Today we are headed to Nusfjord, a so called living museum.
Situated just over 6 kms off the E10 via a road only built in the 1960s, this village was home to more than 1,500 fishermen in the so called ‘golden age’ of the early 1900s. It was a hub for the very lucrative cod fishing industry (still a major part of the Lofoten economy today) with an estimated 600,00 cod on the drying racks simultaneously.
Cod dried in this way is known as stockfish. Between February and May, the climate is perfect for the drying process. With the ambient temperature hovering around 0 degrees Celsius, the cool, dry air keeps the fish safe from spoiling as it would in warmer climates and evaporates 80% of the moisture content in the fish. This results in a lighter and more stable product that is easy to transport and indeed most of the stockfish from the Lofotens goes to Italy where it is a delicacy. We had seen drying racks everywhere in the Lofotens but were a little too late in the year to see the fish actually on them.
No buildings have been constructed in Nusfjord since the golden age and many of the old work buildings, such as the smithy, smokehouse, boat houses and cod liver oil factory, have been preserved and now form part of the historic tour that takes you through the classic Lofoten fishing village.
Undoubtedly the crowd favourite is Hansines Bakery, home to reputedly the oldest wood oven in Europe.
It was a bit of a gloomy day in Nusfjord but a cinnamon bun seated with our backs to the wall of the oven was just perfect.
We spent quite a while checking out the village and then walked further along the coastline for a couple of kilometres to the Nusfjord lighthouse.
We had worked up enough of an appetite to justify pizza back in Nusfjord and by now there was enough sunshine to enjoy it outside.
Russell had a beer and I had my new favourite drink, a glass of local Reinebringen Refreshing Rhubarb Drink!
On the way home we stopped in for a quick peak at Flakstad Church, the second oldest church in the Lofotens (completed in 1780) but rain started falling and so we resumed our journey home.
Tonight was our last night so that awful job of consolidating and clearing out leftovers and rubbish was a priority…
A late morning flight left us time for a leisurely drive the next morning into Leknes, an even tinier airport than Svolvaer where we caught our flight back to Oslo.
Â
Tomorrow, we depart Norway heading toward home but with a two night stopover in Singapore.