Lofoten Islands, Norway: Panoramic Views & Magic Ice Gallery

Our Captain, aboard theViking Sky, promised us spectacular scenery and said the best part of the cruise is coming up. If Lofoten Islands is any indication of what's to come as we continue our journey northward into the Arctic Circle, then I'm going to be one very happy camper.

We had a marvelous day today in the Lofoten Islands. We docked in Leknes and boarded our tour bus first thing in the morning. Our tour guide was a young Italian gal, Christina, a transplant from Italy to the Canary Islands where she met her Norwegian husband and has been living on the island for seven years. 

Life in the islands relies heavy on the fishing industry with cod being its primary food source. From January to April the fishermen line up their boats so deep that Christina shared you could walk from one boat to another. Drying racks were seen all over the islands where the cod was dried and we even saw quite a few racks of fish heads! Apparently the fish heads are shipped to Italy and used for base soups. Vegetables are scarce on the island and have to be imported. 

I asked her about their education. She said that kids go to school on the islands until 8th grade and then go to a larger city like Oslo for high school. There are no colleges or universities on the islands. Larger cities are their main source for higher education. 

What struck me the most as we drove from one island to the next were the magnificent views. It was funny, but at various points Justin and I thought of our travels to Maine, Montana, and Alaska and the similarities in the regions. 

The weather turned out to be perfect. It had called for possible rain, but we managed to miss it and had beautiful skies with a few clouds. 

Our first stop was at the Magic Ice in Svolvaer. You'll see a number of photos I took at this artful ice gallery. It was really unusual and very cool in many respects! They even have ice galleries in Bergen, Oslo, and St. Thomas!

Then we traveled to a local restuarant with very scenic views....in fact there wasn't one place that wasn't scenic. We ate lunch and sampled some local delicacies. 

Our last main stop was at a Maritime Museum and saw a movie about the life and culture of the people who live on the islands. It was done very well and gave us a better feel for how hard their way of life could be especially in the winter.

We did have one little mishap, but fortunately it didn't impact our trip. Our bus hit a pothole and broke its suspension! I thought he'd blown a tire. They were able to procure a new bus at the time we had to leave the ice gallery. 

All in all, it was beautiful introduction to the fjords of Norway and there are more vistas to come! I hope you enjoy the video of our day in the Lofoten Islands.

Happy travels to all and thanks for stopping by!

 ~Cindy