Norway - The Beaches of Lofoten

August 25, 2014

Leaving Reine, we drove up the coast, in and out of numerous fjords and left marvelling at the scenery around every bend.  In addition to some of the hikes and camping, I had wanted to visit a few of the picturesque beaches.  While you don't think of beaches when you think of places above the Arctic Circle, the Lofoten Islands actually have a string of perfect beaches with white sand and clear green water.  If not for the numbing cold water, you could be fooled into thinking it was a far more tropical location.

(A spiky ridge along the main road, just a little North of Reine.)

(Apart from tourism, the villages are mostly dedicated to fishing, so fish drying racks sit on the edge of all the villages, and boats line the harbors.)

(The bridge from the Ramberg area heading over towards Klalvika beach and Yttersand.)

(A far off view of Ramberg, with a white sand beach in the foreground and rocky ridges in the background.)

(After our night on the top of the mountains, we spent a few minutes walking the soft beach at Ramberg.)

(The clear green water of Ramberg with a huge mountain just behind.)

(One more shot of Ramberg, from the rocks on the South side of the beach.)

(This small beach, backed by high grass, is just outside of Flakstad.  I had seen this beach on a satellite image and knew it would be nice, otherwise we would have had no idea it even existed, hidden behind an old, abandoned farm house.)

(Another great beach near Flakstad.)

(And one more beach at the edge of Flakstad.)

(An afternoon view of Ramberg beach, as we headed back to the next island over for our next long hike.)

(Turf roofs on a few of the houses near Yttersand.  I had originally thought we might be able to camp around the beach, but it would've been a little difficult, so we continued on to Klalvika for the afternoon/evening.)

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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.)

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Norway - Lofoten Islands - Heading up Reinebringen

August 24, 2014

Far above the Arctic Circle, the jagged peaks and stunning fjords of the Lofoten Islands were one of the huge drawcards that brought me to Norway.  In fact, one image of the spectacular view from the mountain, Reinebringen, made this my most eagerly anticipated part of the trip, so after taking a flight with some wonderful views of the coast from Oslo to Bodo, we boarded the 3.5 hour ferry to Moskenes, the Southern entry point to the Lofoten Islands.  I couldn't wait to get out and see the landscapes, and I was immediately blown away.

I had arranged a rental car with a local guy with just a few older rental cars in his fleet, and he was supposed to meet me at the ferry terminal.  He didn't show up, but the agency is just 400 meters from the terminal, so we walked over, found the car unlocked with the keys in the car (yes, it's that kind of place), heard from someone else that we should just take the car and work it out later, so we packed up and headed up the road.  (We returned the next day when he was also away, so in the end, we just left the car where we found it three days later, put the keys in the drop box and left cash for the rental in the glove box.)

Just a few minutes up the road, we arrived at Reine, a small fishing village that has been fueling my dreams for the past couple of months.  The city itself isn't particularly unique, but its natural setting is unbelievable.  Huge, steep peaks rise directly out of the deep blue ocean, forming fjords and islands all over the small bay.  We stopped for a few pictures, then parked the car on the side of the road and started the steep hike up to Reinebringen, the mountain ridge overlooking the village below.

Fortunately, we had perfect weather with clear skies and temperatures in the high 60s, so we packed our tents, sleeping bags and a bit of food.  The trail was easy enough to follow, but it was very steep, with a few parts requiring us to use the ropes tied to a few strategic trees.  Soon after, we were above the tree line and made it to the top after a strenuous 1.5 hour hike.  The hike takes you to the very narrow ridge with wonderful views of Reine below.  The marvelous view kept us occupied for a couple of hours before we scouted out the area and found two perfect spots for our tents.  Fortunately, we were the only two campers for the night, as there are really only enough spots for 3 or 4 people total along the top, since the whole area is so steep.  A few day hikers came and went, but we mostly had the place to ourselves.

The sun set around 10 pm, though at the high latitude, the sun set was very slow, and it never really got super dark, rising again around 5 am.  Just as we had hoped, the campsite was absolutely incredible, and it was an unforgettable view from the top.

(The view leaving the small city of Bodo on the ferry, heading 3.5 hours out to the Lofoten Islands.  The seas can be very rough around this area (the word maelstrom comes from this area due to high tides), but we had a clear, easy day.)

(A small sailboat cruising the rocky islands near Bodo.  Bodo itself was a pleasant city, small enough that we could walk from the airport, through downtown, to the ferry terminal in about 30 minutes.)

(Approaching Lofoten Islands, it looked like a dragon's tail with a string of sharp peaks poking out of the ocean.  Near the middle of this picture, you can see a steep U shape - that's Reine, and we camped on the top left side of that ridge.)

(The view of Reine, a small fishing village from the water level.  I wanted to take a few pictures here, but we were both really anxious to start the hike up Reinebringen, right behind us while taking this picture.)

(A perfect day in Reine greeted us, which apparently isn't always the case.)

(Craig holds a bag of food in his mouth while climbing the steep sides of Reinebringen.  Our car was actually parked down near the curve in the top left of this picture.  The hike took us around 1.5 hours each way, and it certainly wasn't easy.  It would be very treacherous if it were wet/rainy/muddy, but we were fortunate to have such a clear day.)

(Craig takes a break in what would become my campsite for the night.  Not a bad view.)

(My classy dinner - peanut butter on bread with granola on top.  I actually thought it was pretty good, though, as Craig pointed out, taking this picture did add a bit of dirt to the backside of the bread.  Oh well - it's all natural.)

(Craig was clearly confused about which country we were in, with his viking hat sporting Swedish colors.  Still, Vikings were a huge part of Norwegian history, so close enough.)

(The late evening light provided some great views of the spiky fjords surrounding the area.)

(Craig's tent, about 400 meters away from mine, along the steep ridge.)

(I posed for a couple of pictures with the last bits of light reflecting pink on the mountains behind me.)

(Looking straight down the steep drop, the village sits about 1,100 feet below us.)

(Self timer action of the Brace brothers.)

(In the middle of the picture, you can see Craig's tent, requiring a little rock climbing, but nothing too extreme.)

(Another picture of the wonderful view from my tent.)

(Changing colors added to the beauty of the fjords.  This was literally the view to the left from the front door of my tent.)

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Norway - Oslo - the Start of the Norwegian Adventure

August 23, 2014

The majestic fjords and unbelievable natural beauty of Norway have put Norway high up on my top places to visit for a while, and after finding some cheap airfare, I decided it was time for a visit.  My twin brother, Craig, also decided to come along, so the two of us spent 9-10 days exploring the country.  Oslo, the pleasant capital, was our first stop.  As expected, it was a nice, clean, peaceful city, just as you'd expect from the Norwegians.

(The Barcode district of Oslo - a row of futuristic looking buildings along the waterfront.  Walking down to the buildings, an excited local asked us if we were there to see the unique bird in the area, but we were clueless, so she explained.  Apparently, a lone sea gull only found in Siberia and other parts of Eastern Europe made its way all the way to Olso, so there were a lot of photographers that were very excited about getting pictures of the bird.  We were not among them.)

(Looking down on the city from the top of the opera house.  The opera house has ramps up both sides, so people can walk up to the top of the structure for views of the city and harbor below.)

(Typical Oslo street scene with some tram tracks and picturesque buildings.)

(Walking down Karl Johan's Gate/street towards Det Kongelige Slott/The Royal Palace.  Check out the bird in the top of the picture.)

(The parliament building, enjoying a bit of sun on a mostly cloudly, slightly drizzly day.)

(Looking for a quick, cheap meal, we wandered into 7-11 for a snack and found a tasty chicken and spinach calzone.  For those that don't know, Norway is SUPER expensive, so finding cheap food isn't always easy.)

(The Nobel Peace Center, from which they give out the Nobel Peace Prize every year thanks to a huge endowment provided by Alfred Nobel back in 1895.  They tried to give me an award when I walked in, but I told them to save it for someone else - it would be hard to take that prize home as a carry-on.)

(A trendy area right on the waterfront of Oslo with some good looking apartments by Aker Brygge)

(Walking back from Aker Brygge, the skies cleared just enough for a rainbow overhead.)

(Strategically placed rainbow, falling right into Akershus Slot/Castle.)

(The Royal Palace features a long walkway leading up to the yellow building, and you can see Craig hanging out on the steps on the right side of the picture.  As I was the one with the camera, I was often lagging behind.)

(The view above one of the high walls of Akershus Slot/Castle as darkness started to set in.)

(The opera house, with its ramps leading up to the top of the structure.  Apparently the building was also designed to resemble an iceberg to fit in well during the winter time.  Though, I've never seen an iceberg that held concerts and operas, so I think this one has a slight edge here.)

(Yes, it's pathetic that we got kebabs during our night in Olso, but this was amazing.  The oven cooked pita/shell was perfect, and this was literally the top 1 or 2 kebabs that I've had in my life (the other being in far Southeast Turkey).  We were sad we wouldn't be back in Oslo to have it again.)

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