Lovely Lofoten

What a day of experiences, although I think I could say that of every day since we landed in Bergen eight days ago!
It was an early start to join a coach expedition across Vesteralen, the group of islands immediately north-east of Lofoten. Our first stop was at the oldest medieval church in Norway where we had the option of joining a short, 15 minute, multi-lingual service for Palm Sunday. It was a very special experience to hear both the Lord’s Prayer and a hymn in at least four different languages at the same time. 
The afternoon was spent on the ship, watching the jaw-dropping beauty of the jagged, snow-clad peaks pass us by at close quarters as we sailed through the narrow 20 kilometre long strait of Raftsund, between Vesteralen and Lofoten. 
Late in the afternoon, we docked in Svolvaer, capital of Lofoten and here seven of us enjoyed a very interesting tour of the Lofopils micro-brewery. The tour ended very pleasantly with generous tastings of a selection of their different beers.
During this trip, one thing that has struck me is how important fishing, particularly for cod, is so important to the economy of Norway, and has been for hundreds of years. My first extra shows the cod drying racks that can be seen in virtually every port of call in northern Norway. These particular ones in Svolvaer are quite extensive. The second extra is the view from the quayside that caught my eye. I wonder if the locals ever get tired of waking up to this view?

I’ve added an extra to share a little of the special sight I had about 11.20pm as we sailed southwards away from Lofoten.