To the North Lands

We had an early start to our day for our journey up north where we will hopefully find the elusive Northern Lights.  We first flew to Bodo on SAS and then transferred to a much smaller turboprop to Svolvaer in the Lofoten Islands.  The first thing I noticed as we proceeded through security to our gate is that my ID was never checked, not once, only my boarding pass for the plane.  I mark this off to an honest population or naivety.  

 After landing in Bodo we heard flight cancelations over the intercom but ours was still going.  We had to walk to the plane in blowing snow which made me wonder about the wisdom of actually leaving.  The pilot reassured us somewhat with the caveat that he can’t land in certain conditions.  Off we go! Surprisingly the flight was pretty smooth and we arrived with no issues.

A short drive took us to our hotel for the next seven nights, Svolvaer Thon.  The rooms were clean if not a little utilitarian.  I should mention that the whole wave of mattress innovation that’s hit the US hasn't made it to Norway.  Both hotels had a simple feather mattress on top of box springs.  No orthopedic this and that, just you, some feathers and box springs.  





After a brief rest we headed to an adjacent hotel for a discussion of Northern Light photography with our local guide, Geir. He’s been taking NL photos for a good long time and was very helpful in answering our questions.  Around the corner we entered the Magic Ice Bar, a frozen experience complete with frozen ice glasses, an ice slide, ice sculptures, and little ice grottos. It was pretty chill.



For dinner, we walked to the cozy Kjøkkenet Restaurant that juts out into the water.  It reminded me of a place I ate in historic Williamsburg many years ago.  Fish was the course of the day (often repeated on this trip) and it was again quite delicious.  Panna Cotta also seems like a popular dessert, at least for the large group dinners.  You won’t hear me complain!



Tomorrow: Classic views and vikings



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