Lofoten, Norway
one week, A green Van & a gang of merry men
After just one week on the Island of Manshausen, we were all given a week off. The managers of the island were going home to Copenhagen and we were invited to venture off for a little holiday of our own.
The volunteers who had already been living on the island for some weeks had been talking about visiting Lofoten: an iconic mountainous archipelago stretching out into the Norwegian sea, just two hours northwest by ferry. On a clear day you can see the archipelago from the island, and from the mainland village of Nordskot you can see the entire chain, 300 km of snow white mountains rising spectacularly out of the sea.
Our only hesitation was the price of accommodation for a week. It would be expensive despite the off season, even split between six people. That night at dinner we discussed this with our bosses (the managers) and as luck would have it, they knew of someone who might be willing to house us. A few text messages later and it was sorted, we could stay with these friends for the week in exchange for a few hours of work.
Two days later we walked onto the evening ferry from Nordskot to Svolær, knowing only that someone in a green van would pick us up from the ferry dock on the other side.
We got off the ferry and moments later a green van pulled up, driven by a Polish man named Peter. We took turns shaking Peter’s hand and then piled into the van. A short ride out of the city and we arrived at Kalle, settled on an ocean inlet surrounded once again by mountains. To my delight, being surrounded by mountains is a theme here in Northern Norway.
Centered around the restored Brygge or pier (photographed above), Kalle is a collection of red cabins and two traditional houses (one red and one white with green trim) restored and occupied by the family that runs the place. The Brygge, once an old trading post, is now the main house with dinning rooms, lounges, a bar, instruments for playing, books for reading and many views to enjoy. Quaint red cabins for rent are scattered around, two of which we would occupy for the week. We eventually learned that it was Polish Peter who was largely responsible for restoring the Brygge and building many of the sweet red cabins.
I had imagined us staying in a very basic dorm room, minimal perhaps even rustic. While the traditionally built walls of the cabin were pretty rustic, with moss tucked between logs for insulation, the cabins exceeded all expectations. They were beautifully cozy with two bedrooms in each, a full kitchen and a lovely living space centered around a wood burning stove. The dream.
One of the guys made Pancakes for breakfast on our second morning. I dresed mine with blueberry jam, orange & cinnamon.
One of my fondest memories of this trip was arriving back at the cabin each evening, sitting on the floor in front of the stove and building a fire.
Once burning, We would feed the fire for the rest of the evening until the last person went to bed. It is good for the soul to build and nurture a fire for warmth.
Day 1 : Winter Beaches
As if our hosts were not kind enough, they lent us their little green van for the week. This was ever so generous and convenient as it transported the six of us very nicely. Best of all, the van came with a CD that would become the soundtrack of our trip. An eclectic mix of Pink, Jessica Simpson, Adele and Eastern European house music. Peter told us this CD had been playing in the van for the last three years, possibly longer. Sometimes I still find myself humming one of its songs.
A car is ideal for exploring Lofoten. The archipelago is of course a collection of several islands all linked together by one main road, the E10. The road traces along the landscape, jumping from island to island by epic bridges and burrowing through mountains by tunnels.
On our first day the six of us piled into the green van and headed off to see some arctic beaches. Our token surfer, Toby, was keen to catch some waves and we were all along for the ride.
Unstad Beach - Vestvågøy
A famous spot among surfers, this beach hosts some solid waves. I know absolutely nothing about the quality of a wave and had never heard of this spot before, but apparently this beach is a surfer’s destination.
Surfing or not the beach is a dramatic site, especially in winter. Mountains dressed in snow surround the beach and the little town that precedes it. Just as beautiful and even more mysterious were the huge mounds of kelp washed ashore.
While Toby ran into the sea to join two other surfer dudes catching waves, the rest of us played on the beach. I climbed up and down the kelp mountains, and picked up the few pieces of plastic I passed.
Kvalvika Beach - Vestvågøy
A secluded beach accessible only by foot, this is another spot made famous by surfers. Several years ago two local dudes spent a winter living and surfing here. Their story is made even more epic by the little cabin they built from marine litter that had washed ashore.
Their documentary North of the Sun is worth a watch and will leave you yearning to follow in their footsteps.
We found a spot in the parking lot across from the trail head and set off. The snow was deeper than expected, and the wind stronger. Snow shoes or some polls would have been nice, but the six of us trudged on. As we came over the pass and started down to the beach, one by one we abandoned our unstable legs and tobogganed down the slippery trail.
Fish Racks: A viking Relic
As we drove around Lofoten we passed many mighty wooden structures, Fish Racks, looking ever so Viking-like. Some were empty as the season was just beginning, some were already packed with fish hanging by their tails, missing their heads.
The warmer waters of the Gulf Stream temper the Norwegian sea, creating the perfect spawning grounds for Arctic Cod. From the Barents Sea mature fish swim south against the currents, the longest migration of any cod. The journey results in some very muscular fish known as Skrei when presented on a plate. They are really beautiful fish, spotted with a yellow stripe along either side of their body, and have been a pillar of the fishing heritage in Northern Norway to hundreds of years.
Reminiscent of the Viking and ever so slightly barbaric, these fish racks are a historic method of preservation. Just as the Gulf Stream warms the water, it warms the air making the ideal climate to preserve fish in lieu of smoke or salt. Since arriving in the Arctic circle it had been cold of course, but not polar. There is no bite or bitterness to the wind like that of a midwest winter. The arctic winter here is not too cold to turn the fish brittle, nor is it warm enough to risk rotting. Instead the wind and cold dry the fish. The wind also carries a lovely fishy smell through the air. Though not to everyones liking, the Anthropologist in me was pretty tickled by the whole thing.
This fish rack was just past the village of Ramberg, and felt ever so Wes Anderson-like, yet, they come in a variety of sizes and shapes. I noticed that some housed the bodies of the fish, and others were only the heads. Weeks later, back on the island, I was helping Astrid the chef with dinner. While we were preparing Cod tongues (yes, they have tongues) she told me a story about the cod: children used to visit the commercial sized racks of drying fish but only the ones with the head of the fish, for they would cut out the tongues left behind and sell them for pocket change. People also practice this method privately as well. Hanging a few fish along the side of their homes or garages, with fishing net cast over to protect from testy seagulls and eagles. I had seen several homes in Lofoten with fish drying outside, and also back in Nordskot.
Day 2: Paradise Boulders
Each morning I woke to tinkering around the kitchen. There were some very early risers in the gang of merry men, and several were already up making breakfast and coffee. From my cozy bed I would ever so slowly and gently climb down out of my top bunk, hoping not to wake Phillip sleeping below.
Not quite ready to join the dudes in the kitchen, I would sneak outside for a little morning stroll around Kalle. As I stepped outside the cabin, this was the view (above). Every morning it was of course the very same mountains and little inlet of sea, yet every morning it looked different.
During our week in Lofoten we experienced just about every type of weather: sun, rain, snow, grey, very cold, very spring like, northern lights and a full moon. Some mornings the sea was frozen many meters from shore, sometimes the sea was utterly still with not one lick of wind. Other mornings snow hid the mountains and and winds ripped across the sea. On this morning, clear blue sky and windless, you could see double the mountains, and double the little houses on the other side of the inlet.
On our second morning in Lofoten we were told about a popular bouldering place just down the road called Paradise. After a leisurely morning of pancakes, coffee and our usual chit chat, a few of us set off to find Paradise. The path lead us towards the sea and eventually to a patch of pretty cool boulders. We climbed around for a little while, and then admired a wall with several routes mapped out by residual chalky holds. If only we had ropes we thought, and then vowed to go climbing once back home on Manshausen where there is a gear room, there is a gear room filled with ropes and shoes, and a collection of routes in Nordskot established by the Norwegian Climbing Association.
Atop the highest boulder we all laid in the sun for an afternoon nap, soaking up the warmth of the sun and the ocean air. All the while fishing boats with a funny little red sail (that looked more traditional than functional) made their way to and fro, from island to island.
Eventually I headed down to the rocky little beach, and as per usual, picked up a few pieces of trash. There wasn’t much, but I did see some fishing rope tangled around rocks and a plastic bottle.
Henningsvær
Later that evening we all piled into the van and headed to Henningsvær, a quaint but iconic fishing village. The perfect place for a stroll around, for watching fisherman fillet fish aboard their boats, for admiring colorful homes, and for drinking a coffee or beer.
The Rest Of The Week…
For the rest of the week we spent most of our time at Kalle. We all worked a few hours each day, some on building projects, others cleaning and organizing, though our hosts continued to be extremely generous and the work we did was minimal.
Our evenings were our own and felt very much like a holiday. We spent most of them chit chatting over dinner. Then we would visit the sauna, alternating sweating in the warmth and steam with a quick swim in the frigid sea. I love cold water, but I could only stay in the sea for a minute before running back into the warmth. Back in our cabins, evenings would come to a close with a book by the fire, or one last chat before one by one, we would retire to our beds.
