Leknes (Lofoten Islands), Norway

            Monday, 25 Jun 2018 – This morning was the last of our pre-scheduled ship excursions and required an early breakfast, where we sat with Dale and Carlotta (again) of California.  They were interested in hearing about our trip on the “street train,” as they had been unable to find any public transportation.

Although we weren’t happy about having to rise at 6:30 AM in order to meet in the Showroom at Sea, we knew we would enjoy seeing what this excursion “Flakstad, Nusfjord, & Viking Museum” had to offer.

And, by 8:30 AM we were aboard a bus (one of three such busses), with a guide (Emerelda) and driver (Kanute).  Our guide had a heavy; however, she did provide some illuminating facts about Norway and the Vikings during our relatively short ride.  Although our ship’s dock has usually been very close to the main streets of town, in this case, it was much further away; therefore, we were glad from the beginning, even before we saw anything special, that we had a pre-arranged tour.  Our bus traveled on Route 10, otherwise known as King Olav Road.

This tour took us to one of the islands of the Lofoten archipelago, which boasts some of the most spectacular scenery in Norway.  The village of Lekness (which sounded to us a little like Loch Ness!) has a population of 2,800, and is located on the second largest island in the group.  Soon, our bus drove westward through a long, underwater tunnel opened in 1989 to that island.  Our guide told us that this area was always valuable for fishing because some fish come from as far as the Barents Sea (in the Arctic) to spawn because of special qualities of the water here.

Our first stop was at the fishing hamlet of Nusfiord, one of the oldest fishing villages in Norway. All of the original buildings, numbering about 50, have been saved.  Upon arrival, we stepped inside one of the cabins to watch a short film showing the history of Nusfjord.  In the film, small boats were crowded in the harbor, where men in the boats stabbed large fish individually with a sharp hook and then dumped them into a box with other fish.  The next step involved hanging the thousands of fish on racks, which were then elevated to allow the fish to dry for a month.  The village also had a saw mill and a cod liver oil factory, which we also stepped inside.  Most of the red houses near the water were smaller than the one where we watched the film, and now tourists can rent them.  We walked through one, which had two bedrooms on the main floor, and more space above.

Nusfjord Fishing Hamlet - Lookout Point in Background

Nusfjord Fishing Hamlet

Back in the bus, our guide emphasized the importance of cod liver oil, which used to be an essential item for good health during the long, dark winter.  It was also used to burn in lamps, and in paint for the outside of buildings.  Also, she commented on colors of paint used on houses; because white paint was the most expensive, a white house indicated a high economic position for the family living there.

Since the last Ice Age was 11,000 years ago, one might expect to see many trees now in Norway.  However, trees had been almost totally depleted for the building houses (made mostly of wood) and for fuel.  Although now we see some trees, all of them are young trees, having been planted in recent years.  (We had noticed much barren landscape, much like Iceland, which has had a similar history of using up their trees.)

Loffoten Viking Museum

Because wood has been very important in the Norwegian culture, wood also features strongly in marriage ceremonies.  Yes, the bride and groom exchange wedding rings.  However, more importantly, they exchange wood.  The woman gives the man wood, signifying that she is no longer under the protection of her father but now is under the protection of her husband.  And the man gives the woman wood to signify that she will protect his children.  This wood is considered “ancestral” wood.

An interesting off-the-wall sort of comment by our guide was that Viking helmets did not have horns!  In a search on the Internet, Sally verified this fact.  In depictions dating from the Viking age (between the eighth and 11th centuries) warriors appear either bareheaded or clad in simple helmets probably made of iron or leather.  The image of Vikings in horned helmets dates back to the 1800’s, when Scandinavian artists included the horns.  “When Wagner staged his ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’ opera cycle in the 1870’s, costume designer Carl Emil Doepler created horned helmets for the Viking characters, and an enduring stereotype was born.”  (Source: www.history.com)

From the fishing village, our bus continued to our second stop, Borg, where we visited the Viking Museum.  In the parking lot we noticed several other busses from a larger cruise ship also in the Leknes harbor.

Lofoten was a center of power during the Viking period and the main house at Borg is the largest Viking building ever uncovered (272 feet long and 30 feet high).  An exact copy has been built next to the excavation ground.  Inside, passengers of our bus, as well as many other people, soon were told to sit.  And so we crowded on benches covered with thick furs in a very large room, listening to a museum curator, dressed in Norseman attire, tell us about the fascinating history of this place and about Viking life.

He told us, how in 1983, a farmer’s new plow blades dug a little deeper than previously and unearthed some shards of glass and pottery.  After archeological diggings progressed, a huge dwelling (the largest ever found) of a Viking chieftain was unearthed.  Because many pieces of glass, indicative of a much larger number of goblets being present, the curator emphasized that this chieftain was extremely wealthy.  One goblet, he said, might have been worth a farm or even a Viking ship.  Also, this was dwelling is believed to have been already established around the year AD 500 and is estimated to have been abandoned about AD 950.  A joint Scandinavian research project was conducted at Borg from 1986 until 1989.  Excavations revealed the largest building ever to be found from the Viking period in Norway.  Also, it was perhaps one hundred years or more earlier than other Viking settlements found so far, and it is also on the northern edge of where the Viking population is supposed to have lived.

Concerning the term “Vikings,” the people who lived here in what is now Norway were actually Norsemen.  Although most of them were peaceful farmers or fishermen, a very few (small minority) of them were pirates – and these were called the “Vikings.”  During that time period, considerable trade was taking place between Norse merchants and merchants in Britain, the French kingdoms, and Italy.  People in the south liked certain kinds of fish, Cod Liver oil, furs, and other products from the north.  And, people in the north liked glass, metal, jewelry, and perfumes – thus trade prospered!  Therefore, Vikings sometimes became very rich.

After listening to that interesting lecture, Sally was disappointed to see how little time remained for us to inspect the museum.  This building was designed with four rooms, one of them being for the housing of animals.  Only enough time remained for us to examine quickly some of the small items displayed along the sides of the room, such as slippers or other articles that had not decayed over time.  Jesse took photos so that we could study those later.  After that, we headed back to the bus.

Later, a quick study of Wikipedia online included more information: this museum was opened in 1995.  Also included is the reconstruction of a blacksmith’s forge, two ships (replicas of the Gokstad ship, one in full-scale size) and their boathouses, and various reenactments intended to immerse the visitor in life at the time of the Vikings.  “Quite a few of the archeological artifacts are of remarkable character.  The extensive museum outdoor area is tied together with gravel walking paths, inviting the visitors to explore the history in greater content than the exhibition halls alone – to see the reconstructed Chieftain’s house…, [and] to go on board the Viking ship….”

Sally’s only criticism of that tour was that we needed much more time at the museum!  We didn’t have time to look at artifacts or to go on board a ship.  (We didn’t know a ship was there!)

Upon arrival back at the Prinsendam, we soon found that all tours seemed to end at about the same time – and everyone was heading to the Lido deck for lunch.  Luckily, we found a place to sit right away with Beckah and Barry, now of Oregon.  In another five minutes, we might not have found a table there at all!  Interestingly, this couple has been married only 7 weeks, both being widowed.  (However, she added a little later, that they had both been married and divorced previously, so that their marital history is more complicated.)  Before moving to Oregon, she had been married to a writer/producer presumably in Hollywood; she had been a clothes designer; and she had lived in Burbank.

After the Prinsendam departed from port, the Captain announced that we were going south to evade a storm that was coming to the Leknes area.  However, the seas would be a little rough.  Unless he had already announced the fact earlier, we were told that we would not be stopping at Bodo, Norway tomorrow; instead, we would have an unscheduled at-sea day.  (“Hurrah!” said Sally.)

Before dinner we danced and, for the second time on this cruise, the band was a different one than usually played in the Ocean Bar (though the drummer was the same young man).  Much to Sally’s chagrin, they played all very jazzed-up versions of barely recognizable old songs.  However, three young women who danced separately in “line dance” fashion, taking up almost half of the dance floor while they did it, seemed to enjoy the music!  For dinner, we sat alone at a table much too close to the deck door; every time that door opened, it felt like winter at our table.