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Driving the Lofoten from north to south

And again we have beautiful weather when we wake up. The plan for today is to drive as far as possible to the south, until the village called Å on the island Moskenesøya. And again we take byroads as often as we can.

Today we have made more pictures than we can show here, like the last few days and we have to make choices which we want to use on this website. For hours we drive on small roads through incredibly beautiful sceneries with steep mountains, views over the sea and small fishing villages hidden in the most improbable places.

One of the finest villages, in our opinion, is Reine, named after a good friend of ours. The colourful houses nicely stand in a great scenery.

Ok, one last picture and we will be on our way again, to Å.

Finally, much later than we expected, we arrive at Å, the most southerly village of the Lofoten that we can reach by car and also the place with the shortest name on earth. Only 250 people live in this place.

On our way back we meet our neighbours again, probably they are also on the way towards Å. We now go to small and picturesque villages like Nusfjord and Ballstad.

On the way to the south we already paid toll for the tunnel between Vestvagøya and Flakstadøya but on the way back we have to pay again. The amount we have paid until now for toll roads, bridges and tunnels is going up fast. In Leknes we first take road 817, then continue on road 815 along the eastern coast of the island,a narrow but quiet road with many scenic views. No, we don't get tired by these views; not for one second we feel any nostalgia for the flat Netherlands.

Returning on the E10 we drive back southwards to Borg where a few years ago the fundaments of an old Viking farm were found. Now there is a reconstructed farm and an immens open-air museum is being created there.

Inside the farm it is quite smokey, like it used to be in medieval times. The farm has been build as a viking ship turned over.

Except the museum farmhouse, there is also a large area we can walk through with some nice things to see. We take a walk for a few kilometers and have a look at the sights which are ready, like this reconstructed smithy to the right.

After 2 kilometers on rising and falling pathways we arrive at a lake where a reconstructed Viking ship is tied up. We are too late for the daily trip over the lake. And it takes more than a crew of 2 to sail the ship...

When we walk back we are surprised by the alternating temperatures: sometimes it is very hot, but then again quite chilly in the wind on the top of the hill. Although the museum is not totally finished yet, we find it very rewarding.

On our way to Svolvær we also pay a visit to Henningsvær, a village consisting of several small islands which can all be reached by bridges.

Driving through Kabelvåg we halt to take a picture of the Vågan kirke, the greatest wooden cathedral of the Lofoten, build in 1898.

It is late when we return to the camping in Laukvik, but we are very happy with all that we have seen today. This island group certainly is worth a longer visit. But we have an itinerary to follow, so we have to move on tomorrow.

Travel through Europe and Africa

with Elisabeth and Teije