We woke up early in Alnes and made our way to the airport, where we took a flight from Alesund to Oslo and then on to Bodø, Norway. We rented a car in Bodø and made our way directly to the dock where we boarded a 3 hour ferry to to the island of Moskenes in the Lofoten archipelago.

Simply put, the Lofoten islands were the absolute highlight our trip, and maybe the most beautiful and stunning place we've visited. It is an archipelago above the arctic circle, consisting of dramatic mountains and peaks jutting out of the open sea, with sheltered bays, white sand beaches, and otherwise untouched lands.  

We drove from the Moskenes ferry a short way across a few island bridges to the small island of Hamnøy, where we checked into our rorbuer-style hotel lodgings (rorbuer are traditional red Norwegian wooden fishing cabins built on poles with one end resting in the water for easy boat access). While everyone got settled I took a few pictures of the scenery just a few steps from our hotel: unreal views of the Festhelltinden and Olstinden with the rorbuer in the foreground!

We then jumped in the car to go try the nearby famous Ryten peak hike.

We really did enjoy the hike, but the views did not live up to those we knew existed behind the blanket of fog. 

Somewhere behind the clouds is a white sand beach with turquoise waters.

So after a few miles of beautiful hills and rocks and refreshing cool air in the clouds, we made our way back to the car.  We grabbed a nice dinner at Anitas Seafood Bar on the island of Sakrisoy. Not a bad view while eating a fish burger and fish soup. 

We then headed back to Eliassen Rorbuer where we were staying. From just outside our hotel room I spent a fair amount of time snapping pictures and droning in the fading light over the Reinefjord. These turned out to be some of my favorite shots of the trip:

Hamnøy Bridgedefault

Hamnoy, Norgedefault Hamnoy, Norgedefault Olstinden and the Reinefjorddefault Olstinden and the Reinefjorddefault

From my Nikon:

Twilight at the Hamnøy Rorbuer, Lofoten
Olstinden and Festhelltinden over the Reinefjord
 

Olstinden and the Reinefjord Hamnøy Rorbuer, Lofoten Twilight at the Hamnøy Rorbuer, Lofoten

And some final aerials from the drone:

Hamnøy Bridgedefault Akkarvikoddendefault
Reinefjordendefault Akkarvikoddendefault Akkarvikoddendefault Akkarvikoddendefault