Lofoten

In early June we went to Lofoten, an archipelago in the north of Norway, above the Arctic circle. Because it's so far up north, there was no true night - we experienced about 5 hours of twilight/dawn and 20 hours of sunlight everyday! In winter there is about 5 hours of twilight and 20 hours of pure, dark night.

Even though it's so far up north, the climate was quite mild because it's mostly surrounded by sea. We took a ferry from Bodo to Moskenes (but you can also take ferries to Hurtigruten or Svolvaer).

The landscapes in Lofoten are incredibly beautiful. There are several beaches that are accessible by car (there's only one main highway along the entire archipelago), and the icy sea water is surrounded by cliffs, huge rocks and green grass. We hiked up one hill called Stokvika, and saw the most amazing sight:

The main industry of Lofoten is dried codfish, which is mostly exported to Italy. The whole island whiffs of dried fish - which can be seen drying in massive rows, some with heads intact and some without.

Speaking of fish, the seafood specialities of Lofoten were happily, all halal by default. I was dying to try whale steak but unfortunately the restaurant we found had run out of whale - we ate fried cod tongues and halibut instead. Yum!