin at mahal yung ribeye, hehehe!. We know that we can’t finish big servings of meat, just like our experience at Melo’s. 

Read: Lunch at Melo’s 

When I saw this picture “Steak Guide” on the table, I remembered the very first time that I ate and ordered steak. At that time, I just started working and I wanted to treat myself so I ordered steak. The staff asked me if ano daw gusto ko luto. Napastop ko ng slight because I really have no idea so the staff informed me of the different doneness of the steak. So for first timers, okay na may guide na ganito noh? Not all restaurants have this guide. 


Moving on, aside from the peanuts, they also gave us a complimentary dinner roll. The bread was so good that it was gone in 60 seconds. The staff went back to our table and asked if we wanted to refill the bread and we were so happy that it was not a one-time serving. For diners, the bread is free and refillable but you can buy the bread for P10 per piece. 


I told my husband, sana drinks na lang pala inorder ko. Bubusugin ko na lang sarili ko sa peanuts and bread. Hehehe! But honestly, I like restaurants that serve peanuts and complimentary bread because you have something to eat while waiting for your order. 


After several minutes, our food came. After tasting the mashed potato, I can definitely say that their side dishes are made from scratch, ang layo niya sa nabibili na instant mix na mashed potato. We enjoyed the food that we ordered, mukhang di lang maganda sa picture. hehehe!


The price is on the expensive side but if I want to eat steak, I will consider Texas Roadhouse. The service is also good, they always check if we need something. 

If you still remember my husband got two “All Day Pass Mind Museum” tickets last June 10 when they attended the Manila Mini Maker Faire. My son wanted to use it on the day of the event but my husband told him, next time na lang. Yung next time na yun, gusto niya agad-agad. He kept on telling me to go to Mind Museum for the nth time.

My husband was in Singapore last week so I just asked him is he likes to celebrate Father’s Day in Mind Museum and he said yes. My husband arrived last Saturday so nakapahinga pa before our celebration.


We went first to Uptown Bonifacio because I wanted to eat at Texas Roadhouse. My husband tried this restaurant when he went to Austin Texas last February so I’ve been meaning to try it, lucky for me because they have branches here in the Philippines.

Read: Lunch at Texas Roadhouse


Then after our early lunch, we saw ToyCon exhibits at Uptown Mall. I think they have an event this coming June 30 - July 2, 2017 at SMX Convention Center, MOA.

We did not stay long because my son was so excited to go to Mind Museum. We’ve been to Mind Museum before but he really wanted to visit the museum again. Well, it's been three years since our last visit so for sure marami na bago. I will share our experience in a separate post.

Watch our video here.


That’s our Father’s Day Celebration, how about you? How did you celebrate your Father’s Day!

My mom knew that my son wanted to experience snow and since we cannot predict or control the weather, she planned to have a weekend getaway in Røros. She knew that there will be snow in Røros because of its location. But we were lucky that we were able to experience snowfall during our second day in Norway, just a few days before we went to Røros. 

Watch the video here.  
Read: First Snowfall Experience


Røros is a popular tourist spot in Norway, one of the favorite winter and Easter destinations. So it is unsurprising that there were so many tourists by the time we arrived. It took us 6 hours just to reach this place, we traveled by road, sea, and train. 

Read: Trip to Røros Norway
Video: Trip to Bjugn to Vanvikan Norway
Trip to Trondheim to Røros Norway via Train


From Røros train station, we just walked to our holiday apartment. We stayed in Ålbyggården which is just beside the Røros Church and graveyard. The house has two bedrooms, a fully-equipped kitchen, one toilet and one bathroom.


Read: Staycation at Ålbyggården in Røros Norway

After leaving our luggage at the apartment we had lunch at Peder Hiort Marthus, the restaurant serves pasta, pizza and other local and international meals. 


Read: Peder Hiort Marthus

Then we started our Røros tour, the town is already a living museum so there is no doubt that it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage. We explored the town by checking the different art galleries, craft shops, stores, old timber houses and buildings, and of course, the famous Røros Church. 



Bergstadens Ziir 


Bergstadens Ziir also known as Røros Church, the church was built and completed in the year 1784. It is a symbol and pride of the mining town. It is one of the top ten churches and one of the largest churches in Norway with a seating capacity of 1600. Unfortunately, we were not able to get inside the church because it was already closed. Entrance Fee is NOK50.

Sleggveien


The houses in Sleggveien road show the social history of the mining community. The top five houses were on the top of the road, where the day laborers, craftsmen, gypsies, and other people who have no permanent work and no land to farm lived. Some of these houses are open to the public during the summer season, it was April so it was closed. 

Fun in the Snow 

Of course, we enjoyed the snow. For someone who lives in a tropical country, seeing snow makes us happy. Even the freezing cold can't stop us. We do crazy things like my mom and son ate the snow. Waah! Watch the video here. 

We made our very first snowman, (tiny snowman). I just realized that it is not easy to make a snowman. 

One of the dilemmas of living or migrating to another country is the church. If you are Christian, it is a big problem especially if you are moving to a non-Christian country. You don’t know where are you going to attend Sunday service.
Norway is considered a Christian country so they have an Evangelical Lutheran Church in each municipality or city. But sad to say that only a few people go to church so I was not surprised if they only have a small church.


Some people I met there are atheists, yes, they don’t believe in God. In fact, according to Wikipedia, only 12% of the population attended church services every month and it is one of the lowest church attendance in the world.

I cannot blame these people because if you live in Norway, there are so many benefits that you can get from the government. If you get sick and you need to be confined or operated, there is no payment for that. If you lose your job, you will still receive your salary for one year. If you are sick, you have sick leave with pay even if it takes a year. If you have a baby, you have up to one year of maternity leave with pay and fathers have paternity leave with pay too. Your babies will receive a monthly allowance from the government up to 15 years old (correct me if I’m wrong). Kids can study for FREE until High School and they have a student loan so kids can even study abroad.

And with these benefits, there seems to be no reason for you to pray and call on God because the money problem is not a big issue. I hate to admit it, but there are times when life is so comfortable and we don't have any problems, we tend to forget to call on God. Indeed, too much comfort can kill our spiritual needs.

There are situations in life that will stop us from pursuing God, but we need to keep pursuing intimacy with Him no matter what. We need Him more than He needs us.

 “God doesn’t want something from us, He simply wants us” - C.S. Lewis




My mom is a Christian, last year she started a group called Fosen Internasjonale Kristne Fellesskap or FIKF. She wanted to reach out to those people who are lost, who are seeking God, and who want to know more about Jesus.

Description of the group is “A group of foreigners who believe in God. To seek The Truth From God's Words. To grow, bond together, be creative, and have fun. Be active in our spiritual life and social life. Be a resource in the community.”

This is not a church but more of a Bible study group where they study the word of God and connect with other people. It is open to different nationalities who speak and understand the English language because that’s what they use. Since not all are fluent in the Norwegian language especially those who are new residents.


So during my summer vacation in Norway, my son and I could attend their fellowship. Sunday is a busy day because my mom cooks food and bakes cake for a potluck and we leave the house around 3:30PM to prepare the venue (Activity Center) for the 5PM fellowship. If the venue is not in the Activity Center, we can leave several minutes before 5PM. :)

And because of this, I was able to meet different nationalities but most of the members were Filipinos. So if you know someone who lives in Ørland or Bjugn Kommune, let them know that there is FIKF group where they can attend.


“It is in small groups that people can get close enough to know each other, to care and share, to challenge and support, to confide and confess, to forgive and be forgiven, to laugh and weep together, to be accountable to each other, to watch over each other and to grow together. - Dr. Gilbert Bilezikian” 

We went to Pangasinan last weekend and on our way home, I asked my husband if we could eat our lunch in Pampanga. There is one restaurant that I want to try and he agreed to me, but when I searched for it, closed pala sila ng Monday. Waah! So I told him sa Abe’s Farm na lang ulit so my in-laws can also visit the place. 

We’ve been to the farm, two years ago. Ito yung tipong, sasadyain mo talaga kasi hindi naman siya malapit sa NLEX. Hehehe! But since we liked their food and place, worth it ang biyahe. 



We were surprised when we arrived because the restaurant is almost full so we were not able to choose a good table. Since it is already past 12NN, we immediately placed our order. While browsing the menu, I noticed that they already increased their prices. 



We ordered Paco Fern Salad P165, Gising Gising P265, Bulalo P345, Grilled Liempo P260, Rice is P55 per cup, Sikreto ni Maria P175, Turon Saging with Ube P95 and Leche Flan P95. (+ Service Charge)





I ordered grilled liempo because we liked it but when they served the liempo, I was a bit disappointed. Ang nipis na ng liempo nila parang bacon sa nipis (almost) and 3 pieces na lang, ang layo niya sa dati namin order, check the photo here. 



Well, that’s the only disappointment. We were satisfied with the rest of our order. It was my first time to try the Turon and it was good, pero sabi ni hubby, manipis na daw siya, dati mataba daw yung turon. Hehehe! 



So if ever you will visit Pampanga, you can add this in your itinerary. This is not just a restaurant, they also offer accommodation and spa services. But if you want to try their food without going to Pampanga, there are Abe restaurants in Metro Manila. The one that we always visit is their Alabang Town Center branch, check our experience here.

 Abe’s Farm Resort, Country Cuisine and Spa 
98 Livestock Village,  
Barangay Ayala  
Magalang, Pampanga  

Business Hours: Open daily, 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM  
For overnight accommodations, pre-booking is needed  
Contact: Phone: + (02) 506-8140 Mobile: + (0917) 808-5187  

Read: Abe’s Museum