Lofoten Things to Do

Another quiet little village.. at first sight not as nice as some others, but deeper inside... very rich in term of things to see. Aside from glorius scenery, there's three interesting museums to visit - and this can easily fill up one day. The least interesting of the three is
the Lofoten Aquarium - but has a nice pool for seals and interesting slides show programs. Much better and more informative is the Lofoten Museum, which deals with life in Lofoten in the old days. The real jewel, however, is the The Kåre Espolin Johnson Gallery: this fantastic artist has painted the hard life of the fishermen of the Lofoten islands in very dramatic paintings. So if you thought that Norway's best (and maybe only) painter was Munch, you'll find something to meditate upon here

Reine is described as the nicest village on the Lofoten Islands. All the villages i saw were delightful - and I'd be really hard prssed to chose a favourite one. Âbout Reine I have to say that it had more red rorbues than any other village I went to, but it also looked slightly more touristc than the others.
However the Reine fjord is one of the most spectacular: from there you can take a boat to the even more charming Nusfjord, and go for a fantastic secluded hike from there. Not to be missed!

Stamsund is a small sleepy village where the hurtigrten boat docks. There's a few houses and rorbues, a shop, the best hostel I've ever stayed in, a wooden path along the sea, hundreds of cod-racks and not much else in terms of civilisation. But there's wonderful nature all around: secluded coves and amazing mountains and hill that scream to be hiked. I only went on top of Skifjell, a short and eas hike, but never have I seen more amazing scenery

Interestingly, there are two separate and unaffiliated fishing museums in Å. One is the Lofoten Stockfish Museum; the other, the Norwegian Fishing Village Museum. There are both museums made up of a variety of buildings and displays, but the latter is larger and seems to have more going on, so it was the one which I visited. (Admission to the Stockfish Museum was 40 NOK, the Fishing Village Museum 45 NOK. A joint ticket for both museums is available for 70 NOK) I don't know why they don't combine their efforts: it would seem to make more sense. I'm sure there's an interesting local backstory involving pride, prestige, and local politics.

The Kjerkfjord stretches far into the interior of Moskenesøya, the island on which Reine is situated. The highest mountains aren't _really_ all that high, "only" about 1000 meters, or 3300 feet - but because they rise up nearly straight out of the sea, they seem all the more impressive. Notice the abstract sculpture of a human figure in the foreground: I think it "works" here.

The Fishing Village Museum is all set for "Living History" presentations by role-players (or interpreters) dressed in the clothing in the past and trained to answer questions about the customs, practices, and working habits of those who lived in the past. Unfortunately, there weren't any role-players when I passed through on a weekday in June. But there's still a lot to be seen, and they do a pretty good job of giving the visitor a sense of what it might have been like to live in a typical Norwegian fishing community fifty or a hundred years ago. It was certainly a difficult life. This modest cottage is presented as a typical worker's dwelling place. It's cheerful enough in the summer light - I wonder what it might have felt like in the depth of winter?

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This is a tiny island just before Reine i Lofoten where our accommodation was

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Just before reaching Reine.... the scenery from peaceful lowlands change to dramatic peaks and to a surprise... beaches near Flakstad