The Fish Market (Fisketorget) is hard to miss given its central location and right across from Scandic Strand Hotel where I am staying. All the stalls have a nice and enticing display of fresh seafood with great variety. It’s probably rather pricey to buy from here since it is after all a main tourist attraction. However, he freshly caught seafood here is undeniable fresh though hence still worth a try!

Bryggen Hanseatic Wharf

The waterfront city is Norwayâ€s second largest city and known to be the Gateway to magnificent Fjords. It is also one of the stops in the popular Norway in a Nutshell trip to take in the beautiful western fjords by train, boat and bus. And the most iconic landmark of Bergen is none other than Bryggen Hanseatic Wharf. The brightly painted and slightly crooked wooden buildings against the mountains as backdrop are beautiful.

The Bryggen Hanseatic Wharf with its colourful and wooden buildings is listed as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. All these are actually reconstructed due to a fire which destroyed almost everything. Gone are the German merchants and in their places are souvenir stores, shops, restaurants and museums. It’s funny that most people are only interested about the waterfront buildings and leaving out the nice narrow alleyways. Whereas I find these other wooden buildings and little shops to be equally interesting.

The Bryggen wharf area is equally charming in the night.

Bergenhus Fortress

I did a quick visit to Bergenhus Fortress which is near to Bryggen. The defensive fortification is now mostly being used for public events.

STAY: Scandic Strand Hotel review

Scandic Strand Hotel is right across to the Fish Market and overlooking the beautiful Bryggen Hanseatic Wharf. And being right at the central area means short walking distance to many attraction sites. The hotel staffs whom I met were friendly and helpful. The small basic roomâ€s comfort level was passable at best but the condition was quite bad and in need of a makeover. Itâ€s hard to justify the high room price if not for the location. I would not mind staying here again but I do hope the room will get refurbished by then.

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The Lofoten Design cabin (Glasshytta Vikten) looks different from other buildings around here. It is where the famous Norwegian glassblower makes his handicrafts from recycled glass. But it is closed during off season so I did not have the chance to check it out.

The rocky shoreline carves by the unforgiving waves of the North Sea is both beautiful and scary at the same time. And adding on to the nice dramatic scene are beautiful mountains in the background. Perhaps the turn-offs would be those discarded junks and rubbish around the beach.

I set up my tripod in attempts to capture the waves while reminding myself to keep a distance. But when the snowfall turned to a downpour, the only audience that afternoon has to scurry back to the car.

And it is going to be a long drive towards Henningsvær. Bye Vikten!

Some great looking places while driving along E10.

Henningsvær, Venice of the North

It took me around two hours to drive from Vikten to Henningsvær. On hindsight, maybe it is better to spend my limited time around the western part of the island instead. But I really wanted to check out Venice of the North before returning the rented car. The picturesque fishing village is comprised of some smaller islands spread around its waters. That is something different from the other villages I have seen on Lofoten Islands, although I do find Henningsvær to be a little touristy than the others. Still, the unique setting makes the drive here worthwhile – if only I have more time to explore around.

I had a splendid lunch at the highly rated Fiskekrogen of Henningsvær. The restaurant has a great harbour view and the food is superbly fresh and tasty.

I grabbed some food at a convenience store for the drive back to Leknes Airport.

The sun was still up when I reached Leknes Airport at 8 pm to return the Toyota Auris. I have clocked a mileage of 2012 km in the past few days and hope to be back here again.

Lofoten Islands look even more amazing from the sky above and I was hoping for the flight to last longer. How I wish I have gotten a window seat for my Bodo to Lofoten flight earlier on.

And that is followed up by a brilliant sunset upon reaching Bodo Airport. Absolutely stunning!

STAY: Rica Hotel Bodo (Scandic Bodo) review

I stayed for a night at Rica Hotel Bodo (Scandic Bodo) after arriving late. And my flight to Bergen will only depart the next morning. The single room is small and basic which was expected for its price point. I just needed a good night rest before my flight so I suppose the hotel meets my expectation.

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