Sightseeing, surfing and museum village (25.02.-01.03.2021)

Reine

After leaving Å in Lofoten, our first stop was Reine, a very beautiful fishing village, where we spent some time to admire the houses and the view, but also to see real stockfish.

This is what real stockfish looks like in Lofoten. As you can imagine, the smell is not very pleasant, but I find it very fascinating that the fish simply dries in the air.

The view of the mountains in Reine, especially from the harbor, was really impressive.

From Reine, we drove a few minutes further, where we stopped at yellow houses and also found other beautiful places.

After spending the morning sightseeing and driving, we took a break at Ramberg beach and had lunch with this view:

Surfing north of the Arctic Circle

We continued driving to the next beach, where we originally only wanted to take photos. When we arrived, I saw surfers in the water and was totally excited. I couldn't imagine that I would be in a 8mm thick wetsuit to surf the waves north of the Arctic Circle in half an hour.

At first, I was hesitant and didn't want to hold the others back. But when we found out that there was a surfboard rental, we decided to go there. The owner told us that renting a surfboard and wetsuit would cost 60 €. When we were in the rental, suddenly more people were excited about the idea of going surfing. So we put on the wetsuits, shoes, gloves, and a hood, and Will and I got into the water. The other three got a beginner's course and then joined us in the water. It was one of the best days of my life.

Unfortunately, I can't share the surf video that exists here, but it is a fantastic feeling to surf in this amazing setting, especially in the winter.

Totally exhausted and happy, we got back in the car in the evening and continued to Leknes, where we spent the night in a small house right by the sea.

Nusfjord and Henningsvær

The next morning, we drove back a good distance, as we didn't have time to visit the museum village Nusfjord due to the spontaneous surfing. What I found out afterwards is that during the season, you have to pay to visit there.

The fishing village with a direct connection to the open sea is truly breathtakingly beautiful and definitely worth a visit. Since we were there outside the season, we were almost the only tourists there. The landscape is truly picturesque and inviting for photography.

After leaving Nusfjord, we drove back towards Leknes and this time we also stopped to shop and visit a souvenir shop. Then we continued to Henningsvær, where we wanted to see the famous football field, which is located on an island surrounded by rugged cliffs.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look half as spectacular in real life without a drone.

After exploring the harbor and the surroundings, we continued to Svolvær. Here, we just drove through, as the weather was not inviting and it was already late.

Our cabin was further north towards Narvik, for which we left the main road and ended up in the middle of nowhere. The roads were not properly paved and very uncomfortable to drive, especially because of various potholes. In the evening, we played games and went to bed late.

Some others from our study program were also in Lofoten and the next day we arranged a short meeting. However, some of us wanted to visit the war museum in Narvik, which was a longer drive, so we separated after an hour and continued driving.

Narvik and Icedome

To reach Narvik, you either drive over a bridge and pay almost 10 euros toll, or you take a detour and pay almost 5 euros toll.

The war museum was very informative and had beautiful visual animations about World War II and Norway's role.

We only briefly looked around Narvik itself, as the weather was simply too unpleasant.

The journey continued, with aquaplaning and many dangerous situations, towards the north on the E6, and soon we reached our accommodation. In the evening, we discussed how we wanted to spend the last day. After much back and forth, on Sunday after breakfast we drove to the Icedome, where we paid 20 euros admission to watch a video showing how it was built, to get a non-alcoholic drink, and to see 4 bedrooms.

Normally, people also rent reindeer at the Icedome, but due to Corona and the low number of guests at the moment, they didn't do it this year. In Norway, only the Sami people (indigenous people) are allowed to keep and breed reindeer. The owners of the Icedome told us where we could see reindeer and we drove past there at least with the cars.

Due to the poor snow conditions, we couldn't go on a dog sledding tour this weekend either, so we canceled it.

Back in Tromsø

Back in Tromsø, we split up for the first time, as four of us wanted to go to a swimming pool, and Sara and I decided that we could do that anywhere else and wanted to spend the time in Tromsø differently. We drove into the city and tried to park there. As it turned out to be somewhat more difficult than expected and the woman at the museum ticket office couldn't help us either, we ended up getting into the museum for free and had an hour and a half before it closed.

Unfortunately, that was much too little time to calmly look at everything. Still, it was the right decision to go there instead of the swimming pool.

On the last evening, I slipped on ice and got some bruises and an open knee.

On Monday, March 1st, we flew back to Kristiansand.

In conclusion, I can say that I am very glad to have taken this trip, even though I was quite skeptical at the beginning.

Welcome to spring

Back in Kristiansand, we were shocked by the change in temperature, as spring has already arrived here. A day before we left Kristiansand, we were skiing in the forest behind the campus, and now the crocuses are blooming, the snow is gone, and the temperature is 7°C. In addition, the Corona situation in Kristiansand has worsened, and more shops and all fitness studios are closed. Fortunately, classes continue at the university.

I hope you enjoyed the travel reports from Tromsø and Lofoten, until the next post.

Yours, Maike :D