Striking Nature

Waking up to the soft twilight in the morning, we were bestowed with beautiful islands, fjords, and white peaks surrounding us that weren’t visible upon our late night arrival. Time for another snapshot of our feet to commemorate the first night in Lofoten. 

Without wasting much time we took off to explore Henningsvaer, and then continued our scenic drive down the coast while the short hours of twilight lasted. Twisty roads, snowy peaks, feel pink clouds as if from a children's picture book. 

With hopeful greed to see the northern lights again, we anticipated our arrival to a secluded fisherman's village. We arrived to Elliassen Rorbuer, one of the oldest fisherman's villages still standing in Lofoten,  and checked into to a fishermans cabin right on the edge of the water.

After a home cooked dinner, the clouds rolled in and we quickly realized that tonight's chances of catching another glimpse of the lights were faint. Still, armed with two bottles of wine, we opened the window with a view toward the water and snuggled up under a blanket, taking in the cool winter breeze accompanied by the sound of waves crashing ashore. Waiting for the lights like this, we dozed off by the open window for one of the best pre bed time naps I have ever had in my life.

The next day's  snow, rain, and fog prevented us from hoping to see another lit up evening sky, but in turn provided us with a breathtakingly raw and alien landscape to drive through. The colours migrated from bubbly pinks and purples, to deep greys, blacks, and greenish whites.

I have always had an infatuation with fog, and this last leg of our trip allowed us to see a striking scenery incorporating sand beaches, blue waters, white peaks, fog, and charming red rorbuer.

Norway - the one place I can say for sure I will be back to, or at least wish to go back to. Nature is the worlds most beautiful and powerful force, it draws you in like a magnet. I can say that the days and nights spent here are some of the most unforgettable of my life. No amateur photographs, nor if they were professional for that matter, could ever do it justice.

Until next time Norway… 

Meeting Aurora

The day started off as quiet - a sandwich for breakfast at the hostel, accompanied by a few of the previously stolen eggs from the ship's buffet. We jumped on yet another plane toward Harstad/Narvik airport in Evenes. This time, a tiny little bird by Wideroe, with a choice of about 25 self assigned seats, took us up in the air all the while rattling and humming. Small planes are not my preferred method of transportation, but we arrived safe and sound, picked up our rental, and were on our way toward Henningsvaer to spend our first night on the Lofoten islands. 

What was meant to be a 2.5 hour drive to our destination, turned into over 4 hours of cruising underneath a mysteriously lit up sky. 

Let me go back - we were driving down the narrow and winding roads, me as the passenger planning our hunt for the aurora when i spotted 'clouds' in the sky. Disappointed at our chances to see the aurora later that evening, I point out the clouds to Lukasz who in turn tells me to look closer as clouds don't have a tinge of green to them. That was just the start. 

Fast forward half an hour and we were blessed with the most magical light show we could have ever imagined…

We were hypnotized. The cold creeping up to us as we stood there, but we barely felt it. My fingers numb from trying to capture the moment. None of the pictures could ever do it any justice, nor could they portray how small and insignificant we felt in the world at that moment.

Suddenly the whole sky lit up in green, illuminating the snow covered mountain tops, with ribbons of purple peeking through.

We retired to our two story cabin (which was somehow cheaper than a room), then proceeded to relax in the private sauna and steam shower.  We felt on top of the world buzzing with excitemend from the experience we just had on the road. Not even our gas station bought dinner consisting of salty instant noodles and frozen pizza could ruin the mood. I went to bed feeling very lucky to have been privy to one of Nature's most amazing shows.

Sweet Dreams.