Troms, Vesterålen and Lofoten – Norway

8.4. – 17.4.2017 Norway Abroad

In this way, we virtually completed our journey through Norway, and except a few places, we traveled all over Norway from the south to its north, far behind the Arctic Circle. Thanks to the beautiful weather bordering on some places with kitsch, we will remember it for a long time. During more than a week, we traveled through three areas of northern Norway; we were the Troms Territorial Administration, the Vesterålen and the Lofoten.
North Norway is really a wonderful place. Thanks to the warm Gulf Stream, the climate is much more relaxing than the island's location might indicate at first glance. Beautiful spring, sunny summer and colorful autumn attract many tourists from around the world. And not only thanks to the shimmering blue water and snow-capped mountain peaks, this country has gained us.

Troms (Northern Sami: Romsa, Finnish: Tromssa) is a county in Northern Norway. It borders Finnmark county to the northeast and Nordland county in the southwest. Norrbotten Län in Sweden is located to the south and further southeast is a shorter border with Lapland Province in Finland. To the west is the Norwegian Sea (Atlantic Ocean).

Lofoten is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten is known for a distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. Though lying within the Arctic Circle, the archipelago experiences one of the world‘s largest elevated temperature anomalies relative to its high latitude. Lofoten is located at the 68th and 69th parallels north of the Arctic Circle in North Norway. It is well known for its natural beauty within Norway. Lofoten encompasses the municipalities of Vågan, Vestvågøy, Flakstad, Moskenes, Værøy, and Røst.

Vesterålen is a district and archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. It is located just north of the Lofoten district and archipelago and west of the city of Harstad. It is the northernmost part of Nordland county. The Old Norse forms of the name were Vestráll and Vestrálar. The first element is vestr which means "west" and the last element is áll which means "(deep and narrow) sound" or "strait". The name describes the seaway west of the island of Hinnøya. The old name of the seaway east of Hinnøya (now called Tjeldsundet) might have been Austráll (meaning "the eastern sound/strait").


Several photos