Day 9: Street Art and Higher Ground

This morning, I didn't drag Bill out of bed until 8. We cooked the last of our eggs and ate the last of our cured meats for breakfast. Tomorrow will be another day of flying, so we'll need to get up, pack up, and get out early.

We didn't really have a plan for today. The weather was supposed to be colder and cloudier than the previous days, but turned out to be nicer than yesterday. We considered the hike right outside of town, but had some concern about our ability to do this somewhat steep climb. But hiking could be a lot of fun.

We also had the option of finding a couple of Pobel pieces in the area. We know exactly where In Cod We Trust is, but can't see it due to renovations being made to the building, but there are a couple more marked on Google Maps for Lofoten. Not all of them are marked, and, according to the photographer Bill got his souvenir from, some of them are so faded that they may not be recognizable. Recent photos of one of the marked ones indicated it was barely visible any more, but another looked to still be intact.

So why not try to do both?

We went to the closest parking to the hiking trail, and a bunch of total jackass guys were being total jackasses there. So we went back to the shore along one of the bridges and spent a bit of time picking about the shore. Then we went back, and those guys had only just made it to the trail head, still being total jackasses. So we decided to go Pobel hunting instead. I put what I hoped was a nearby point into the car's GPS, and off we went. With a few stops along the way to enjoy scenery.

My marker was almost exactly where we wanted to be, so we got to see the Butterfly graffiti.

Then, we decided to continue around the north end of the island since we hadn't driven that route yet. Turns out this was the rich people part of Lofoten, where horseback riding and golf are located. The east coast was a narrow road weaving through forest and along the shoreline, but eventually connected back to the E10. We stopped at a picnic area to plan our next move.

I googled "easy hikes Lofoten" and found  Glomtinden, which happened to be nearby. I was not as lucky in placing a marker in the car's GPS this time. Eventually we found the trail head, which appears to be another old terrifying road no long in use now that a wider road with a tunnel exists.

The trail crossed over the tunnel as we moved from the gravel road portion into the actual hiking portion. And then heads up a steep climb. Seriously, if this is the easy to moderate trail, I am glad we didn't try anything more challenging.

At one point, I wondered what idiot decided we should climb a mountain, but remembered it was me before I started complaining out loud.

Eventually, we reached the peak. Or at least, a peak. The view was great, and we sat down to enjoy it over candy bars.

The walk back down was a lot faster. We saw several dogs on the way, including this one.

Mountain Pomeranian was not something I expected to see.

After that, we went back to the room to enjoy a last beer on the pier. We then walked around to the other side of the harbor to get a closer look at the Pobel we had seen from the kayak. Success.

We spent some time in the room packing up and cleaning up so we would have an easier time getting out tomorrow. Garbage here is complicated. There's a food waste bin and an everything else bin, but everything else doesn't include glass or aluminum. Fortunately, the drop of point for recycling them is on the way out of town, so we can drop off the collection of empty beer bottles and aquavit minis on our way to the airport. Having to figure out what to do with your garbage being one of the few down sides to getting an apartment instead of a hotel room.

Dinner tonight was at the cafe attached to the Nord Norsk Klatreskole (North Nordic Climbing School). Fish soup all around, with a pear cider for me and whatever was on tap for Bill. There was a gigantic cat in the cafe, but he seemed to have been reserved by an older woman there on her own who made other dinners take pictures of her with the cat. Cat seemed cool with it, though.

Climbing has really zapped our energy. It looks like we'll have an early night, which is good given the early start we've planned for tomorrow.

Day 9: Lofoten - Food

 

Day 9: Lofoten - The "Easy" Hike

Today is our last full day on Lofoten.  After a sparse breakfast of eggs and a few slices of speck (we ran out of bread yesterday and there is no point to buying another loaf) we try to decide what to do with our day.  Our first thought is to try out a hike that Dawn read about that is not far from Henningsvaer.  We hop in the car and head that way… but the parking pull-off near the trail is already pretty full and is also full of young adults acting-the-fool so we decide we can find something better to do.  Dawn’s plan B is to try and find another Pøbel street art piece that’s on a part of the island that we haven’t been to yet.  It’s not that far of a drive so we head that direction and are rewarded with some great scenery along the way (as if that wasn’t going to happen on this island).  When Dawn was programming the car’s GPS she looked at a map on her phone and placed a pin on the car’s map in about the same spot.  When we got there the car announced “your destination is on your right” exactly as we pulled up the old house… on the right.  She was dead-on accurate.  

After locating some art on a remote part of the island we decided to head back towards Henningsvaer and Dawn found another hiking trail that we could try out.  One of her secret goals for the trip has been to climb a mountain.  Something about island living brings out the mountain goat in Dawn.  Our first pass at finding the trailhead was a failure because when we got to where it should be on the map we were driving through a tunnel.  Dawn realized that the trailhead must be on top of the tunnel and we turned around and took another stab at it.  It’s not uncommon for the locals to turn old mountain-pass roads into trail once they’ve been replaced by more direct tunnels for cars.  That’s what happened here.  We hiked up the old road between Henningsvaer and Svolvaer and then, over the tunnel, Dawn found the trailhead for a trail that went further up the mountain.   

Up we went.  The path when from gradual climb to steeper climb.  Every time it looked like we were getting to the top we’d come over the rise to find that more trail lay ahead.  Eventually we got the penultimate summit and decided that was top-enough for this hike.  The tippy-top summit looked like more work than we were interested in.  While hanging out at the top of the mountain, looking out across a bay on one side, and into a fjord on the other side something snapped in my brain and triggered my fear of heights.  My brain proceeded to treat me to non-stop montage of all the horrible ways I could get off this mountain and the vast amount of blunt force trauma they would include.   I kind of freaked out.  The first thing I did was ask Dawn to step away from the edge.  She claimed she wasn’t on the edge… but she looked perilously close to me.  

After we caught our breath and took our photos came the part that I had really started to dread.  Getting back down.  Ok, here is the situation.  There is the reality of what’s going on, and what my brain is reporting to me… and even in the moment I was smart enough to understand that they two weren’t matching.  We’re we passed with families we small children making the climb in both directions?  Yes.  Did some of the families have dogs with them who were making the climb with no problem?  Yes.  Was one of these dogs a pomeranian? Oddly enough, yes.  That’s not to say that there weren’t steep parts, or that we weren’t high up… but by Norwegian hiking standards… this was a bunny slope.  

I slowly started to make my way down, being very careful to pick very sure footing.  Dawn’s footing slipped a few times on the way down which released waves of anxiety in me.  On the way down we were passed by a Norwegian couple jetting down the path at a clearly reckless pace.  Eventually we made it out of the steeper portion of the climb in onto the more gentle incline and my brain switched off crazy mode and I started to relax.  My stomach muscles were aching from some kind of crazy clenching I must have been doing.   While it was a great view, and something that I’m happy that I did… I was very glad it was over.  Also, I think the people with the mountain pomeranian were off their rocker.  That trail was too steep for a dog that size.

The rest of the afternoon was a stroll around Henningsvaer to find the last Pøbel piece the was created three years ago.  We saw it from the water while kayaking and Dawn figured out where we’d needed to walk in town to see it up close.  Meanwhile, we also did our last load of laundry.  One of the benefits of this AirBnB is that is came with a washer and dryer.  That allowed us to wash our clothes in the middle of the trip which made for lighter packing.

For dinner we tried a new restaurant that appears to only be open on the weekend.  Klatrekafeen is a climbing themed pub that was a nice way to close out dining in Henningsvaer.  There was a chill in the air and this place was warm and inviting atmosphere.  They had a small wood burning stove going.  There was a giant fluffy cat sleeping on a bench next to one of the owners (who kept asking everyone not to notice the cat… probably for the normal reasons animals aren’t allowed in restaurants.)  Every place we’ve eaten in Lofoten has pretty similar menu.  Fish soup is mandatory, and it’s a creamy chowder-like affair.  Sometime the menu will also have a fish stew and another then another cod-based dish.  Lastly, there will normally be a hamburger for the poor sucker who visited a fishing island and does not like seafood.  Dawn and I both ordered the fish soup.  It was simple, but took the chill out.  At the end of the meal we were both content.  Content with our day, and I think, content with the time we got to spend on Lofoten.   

Day 8: A Ride with a View

I dragged Bill out of bed at 0630 this morning so we could get on the road as early as possible. We decided to drive to A, the end of the E10, with a bit of coastal road and a couple stops suggested by yesterday's kayak guide thrown in. We were basically racing to stay ahead of the sun as we drove along the southern coast this morning. If racing includes making periodic stops to gawk at gorgeous scenery.

Our first stop was a beach suggested by the tour guide, Uttakleiv. Well, technically first we stopped at Haukland Beach, which was very lovely and along the way.

Then we went through a tunnel to find Uttakleiv, even lovelier. The tunnel is a fairly recent addition, and the original road along the coast has been left open as a walking trail. We walked a bit down the trail and enjoyed the breeze.

At other stops, that lovely breeze was more of a gale force wind trying to snatch the camera out of my hand.

Next, we went past the end of the E10 to the Lofoten Stockfish Museum, which is open every day, June to August, but not today, the end of September. We also stopped at a bakery that had excellent reviews only to find it was also closed for the season. Which is too bad. that end of the island had plenty of traffic for not having any open tourist sites.

On the way back north, we stopped at a restaurant in Reine so I could get an okay fish soup and Bill could watch me eat. And then we were back to beautiful driving, all the way to the guide's second recommendation, Nusfjord. This is basically the Disneyland of Cod fishing, a preserved fishing village turned into accommodations for tourists and ticketed exhibits for some original facilities. With it being off season, everything but the general store was closed, and only a few tourists were around. My description of the place may seem negative, but we had quite a lot of fun walking around and taking pictures of everything. Note the over abundance of seagulls. Their cries were a constant sound.

At the parking lot, there is also a sign for a scenic view that one finds by climbing this rock slide.

But the view was pretty nice.

After that, we made our way back to our apartment, the sun now behind us again. In addition to scenic views, I also took a few pictures through the windshield to show how exhilarating the driving was.

Back in town, we had an early dinner at Lofotmat, the fancy restaurant from a couple of days ago. I had a far, far better fish soup starter and a halibut with bacon, mushrooms, potatoes and carrots. The main was a bit on the salty side, but mostly quite good.

The temperature has started to drop, so we'll see what we are in store for tomorrow.

Day 8: Lofoton - Food

Lofomat