Lofoten –
not only Norway’s but one of the world’s most beautiful archipelagos. Known for
magnificent scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and white sand
beaches, untouched lands and numerous fishermen villages, Lofoten is a big
tourist attraction all year around. Luckily we had chance to visit this
beautiful Nordland-corner in mid September while the weather is still reliable
enough for us to stay outside all day. Even though Lofoten is situated within
Arctic Circle it experiences one of the world’s largest temperature anomalies
which makes it relatively comfortable place to live at.
Before
coming to Norway I was dreaming about seeing all of this nature beauties during
my stay and, coincidentally, my very first trip appeared to be such a big and exciting
one starting on my second week in Norway J
There were
a few ways we could travel to and through through Lofoten, such as by train,
plane or ferry. Considering the budget and beautiful scenery of Nordland, we
ended up having the following travel plan: Trondheim – Fauske – Narvik –
Svolvær – Kabelvåg – Ballstad – Hamnøy – Reine – Moskenes- Bodø- Trondheim.
This included 2 train journeys, 1 ferry and numerous bus rides in Lofoten over
5 days and 4 nights, including a night train back home.
First day
was spent travelling all the way up north along the coastline. 9 hours by train
to Fauske and 5 hours more by bus to reach Narvik. The landscape outside was
slowly changing to a more northern one; mountains became higher, trees and
bushes smaller, rocks dominating the grass. Weirdly enough there is no train
connection between Bodø/Fauske and Narvik but from Narvik you can catch the
train for Sweden. Who knows why!? J First night we ended up at a
volunteers’ house with very kind and friendly hosts who had enough spare
couches for all of us.
Next day
our real travelling and exploring finally began. We spent first half of the day
peeping around sunny Narvik and then headed up to our true destination –
Lofoten islands. The archipelago consists of 7 main islands, 5 of which are
connected by bridges to the main land and to each other and others easily
reachable by ferries. According to our plan, we wanted to travel down all 5
connected islands making overnight stops on the way.
For all of
the nights in Lofoten we chose to stay in little cabins, called rorbu, which appeared to be the best
places to stay at. Little red houses have all needed conveniences still making
you feel like a local. Almost all of them have a beautiful view of the surrounding
area, most of these cabins are located on, or very close to the sea shore.
We arrived
to our first rorbu in Kabelvåg rather late. The first night in Lofoten was full
of surprises for us. It welcomed us with clear sky so we were able to see
northern lights which are very common during the autumn. It was first time in
my life I had chance to see them and I should admit I was totally amazed! The
thing that impresses me the most was their constant moves and changes. Green
flashes were appearing and disappearing so quickly all over the sky. No picture
can express this part of northern lights.
But
surprises didn’t stop at this point. Next one we received in the morning when
we looked out of our window and saw this stunning view. Isn’t it the best place
to have breakfast ever? :D
The rest of
the day we spent hiking around Kabelvåg. We climbed Tjeldbergtinden which is
367m high. The pass started quite sloping going through the forest but at some
point it became very steep bringing us to the top. It wasn’t the easiest way up
but the 3600 view from the highest point so worth it. The only big
mistake we made was carrying our heavy backpacks all the up and down. It was
pretty good workout J
Second
night at Lofoten we’ve spent in another rorbu at Ballstad. This rorbu was the
most authentic from all we stayed at and definitely was our favorite. Hiking around
Ballstad next day brought us another beautiful view around the area.
The
adventures haven’t stopped at this point. During our travel to next destination
– Hamnøy – something went wrong and we missed the bus. Needless to say, the bus
was only running 2 times a day and for the next bus we had to wait for 5 hours.
Either that or walk 10 km to catch up other bus, but in good fortune, a very
kind woman responded to our desperate hitchhiking and gave us a ride to Leknes.
Still very appreciated for that!
Even
thought we spend quite a lot of time in the buses travelling all the way through
the islands, the landscape outside the window never bored us and it appeared
that all of the bus drivers are extremely friendly!
For the rest
of the day, the weather got tired of being nice and showed us how nasty it
could be. Even though we still managed to wonder around Hamnøy and Reine and
make such needed grocery shopping. Next day was Sunday and the only supermarket
within our proximity was 20 km away – it definitely not working out for us that
day. Additionally, we made a terrible mistake – we forgot to buy bread! Have
you ever tried to bake bread from whatever is found in kitchen? I can just say
never again J
At our last
day in Lofoten, we decided to climb one of the most famous mountains there.
From the top you can see the spectacular view over Reine, little islands connected
by many bridges and fiords surrounding all of this beauty.
Hard rain
the day before didn’t make the climb easy. Even though this pass is very
popular among the tourists it has become quite worn and you should be extremely
careful using it. All the way up, there was mud or wet moss everywhere. Some
part of the journey we had to walk in the water flowing down from the hill, but
despite all of the difficulties the view was a deserved reward – just look at
it!
After that it was time to take ferry to Bodø and start the
way back home saying good buy to magnificient Lofoten islands.
Best regards,
Yulia
