LOFOTEN

 This is what we gazed upon as we sat outside in our coats, eating our porridge this morning! We wondered if it was a bird sanctuary as there were a lot of very happy birds nesting out there!

 We had a few hours of driving to get through before our next destination, but it was an exquisite drive.  The scenery was stunning; lots of water, lots of mountainous terrain & lots of tunnels!  At one point however, we got stuck behind a very annoying camper van!  When nothing was coming from the opposite direction it would drive smack in the middle of the road, so that we couldn't overtake.  It refused to see the stream of cars amassing behind it & although there were a few places where it could have safely pulled over to let us all past.... it didn't!  We were losing our patience, so the only thing to do... was something drastic!  We turned off the road at the next opportunity, which happened to be a stunning lookout out over a small community living on a tiny islet out in the fjord.  We were so pleased we'd stopped!

By the time we arrived in Svolvaer the clouds had gathered, but we were still able to see how this town was clustered at the base of a mountain range.
After an over indulgence in chocolate cake (!!!!) at the bakery, we... um.... bought a puffin woodblock print for our lounge room ( :-O) and then went off to find a totally new experience!

 We found it in the Magic Ice Gallery!
In an old fish freezing warehouse, all that equipment to keep things cold has been put into good use as a gallery space for ice sculptures & etching.  Twice a year, sculptors are invited in to create new pieces, ideally using themes that are relevant to this area. Fishing & Norse Mythology were clearly the main themes we saw today!

 Everything was made of ice & coloured lighting was used to effectively showcase the details & skill of the sculptors.

 Part of our entrance included a drink from their ice bar.  This was a cloudberry wine served in.... you guessed it.... an ice glass!  We were grateful for the thermal capes we were given to wear & the grip gloves!  Even the benches we sat on & the tables were carved of ice, but deer skins were laid on top for both protection from the wet & cold.  It was an extraordinary experience & we were glad we'd tried it. 
When we had first started discussing the idea of coming to Scandinavia for a holiday, one of my first thoughts was that we could stay at an Ice Hotel.  That didn't eventuate, but this gave us a sense of what that might have been like.

 Not far away was the Skrei Heritage Centre, which included a few different sites.  The first was the museum.  This whole area was once a thriving town & the main business was fishing for cod & providing services for the fishers of cod!  The museum was located in original buildings & these three Rorbuer (fishermen's huts) were originals from differing time periods.  These would have been where they slept, ate & mended their nets.

 Although the majority of drying racks for the fish were outside, fish was obviously dried inside too.  Even though dry it had a rather strong & distinctive odour. Ewwww!
These would not have been warm & comfortable dwellings.

 From the Museum we went to the aquarium, where we hoped to see what cod looked like, as well as Skrei, which is a type of cod that can only be caught in winter. (It fetched a good price because it was sweeter & more of a delicacy.)
Before meeting the fish though, we met a few harbour seals, who really didn't want to have their photos taken!

 We also met a very active otter, who agreed to pose for me if I was quick!

 Inside there were a number of tanks that not only had a variety of fish, but sea urchin, starfish & other water life I'd never seen before.
The tanks were huge & the adjacent informative screens helped us to identify what fish we had eaten over the past few weeks.  Neither of us has ever eaten so much fish in our lives.  Jeff has managed to have some form of fish every day.... he is more adventurous than I am, but I have probably had it every second day!!

 The final site included in our ticket price, was a Gallery.  I didn't know what to expect, as it seemed an odd location for an art gallery.  It is dedicated to the work of  Kaare Espolin Johnson, who was born in the early 1900's.  One night when he was young, there was a storm & all the electricity went out. Kaare wanted to draw a picture, so smothered the paper in soot & with a sharp instrument scrapped into it.  He was so pleased with the result, that he continued to use variations of this technique, now known as Scraperboard.  He was an incredibly prolific artist & what we were interested in was the energy & detail he was able to express.  The fishing community was a consistent source of inspiration & this piece truly captured what it must have been like out on the open sea in those fishing boats.  This tied in perfectly with the museum exhibits and the aquarium & now made perfect sense as to why it was part of the combined site.

Tonight we stay in a modern version of a Rorbuer, although they are blissfully warm inside, which is not a comfort that the fisherman of years gone past would have enjoyed.  Phew!!