Norway Day 5 Part Two: Vikings and Henningsvaer

​Today we spent the day driving around in the Lofoten countryside on our way to the Viking Museum in Borg.  We stopped along the way a few times for especially scenic views.  It was beautiful mostly sunny day, so we were all in a great mood most of the day.

On the way to the museum we stopped to look at an old church by the sea.  It was in a particularly windy spot, so it had cables holding from toppling into the ocean.  We noted a number of elaborate graves for infants.  Our guide said that the late 1870s was a time of famine from a potato blight (as in Ireland) and many families left for the United States at that time.

We also stopped for a beautiful view near a bridge.

In the 1980s, a potato farmer in Borg bought a new tractor.  This new machine made it possible to him to turn the soil more deeply than he had in the past - and at the top of the hill he found some glass and pottery.  He called in experts and it turned out that he discovered the largest Norwegian longhouse ever excavated.  Originally built in around 500 AD, and abandoned around 900, the building contained trade goods from all over Europe.

We enjoyed a tour of a replica of the long house based on the nearby excavation, as well as what is known from other longhouses in the area.  Re-enactors have a presentation about the house and the original owners and served us a  “ Viking “ lunch of delicious soup and bread. Then we toured the museum and gift shop.

After more beautiful scenery, we headed for Henningsvaer, the tiny fishing village built on several small islands in a coastal fjord known for being charming as a launchpad for mountain climbing.  It is evidently a victim of HUGE over tourism in the summer, but since the season ended a few days ago, it was not at all crowded when we were there.  We had a nice stroll around town before heading back to Svolvaer.

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On the way back we passed the largest church in Lofoten.