Day Three – Hamnoy & Reine
The drive through Lofoten is incredible, and we arrive with blue skies to capture one of Norway’s most scenic backdrops, the Eliassen Rorbuer in the village of Hamnoy! The kind of day that photographers dream of, as we roll up to a line of photographers on the bridge capturing the beauty of Hamnoy!
After checking in to our red cottage on the water, we take a short drive to lunch in Reine at Tappereit Bistro to enjoy some fish and chips. Since cod is so abundant, I think it’s best we do our part to help the local industry.
This entire Lofoten region is really blowing our minds! The jagged, steep mountains, set along beautiful blue waters, and small fishing villages mesmerize us. Every drive is a scenic one, and we often stop to enjoy the surroundings.
In our eagerness to not miss any auroras, we begin our camp out at 6 pm this evening for a potential show. The KP prediction is a 5 (which is the highest we’ve been in the north for), and the cloud forecast looking good until around midnight. So, we wait, and wait, and wait, even have time to help a car get out from being stuck, wait some more, and sleep, on the side of the road, waiting for the magic to happen… And at midnight, the clouds finally roll in, with no magic in sight, with what turned out to be a quiet sky. Oh well, disappointment is part of the hunt. There’s always tomorrow, with a KP 6 expected, although sadly, 100% cloud cover expected as well.
Fay Four – Explore Lofoten
In what has become a daily activity, we wake up, give dronie some air time, check out the neighboring fishing villages, and drive.
For today’s scenic adventure, we drive north to the small fishing village of Nusfjord, with a population of 28, yup 28! Nusfjord dates back to 425 BC, one of the oldest fishing villages in all of Norway. We settle in at the Landhandleriet Cafe to enjoy a variety of pastries and expresso.
Since we are spending our time driving through this beautiful country, we learned an interesting side note… Norway plans to sell its last new car powered by gas in the year 2024. Beginning in 2025, all new cars must be electric or hydrogen powered with the goal of zero emissions. Ambitious and impressive as the infrastructure overhaul is apparent as you travel throughout the country.
On our drive back, we detour to Vikten Beach. A small beach not too far out of the way, but hardly worth the few extra minutes. Our drives are entertaining though… maybe we are just fascinated with the archipelago, or the loads of people we consistently see carrying tripods as they walk along the road. It entertains us to guess what they are photographing, but in reality, the beauty in this area is endless.
Hungry, and with not many options since it is the heart of winter, we head back to Reine for some more fish & chips, and a fish & chips sandwich. Solid choice (again)! Important to note, this time of year, not much is open and the roads are tough to navigate. Partly why we ended back up at the same restaurant, but also because we really enjoyed the local food and ambience of this particular restaurant.
Leave dinner, and we are hooked again. KP 4+ in effect (not quite the KP 6 predicted), but we are at 100% cloud cover. So we are optimistic that somehow there will be an opening in the clouds. We later learn that the coronal mass ejection (CME) that brought so much possibility to our aurora hunt the past two nights, missed Earth and was a bust. Instead, we get snow and head back to our hotel, Eliassen Rorbuer in the small village of Hamnoy.
The word rorbuer means accommodation for traveling fisherman. And in the 1870s, the Eliassen families decided to settle in the Hamnoy area of the Lofoten Islands. These authentic fishing rooms sway, creek, and provide the authentic experience as water from the Norwegian Sea rushes under the wood decks and below our beds. Love it!
Okay, so it’s not the Northern lights or the incredibly scenery that drives this area, it’s cod…
The Lofoten fishery is considered the richest in the world. The gulf stream meeting the coast of Norway creates the perfect conditions for the Norwegian Arctic Cod to swim down from the Barents Sea to spawn on the mainland side of the Lofoten archipelago beginning in January. Fish racks line the small fishing villages, as the fish is hung out to dry in the perfect temperature conditions into late spring. This has been going on for nearly 1,000 years and is the backbone to Norway’s leading export.
Day Five – Happy Valentine’s Day
Heading into today, we new it would be a journey… six hour drive to Abisko. Which in winter Lofoten times, more like at least 7 at best. Who knew that would turn into 10, and we would never be able to make it back to Sweden.
But first, our day started perfectly. A morning dronie session off our dock.
Followed by a short drive to Reine to enjoy breakfast at the Bringen Kaffebar.
Our drive out of Lofoten was smooth, minus the small stretch where we saw 4 cars stuck in the snow. Same area where we slid into a snow bank on the trip south. Roads were a bit treacherous, and with only one road in and out, there aren’t options if the conditions aren’t ideal. This particular stretch was obviously less than ideal. The drive gave us a Florida Keys vibe; the Norwegian, Arctic, mountainous version (compared to the tropical, flat, American keys), surrounded by water and fishing everywhere where there is a long stretch of only one road in, and one road out.
Okay, so things got interesting when our GPS told us road E10 was closed, and it was going to take us an additional 8 hours to get back into Sweden via a round about way through Finland. What?!?
After a little investigation, we found out there was an avalanche on the only road that crosses back into Sweden in this region. We had two options:
1. Hang in Narvik and wait for the road to reopen
2. Head north toward Tromso and hunt the auroras
Problem with option 2 (which we opted for)… it’s a 3 hour drive north, but the positive, it’s the only area in the region that presents with the chance of clear skies. Long, dark drive to a small town on the fjord just south of Tromso. Pizza stop at an army town Bardufoss, grab some to go food, and persevere through to what seems like the top of Earth.
Check in to our hobbit sized house, meet the owner of the VRBO, get a quick tour of the property, and head out to find clear skies.
No one can question our effort…for real, no one. We legit start chasing clear skies, following the ‘Windy’ app, and as the window closes in on clear skies (barely any left), and after an hour of driving, the road dead-ends at a ferry station (no one in sight) to cross the fjord. Deflated, we turn around, head back to our hobbit house to sleep off a day of driving.
One bonus, we met the owner of the hobbit houses, and he showed us around his beautiful property overlooking Balsfjord. Beyond the common area where the bathrooms and shower are, is a door that opens to a bar and entertaining space that his family has renovated over the years. Kind of blown away when he opened the door to show us such a cool space!
Ready for bed and looking forward to trying to get into Sweden tomorrow…
Two Wayfaring Wanderers 