Lofoten Local Customs

Dou you know how much does a cod weigh when it's dry?
Do you know where cod heads are sold and consumed?
Do you know the recipe for the local speciality - fried cod tongues?
You can learn all about cod at the Lofoten Stockfish Museum in the village of A. Even if you're not interested in fishing you'll find this little museum fascinating: the fishermen who will guide you through are really nice, knowledgeable and especially fun. They will show you how the fishing has evolved since the 800s - and tell you about their winter life - when the fishing takes place. Basically they talk you through daily traditional life... a peculiar form of traditional life.

It‘s a ritual 10000 years old… a miracle that repeats itself every winter. They leave the cold waters of the Barents Sea in millions to come to the Lofoten Islands more temperate shores to spawn. I‘m talking about the cods‘ migration, the reason why this remote group of islands located above the Arctic Circle saw the arrival of mankind. Fishermen from all over Norway come to fish here from December to April then, slowly, over the centuries they built first turf-roofed huts and eventually tiny red cabins called Rorbu where they could live comfortable during the fishing season. The word Rorbu, in fact, derives from the combination of 2 words: ror (rowing a fishing boat) and bu (to live or to stay). Cod, which you can see drying eerywhere, is the life-supporting machine of these islands

A local tradition is the midsummer bonfire. These are held both in village centers and also in private yards and dock areas. It's not exactly marking "the longest day of the year": that concept really has no relevance in a place where the sun is continuously above the horizon from early June until mid-July.

David Copperfield? No way. Just regular boat-hanging practice in Lofoten. Space management defying gravity! :)

and you'll say: how can it dry if it's hanging outside in the pouring rain?
mysteries of the viking world...

Enough with the puns already!

Perhaps the smell of cod is thick in the air in early spring, when the fish are first put out, but by the middle of June, there's no noticeable odor. Honest!

I'll never be hungry again!