The Nordic countries are just so stinkin' cool. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to experience them. And the Arctic Circle. That is just a cool part of the world, both literally and in any other connotation of the word. Where else do you have to stop driving to let reindeer cross the road? As often as you see cattle grazing on road trips through the Midwest, you see herds of reindeer floating on the snow with their big hooves and munch on grass. I just love it.
Ok, enough gushing about that.
The first part of our Norwegian road trip took us to Nordkapp. After 17 hours on the road, we made it to Honningsvåg, Norway's northernmost city. We settled into a hostel for the night, exhausted after spending so long in the car but exhilarated with the thought of our location on the world map and the adventures to come. Here we realized that the sky wasn't going to get dark for our entire trip. We closed the curtains, got some sleep, and got ready to experience the beautiful north.
The next day we hiked to Knivskjellodden, which is the northernmost point of continental Europe, sitting at 71° 11′ 08″ N. Being May 1, it was still very much early season. At least half of the hike was through snow, and we had first tracks on it! It was like the portion of hiking a mountain that I like to call the never-ending meadow, only the snowy equivalent. Then suddenly the rolling white fields opened up to the sea, and after a traverse across a rocky sideslope, we made it to the summit log. I was standing at the top of Europe!
The next destination on our road trip was the Lyngen Alps. After some driving, a couple of ferries, and a lovely night camping by the side of the road ("lovely" and "by the side of the road" don't sound like they belong together, but trust me, it was Norway), we arrived in Lyngseidet, the main village in the area. We hiked a little ways up a mountain alongside backcountry skiers who were taking advantage of everything life above the Arctic Circle has to offer. We joined a nice French couple in a skihytta, a simple hut for outdoor enthusiasts to sleep during their pursuits. We packed all 11 of us in the structure, and slept in rows on the floor. It was quite a spectacle, I'm sure, for the old man who barreled into the hut to warm up while we were all still sleeping.
After a stop in Tromsø, we continued to the Lofoten Islands. We found a cheap fishermen's cabin in Kabelvåg on the island of Austvågøya, deeming it a good home base for island explorations and day hikes. Lofoten was truly remarkable. Everywhere I looked was a landscape that can only be likened to a very complex individual, fusing so many completely different things into one perfect thing. With every glance and from every new angle there was something new to notice, and I found myself gawking every time I rose just a couple hundred feet on a hike. A sunny island getaway, an Arctic wonder, an outdoor enthusiast's playground, a fishermen's dream. Lofoten had it all.
Because of it's position on the globe, and the fact that it's May, it didn't get dark for the entire duration of our trip. We cashed in on that in Lofoten. Our first night there we began a hike up a mountain at 8pm. We watched from the summit as the sunset turned the clouds pink, and then we began our descent knowing that there would always be enough light to get down comfortably. We joked about our timetable, saying that we needed to hurry and get down before dark--we only had until September! All of us woke up at least once in the middle of the night, swearing that it must be morning by now, but the constant light was such a cool experience while we were outside.
Basically, northern Norway is unreal. It is gorgeous. Sitting on my couch looking at the pictures I took beats dreaming about it on Pinterest any day.
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