Day 24 Å to Stamsund

We went to sleep last night to the sound of waves slapping the boats tied up to the floating pier below us, and the screeching of gulls, that have managed to nest despite the spikes lining the beams and rafters.  

We had breakfast at the hotel, which has now been awarded the “first bad coffee in Norway” honour because it was luke warm and quite disgusting, and then wandered around Å for a bit, snapping photos madly and trying to capture the experience in digital form.  

Once we were done, we hopped along the coast to the next little village, a place called Reine.  We debated whether or not to try and climb the Reinbringen, which is a new path up to the top of one of the hills.  We’ve read a few different reviews of the walk, some saying walkers were discouraged because it’s not safe, and a newer one saying the old path has been replaced by 1560 steps ! You can just see the track winding it’s way up to the top.

We eventually decided that we just weren’t feeling the love for it today, and opted instead to wander around the village of Reine itself.  

Reine

Reine

All of these villages were originally based on fishing, although tourism has now outstripped this fishing industry, and fishing cabins (called Rorbeur) have been turned into bed & breakfasts or Airbnb rentals.  They produce “stockfish” here which from what I can make out is dried cod.  They hang the fish to dry outside on large wooden frames.  

There is none hung at the moment, but there is still a slight stench remaining.  I can’t imagine what it must be like with the racks all full.

We had a slice of the most delicious peanut and caramel slice for lunch washed down by a most excellent coffee (a double shot cappuccino is the closest we can get to a flat white) to make up for the epic fail at breakfast, and carried on to our next stop for the night.  

On the way we passed some amazing white sandy beaches, which I just did not expect to find here.

We also went over one way bridges controlled by lights.

Tonight we are staying at a place called Stamsund, and it feels a little out of the way.  It’s off the main drag, right by the sea, but is definitely less touristy than last night.   

We checked in, schlepped our luggage to our room.  This time it’s more like a proper motel, and the information sheet tells us it was built by SAS airlines back in 1973 and was used as housing for asylum seekers between 2009 and 2017.  It has since been completely refurbished and back to being run as a hotel.  

We were the only guests here initially, and combining that with the remoteness and lack of other tourists about, made jokes about it being the Overlook.  But more people have since turned up, so we’re not feeling too much Jack Torrence in the air.

We wandered around Stamsund, it’s very small and there isn’t really much to see, and then had a very expensive but ordinary meal at the local restaurant that is actually attached to the hotel.  

It’s worth noting at this point that the most expensive item on the menu, the tenderloin steak was 349 krona, or NZD $62 .  

There is a bottle of wine in our room that we can buy for 420 krona, or NZD $75 if you please.  

So it’s true what they say, food and alcohol is EXPENSIVE here.  And for the price, they don’t do food well.  My fish of the day, baked cod, was fine, edible, but nothing to get excited about, yet it still cost NZD $44, just for the main meal.  That included “baked” vegetables, and the potatoes were clearly re-heated because they were luke-warm.  So don't come to Norway with high expectations for fine dining, because we certainly haven't found it yet.