June 5 – Scenic Drive to Narvik, Norway and Overland to Harstad

Accommodations: Thon Hotel Harstad

After breakfast, we boarded our bus and took a scenic drive to Norway. On the way we stopped at Abisko National Park.

Located about 121 miles inside the Arctic Circle, Abisko National Park is surrounded on three sides by the Abisko Alps and on the north by the Tornetrask lake. Abisko is apparently one of the best places to see the northern lights, but of course that is only in wintertime.

We arrived at the Norway/Sweden border and Heidi gave us all a small glass of Linie Aquavit, which is a potato-based spirit that has Nordic greens and spices in it. Whoa!! It’s potent! We had lunch at a local restaurant in Narvik and dined on salmon which was was very good and the little potatoes that came with it were delicious.

The drive to our hotel in Harstad was beautiful. The snow capped mountains, the lakes, the forest – every minute postcard perfect.

On the way we passed wind farms. The construction of wind farms in Norway has been a major point of controversy. Apparently, Sami traditions and cultures have been seriously affected by the wind farms. Reindeer herding is a traditional way of life for the Sami people, and the wind farms are located in areas where they graze their reindeer. The turbines disrupt the reindeer’s natural movements and grazing patterns.

The conflict has been ongoing for years and is a hot item. Some people feel that the goal should always be for the renewable energy the turbines provide, while others strongly oppose the wind farms because the rights of the indigenous people are being violated. There’s no easy answer.

We checked into the hotel and Allan and I decided not to go on the orientation walk. After the walk, when the group returned, just about all of us went to the restaurant in the hotel for dinner. Allan and I had the fish and chips and probably the biggest glasses of beer we have ever had. I couldn’t finish it! 0.75 liters is a bit much. Even Allan couldn’t finish the entire glass. We really got snookered since we had no clue it was going to be that big AND that they would charge us $25 for each glass. Wowser!

Tomorrow we can sleep late since we don’t have to start the day until 10 am.