After driving from the south of Norway and working our way north to explore the fjords, hike, camp and take in all the sights of Norway, we passed into the Arctic Circle. We were nearing the end of the Norway aspect of our trip, but we had one last destination- the Lofoten Islands. So after sleeping in the car for the evening, and then riding on a ferry from 3:15am-6am (luckily it wasn’t crowded so we were able to stretch out and get a few hours of sleep) we landed in Moskenes.
We decided to drive to one end of the islands, a pretty short drive from where our ferry landed, and then drive inland towards our AirBnb. We only had about 4 hours of sleep, and it was very early in the morning, but my goodness the scenery was so beautiful that it made me forget about my sleepiness. We drove west to a town called Å (that’s right, A with a circle on top- I’m pretty sure that’s not how its pronounced but that how I’ll always fondly remember it).
Once we arrived in Å we found a WC so we could change our clothes and take turns brushing our teeth. While I waited for my friends I read in my guidebook that from the very parking lot we were sitting in there was a great little hike where we would be awarded amazing view of the islands and mountains. And since even the breakfast places would not be open for at least another hour it was perfect timing for a little exploring. And the closer to the water the further we would be from a major staple around the Lofoten Islands- the cod fish drying racks, where thousands of fish heads were out drying in the sun- and the smell was definitely pungent. Yet even that was charming- or at least very culturally interesting- in it’s way.
From the waters edge after a short walk we could see the islands Vaeroy and the tidal eddies called Moskstraumen-also known as Maelstrom- which inspired Edgar Allen Poe and Jules Vernes.
Also in A with a circle on top were lots of rorbuer, these beautiful red fishing huts, many of which have been transformed to cabins for visitors.
Back on the road after our beautiful morning jaunt (where we saw no other people- we had the whole place to ourselves), we drove to the town called Reine trying to find breakfast. We found a hotel that was advertising breakfast, but when we walked it we wondered if we were in the right spot, inside it was packed with people acting as if there was no other food available on the whole island. It was a breakfast buffet but people were grabbing whole loafs of bread to take with them. The waitress looked absolutely overwhelmed, but invited us to stay, though there wasn’t much food left right now she warned. We were famished and in need of some coffee so we squeezed in, and before long the people cleared out (after grabbing all the food they could for take-away as it’s called in Norway) and we had plenty of bread, eggs and cheese (included the brown cheese we’d gotten in the dark chocolate while we were in Geiranger). We also got to eat tomatoes, cucumbers, jams and of course coffee. The spot was so cute- decorated with fishing tools. It was probably the best breakfast we had during our time in Scandinavia.
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| Our breakfast spot |
Back in the car and the next town we came to was Sakrisoy. This time the town was full of yellow rorbuer and more cod drying racks. We went into a little shop off the road that was a bakery (where I had a delicious cinnamon bun) and they were selling some of the aforementioned dried cod and other fishy things.
Sakriskoy was so cute, and we continued driving on, stopping at a beach and enjoying the scenery from the car. It was another drizzly day and we were running low on steam from being so sleepy so we decided we should visit the Viking Museum so that we could do something to keep us awake.
The Viking museum near Borg is on the spot of an old 83 meter long chieftains hall that was excavated with a replica of the building put in it’s place. For the entry fee you get a 20 minute film (but we never figured out how to hear it in English), entrance to a museum with viking artifacts they found at this location (there’s also an audio-guide accessible on smartphones) and a tour of the replica hall with a viking tour guide. There, they encouraged visitors to touch everything, I was even able to climb into a bed and dress myself as a Viking.
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| our viking tour guide |
Outside, visitors are free to walk the grounds with a 1.5 kilometer path leading past wild sheep and other animals and the excavated site of the Viking hall.
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| Outline of the old Viking hall |
Another super fun aspect of the Viking museum is that visitors can learn how to throw an ax and do some archery. Erin and Heidi were both much better at ax-throwing than I, hitting the target several times, but it sure was fun trying. And I did decently well with archery.
We also were able to take a quick trip on a viking ship, we arrived at the ship right as it was about to take off. The sailors were very skilled and we were going fast! This museum was definitely a lot of fun and worth the visit.
After the museum we headed towards our AirBnb but stopped for dinner where I had some delicious vegetarian “chicken” with pesto, sweet potato fries and veggies. Heidi and I also shared a yummy s’more like dessert. Right down the street was our AirBnb and we were checked in and asleep very quickly (despite the sun never setting since we were so far north)- before 8pm, but loving Lofoten and excited for another full day on the island the next day.
