9:50 am this morning, time to catch a bus from Svolvaer to Narvik. This is the weak link in our three week Norway adventure. One last look at the Lofoten islands. 
There are no trains on the Lofoten islands, there is only one major road that leads north onto the mainland, there is an airport and there are many ferries. We arrived by ferry from the south and didn’t want to retrace our steps so we opted for the bus.
It isn’t possible to buy the tickets for the bus in advance they are bought from the driver. There are only two buses a day so it was important we caught it. It was a bit like a national express bus, the side opened for us to put our bags in which gave us more room inside. 
The journey would take about 4 and a half hours through some of Norway’s most beautiful scenery.
The islands are now linked by bridges, some of which are spectacular, before the bus had to get on and off ferries making the journey much longer. The road wound its way high up through mountain passes which were covered in snow. 
All the vehicles in Norway have to fit special tyres during the winter period, it is compulsory, so the bus made it’s way through the snowy landscape with ease.
We arrived in Narvik late afternoon, it was extremely cold, the temperature had dropped several times on our journey to-10 degrees. 
As always when we arrive in a new place it takes us a while to get our bearings. Luckily places like the bus station and train station are usually close together and have visitor information available also the maps app on my iPhone has been invaluable. First impressions of Narvik on leaving the bus station that it is extremely cold, this is the furthest north we have been and it is a long way above the arctic circle so cold was expected. Also there is a lot of snow. The immediate thing that struck us was that every street was uphill, Narvik is built at the base of a mountain on the edge of a fjord. 
Dominating the skyline is a huge ski run lit up in all its glory. We are staying at the Breidablikk Guesthouse which is between the ski slope and train station. 
It is a very quaint b & b, very welcoming. After checking in we unpacked then went out to look around as we are staying only one night we had to make the most of it. Once again our priority was to find the train station, as we had arrived by bus we thought the train station would be close by but it wasn’t so we had to get directions from the guesthouse owner and go out to find it. 
Luckily it was straightforward and we carried on walking into the shopping centre to find something to eat. The guesthouse person recommended we go to the fish market restaurant but it was closed on Monday’s so we had to look for something else. 
We didn’t stay out too long because it was so cold and dark with snow and ice everywhere on the footpaths and roads, we were relieved to get back to the guesthouse in one piece. As we got ready for bed we looked out of the window and were amazed to see the sky ablaze with Northern Lights, they were spectacular, the best we had seen so far. They lasted for half an hour or so before fading away. We showered and got ready for bed and watched tv for a while. When we looked through the window again they were back better than ever. It was an amazing display, the whole sky was filled with dancing lights, we were so lucky to witness such a phenomenon. They lasted a very long time and although we were tired we couldn’t bring ourselves to go to bed and miss out on anything. It was well past midnight before they started to fade. I woke in the night about 3am and John was up looking out of the window again, they were back, brighter than ever. I was so tired I couldn’t stay awake. The lights continued to dance around the skies as I went to sleep.
rosemarymeekistravellingbytrain 