Burning the Inheritance

Our original travel itinerary included the city of Tromso, Norway primarily because it is the largest city above the Arctic Circle and we had hopes of seeing the Northern Lights. But as we researched this area, we discovered the Lofoten Islands, a beautiful archipelago which strings out into the Norwegian Sea below Tromso.

Getting there ended up being at least half the battle. Two stops from Amsterdam to a city called Bodo (pronounced kind of like “Buddha”) with the airport designation “BOO” (which still makes Colleen giggle). We had to overnight in Bodo (upper right photo below) and then took a 5 AM flight to Leknes and then a one-hour bus ride (after schlepping our luggage through the snow for about a mile from the airport to the bus station) south to the town of Reine our home for the next 4 days.

In Reine, we stayed in an amazing hostel (Catogarten) with warm sitting rooms (including one with a fireplace), an outdoor sauna and hot tub overlooking the bay, kayaking, daily yoga included (for Colleen, not Ritchard),and epic views in all directions. As we later learned, we got very lucky with the weather which was fairly clear and sunny for our first two days after which it returned to the norm – cold, windy, and snowy. We were kind of amazed to find that it was business as usual here with weather which would surely have locked down and immobilized the east coast of the U.S.

Despite the weather, we were able to get in some good hikes, although Reinbringen, the trail to the top of the mountain behind Reine (third row left above) was closed because of the snow. We also found the Lofoton National Park Visitors Center (lower left photo) tucked away in a corner of town. The visitors center featured interactive exhibits, art work, and an amazing short film by a local artist which combined his paintings, photos, and videos with music written by his wife.

As it turned out, despite some clear weather, we did not see the Northern Lights. But, in the end, it didn’t really seem to matter. Truly one of the most unique and extreme places we have ever visited. Unfortunately, the return trip was similar to getting here with more schlepping of luggage through snow and another overnight stay in “BOO” (yes, Colleen is giggling again). Next stop Stockholm!