On our second full day in the islands we had perfect weather, so we hopped in the car and headed south on the main road, the E10. Once again there are numerous stops along the side of the road. At our first stop we saw this sculpture mounted on a hill adjacent to the road. This is supposed to signify the fishing history of the islands, with the people on the boat and the fish below.
Our next stop was Vikten, with a glass-blowing facility that makes stunning artwork!
Some of their works are displayed on the rocks just outside their shop. The views behind them aren’t too shabby either!
The heart shape seems to be a very common motif in northern Norway.
The view from nearby Vikten Beach is excellent!!
I like the view towards the North as well!
As we were driving south we saw the colors in the water along the arm of this fjord.
We made a diversion from the main road to drive into the beautiful little fishing village of Nusfjord.
The setting makes it hard to take a bad photo!
It’s a photographers dream in every direction.
We were quite fortunate to have the one perfect day of weather. We were hear for 4 days and it rained off and on the other 3.
Another 20 minutes down the road we ran across the gorgeous Skagsanden Beach. There were actually people trying to surf on these little waves.
This shot is near the little town of Hamnoy. It seems everybody has an iconic shot of the town, but I didn’t find that spot, so the beautiful mountains will have to do!
This is the view you get from Hamnoy. Not too shabby!
We drove into the fishing village of Reine, and it was completely overwhelmed with tourists. You couldn’t even find a spot to park, so I just pulled off to the side of the road and took a quick photo. Bear in mind we are here when it’s not as crowded, but you wouldn’t know it. I’d hate to be a local here! Gorgeous setting regardless.
A little further down the road from Reine is the tiny village of Å, where the road ends. We walked from the parking lot about 200 meters to the waters edge, and were met with this view!
Our last stop on the road was about halfway between Å and Reine, where this beautiful inlet with waterfalls and mountains can be viewed from a bridge. I’m almost getting tired of all the beauty!!
On our last day we visited this church just a few minutes from where we are staying. It stands on a hill overlooking the area, so you can’t miss it!
This is the Buksnes Church, rebuilt in the 1900’s.
Even though it was raining we drove back down part of the E10 to the fishing village of Sund, to visit their museum. They have a blacksmith that makes bird figurines, and was quite talkative. I shot a short video, which is good, as all of my photos looked like crap!
Here is what the final result of his work ends up looking like!
The rest of the museum was rather ho-hum…lots of old boat engines and tools, but I did find this item quite interesting….a piece of the anchor chain from the Nazi Battleship Turpitz. If you read the blog, you’ll know this battleship was sunk just outside of Tromso, Norway. Very cool artifact!
Despite the rain we stopped at one more beach, this one is called Ramberg Beach and is the longest we’ve seen in Norway.
The beach is Kim’s happy place!
We took a walk shortly after dinner that night, and the sun hitting the clouds behind the mountains was spectacular. This was just outside our room.
Here is the view from the Ballstad breakwater, looking back towards Hattvika Lodge. The circular structures in the foreground are salmon habitats for farmed Norwegian Salmon.
The next morning we had 3 flights to get us to our next stop, Copenhagen, Denmark, where we staying for two nights before boarding our cruise ship. More to come!
I will definitely bring this page back up for reference because I would really like to take the same drive. The fishing villages are so amazing and to imagine people living here and being so happy. I wish that I could mark the photos that I liked the best!
Chuck, if you do ever plan to make this trip then definitely give me a heads up, as I can assist you with any planning you want to do! There is an awesome hike in Reine overlooking the town, but it was likely just a bit too tough for us at this point, so we skipped it. It also would have taken about 4 hours out of our day, so that was a factor, but the photos I’ve seen of the hike are amazing!
Absolutely beautiful scenes. Love Norway!
Thanks Pat! More to come!
Skagsanden Beach 🏖️ and all other vistas are beyond majestic. Never would I imagine Norway having turquoise water on their coastline.