LOFOTEN
Home of my heart
This is my
first blog for a very long time. So far I have never written any blog in
English, so this might be interesting. I have chosen to start by showing you
some pictures I have on my computer, taken 9 years ago, but the landscape has
not changed much in that time.
I was born
in Lofoten and lived there until I was 10. I love the place. That is where my
heart is, but I would not want to live there. It is north of the Arctic Circle,
so nature can be a real challenge in itself. In mid-winter, you don’t see the
sun for 5 weeks, because it’s below the horizon. And in the summer, there is no
night. The sun may go down for an hour, but just below the horizon, so it doesn’t
get dark. And you can see the midnight sun. It’s beautiful.
If course,
it can be beautiful in the winter as well. The Aurora Borealis (northern
lights) are fantastic. But then you may also have storms that can swallow a
ship. The wind can shake your house so violently, that you need to be careful
opening cupboards in the morning; your cups might fall out. And if it’s snowing
at the same time, the roads will be covered and you won’t be able to see where
they are.
But I love
the people. They are friendly, easygoing, openhearted and hospitable, but if
you live there, beware if the gossip. People can sometime even tell you the
color of your socks, before you get up in the morning. I suppose they don’t
have all that much to do up there.
Lofoten is
a group of islands lying in the northern part of Norway. Many tourists go there
for a truckload of different reasons. In the next few days, I’ll receive more
pictures, so that I can show you some of the different things you can experience
there. Right now I can tell you about it and attach some links, so you can look it up for
yourself.
People go
to Lofoten to surf, dive, fish, or simply for the scenery. There is a Viking
festival every summer, and whale safaris are very popular.
The nature
is majestic. You’ll find green mountains, white beaches and an ocean that is so
clear you’ll think you’re in the in the Caribbean. Unfortunately the water is too
cold for most people, and the surfers have to wear wetsuits, not to freeze.
There is a
Viking farm that is open all summer. They have built a longhouse, Viking style,
similar to the one that was on the same site 1100 years ago. People live there
all summer. Paid actors live life like the Vikings did, to show tourists how
the Vikings lived, farmed, ate, dressed etc. They cook, so you may taste the
food. They have a boat by the sea, and they take tourists out, so you may sail
like a Viking. And of course, they have souvenirs.
You can
also go boating, in an RIB – a small, open motorboat. This is not for sissys,
especially if the weather is bad. I have never tried it, because I very easily
get seasick. My brother has tried it a couple of times, and he loves it. He
said: “You tell people they have to try it; it’s an experience of a lifetime.”
Judge for yourself. Click on the link, and see what I’m talking about.
My first picture (on top) is taken in a place called
Smedvik in Vestvågøy. It’s just a small hole in the road, with just a few living people and
a lot of dead ones.
There is an old cemetery there, and many of my
relatives are buried there, among them my grandparents, great aunts and uncles
and my sister.
The path up from the cemetery can be very idyllic in
the summer, while in winter it may be covered in three feet of snow or more.
This picture is taken at my grandfather’s old farm. My
grandad passed away more than 30 years ago, and the farm has been sold, but it
is a distant relative who lives there now, and we drop by whenever we are in
the area. Borge - Vestvågøy.
This is Vikjord, also on Vestvågøy. I lived there with
my mother and my siblings for 10 years, before we moved away. Our family lived
there for four generations, and the small farms up there are still in the
family, but there have been people living there for more than 1000 years. As
kids we used to do a lot of fishing in that bay, look for crabs and go
swimming, I guess we were true Vikings.
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