Norway: Lofoten, Here I Come

Day 2: Bodø - Moskenes - Å i Lofoten - Ramberg

After having breakfast at the hotel in Bodø, which by the way cost extra, we went to the ferry pier with our luggage. It was just a short walk, and after some waiting, we could get on the ferry and buy the ticket for around 20 € only at the entrance to the ferry. The ferry connects Bodø with Moskenes on the Lofoten, and the trip took about three and a half hours. It was a beautiful trip. The ocean was calm, and the sun was shining, and some people even used the chance for sunbathing, as we could sit on the deck outside. After some time we saw the impressive mountains of the Lofoten.

 

In Moskenes we wanted to take a bus to our first destination on the Lofoten - the very concisely named "Å". But we didn't have to wait for the scheduled bus, as there was some kind of private Mini-Bus going to Å waiting for ferry passengers. That was great because we were a bit afraid to be stranded in Moskenes without a car. Especially because at the ferry pier there´s not much to do and see beside the tourist information, the bus station and, well, the ferry pier. It was not exactly a town, but not having a car turned out to be no problem at all.

It was just a short ride from the ferry pier to Å i Lofoten and in Å we could easily walk to our room that we had booked - a "Rorbu", that was located directly at the water. The Rorbu from Feskarbrygga was just a dream. We had the room "Hovedsmann", and it had a huge living room with kitchen, bathroom and bedroom and we could sit outside. But more important was the atmosphere of the place and the house itself as well the location at the water and the little harbour, looking up the huge mountains. We loved it - it turned out to be the favourite accommodation of our whole journey!

 

On the internet, we had found a "Rutehefter", the schedule for the buses on the Lofoten. And while it was already afternoon, we decided to use the rest of the day for a first excursion. So we took a bus from Å to Ramberg, which is about one hour away by bus. The major attraction of Ramberg is its sandy beach. After a scenic bus ride, we found ourselves in Ramberg, which had a little "in the middle of nowhere" feel. It was great, and we walked around through the landscape and finally along the beach. We couldn't swim. Even in August, it was way too cold - it is above the Arctic Circle. We just dipped our feet into the ocean, and it already felt like freezing, before we relaxed on some rocks nearby. We had some time because the next bus back to Å was scheduled for 9.40 p.m. We still skipped hiking up a hill. But the trail we had read about didn't look like what we've imagined. It seemed much steeper and really difficult to climb. The area was breathtaking anyway, with the low hanging clouds in the mountains, the sea and the little houses in the landscape. When the bus finally came and took the tourists from Ramberg, which was only us and an Asian mother-daughter team - it was still not really getting dark. 

 

Back in Å I just needed to get my tripod to do some long exposure shots in the middle of the night (which by the way not dark) of the harbour and the beautiful little village of Å.

 

Norway: Land of the Midnight Sun

Day 1: Berlin - Oslo - Bodø

After having seen beautiful pictures of the Lofoten archipelago on the internet, we just had to go there. The only question was how and where exactly. After some research, we found out that the town of Bodø in northern Norway is an excellent starting point. It has an airport with cheap flights from Oslo, a ferry connection to Moskenes on the Lofoten and even a train station with trains coming in from southern Norway.

So off we went on two cheap flights, with Air Berlin to Oslo and continued on the same day with Norwegian to Bodø. With four hours between the flights, we had some time in Oslo at the airport. All said, we started at 11.30 a.m. in Berlin and finally arrived in Bodø at 6.40 p.m. - we had chosen a cheap connection, and the waiting saved some money. That was a good thing, because already in the airport of Oslo we realised, that Norway is as expensive as people say. Even a little snack cost a fortune! We were warned but didn't really believe it until then.

Finally, in Bodø we were a bit whacked and didn't really have the energy to find the bus to our hotel at the airport, so we took a taxi - we knew it wasn't that far away. Our hotel of choice was the City Hotell. It cost about 95 Euro, which sounds very expensive but is actually one of the cheaper ones in Bodø. Our room was small but o.k., with a bathroom, TV and curtains - the curtains are essential because it doesn't really get dark in the area in the summertime. It wasn't unique and actually too expensive, but for Norwegian conditions, it was o.k. The main reason we booked the hotel was its nearness to the ferry port anyway. We planned to leave already the next morning for the Lofoten. And the hotel is just a short walk from the ferry. 

For us it was actually great, that it didn´t really get dark, so we still had some possibility to see a bit of Bodø. My friend insisted on going to the ferry terminal first, to look how far it is really away and to look, if they are still open to buy the ferry ticket for the next morning. It turned out, it is not far, but the ticketing office was already closed, so we just went along the coast and got a first impression of what was about to come - the sea, the mountains and an extraordinary atmosphere. It was quiet and felt like a different world.

After a short stop at the little shopping mall "Glasshuset" we wanted to go to a pizzeria, but thought again when we saw the prices - I think it was more than 10 Euro for the cheapest and most basic pizza. We ended up in a snack bar, which seemed to be the most affordable option (but was still ridiculously expensive) and talked to the salesman, who originally came from northern Africa and who complained about the cold Norwegians and raved about the warm (lol) Germans he experienced once in Hamburg. That was new - usually, Germans are said to be somewhat cold and reserved (especially in northern Germany), but I guess it's just a matter of perspective.

It still wasn't dark, so we tried our luck for a supermarket to get some beverages and snacks for the next day - they seemed to be open quite long, and we passed one when we came by taxi from the airport and thought we could find it again. On the way, we passed the interesting Cathedral, and after some walking found the still open supermarket, just when we were ready to give up looking.