Norway Day 17 ~ Finland & Sweden!

Wow! We slept late – until 9am! We can’t remember the last time we slept that late! By the time we hit a bakery,  dumped the toilet cassette, and got fresh water, we finally hit the road around 11:20am - late for us!

We decided to head back to central Norway and the quickest route was through Finland.....

.... and Sweden.....

Were only Finland for an hour and will be in Sweden for about 1,000 km. There was absolutely no border patrol at either place -  which is a bummer because that means no passport stamp. 😞

We saw TONS of reindeer as we drove.... some, of course, in the middle of the road....

.....but not all....

.....and eventually pulled over at the Arctic Circle sign

...in Sweden around 7pm. There were just too many reindeer all over the road by that time and we just didn’t think it was a good idea to continue as it was dusk and they were all coming out of the forest to graze/meet/chat  - do whatever reindeer do......

Today's route.....

 

Norway Day 16 ~ Continuing onto Alta!

We slept great! (Yep, this is the trip of sleeping late – once again we maintain it was because of cold nights and down comforters!!) We woke around 7am and headed towards Alta to see what that area had to offer.

As always.....great views!

 

While waiting for the ferry in Lyngseidet, Brad was tickled when a Finnish man went up to him and asked if he spoke English (he had a question about the ferry). English is definitely the common language in these parts – it wasn’t the only time we were asked if we spoke English – which to us seems strange since we feel as if we look soooo American! 😄

 Along the way we saw a few glaciers......

There weren't sheep in the middle of the road up here, instead.....reindeer! 

We drove to Alta - enjoyed a great dinner – Brad finally had the opportunity to try stockfish.

 

We camped in the strangest place of the entire trip…..we drove through a family residential area to a big area in the back where cars seem to be stored and other campers were spending the night. There were walking trails and neighbors walked by with their dogs, kids rode by their bikes (and came up and talked to us), people jogged by….it was just a bit weird.

 

Evening activity - talk about what to do and where to go tomorrow.😏

Today's route......

 

Norway Day 15 ~ More Lofoten Islands!

We slept great. And woke around 7am - made tea & coffee and hit the road.  The weather was beautiful this morning – we decided to keep heading north and see what we see. As with every other day in Norway, the scenery was just amazing…..

We drove to the north of The Lofoten Islands to the Island of Vesteralen where we eventually made it to the quaint town of Andlenes to catch a 5pm ferry. This is a small (20 car) ferry, with only two departures each day, and the website said that if one cannot wait up to two days (!) to catch the ferry, then better to turn south and drive off the islands. Again, it being shoulder-season, we were fourth in line and did not have to drive back south (like we hadn’t done that before!😆) or wait a day or more.

We walked to town for a late lunch…sunny and mid 60s - wonderful! While having lunch, we chatted that this is ending up being more of a driving, rather than hiking, vacation - nothing wrong with that - simply an observation.

After lunch we headed back to the camper and people were hanging out in chairs in the sun, camper/car doors were open, people were walking their dogs …….sort of a football tailgate atmosphere – it was fun.

It was an easy 1 ½ hour ferry and we found a lovely spot by the road for the night and watched the sun set over the Norwegian Sea again. As what had become our nightly routine, we looked to see where we wanted to go next….

Today's route......

Norway Day 14 ~ The Lofoten Islands!

Our alarm was set for an early morning wake-up, and once we saw the 6am ferry leave the dock......

.....we drove the one kilometer to the ferry dock and ended up first in the reservation line. (While waiting, we had breakfast and enjoyed our tea and coffee.)  Then we drove onto the ferry.....

It was an uneventful 3.5 hour ferry ride, and we finally made it to The Lofoten Islands (which was originally going to be our first destination, but the all the rain, we changed direction).

(View from the stern.)

Views as we approached The Lofoten Islands.....

Our first destination was at the “end of the road” on the southern end of the island in a little hamlet called Å.  We grabbed fish and chips for lunch (just okay) and then slowly drove north along the many islands enjoying the many fabulous views along the way.

As we dove along the roads, there were many fish drying hjell (racks). Fish drying is a centuries-old Norwegian tradition of drying cod – still used today. In the winter, the cod is caught, cleaned, gutted, tied together, and hung by their tails. For about three months, the cod is exposed to the breezy and sunny arctic cold air to dry. The result is what is called stockfish. (Brad had some – it was good, but he prefers fresh cod.)

We eventually came across Flakstad Beach…notice past Brad (in jeans and down jacket) that there are a few people surfing – now that’s desperate – surfing in the cold Norwegian Sea! 😆

.... there were a few people surfing – now that’s desperate – surfing in the cold Norwegian Sea! 😆

Yep – still sheep in the road - this one napping in the sun…..

We decided to pay to camp at a nature reserve in Eggum........

.....with the intent of hiking along the western shore, and we did, but just a couple miles out as it was late in the day, more of just a walk, and we had to step around a lot of sheep droppings. It was beautiful, for sure.

We had dinner, and then watched the sun set over the Norwegian Sea.

Today's route......