Påske i Lofoten, dag IV : Of Water and Snow…
Call to arms! We are under attack! The vikings are here to loot, burn and rape! Ho, wait a minute … I am dreaming. Well, not really. After a first part of the night hearing the confessions of a drunk man through the slim walls of the rorbu and another part of great sleep, hidden under thick fog and snow, a really nice viking ship is making it’s apparition. This is a pretty good surprise, the perfect cliché for someone visiting Norway! Unfortunately no viking in it, actually no viking with the traditional viking suit, but who knows if the guy on the boat isn’t? :)
After a moment enjoying the snowfall in this tiny little wooden harbour in Ballstad we decide to continue our trip. Our first step for today is a harbor often referred as the “Venice of Lofoten” : Henningsvær. It seems that one like to give names of famous cities to Norwegian places. But as for the “Paris of the North” (Tromsø), there is not much things in common between Henningsvær and Venice. Well yes, this town is partly built on water, but that’s it. Unfortunately, this city is filled with restaurants and hotels (which are of course closed during this time of the year). Anyways, a short walk along the water under the sun is always welcome and we enjoy it pretty much :)
Clouds are back today, and the sun is again playing hide and seek. And currently … he hides! Though we come back to our old habits and go back to the car for the next destination! We drive through Kabelvåg, a city which can be interesting in the touristic season for its aquarium, museums and galleries. Then Svolvær, the capital of Lofoten. We then take a coffee, book a cabin in an open camping (yes, one can find open campings during spring!) and run away (who said Svolvær isn’t beautiful? :P). Now we are driving up north again. The road tends to lose it’s interest, but it is just a question of time. After a moment, the landscapes tend to be quiet different. The rough mountains and the sea are replaced by less impressive mountains (I would not dare saying hills) and infinite white fields. Are these fields or lakes under this perfect layer of snow? I guess both. When suddenly, something catches our attention: A tiny little harbor among the mountains in the middle of nowhere. It is called Sildpollnes. We stop here for a good moment. The sun is back, reflecting on the white summits, giving this surreal vision of “fishing boats in the Alps”. This place is really fantastic and it is difficult to leave. But we have to.
Our last destination for today is Laukvik. It’s actually not a really interesting town in itself. But it has its reputation during summer to be a really nice place to see the midnight sun. So we decide to have a walk to the sea wall, which is probably the place people use to go to when wanting to see it. We quickly understand now. It’s like we are at the end of the earth. The only thing we can see behind the water is more water. We are facing the Norwegian sea in its entirety and the dramatic grey and heavy sky above gives us this oppressing atmosphere of a storm to come.
This day is going to an end. We are getting tired and take the way to the camping where we booked our cabin for the night. But the light on the sky is so interesting … what do I do? I am really exhausted … yes, but it’s so beautiful … Arrrgh!
We only have one life: I have to take pictures this evening. This is our last evening in Lofoten for God knows how long! I drop Celine off to the cabin and go back to the car, turn up the volume and drive randomly to find a nice place for photos. I fell like a teen with it’s first car listening to music loudly with open windows, at the only difference that my windows are definitely closed. ;)
The more I drive, the more the lights become intense. If I find a nice spot, it will definitely be interesting. And… there we are! A perfect place: Mountains, low tide, sand and an orange cloud reflecting on quiet waters. I park the car on the side of the road, take my camera stuff and run into the snow to the beach. The snow enters my shoes. It’s cold and uncomfortable but I don’t care. I walk into sea water puddles. Water enters into my shoes. It is also cold and uncomfortable. But damn it! I DON’T CARE. The only thing I have currently in mind is : “how can I take the best photo out of that?” — and also: “ho crap, I hope I won’t walk into quicksands!” ;). And a few clicks later, after the excitement went down a bit, I finally take time to focus and compose correctly to get what I want.
I am pretty happy and go back to the car after around an hour of shooting (or more? I don’t really remember, lights are so different up north). But on the way back to the camping, despite my freezing foots and my tiredness, I can’t stop parking the car here and there to walk again into the snow, to put some more snow into my shoes, to get even colder and of course to take pictures of those magnificent lights of the already set sun. Until my body and my stomach tells me together with authority : “NOW YOU STOP!”. Yes sir … :(
This is the end of the Påske i Lofoten saga (no, it’s not pretentious to call that saga :P). I hope you liked it as much as I loved writing it. If you have any questions or any remarks about it, about the pictures, the places or whatever, feel free to ask. Even if I’m not a specialist of Lofoten, I would be glad to help you as much as I can.
Cheers!
-julien
Påske i Lofoten, dag III : Sun is shining!
This morning, my alarm clock did not ring … as usual. I guess I really have a problem with those! However, I woke up around 6:30. A quick look through the window and here am I, running to the car. I remember that place I saw yesterday from which I could easily make a nice panoramic picture of the village of Å. Lucky am I : this morning is wonderful. The few remaining clouds have the nice orange color of the morning sun and the village, protected by its mountain, benefits of this same warm light. Useless to say that to complete this ambiance, the sound of the happy seagulls and the smell of the drying fish are also invited to the party!
Back to the room, we take a quick breakfast and leave this wonderful wooden shelter. The first place we visit is called Reine. Our guide describes it as the most beautiful village in Lofoten. I have a different opinion. For me nothing is really interesting here but the place it is situated in: surrounded by mountains and along the sea. This is of course something you should see if you go to Lofoten but if you missed it, don’t panic. There are lots of nicest places! ;)
Today is not really a good day for photographing. The sun is too bright and we can barely see some lonely uninteresting clouds. But it’s definitely a nice day to simply enjoy the sun.
We then make our way to Sund, a tiny little fishing village lost between the mountains, where we have a quick lunch along the sea. No, I’m not lying! Between the mountains AND along the sea. Hey, we are in Lofoten! ;). And with such a nice day, we just want to do nothing more than enjoy the warmth of the shining sun!
Anyway, after a moment we decide to leave to Unstad and Eggun. The road is quite long. Unstad is not really interesting, but once we arrive in Eggun, old memories come back to our mind. 5 years ago, we camped on this exact place under the 11:00 PM sun … and were awaken early in the morning by a stupid — do I really have to precise? :) — lamb calling his mother for hours. Needless to say that she was just a few meters away, behind the hill…
After this little hike full of memories, we head back to the south. For tonight we booked a rorbu in Ballstad, another small fishing village with lots of red rorbuer. But this is a story for the next time! :)
To be continued…
-julien
Påske i Lofoten, dag II : Sea, Fish & Snow
My alarm clock has been set to 5 AM … and did not ring. But I went to bed so excited about the sunrise’s lights that I wanted to exploit for my photographs, that I naturally woke up around eight (ok, it’s not 5, but it is pretty unusual for me to wake up naturally so early!). However, a quick overview through the window of our wooden sleeping room convinces me to immediately go back to bed for another 2 hours of sleep.
10 o’clock: we wake up and have a quick breakfast and a little conversation with our German fellows. The sun is showing, then hiding. Then showing again … Seems like we will also have a very unstable weather today (yay!). After a last goodbye to our host, we take the road to Leknes in order to find an open tourist office… but everything is closed. Everything! This is something you have to know when you go to Lofoten: almost everything is closed out of the touristic season. And this is even worse during the easter holidays: everything is closed in Norway during those days!
Back to the main road, we enjoy the gorgeous landscapes along the way. We are surrounded by rough and snowy mountains falling into the ocean. A few rorbuer (fisher cabins, remember?) here and there let us imagine how life could have been here before, when cars and electricity were not discovered yet; when people lived out of their catch and enjoyed a hard but simple life. When suddenly, a memory comes back to my mind. I have already seen this place before. This road, this valley, those mountains and farms … Yes, I’m pretty sure we went there during our first Norwegian trip back in 2007. A few kilometers further, I am comforted in my thought. We already went there! This place is called Vikten. This is a small village with a museum of glass objects. The village in itself is not really interesting, but the place is breathtaking: big stormy clouds are enveloping high peaks and the sun makes its best to enlighten a strong winter sea. Rough seashores, sandy beaches, stormy clouds, fighting sun, high peaks … This is a perfect place for some pictures, don’t you think? ;)
I must admit that this photo shoot has been pretty harsh. After having sinked down to my knees in snow, sand is also planning to make fun of me today. This trickster is mixed with good old sleet. I can’t see it, but I can definitely feel it: my shoes are drenched … Anyway, this place is so awesome that I just don’t care and continue. I need to go further to take better pictures. But further means risks … Risk of being drenched by the strong waves crushing all around, but also risk of being taken away by the sea. I take this risk but stay reasonable. Excitement can lead us (as photographers) to do pretty dangerous things and the ocean does not seem to be in the mood of tolerating any mistake today. Though, after a big breath, I take position for a few shots. Then, when the wave approaches, I run away. I keep on repeating this parade a couple of times, then go to another place … and do the same again and again. But at the end, I am pretty happy with the result!
After a quick lunch in the car we continue our way to Nusfjord, a small village with lots of rorbuer. This place is probably veeery touristic during summer and it seems like all the rorbuer have been recently built (or at least renovated). We find ourselves going from a rorbu to the other using wooden bridges, which is pretty funny considering the thick layer of snow recovering them. And then we find out this typical scandinavian behaviour: the keys of the rorbuer are … on the doors! What? Who said that we could have slept here for free? … Well, I must admit that this has been tempting considering how cosy they are! ;)
After this quick visit, we are happy to find an open cafe in which we meet … our German fellows! It seems like there are not thousand different ways to visit Lofoten! Warmed up, we decide to leave the cafe and go back to the car. It’s snowing more than ever before. It’s quiet. Peaceful. The smell of the sea adds that little extra that makes this exact moment a memorable and magical one.
The sky is white. The road is white. We are literally surrounded by white. Hopefully, red sticks are placed along the road. Otherwise it would be impossible to know if we are driving on or off the road!
We now take the direction of Ramberg where we should find a nice sandy beach. Here, step after step, our foots walk on a snow that is progressively replaced by sand. The only sound we can hear is a soft melody sang along by a slight breeze and by the sea. We can see a distant storm on the horizon. But here, now, we are living a perfect moment of tranquility. We are sharing this beach only with a few sea birds resting on the rocks or playing around. A wonderful experience of loneliness. But as you have probably understood, weather here changes quickly and it only takes a few minutes until we are heading back to the car because of the snow. Again. But that’s fine, we have accepted this condition for experiencing the majesty of this place.
On the way to Å (the last village of Lofoten before the Atlantic ocean) where we have booked a room for tonight, we are once again rewarded. A gorgeous sunset is unveiling in the incredible village of Sakrisøy. A huge rough and snowy mountain is erecting as a Norse giant, protector of this handful of yellow rorbuer. Warm and shining lights are breaking through the thick grey clouds, last remains of a past storm, and are reflecting on the sea under the village. This is a vision from another world. This is Norwegian magic!
A few steps away, a strong smell of fish can be perceived. Of course! Fish is drying here… Hundreds, thousands, … No, even more than that! Maybe hundreds of thousands of cods are drying here on those typical wood dryers. This is an incredible vision. The closer I come, the stronger the smell. But I shall be brave to provide you the best images of Norway! :)
Lofoten represents for Norway an important fishing harbour. Tons of dried cod are sent from there to the rest of the world. The best customers (as I was told, but I did not double checked) are Italy for the cods flesh, and Africa for their heads. The heads are full of proteins and are consumed as a soup or used to make food for the dogs. Also, Norwegians love to eat cod’s tongues and cheeks. I asked a couple of friends here and the answer was : “ït’s excellent!”. Well, seems like we should try one day!
Last step for today, the last village of Lofoten: Å. This is not everyday that we can see a city called by only one letter! But as we say: the shorter, the better ! What? That’s not true? :P This village’s predominant color is red. Red because of all the rorbuer. This and a strong smell of fish makes Å a pretty interesting village. And it does not take long until I find some friends: seagulls are nesting on an abandoned factory. This is quite fun to stop for a moment and observe the way they behave. They are usually in couple and as one of them is moving away to fetch stuff for the nest, the other one is keeping it warm. And when the one that left comes back, the other and all other gulls around scream like crazy!
After this wonderful but exhausting day, we take a moment and relax with the sound of the distant squabbling sea gulls, dreaming of all the beautiful moments we experienced today. Then, we fall asleep.
To be continued…
-julien
Påske i Lofoten, dag I : On the road …
5 years ago, during summer 2007, I made with Céline and Kioki — yes, our car has a name! ;-) — my first road trip through Scandinavia. We were still living in Aix-en-Provence, France, though we drove through France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and then reached this country which has since become our new home: Norway. That was my first contact with this country and since that moment I often use to remember about that place as one of the most beautiful places in Norway, and also probably one of the most beautiful places in the world: the Lofoten islands. And guess what … it’s only 400 kilometers from Tromsø!
This year we had 5 days off for easter holidays, it was though a great occasion to rent a car and go back there… and that’s what we did!
Don't you see the face of a sleeping giant (or dead?) underneath the ice?
Early and difficult wake up on thursday –you will often see this sentence on this blog, waking up is ALWAYS difficult for us! ;-) –. Outside, it’s snowing more than ever. The entrance is covered by a thick white coat that we have to get rid of. We get the car, fill it up with our stuff and the trip begins … terribly. It’s snowing so much that we barely see the road in front of us, and it’s like that all way long until Bjerkvik, where we have a short break for lunch in Det Lille Kjokken. I have been told that it is the best burger restaurant in Norway. But I have also been warned that as a French food lovers we might not agree! … and actually their burgers are far from being as good as Céline’s burgers … but not bad either :)
After the 3 hours of driving and the 200 kilometers crossed from Tromsø to Bjerkvik, we now switch to the main road that will lead us to the Lofoten islands (E10). The weather is becoming very unstable. From one place to the other, it’s snowy, then sunny, then snowy again… but I am very happy, as this is the perfect weather for the kind of photographs I love to do. When the sun beams fight to pass through the thick clouds, lights become really interesting and add this extra drama I’m looking for. Those 5 days will definitely be interesting!
200 kilometers later, we finally arrive in Stamsund, a small fishing village (like all villages in Lofoten). It is 19:00 … Yes, in Norway you better plan your trips using time from a place to the other, not kilometers! :-)
There we share a rorbu, a typical Norwegian fishing cabin, with 3 Germans that are cooking a fresh and appetizing cod fished this morning by the landlord … We make our best to find the mariner and get our part of the catch but unfortunately, we do not manage to find him soon enough. Next time maybe!
To be continued…
-julien
Sommarøy, the summer island
After the last few snowy and rainy weeks (yes! we had rain…), we have finally a weekend with a nice weather. Therefore we won’t stay home or hang out in Tromsø any longer. Today, we’ll visit the surroundings of Tromsø, let’s go to Sommarøy!
Sommarøy (“Summer Island”) is a small village on an island, as its name suggests, about sixty kilometers south west of Tromsø. Norwegians generally tend to go on this island, as its name indicates again, during summer.
Indeed, long white sandy beaches must be pretty cool when the temperature rises above +15˚C, HAHAHAHAHA … (hollow laughter).
We leave Tromsø in the early afternoon. The road is beautiful. We drive between towering snow-capped mountains rushing into the frozen sea. The warm sun rays color the summits in a yellow-orange tint. Sometimes a few colorful houses break the supremacy of nature in those quiet places. One last bridge and we arrive in the beautiful Sommarøy.
We are surrounded by the sings of sea gulls playing with the icy wind that caresses our faces. We can smell the tide and the fish drying on the balconies of the houses, which makes us think of those old fishing villages. A few traditional houses dot this Norwegian village and we feel again this sensation that we had enjoyed so much five years ago, during our first trip to Norway. Here, on the island of Sommarøy, man and nature truly seem to live in complete harmony.
We will come back, that’s for sure. Thanks to you Tom for bringing us here!
And of course, this short but fantastic trip could not be complete without a couple of homemade waffles! YUM, YUM, YUM! :P
-julien
Arctic lights over Telegrafbukta, chapter III
Here we are! Third chapter of Arctic lights over Telegrafbukta. I told you, this beach is an inexhaustible resource for photography: the scenery radically changes from one day to another!
These days, wind and snow are back in Tromsø. We finally have a real winter weather! I know … I’m a bit masochistic: I love COLD, SNOW, ICE and WIND! :)
After the usual 3/4 of an hour walk to Telegrafbukta, I finally arrive to this magical place that I know so well … at least that’s what I think. Today, the landscape that unfolds in front of me is totally different from what I was used to see so far. No warm lights. No soft noise of the sea against the rocks. There is something more this time. I feel this sensation that I love so much when I’m out. The sky is dark gray, like during a storm, and the elements are raging. The wind is strong and impressive waves are crashing on the dark and sharp rocks. The forces of nature are at work in this place which is usually one of the most quiet places on Tromsøya. I think that arctic lights is not really appropriate this time, but never mind!
Arctic clouds over Telegrafbukta
My favorite rock is covered with snow. So I start looking for new places to photograph. The more I walk away from this rock, the more the waves are impressive. I walk a few steps towards the sea, but the inspiration is not there. However, these waves attract me more and more. I take my courage in both hands and I take direction of the sea .. closer … closer … closer … Now, I’m just a few inches from the sea. Click, click, click … Inspiration is back. It is a real pleasure. These big waves are for me the opportunity to test a new filter that allows me to do long exposures (that’s how I can get this effect of smoothness on the sea). Nevertheless, I am freaking out … a bit. Some waves bigger than others and the rising tide make me feel that I might end dipped soon … The wind in the face does not help me, but I persevere.
After a few series of pictures, I decide to go to find another place. Boom! The wallet containing my filters falls to the ground. Fortunately nothing has been broken. I leave my camera on the tripod while I stoop to pick up the wallet … And … A big gust of wind suddenly blows and my camera, mounted on it’s tripod, falls and smashes on the floor. AAARRRRGGGGHHH NOOOOOOO! After checking, it seems I’m pretty lucky in my misfortune, since the camera fell lens first… and in front of the lens there was hopefully the filter holder. PHEW! Nevertheless, the two filters mounted at that time as well as part of the filter holder are completely destroyed. Result: about $200 damage :s But I’m still lucky because without the filters and the filter holder, that would have been much more!
After that, I no longer want to continue shooting. I take the direction of the return. I grab my mp3 player in my pocket and … BOOM! TO THE GROUND! T_T
Fortunately, nothing broken this time. I think that there are definitely days I should not go out!
So enjoy these two pictures because they cost me much! :)
-julien
PS: here are the link to the previous chapters of Arctic lights over Telegrafbukta if you didn’read them before: chapter I, chapter II.
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