Rorbuer are fishing cabins that have become common accommodations for tourists. Ours started life as an actual log cabin rorbu but now has newer wood siding, painted red with white trim. There are also some rather upscale, modern versions, such as this row house version in Svolvær harbor.
The romantic version is well represented by this rorbu below, on stilts at water’s edge - this one is nearby where we are staying. Where we are staying the interior walls are either flat planed original logs or knotty pine boards. Ours is fully equipped for housekeeping, with refrigerator, electric stove with oven, small heating stove, stainless steel sink, hot water heater, bathroom with heated tile floor, shower, flush toilet, two sleeping rooms with built-in bunk beds, plus couches that are suitable for use as beds. Oh, WIFI too.
Today’s outing was first to a Viking Museum near the town of Borg, built on the site of a large excavation of an actual large Viking house from the 900s. It even has a living descendent of the Viking era.
Reconstructed Viking-era accommodations are pretty nice too, and complete with an authentic Viking exit sign over one of the doors.
Any reconstruction of a Viking-era farm would be incomplete without a few Viking ships. This one has a couple of boats that are replicas of ones found elsewhere in Norway and on display in the Gokstad Ship museum in Olso (see much earlier post r.e. our visit there). If you arrive at just the right time, you can help row the larger ship!
Yesterday we posted several pictures of dramatic cliffs and mountains on Lofoten. Near this Viking-era site much of the terrain is much more pastorial. Now, as then, the major crop was hay to sustain their horses and cows during the long, dark winters.
After lunch we went to Unstad, one of Norway’s surfing hotspots. Getting there involves two tunnels before you arrive at this small town.
We will conclude this blog post with a quiz. Is this small white building: 1) Norway’s smallest church, 2) Norway’s largest utedass (outhouse), 3) home of the graveyard custodian, 4) none of the above? You are welcome to submit additional suggestions.
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