September: A St. Olaf Pilgrimage from Stikelstad to Trondheim
By Joanne Graves From the feast of Saint Olaf (July 29) to the memorial of his canonization (August 3), my daughter and I walked 100 kilometers on the St. Olaf Pilgrim Trail in Norway. We started our pilgrimage in Stiklestad, the battleground where St. Olaf died in 1030. The medieval church there houses the stone on which St. Olaf died and a special Mass was held on the eve of his feast. With chocolate and brown cheese in our packs (change of clothes and rain gear, too) we started on our way. The route we followed took us through towns, forests, and lots of farm land. We soon discovered that raspberries grow wild in Norway. Each night we stayed at a pilgrim accommodation, mostly farm houses. Our hosts were friendly, and the food was good everywhere we stayed. Along the way we visited a bunad shop, went swimming in a river, pet some friendly Grey Tronder sheep, visited medieval churches and Viking burial mounds, saw some ancien...