Fabulous Fjords - Tromsø to Stamsund

Visiting Vesterålen and the Lofoten Islands

Our ship, the MS Vesterålen, left Tromsø harbour at 1:30 in the morning in the light of the midnight sun. 

Tromsø bridge

The excitement of being the furthest north I have ever been, and embarking on an adventure to sail south along the Norwegian coast, took a hold and I couldn't sleep, the vibration of the engines and various bangs and knocks also contributed to my lying awake and wondering what we were sailing past. Our cabin was small but quite functional with a window so I could peep out at the passing mountains.

Midnight sun

Mountains along the fjords

Cloud over the mountains

At 4:15am we docked at Finnsnes and I decided to wrap up and head on deck to see what this port was like.  Being on a working boat there was cargo to be dropped off and picked up and the crew were busy on the quay ferrying parcels and packages aboard.

Finnsnes port at 4am

After a quick half hour stop we set sail again heading next to Harstad, at this point I had possibly dozed a little but was roused for breakfast.

Our first experience of the Hurtigruten breakfast was thrilling.  A wonderful selection of dishes tempted us, from pickled herrings, to fresh eggs in a temperature controlled water bath (it works - the soft boiled egg I tried was warm and at a perfect consistency), cereals, yogurts, hot dishes, breads, pastries - the choice was almost overwhelming.  We certainly never got to try everything over the course of our trip! and everything we did try was delicious..

We stopped at a small place called Risøyhamn which is a village on the island of Andøya. Here we had a short visit to a lovely art gallery and then just sat on a bench enjoying the calm and the view over the Risøy strait.

A moment of calm at Risøyhamn

The company we were sailing with, Hurtigruten, began by offering ferry services along the coast of Norway in 1893, from the small town of Stokmarknes - our next stop. The Hurtigruten Museum is on the quay and we could get up close to the hull of one of the old ships.

Old Hurtigruten ship

After exploring around the port we returned to the ship for the next part of the journey, to the Trollfjord our next destination, where you get so close to the mountains at either side of the fjord that you feel that you can almost touch them.

We sailed through the beautiful sound of Raftsundet and were entertained by the chef showing us how to create sushi from freshly caught Norwegian salmon.

Soon we were entering the Trollfjord, it is such a narrow inlet it felt like the ship wouldn't fit and were awed by the mountains, the waterfalls and a sea eagle that flew alongside the ship as we travelled down the fjord! 

Waterfalls in Trollfjord

Although the sky was overcast and clouds topped the mountains there was a magic to the atmosphere in Trollfjord, everyone seemed affected by the beautiful, rugged surroundings and you really could believe that trolls might hide among the rocks!

The end of the Trollfjord

After navigating our return through the fjord we headed for Svolvær, a fishing village that is the heart of the Lofoten Islands. As we arrived we were immediately taken with the setting of fisherman's huts below towering mountains. Racks of wooden frames surround the harbour where cod is draped to air dry. The main fishing season is January to April so the racks were mainly empty now.

Fish drying frames

We had time to take a look around the harbour and the fisherman's huts, and the boys discovered the Anker Brygge bar where I sampled some Lofoten beer, Lofotpils. Just the job, although I have to mention that the price of alcohol is expensive in Norway, roughly equivalent to £8 a pint (at the exchange rate we had).

Lofoten beer

Our last stop in the Lofoten Islands was the fishing village of Stamsund, where we arrived at about 10:30pm.  It is a pretty and very quiet spot with a few fish hanging up to dry on the houses.  The light had a magical quality again with a light glow on the horizon, it all felt very serene.

Stamsund 

Here we said our farewells to the Lofoten Islands, and I sincerely hope I will return one day for a longer trip. Our next stop would be on the Norwegian mainland at Bodø, by which time I hoped I'd be asleep...  

You can follow the journey here...
Our holiday is 'A Flavour of Norway' trip from Hurtigruten, a five day coastal voyage from Tromsø  to Bergen, which we did in May.

For a good guide to Norway try Lonely Planet.