Henningsvær

When we headed out on the road again we made for Henningsvær; a place recommended by Nina’s aunt, who lives on the islands. As we headed down road 816 the first clouds of the day began to threaten. Shafts of light descended onto the sea, making a striking scene.

The quaint settlement is on a string of tiny islands, close to the main island of Austvågøy, and is well known for its glass blowing. I thought it curious how the other famous glass blowing town I have visited (Caithness) is in quite a similar environment; the Scottish highlands. There were even a few examples of the glass balls containing bubbles, for which Caithness Glass is known.

In the harbour area is“the Englishman’s harbour” or possibly 'Englishman's hamlet" (though Chris didn’t seem to feel any particular sense of ownership over it, despite being the only Englishman present).

After a look around town, we headed for lunch at a local restaurant whose soup was mentioned in the Lonley planet book. With the guide books recommendation in one hand, and the fact that every other establishment in town was closed in the other, it seemed like it was soup time. Chris, in an attempt to not be a ‘sheep’ opted for the days’s special; a fish burger, but regretted it as the soup lived up to its reputation. Our inept attempts at learning Norwegian led to us practicing ‘Fiske soupe’ the rest of the day.

Our return up the very scenic 816 in time-lapse https://youtu.be/giQRhYSX6v8 . On our way to Leknes, we passed through the small settlement of “Borg”, ticking off my standard “visit somewhere with a Star Trek related name” item from the trip itinerary.Read more