More on Lofoten Islands ~ Day 4 of cruise

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Our tour made a stop way out in the country at the Lofoten Museum.  This was primarily a display of how fishermen lived during cod season (Feb - April) in late 1700s-early 1800s.  It has several of the original buildings, including a primitive, but nicely appointed manor house and several fishing cabins.

Original, sod-roofed fishermen's cabin, built in 1797

8 - 12 men would have lived crammed in the one room, on bunks with no mattress.  The same room was also for sitting and cooking.

The living side of the hut would have been heated by the stove but the other room, used to store their catch as well as their equipment and supplies, would have been unheated. 

I can attest to the fact that these tiny rooms both looked and smelled very authentic.  There was a very low doorway to stoop under, and low ceiling, so the space was very closed in.  With 8-12 men, likely not bathing, it must have smelled pretty rank.

In another cabin

I somehow neglected to take a picture of the exterior of the manor but it was a 3 story, well built white house.  I did take a picture of a few random furnishings.

Beautiful heater stove

Inside wall of manor house

Lace curtains at the window - tatted? 

Reflections, on the outside of the same window.  Note the trim details.

There was a picture hanging on the wall of the manor house that reminded me so much of the picture I posted previously of Honningsvag.

The Karlsens at Honningsvag

Boat building house

The sea, behind the shacks

A couple of random tombstones on a mound

There was a little store on the property full of all the needed provisions for the fishermen.  A little research shows that the owner of the manor may not have treated them very fairly.  He took trade for supplies but wasn't always honest in his dealings. 

Village store

Nearby, the Vagan Church in Kabelvag is also known as the Lofoten Cathedral.  Built in 1898 in the Gothic Revival style, it holds 1200, making it one of Norway's largest churches.

Lofoten Cathedral

The Beauty of the Lofoten Islands ~ Day 4 of cruise

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

It was beginning to get dark as we made our way toward the world famous Lofoten Islands.  The weather had begun to change from our stretch of blue skies to cloudy and cold.  But despite darkening skies, people were bundled up at the railings with cameras and cell phones in their gloved hands to capture the first glimpses.  The islands had an "other worldly" quality in the dusky light.

As soon as we disembarked, I joined a bus tour that went through several of the eight inhabited Lofoten Islands.  There were two buses, one all German speaking and the other (which I was obviously on) about half German and half English speaking.  There was a guide up front in our bus whose mic was turned up rather loud.  He was German speaking also.  I ended up sitting in an aisle seat with an empty toddler seat next to the window.  This made taking pictures extra hard.  We weren't allowed to take off our seat belts either so I couldn't get up and lean over it.  The seats were a garish print that often showed up in reflections.  All that said, the islands are quite unique in climate and culture.  It was pretty hard to understand some of our guide's English but my understanding is that they rely much on fishing and quite a bit on tourism.  There is little unemployment.  They cannot grow much for produce as they have extremely short winters.   Our ship brags up the little goat/sheep farms and the cheese they produce but that seems to be quite minor.  Other than one green pasture, most of the land that wasn't rocky, seemed brown and boggy.

Another tour was all about the vikings that used to live in this area.  Below you can see a viking longhouse that was built on a foundation that they discovered.

Viking Longhouse

We stopped at a viewpoint overlooking a beautiful valley.  A Canadian couple that I've gotten to know a bit offered to take my picture.

See the ground?  It's boggy and clumps of dead grass.

The inhabited islands are connected to each other and the mainland by bridges. 

Beautiful glacial water in one of the many lakes

What a privilege and blessing it has been to spend so many hours just soaking up the beauty of God's creation.  There are small challenges along the way but I am so grateful for this opportunity.

Day 3 of cruise ~ Bodo and Saltstraumen

Monday, April 29, 2019

During the night we moved into new territory.  The rounded gray-brown hills with little farms nestled at their base had given way to taller, more rugged, snow patched mountains.

Port of Ornes

I took an leisurely shower and then dressed and caught the tail end of the breakfast at about 9:30.  I figured that I'd just skip lunch as my table reservation would come up while I was away on an excursion.  Then they announced that today was open seating so I should still be able to have lunch before I left.  I didn't want to eat twice but I didn't want to be hungry either so I got a little bowl of creamy potato soup and a piece of brown bread.  It really hit the spot.

At noon, just as we docked in Bodo, I joined about 40 other people on a bus tour.  We each had a headset that we hooked into the control panel above us.  We could select from 6 languages and there were several screens that we could watch for information.  First we went slowly through the city, with key buildings being pointed out.  The streets were narrow, with cars parked on the side.  Our driver frequently pulled off to the side until oncoming traffic cleared.  Other than signs being in Norwegian, most of the city seemed like "any town" USA.  But there was one area where the homes had been built in the early 1900s and the Germans had not bombed this area.  It was conjectured that it was because of its close proximity to the brewery.

Once we headed out of town it became more scenic but it isn't easy taking pictures from a moving bus.  Also, I was on the sunny side, so it was almost impossible.  Once, we drove down a dead end road to a church and turned around, so I was able to get a quick picture.

Quite a unique steeple on this church.

Taken from a bridge over the fjord

A little north of the arctic circle is Saltstraumen, the world's strongest tidewater.  Every 6 hours, about 500,000,000 cubic yards of water rushes through the narrow strait, less than 2 miles wide (caused by an island in the fjord).  This creates huge vortexes and wild currents.  Boats of all sizes have gone down in past years and hundreds of people have drowned.  Boats can safely go through there if they are careful, and at times the water is quite calm.  

Near the Saltstraumen is a small salt works called, Arctic Salt.  It is produced from the water that rushes through the inlet.  The translation was very poor regarding this, so I'm not sure, but there was some reference to getting electricity from the current also.  At any rate, the tour included a small tin of the salt. 

Our bus was parked near one end of this bridge and we were able to walk down by the water.  It was pretty amazing to observe the power of the water.  Surprisingly, I didn't see any signs warning people.

Saltstraumen, under the bridge

Hurtigruten also has a rafting excursion.  They take about a dozen people, all dressed in waterproof gear, on each boat and navigate through the currents.  It actually looked like fun.

Bridge and Hurtigruten raft

Saltstraumen current

Pond near the Saltstraumen

Near the Saltstraumen

Fjord

Tide pools

Since we did a lot of riding in the bus, I thought I better include one picture from that perspective.

On our return trip to the harbor in Bodo, we took a different route and went through a very long, brand new tunnel.  It had only been opened since yesterday!