In the height of summer in July, two years later, I visited the unfinished dream of Norway. Magnificent fjords, majestic and eerie mountains, winding coastal roads, warm and strange midnight suns, cold and secluded Norwegian forests, tender and delicious salmon, and the legendary ugly mountain demons hidden in the depths of the dense forest... Everyone falls in love with this cool and beautiful Nordic country.
After driving through the southern Norwegian fjords in the summer of 2015, I chose to travel by car to explore the Lofoten Islands, a famous tourist resort in northern Norway. This group of islands carved by ancient glaciers, connected by roads and bridges, stretches from the European continent to the Norwegian Sea in the North Atlantic, all islands are in the Arctic Circle, where polar scenery and fjord landforms meet perfectly, creating a beautiful mountain and lake scenery that is both steep and beautiful, a paradise for photographers, and the darling of countless travel magazines and postcards.
Take a flight to the northern Norwegian city of Tromso and start your road trip here. Book your car on the Shenzhou Car Rental app before departure, and easily find their partner Hertz Car Rental service counter on the left side of the airport arrivals hall. The staff on duty were a pair of Norwegian twin handsome men who were friendly and friendly, with minimalist pick-up procedures and great efficiency. They briefly briefed me on the precautions for driving and insurance, and within five minutes, the pick-up procedures were complete. Got the car keys, went to the parking lot and quickly found the corresponding vehicle.
This time using Shenzhou car rental booking, the process is simplified, the service is high-quality, time-saving and worry-saving, very satisfied! Compared to the nightmarish car rental experience in Sicily, Italy the other day, this is a world of difference. Self-driving trip, choose a professional and honest car rental company is an effective guarantee of a good travel experience.
Day 1: Tromsø
The starting point of the trip is Tromsø, the most important port city in northern Norway, the seventh largest city in the country and the largest city in the Arctic Circle. The entire city built on an island, with a population of only 60,000 people, is already the most densely populated and prosperous place in Northern Norway.
Because of the abundance of restaurants, bars, cafés and nightclubs, life is so varied that it was called the "Paris of the North" by a French traveler as early as 1900. Tromsø, at 69° 20 ˊ north latitude, is known as the "Gate of the Arctic", and the temperature is below 0 ° C for five months of the year, which is far "colder" than Paris. Tromsø was once a dock for Arctic expeditions, and a statue of Roald Amundsen, the great Norwegian polar explorer who first flew over the Arctic, still stands on the city's docks. Looking out over the small city from afar, colorful houses and exquisite and elegant buildings dot the mountains and seas, showing a strong Nordic urban atmosphere.
Fleeting summer, extravagant and scarce sunshine, Norwegian summer life, although short, but amazing, in Tromsø I met a cool, cold and vibrant Norwegian summer...
From here, to the westernmost point of the Lofoten Islands, Ao Town, there is only one E10 road connection, the whole journey is about 550 kilometers, the distance is not far, the road conditions are good, coupled with the beautiful scenery along the way, and there are fewer vehicles along the way, which is undoubtedly a great experience for self-driving travel.
Day 2: Tromsø to Evones
The next day's drive is about 300 kilometres and takes 3.5 hours to reach the small village of Evenes, an important gateway between the Northern Norwegian mainland and the Lofoten Islands, and a small airport that operates only between regions, making this village of about 3,000 people a base for most tourists.
Along the way, it passes through ofoford (Ofotfjord), which is not as famous as the three major fjords in the south, but the scenery is no less impressive, coupled with the little known and sparse tourists, just like the last pure land on the planet.
The land is fertile, agriculture and animal husbandry are developed, and most of the residents' houses are surrounded by a private farm or pasture, living an enviable pastoral life. The horses on the pasture are eating the fresh grass carefreely, and a scene of secluded life in peace and distance appears in front of them, which makes people's mood instantly become extremely calm. The yellow house behind him is the sojourn for the night.d'état.
Day 3: Evones to Svolvær
On the third day, from Evernes, head west along the E10 to Svolvaer, another important town in the Lofoten Islands, a 120-kilometre journey that takes 2 hours.
All the way, the scenery is infinite. The charm of the Lofoten Islands is that even in some unknown corners, it can be so wonderful. Passing through the pocket town of Erikstad, seeing that the scenery along the way was very good, they turned into a small fork in the road, but unexpectedly drove into a private farm, and the farmer and his wife not only did not get angry, but enthusiastically introduced to me the situation here and the changes in the scenery of the four seasons.
Between the fjord mountains and the sea, scattered islands, dotted with a few wooden houses, the reef after low tide reveals dark yellow seagrass, the green mountains in the distance, the vegetation and wildflowers reflected in the water... This is the scenery that can be seen everywhere in northern Norway in summer, with a beautiful charm in the wilderness... To be able to live on such a relict and independent island, the sea and sky are colorful, the landscape is beautiful, when there is no worry, the husband wants nothing.
Pandaman stands alone on a reef, between mountains and seas, and the lonely and cold Chinese chivalry is no different in the magnificent scenery of Northern Norway.
The night's stop, Svolvær, is an old fishing village on the south shore of Osterfa Island, the largest island in the Norwegian Lofoten Archipelago, backed by steep rock peaks facing the gloomy and mysterious Norwegian Sea. The small village is not too big, but it has the most modern conveniences and colorful life on the island. The beautiful landscape of mountains and seas and the rich life of the people are like a secret paradise on earth.
Due to the warm currents in the surrounding waters, tens of millions of salmon and cod gather here every spring, so fishing has been a pillar industry here since hundreds of years ago. To this day, most of the villagers still make a living from fishing.
At sunset, local young people who can play drive their own yachts out to sea, chasing the midnight sun, and people don't know how to envy it.
Small villages and towns are also a base for tourists to the Lofoten Islands, and there are some hotels and homestays in the town, and the prices are relatively expensive.
In addition, Svolvaer also has an unattainable steep mountain peak Svolvaergeita , which has become a reason for many European and American outdoor enthusiasts to come here, they all want to conquer this strange-looking mountain, but because of the steepness of the mountain, the difficulty of climbing, the need for local mountain guides and professional climbing equipment to reach the summit.
At 11:00 p.m., the Arctic Circle in the middle of summer is still dark, so the cold and gloomy weather is very suitable for Panda Man, who seems to have more Nordic style than the "Fisherman's Wife" sculpture watching the sea behind him.
Local fishermen set up huge fish racks along the seashore, where they dry different seafood depending on the season. At this time, there are various fish heads dried here, and according to locals, these fish heads are not dried for people to eat, but are used to make cat food and dog food. At this moment, did the panda man also "abandon the bamboo and good fish"?
Day 4: Svolvær to Rayne
On the fourth day, the journey from Svolvær to Reine is 120 kilometers and takes 2.5 hours.
Passing through an inaccessible pasture, Panda Man is haunted again, and the cows instantly transform into "curious babies" and gather to take photos with this male god from China.
In Norway in summer, colorful wildflowers bloom in the mountains on the side of the road, with many varieties, bright colors and picturesque pictures.
There is a white sand beach near the small town of Ramberg, where people are barely visible in cold and rainy weather. At this time, I met a family from Milan, Italy, escaping the scorching sun and heat of the Apennine Peninsula, and they came to the Lofoten Islands to escape the summer heat, full of joy. The italian handsome guy is a panda man with a cool and handsome posture.
The church, located between the mountains and the sea, is particularly dazzling and sacred.
Passing by this characteristically grown mountain, although the cold wind outside the car whistled, it was still difficult to resist the temptation of the beautiful scenery, and it was a wild beating of parking.
Drive all the way through the winding mountains and seas, rain and sunshine, passing fjords, bays, villages and forests... Norway in the gloomy tone is its most authentic appearance, cold and noble and mysterious and subtle. On the way to Reina, passing through several small villages with excellent scenery, magnificent fjord seashores, majestic reefs, more than a dozen colorful chalets, lined up at the foot of towering mountains, various yachts docked in the water, and the interdependence and high integration of man and nature, reaching its peak in Northern Norway.
Reine is the main village at the far end of the Lofoten Islands and one of the islands' most fascinating concentrations. Surrounded by mountains and uniquely landscaped, the village is home to one of the few holiday homes in the Lofoten Islands, so it attracts many tourists.
I stayed in the attic of the Viking Toming's house and could experience life like a local. Behind the homestay are more than a dozen red holiday chalets, each with the most iconic and invincible view of Reina, which can be priced at a price of four or five times that of the homestay.
The beautiful midnight sunset attracts almost all the town's tourists, who flock to the beach to watch it. Saying that it is "all tourists", in fact, there are only about a dozen people, but it also makes the deserted town become lively. An old couple from the United Kingdom just arrived in Reina in the afternoon, and they were immediately touched by the beautiful scenery in front of them. They said that a friend had come to Lofoten before, and for a week of vacation, every day was rainy, wet and cold weather, and they returned home disappointed. And as soon as they come, they can encounter the perfect sunset, and it has to be said that it is the care of heaven for them, and we are naturally the same!
It was nearly midnight, and the sunset was still so bright and moving.
On the other side, the sea and sky are pink, and the dreamlike scenery is like this.
Day 5: Reina to Ao Town
On the fifth day, we drove 10 kilometers from Reina to the town of Ao, the westernmost point of the Lofoten Islands, where we met the lonely and cold cape scenery, and also met a variety of travelers, from the big mother who sat quietly on the cliff with her dog to watch the scenery, and there was also a young backpacker who hiked with a big bag.
Aozhen is not only adjacent to the sea, but also has a number of alpine lakes, with a variety of scenery and fascinating scenery. European and American backpackers like to camp by the lake, sleep in the embrace of nature, and wake up every day to see such a beautiful view, which is simply breathtaking.
Steep mountains, exquisite lakes, mountains and straits, and bays, at the touch of a button, are postcard-like scenery blockbusters.
Two uncles walking their dogs while hiking.
The blue sea and sky, the majestic mountain island, stop at the end of the Lofoten Islands, making people feel like they are at the end of the world. Despite the bright midday sun, it felt cold by the cool sea breeze, and after a while of shooting on the rocks, I couldn't resist and drove away.
Day 6: Reina to Suteran
On the sixth day, depart from Reina, take the E10 road back to Tromsø, and re-appreciate the road in the rainy mist, without the sun, the lofoten scenery is more gloomy, like a fairyland, not a taste, but also more in line with the impression of the Norwegian temperament. Drive 350 kilometers and take 4 hours to leave the Lofoten Islands and arrive in the northern Norwegian town of Sortland.
Sutland is a municipality in Nordland County in northern Norway, and although there are no particular attractions here, the midnight sun appears every year from late May to late July, and from the end of November to early January, there is a polar night scene. From the Lofoten Islands to Tromsø by car, I made a special stay here for one night, but the weather was bad, I couldn't see the midnight sun, but I came across this secluded blue town. At night, walking in this mysterious blue space with a camera on your back, every street corner can make people full of endless imagination, like a dream...
Day 7: Suteran to Finsnes
On the seventh day, the 120-kilometer journey from Sutland takes 2 hours to Finnsnes, the main town of Senja, another tourist destination in Northern Norway, where it returns to Tromsø the following day after a night's overnight stay.
Finnsnes is a town under the jurisdiction of the Norwegian county of Tropos, located on the norwegian sea coast in the north of the country, adjacent to the island of Senia. The town is small, with a population of just over 4,000 people, and is slightly inferior to the beautiful towns off the coast of the Lofoten Islands.
But in the homestay where we were staying, in the evening, the rain passed through the sky, and the last rays of the sunset reflected the sky to bring a dazzling fire cloud, and it was worth the trip to encounter this scene. Travel encounters are the most exciting, and unexpected scenery can penetrate people's hearts.
Day 8: Finsnes to Tromsø
On the eighth day, from Fisnesse, it was still rainy all the way, there were no stops along the way, driving 140 kilometers, taking 2 hours, and returning to Tromsø Airport. Returning the car at the counter of Hertz, a car rental partner in China, the procedures are still very simple, and it takes less than a minute to complete, and the week-long self-driving trip to Northern Norway has officially come to a successful end.
A good journey, the end always comes quietly. On a week-long road trip to Northern Norway, I was immersed in the double shock of sight and soul every day and forgot the time, until the moment I left, I found that the trip really had time to say goodbye. With a little reluctance, take another look at the beautiful fjord at your feet on the plane. After this stop in Norway, I am not sure if I will see you again in the future, but what is certain is that the norwegian beauty will be sealed in my heart and will be remembered forever.