Midnight Sun on Gimsøya

Jean Sue's photo captures the esssence of the midnight sun on Gimsøya, an island in the central Lofotens. We traveled there, about 40 minutes from Svolvaer, to see the midnight sun from the north side of the archipelago, with the sun hanging in the north and illuminating the south. Here are some more photos.

Gimsøy kirke, with cemetery markers dating to 1806, located adjacent to the Gimsøystraumen, the waterway separating Gimsøya and Vågan.

Farmhouse near the kirke.

Jean Sue poses in front of the midnight sun.

Midnight golf at the Lofoten Links on Gimsøya

More golf

At Last, Some Sun!

The sun finally made an appearance on our seventh day in Norway as shown by the midday illumination on a portion of the Svolvaer fishing fleet.

This morning we drove about half an hour to Henningsvaer, an even smaller town (but still substantial by Lofoten standards). The town is built on a series of small, narrow islands connected by bridges and causeways, giving it the feel of being a sort of Scandinavian Venice. Like the Venice region, Henningsvaer even has a glassblower whose excellent wares are displayed for sale at a local gallery; we were just as impressed by some of the pottery. Jean Sue, however, observed that it's too early in our trip to be buying fragile items, nice as they were.

A bit of a to-do over our rental car put a crimp in the early afternoon, which I spent at a garage and Jean Sue at the local mall. I won't say any more about the car other than the issues are resolved.

The mall (where we did our grocery shopping Monday) is a compact, two-story building into which the management company crammed about a dozen and a half stores selling just about anything you'd need, with some degree of style sense. Jean Sue almost bought some slacks, but they weren't available in her size. There's even a kitchenware store that I found of interest, though nothing out-of-the-ordinary to buy, and quite expensive: imagine paying nearly $1,000 for a Kitchen Aid stand mixer.

This afternoon we're taking it easy. I'm outdoors using the WiFi connection (it's just as good inside -- it's just too nice a day to spend anything but the minimum away rrom the sun).

Because the skies are relatively clear, we thought this would be our best chance to see, literally, the midnight sun. So we're planning a trip late this evening to the western side of the island (and the other side of its mountains, known as the Lofoten Wall) to see what we came here to see. For that reason, Jean Sue is fitting in a cat nap. While she was napping, I did what I do best: eating. More about that  in the next post.

Who Needs Stars?

Even when the skies are clear (a rarity) it's hard to see stars in Oslo in midsummer. Not because of ambient light from the big city. It's the lattitude and the tilt of the earth on its axis.

Just look at the clock.

The photo above was taken at the time shown, just three minutes before the "official" sunset, at Aker Brygge. No fancy processing in PhotoShop was made to make this image. Even though Oslo is in the southern part of Norway about 400 or 500 miles on the warm side of the Arctic Circle, the Sun hardly sets. (Fortunately, our hotel room has excellent drapes. I only wish it had better soundproofing; the party-hearty Norwegians and their bands have got the amps up to 11 in the nearby clubs.)

My walk along Aker Brygge reminded me that I was Way Up North and, after our flight to the Lofoten Islands tomorrow afternoon, won't be experiencing the sun setting for another week and a half. It will, however, hide behind some mountains.

Technically, the sun sets for a little more than five hours tonight in Oslo. But its light never disappears. What an eerie experience, walking along the restaurant-lined boardwalk on Oslo's harborfront late at night and feeling as though sunset will last forever.

Of course, maybe that's why Norwegians are partying until 3 or 4 in the morning: a pagan celebration of the sun which mostly disappears in winter.

Aker Brygge is both a transit and entertainment hub. It is from here that the city system's ferry network terminates, providing commuters with access to residential islands in Oslo Fjord. From top to bottom, Aker Brygge is lined with restaurants and ice cream stalls (more sweets!), ranging from McDonald's on the (relatively) low-cost end to Lofoten, reputed to be the finest fish restaurant in this capital city. The latter was certainly the most crowded of the restaurants.

Across the harbor from Aker Brygge is Akershus, the fortress begun in 1290 to protect this maritime city. In this photo, taken about half an hour before sunset, the sun bathes the structure in its last light while pleasure boats in Aker Brygge fall into shadow.