Yesterday, I had a chance to visit one of the local IKEA Stores in the Chicagoland area... (OK, before you start wondering, I'm indeed eventually leading up to Norway here...🙂...so, please read on...). Sometimes, it's nice to be inside the huge (IKEA) building, especially early morning in the weekends (to be among the very first shoppers of the day) ...if not for anything else, just to partake in a (quiet and peaceful) window-shopper's stroll through the (vast and endless) interiors and displays...🙂...In fact, in inclement weather conditions, I sometimes do so, walking indoors of the store, starting from the store's (sole) entrance to its (sole) exit, and at the mid-point in the store's Cafeteria...relaxing with a cup of coffee and a Scandinavian roll cake of some type...🙂...However, on this occasion, I was not merely window-shopping but actually had to buy replacement bulbs for my SIM's desk-lamp...indispensable in support of my on-going (virtual) pilotage activities...while ensconced now in my make-believe world of aviation...in front of a large 4K TV...🙂... (I'm on Xbox) ... 

Anyway, imagine this...the largest IKEA Store in U.S., in Burbank (CA), spans an area of 456,000 sq ft. The one in the local Chicago neighborhood, that I just visited, is 450,000 sq ft (barely missing the largest recognition). The average IKEA shopper might walk several miles within the store, so, comfortable shoes are recommended, (the store is not many-storied, 2 or 3 levels at most, so, you are mostly walking on level surface, as if in an outdoors Park...🙂...but all the time under a roof and inside the same building)...

To get further idea of the immense size, considering a typical American Football Field to be 57,000 sq ft, this IKEA store, I visited, is 8 times as large in area (and considering 80,000 sq ft for a Football field, as the rest of the world knows the term...🙂...this store is about 6 times larger...). So, looking for a tiny electric bulb within a 450,000 sq ft store is like the proverbial "looking for a needle in a haystack"...🙂...though, in practice, it's much simpler or quite organized. 

Both Sweden (IKEA is Swedish) and Norway, neighboring countries up north, are among the Nordic countries, prominently known for producing a large amount of wood and furniture, primarily due to their abundant (boreal) forests (see traces of such forests in my images below), their historical reliance on wood-based industries, and their development of sustainable forestry practices. So, after I got the replacement bulbs from IKEA for my SIM desk-lamp, ready next to do a flight today, I recalled that I've not visited Norway in the SIM in a long while...🙂... (though it was rather common in my old FSX (Orbx-Norway) days) ...

I then thought of exploring Norway's largest (and longest) river, Glomma, (being generally fond of learning about rivers worldwide, and having visited (and posted about) many well-known ones in the SIM here). Glomma River rises in a series of small lakes and streams that drain into the Aursunden (lake) 80 miles southeast of the city of Trondheim (not too far from the Swedish Norwegian border) in northeastern Norway. The river then painstakingly (but smartly) finds its way southward through the chain of scenic mountains and the flatlands of Norway (see images below). Just before finally dissipating into the Strait in North Sea (near Oslofjord) 60 miles south of Oslo, Glomma flows into Lake Øyeren first, 25 miles east of the capital city. So, today, I've chosen to fly from Oslo/ENGM to Trondheim/ENVA, tracking 300 miles of Glomma River in the opposite direction, upstream (south to north), from Øyeren (lake) to Aursunden (lake)...hence "Lake-to-Lake" in my Title. 

From today's flight, I could visualize how Glomma negotiates the mountains of Norway, in the process creating deep gorges, canyons and picturesque valleys (see images), while also flowing (later) through Norway's flatlands, specifically the lowlands surrounding the Oslofjord region. In its journey, the river has carved out a few cities. Though, Oslo itself, is not directly on the Glomma River, the river plays a significant role in the geographical features surrounding this city, especially the large Oslofjord in the North Sea (south of Oslo), which Glomma River eventually flows into, culminating its 386 miles (adventurous) journey. 

For my airplane, I've chosen the (MSFS2024) Cessna C408 SkyCourier, flying only for the 2nd time here (always been fond of twin-engine high-wing turboprops). I believe the C310 is Cessna's only other high-wing Twin, this C408 SkyCourier, seen here, comparatively being a very recent (Cessna) model, in fact, introduced into service (on May 9, 2022) coincidentally just 3 years ago almost to the day today. This (Carenado) a/c, in spite of certain imperfections, flew remarkably well for me today. I've mostly used manual HDG control to track the course of the Glomma River, but the a/c avionics suite (for GPS navigation, ILS Approach and Touchdown into ENVA/ Trondheim's westward Runway 27) came to my aid, when called-upon, without any hiccup (see my complex Route Map with the customized waypoints along the river, and also the images of my touchdown into Trondheim airport...as the evening sun is setting into the waters of the adjacent Trondheim Fjord).

Hope you enjoy this collection of images from my trip today...of Glomma River, of Norway's mountains and valleys....and of this enjoyable Twin turboprop, powerfully equipped with the (reliable, versatile, and durable) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A engines that are very well-known within the aviation industry, and, in fact, considered among the most respected aeroengines worldwide...(see a couple of close-up images below)...

[And, who knows, some of the wooden furniture I just sighted in the IKEA store might have been (partially) sourced in the (Scandinavian) forests of Glomma River that I visited today...🙂...]

Thanks for viewing...!

Edited May 11, 20251 yr by P_7878

Quite a journey: In pictures, from Oslo to Trondheim. In words, from IKEA to Norway (and back again!).

54 minutes ago, John F said:

Quite a journey: In pictures, from Oslo to Trondheim. In words, from IKEA to Norway (and back again!).

Yes, thanks, John…4,000 miles from the local IKEA store all the way to Norway…in the thought process…🙂…

Couldn’t have completed today’s SIM flight without that (special) electric bulb for my IKEA lamp…🙂…

Cheers…!

Fine set of shots, seems this was a nice Trip over beautiful landscapes..

cheers 😉

On 5/11/2025 at 11:33 PM, pmplayer said:

Fine set of shots, seems this was a nice Trip over beautiful landscapes..

cheers 😉

Appreciated the comment, pmplayer. Yes, it was nice tracking this river north...especially through the mountains of Norway...always pretty...

Cheers...!