Norway - A Spectacular Morning at Reinebringen

August 25, 2014

Reinebringen never fails to amaze.  After a tough hike up the 1,100 foot mountain, we camped on top of the ridge and awoke at 4:30 to marvel at the changing colors and see the sun rise over the far peaks of the archipelago for the 5:00 am sunrise.  After an hour or two admiring the views, we went back to sleep for a couple of hours before emerging again to see the area in full sunlight before eventually heading back down the mountain.

Although I had seen tons of pictures of the area before my trip, I was in complete awe of the rugged beauty of Reine, and I couldn't believe how lucky we were to have such perfect weather for this spot.

(The beginnings of the sunrise, from atop Reinebringen, around 4:30 am.)

(Just after 5:00 am, the sun made its way above the many peaks of the Lofoten Islands, slowly lighting up the village below us.)

(The sun peaks out and illuminates the area.)

(Craig's tent with a nice view of the lake below and the fjord in the background.)

(A few hours after the sunrise and a quick nap, I re-emerged for more unbelievable views of Reine below.  You can also see some spots of green water near the bridge and a few of the small islands.)

(Another view of Reine below.)

(My tent was strategically set up, so that I'd have my head in the front of this picture, waking up to one of the best views I've ever seen.)

(After I packed up my tent, Craig attempted a cartwheel.  I'll let you judge whether it was successful or not.  The good news is that he did NOT fall off the edge of the mountain.)

(Another self timer shot of the two of us.  At this point, right around noon, we did have a couple of visitors here and there, but for the most part, we had the mountain ridge to ourselves, which was amazing.)

(Craig poses by our small two door car rental.  The car served us well and gave us great flexibility to get around the islands and change our plans according to what we wanted to do that day.)

(Another view of Reine from below.)

(A panorama of the truly incredible view from Reinebringen, stitched together from a few images to capture this wide angle.  In addition to the view, there is also a soccer field down in the bottom right of the picture, so this area keeps getting better and better.)