Exploring the Arctic: the Lofoten Islands and Senja
Coming back from trips just in time to the tiny island that has been my home for three months, I now mostly relax in my heated room and take some walks around frozen lakes. Autumn is well-settled up here, but it's already preparing itself for the darkest time of the year: temperatures are dropping and the sun too; expect to wake up to frosty mornings and meet nightfall in the middle of the afternoon. I have nothing to complain about though, as this shift in the weather makes me even more excited for the upcoming winter (or really read: the snow). Additionally, I could also enjoy a bit of sunshine in the nearby islands over the last few weeks, and what trips they were. I first headed to the Lofoten with two friends, by boat and then bus. The landscapes were naturally gorgeous, which helped with the looong rides, and as we did not have a car we were limited to doing two hikes. But again, Norway's nature did not disappoint. For our first hike, we went to a lovely fishing village named Henningsvær. Lots of rocks were to be climbed, but a surprise was waiting for us at the top: a lake carved in the mountain, invisible from below. The second hike, in the little town of Svolvær where we stayed, was particularly striking, as reaching the top gave you a 360-degree view over both the city and what lied hidden behind the mountain. Not for the faint of heart. Senja was my latest trip (and hopefully not the last of this year), this time with a group of 9 other friends. Originally planning to camp, we packed tents and sleeping bags in our rented cars and drove all the way to the municipality of Berg. The weather was particularly good that night and the sky was filled with bright auroras. Come to think of it, probably nothing will beat the feeling of happiness that I felt as I watched them out of the window, the music blasting in the car and the cities flashing by. We then set out to find Senjabu, a hytte from the area, armed with only our headlamps in the dark of night. A tad spooky, if you ask me. We did eventually come across it, and were lucky to find that no one was staying there. Instead of tents, a comfy wooden cabin with real beds, a kitchen and electricity (but no running water or regular toilets) was our home for the duration of our stay. It wasn't even that cold when we finally managed to light a fire! The next day, we walked along the ridge of the Segla mountain. That was quite high and impressive, loved it. Our last day was spent in Ånderdalen Nasjonalpark, where we had to watch our every step so as not to slip on the rocks. We made it out alive and were rewarded with a snowy mount. Everyone became a child again, with snowballs flying in all directions while a group was sledding on the ice. Good times. Now, I should also mention that before going on these trips I finally got to hiking Tromsdalstinden, the highest mountain in Tromsø. Roughly 6 hours of walking is needed for this hike, but with enough water and motivation I could achieve it. I was in a way prepared for the hikes to come, maybe even a bit too much.
