Last Updated on April 30, 2023 by PowersToTravel
Back to “Two Weeks in Norway – The Heart of the Glaciers and Fjords – Days 5 to 7”
Day 8 – Train ride across the Arctic Circle
Oh, how I looked forward to this train ride! In 2001 I had driven with my parents FROM Bodo in the north to Trondheim in the south. It had been a long but beautiful drive of several days. We had stopped at the Arctic Circle Center which is located just at, you guess it, the Arctic Circle. I had spent time unsuccessfully looking for a souvenir. Really now, how can a large souvenir shop come up empty? It was truly a poor shop. Then I had watch as a tiny red train trundled across the tundra. Oh, how I wanted to be on that train as it made its way across the inhospitable landscape.
Now with Greg, I had the opportunity to live my dream! When I searched for the ultimate itinerary for two weeks in Norway I knew that I couldn’t limit myself to Bergen and the Fjord Country – we needed to go north to Bodo and the Lofoten Islands.
I learned that the train between Trondheim and Bodo stops at the Trondheim airport – what convenience. We would stay at the airport hotel, then wheel our luggage into the airport, and out to the train station, and we would be on our way!
It turned out to be as easy as that. The photography would be difficult or non-existent on the train. But I’d had my fill of it for now. I wanted a break, and a rest, and this train would give it to me.
Oh really? With beautiful weather and forty-four stations we had many slow-downs and opportunities for pictures. Do I look like I’m truly relaxing?
Not with views like this to be had…
It is the longest rail line in Norway, at 453 miles and 10 hours. We would go over bridges, through tunnels, and cross the Arctic Circle. The train had been modernized since 2001, but that didn’t bother me. It was still red.
We bought our tickets ahead of time, but during the third week in June it really hadn’t been necessary.
Bodo Hotell
I chose a town center hotel for our night in Bodo since we would be arriving near dinner time on the train, and would need to pick up our rental car in town the next morning.
Were we in for a surprise! The Bodo Hotell in general was just fine, however it was HOT in Bodo and the sun was shining! We certainly didn’t expect such heat – and hotels in Norway don’t seem to have air-conditioning. If I had known better, I would have done what I did in Ireland – bring a fan. I know that sounds extreme, but summers are getting hotter and hotter everywhere, and tourist accommodations aren’t catching up.
There is a big difference between having a fan in the room and not having a fan in the room, especially when the sun is shining almost 24 hours. You open the window, and you need to move the curtains aside. You move the curtains aside and it will be as bright as day all night.
Check out my Ireland Travel Tip #2 – The 10 inch SONBION Box Fan. (not a sponsor!)
Bodo
The centrum contains a striking bell tower – you really feel when you see it that you are in the modern Norway not in the medieval Norway of the stave churches.
Day 9 – Bodo to Lofoten Islands via the Skutvik Ferry
As pleasant as Bodo is, there isn’t a lot to see in the centrum. As it did for us, it makes a great stop-over on your way to the Lofoten Islands.
Options for getting to the Lofoten Islands
How to get to the Lofoten Islands? There are three ferry/boat accesses to the Lofotens – the southern ferry from Bodo to Moskenes (and the long route from Bodo to Moskenes via Vaeroy and Rost), the Hurtigruten from Bodo to Stamsund, and the ferry from Skutvik, north of Bodo, to Svolvaer.
Here is the website for Torgatten.no which services the first and third options. You’ll want to click on the British flag in the upper left to see it in English.
When consulting schedules, remember that Norwegians express dates as DD/MM/YY not the American way of MM/DD/YY.
In 2001 my parents and I decided to take our car on Hurtigruten from Bodo to Stamsund. Why didn’t we take the ferry to Moskenes? I have no clue; my memory doesn’t maintain that level of detail that long ago. I do know that my parents had taken a Hurtigruten cruise in 1998 and were very enthusiastic about the Hurtigruten. The Hurtigruten operates cruises up and down the Norwegian coast, and also offers port-to-port sailings (havn til havn) for people, goods and cars. So we decided to be port-to-porters for the short crossing. Strangely, I went to Hurtigruten’s Port-to-Port booking page and while their FAQs say you should pre-book your car, there is no facility to do so on the web page. I’ve searched everywhere for information on how to do it, but have come up empty. If I were to want to do it today, I would probably end up having to call them.
For the trip with Greg I decided to take a more cost-effective approach, one which would also let us see more. We would drive up the coast to Skutvik, giving us the opportunity to see the Saltstraumen, and then take the ferry over to Svolvaer and onward to Henningsvaer from which we would take day trips out to the entire Lofoten Islands.
Good choice? Bad choice? We were happy with the choice, but I believe we would have been just as happy if we had taken the ferry over to Moskenes, stayed in Reine, and made our way up to Svolvaer to return to the mainland via the Skutvik ferry.
Saltstraumen
When I visited Bodo in 2001 I was singularly unimpressed with the Saltstraumen Maelstrom, in spite of its billing as having the strongest tidal currents in the world. Clearly you have to see it during the proper tidal period.
Well, I certainly wasn’t going to plan our drive to Skutvik around the tides at Saltstraummen; I was planning our drive around the Skutvik ferry schedule. So I was so very pleasantly surprised to see the Saltstraumen during a very exciting period, which is an hour and forty minutes after the tide turns. I can’t actually say exactly what time after turning is represented by our video because we were too busy sightseeing and traveling to do research. But now that I’ve seen it, if I go again, I’d do the research.
Here is an excellent website called Barents Watch which has all the details for the upcoming week. A link to details for the entire summer season are found at the bottom of this page called “Saltstraumen Timetable.”
Nyholms Fort
Of course we visited Nyholms Fort near Bodo. We visit every fort available when we travel, as Greg is a fort guide (at Fort Adams, Newport, Rhode Island). The weather and views of Bodo harbor weren’t terribly inspiring, but he enjoyed the fort visit.
Now it was time to get on the road, for good, to Skutvik. The roads are all good between the two towns, and the scenery spectacular.
Kobbelv Vertshus
We stopped Kobbelv Vertshus, an inn at Sorfold, for lunch. It is located about an hour and forty-five minutes north of Bodo. It offers views of waterfalls and a recommended buffet lunch. Having tasted it ourselves, we too can recommend it.
We continued on to Skutvik. It is just amazing how sun and blue skies can transform Norway.
After the fast ferry to Svolvaer (and I don’t think you need to see another ferry picture now!) we arrived in the Lofoten Islands. Our destination for the night is Henningsvaer, a scenic (and after all, what is not scenic in the Lofoten Islands?) fishing town a half hour or so to the south of Svolvaer. Actually, Henningsvaer is much more scenic than the central working port of Svolvaer.
Tobiasbrygga
I chose our accommodation very carefully, since this would now be my third trip to the Lofoten Islands. Tobiasbrygga is a set of wharf apartments located right on the water in the central area of Henningsvaer. The key criteria recommending it was location and laundry. By this point in the trip I knew I would be desperate to do laundry. I searched and searched, found a laundry in Svolvaer but was unable to find an on-line presence or their hours. So, I wrote to our hosts at Tobiasbrygga asking if they knew the laundry’s hours since I would be trying to coordinate it all with planned activities. To my surprise they responded that they have washing machines and dryers available to their guests, right at the wharf.
Lesson learned: when considering any accommodation in Norway, just ask. You might be surprised.
Day 10 – Henningsvaer then the M/S Oykongen boat to Trollfjord
Morning in Henningsvaer – time to do laundry and take pictures
in time for our afternoon sea eagle cruise to the Trollfjord on the M/S Oykongen.
We had as good a time as these pictures show, in spite of mostly gray skies. It did not rain, and after so many trips to Scotland and Norway where rain is a major part of life, you learn that there is a big difference between gray skies and rain.
It was now time to return to our apartment and finish the laundry.
Day 11 – Exploring Lofoten
When I visited Lofoten with my parents in 2001 and 2003 we spent more than a week each visit on the Lofoten Islands, checking out and photographing every nook and cranny. I knew for this itinerary for Greg we would not have time, nor he the patience, for so much photography. I would have to choose the high points, for Greg.
Lofotr Vikingmuseum in Borg
An hour southeast on the A10, on the next island, Vestvagoy, we first ventured to an amazing hands-on, true-to-life museum based on the largest Viking longhouse ever excavated, the Lofotr Vikingmuseum. It is huge. The entrance fee includes access to the reconstructed longhouse, with its accessible “toys”: weapons, chainmail, helmets, etc. Very suitable for children, Greg is a child at heart and enjoyed so much putting on the costumes and playing the Viking!
Outside, on the path towards the lake, we encountered an opportunity for axe-throwing and bow-and-arrow target practice. The ultimate destination of our little trek was the viking longship. Happily trekking downhill, I suddenly started a low-sugar reaction. We stopped, I drank juice and rested. My blood sugar levels just wouldn’t pop back up, so we continued our stroll.
We arrived at the longboat to find a small group assembled and a staff member all ready to load us on. Well, that’s ok, I would just sit and relax and let the breeze float by.
Unfortunately we were being ushered by a VIKING staff member who bullied us to grab the oars and get the boat moving! I tried to explain I wasn’t feeling well, but he wasn’t hearing it. I sat on my plank and relaxed and let my husband do all the work. It is so embarrassing to appear to be a healthy, non-disabled adult yet at times be entirely disabled. I sat there, drinking my second juice while the man yelled at me to row, row! Clearly the incident has scarred me for life; well, clearly it was a memorable occasion which I will try to avoid in the future.
Flakstadoya
The next island south in the Lofoten archipelago is Flakstadoya, reached through a tunnel from Vestvagoy. Flakstad is home to an iconic beach:
It is really hard to believe the weather can be so warm so far north, but the North Atlantic Drift brings relatively warm waters from the Caribbean all the way up to the top of Norway, making the coastline navigable for the Hurtigruten ferries even in the deep winter. It seemed warmer and more temperate here, north of the Arctic Circle, than it did in the inland fjords down south.
Cod Drying
Soon we would see another iconic scene from Lofoten, the fish drying racks. In 2001 and 2003 my parents and I had visited in the first week of June, and seen (and smelled a bit) the full cod drying racks. The Lofoten Islands are famous for the March cod season in which the fishing boats go out into the sea between the islands and mainland to catch the migrating cod. For the next several months the fish would hang from the racks, drying.
By the end of June, the last vestiges of the cod heads on the iconic drying racks are being harvested. It was a least a glimpse for Greg of what the season had been:
The Magnificent Bridges of Norway
Many years ago, flush with the revenues from North Sea oil drilling, the Norwegian government sponsored bridge-building throughout the country to reduce the isolation of island and fjord communities. The locations inspired amazing engineering, and in the Lofotens we would see a bit of the evidence on the road to Fredvang.
Moskenesoya
The final island in the chain accessible by car is Moskenesoya, with its tiny towns of Reine, Moskenes, Sorvagen and A. Once again, dare I call Reine, “iconic”? Set on a tip of land in a bowl of mountains, encompassed by the sea, it just has to be seen in the sunshine. For that reason, in 2001 we stayed in a rorbu (or fisherman’s cabin) for several nights in order to photograph the whole area in the sunshine at least one day.
Greg and I, we were lucky. The only things missing are the streaks of snow on the mountainsides we would have seen three weeks earlier, and maybe a puffy cloud or two.
Norwegian Fishing Museum in Å
At the end of the road, where you can go no further south, lies the Norwegian Fishing Museum. A restored fishing community, it shows the visitor the life in Nordland fishing villages from the 19th century. You will learn the meaning behind the Red buildings, the White buildings and the Mustard-colored buildings, and the strata of society in a small fishing village. It makes for a great break in this long drive to the end of Lofoten, but as I keep saying, best in the sunshine. I’ll give you a glimpse of it in the rain:
I’d risked it all on one day in Lofoten (well actually two, but the other we were on the boat in the Trollfjord) and my bet paid off – we had glorious sunshine for our day out.
As is expected in the Lofoten Islands, we returned the way we came, all the way back to Henningsvaer, but unfortunately under increasingly gray skies.
Day 12 – North to Tromso
We chose to drive to Tromso, instead of taking a ferry to the mainland, so as not to retrace our steps. Greg really doesn’t like repeating a road if at all possible. The route is direct and fast: The E10 to the E6 to the E8. It is a six and a half hour drive, through adequate scenery; after the Lofotens it seems a bit disappointing.
With a 6.5 hour drive we wouldn’t have much time for stops other than rest stops.
Sami Shop
Naturally we made a point to stop at the Sami Shop on the E6 in Heia:
Unfortunately most of my pictures, since they were taken while in motion, are punctuated by the mass of dead flies all over the windshield. I would not want to be camping up here!
Before we knew it, we’d arrived in Tromso, the home of the northernmost university and the Tromso Cathedral. We would only be here for an afternoon and a morning, before flying off to Longyearbyen, in Svalbard.
Clarion Collection Hotel With
Our first stop would be our hotel, the Clarion Collection Hotel With, located right in the town center on the quay. With such a tight itinerary we didn’t want to be wandering around looking for our place, or spending a lot of extra time on the road.
The “With” in the hotel name is not an danging participle; it is the last name of famous Richard With, born in Tromso, a politician who founded Hurtigruten.
Arctic Cathedral
Our next stop was the Arctic Cathedral, located across the bridge from the town center. I was unimpressed. It was ok to look at and photograph, but I wondered if its location so far north was all that gave it renown. I think I would have rather spent more time wandering the quay.
Park the car in a mountain
I know this sounds like a very strange experience, but to us, it is as memorable as well, anything else on this trip, which means it is pretty memorable. The Tromso town center is crammed between the water on one side, and a mountain on the other. There isn’t a lot of space for the town, and certainly not for parking.
After the Arctic Cathedral and before dinner, we needed to park the car. We followed the big P (Parking) signs and it pointed towards the mountain. We hesitantly followed and soon found ourselves in a large hollowed out cave in the mountain which serves as the public parking lot.
We say to ourselves, “Tromso, you know, where we parked in the mountain.” versus “Tromso, where we saw the Midnight Sun.”
Strolling the Quai
I was so pleased to have chosen a hotel right on the quai. The quai was so picturesque that it was so hard to select one picture to represent it. A Hurtigruten ship was in port, and people were milling about but the town wasn’t overcrowded. It was especially wonderful to see Tromso in sunshine and warmth.
It may sound unusual to you, but after having spent several days north of the Arctic Circle we had not yet seen the Midnight Sun. It is very difficult to see on Lofoten as the towns are mostly tucked into the harbors on the east side, and the west side is mostly rough craggy rock. Even the town center of Tromso is blocked from the sun by the mountain behind it.
Now we are in a town which offers a midnight sun viewing platform. You can be sure we stayed up to midnight this night!
Midnight Sun
The best views of Tromso and of the Midnight Sun are from the top of the mountain Storsteinen, opposite the city. The Fjellheisen cable car quickly brings you to the top. You can be sure we arrived in plenty of time to take our place on the viewing platform before the bewitching hour.
You can also be sure that on such a momentous occasion, Diet Dr. Pepper accompanied us:
Next “Two Weeks in Norway – Svalbard at Last – Days 13 and 14”
