It is only a little over two hours drive from Svolvaer to Reine but what a drive it is!
We ‘island hopped’ along the E10 but detoured off periodically to visit locations on my hit list, none of them disappointing except perhaps for Haukland beach. The beach itself was stunning but so popular we couldn’t even park long enough for a photo 🤔 No wonder its been voted Norway’s most beautiful beach.
Every bend in the road delivered a new vista.
We went through some more unusual parts of the islands …
… but our jaws really dropped when we found our rorbuer for the next three nights on beautiful Olenilsøy, a stone’s throw from Reine.
This was the view from our living room window, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven (unlikely I know 😉)
We had certainly saved the best until last. The apartment was beautifully appointed, quality appliances (including the always important washing machine), a lovely balcony and THAT view.
I would probably have been happy just sitting there for three days to be honest.
We were only a short walk from Anita’s Seafood, a dining legend in the Lofotens. It would have been sacrilegious to forgo a visit so we feasted on prawns and sushi with the magnificent Mount Olstind watching over us.
The following morning with our joints and muscles still complaining about Mt Hoven we decided to tackle a very gentle stroll that started basically in our car park and wound its way up to a small hill behind our accommodation.
I’ve screenshot the map of the area here to try and give you some perspective about how these tiny islands work. That’s the E10 ‘main highway’ that stretches the length of the Lofoten archipelago. We were staying on Olenilsoya in centre of pic.
The Hamnoy viewpoint you can see is the spot for some of the most iconic Lofoten photographs and only a fifteen minute walk for us.
NB: This is only a tiny section of the Lofotens.
The fifteen minute walk took about an hour and included MANY photo stops.
Apparently it is not uncommon for this bridge to be lined with photographers and their tripods capturing the view and you can absolutely see why.
I would love to come back and photograph the winter view one day.
After lunch we drove south to the village of Å.
Yep, that is it’s name, no abbreviation, just Å, the southermost village on the Lofotens with a rich fishing heritage. The village itself was tiny and we thought a little unremarkable but the nearby coastline was a real highlight.
Å is also the home to many noisy seagulls that nest on top of the village buildings.
Our last mission of the day was to photograph another iconic view back in Reine and given the scarcity of parking we used the local bus from our accommodation which worked out really well.
How beautiful are the Lofotens???
Honestly the scenery was just surreal in places ❤
We topped the day off with dinner at another restaurant within walking distance of our cabin – an interesting Mexican/Norwegian blend where we had some of the nicest tacos I’ve ever had.
Tomorrow we visit a museum that is a whole town …