Amsterdam, The Netherlands to Leknes (Lofoten), Norway: 1017 Nautical Miles
Leknes is in the center of Lofoten Archipelago on the Island of Vestvagoy. The city has a population of about 2000.
Leknes and Environs from the Constellation
Norway uses the Kroner as their currency. Norwegian Kroner exchange rate is 0.16 – 0.20.
Leknes is a tender port – the tendering process was nice and orderly.
Tendering In
We are not on a tour today and plan to see what Leknes has to offer. The ship has provided transfers from the tender port to the town for this and the next port. It is too long a walk to the town.
Constellation from the Tender Port
The bus let us off in the center of town.
Beautiful Downtown Leknes
The shops will take Euros and sometimes Dollars but they all seem to have their own exchange rates (a little like Mexico). But the bottom line is that Norway may be the most expensive country we have visited to date. We usually base this on the price of a Mc D ice cream cone but there were none in Leknes so I checked out the coffee – about 30 Kr or almost $6 (just coffee nothing fancy). Baseball caps are 125kr or $25.00. A small bottled water runs around 18 Kr ($3.60). Norway has a strong economy and it is reflected in the cost of living.
The town has a massive mall at the far end that really looks out of place among the small wooden structures. The mall also has a very nice supermarket. We walked around the mall and the sidewalk sale they had outside. We had lunch – sandwiches - on a bench along the main road.
We stumbled onto some free WiFi at Pepe’s Pizza. Pepe was closed but the WiFi router was on so we logged in and caught up with mail and sent along some pictures.
After walking the length and breadth of Leknes, we took the bus back to the Tender Pier. Behind the pier, there was a hill that everyone seemed to be climbing. Why not…we were off and climbing.
Ellen climbing the hill
After some tricky footwork, we both made it to the summit. Even more amazing, we found someone who was willing to take our picture.
King and Queen of the Hill in Leknes
The views from the Hill were terrific. There was a little beach that can’t get much use considering the weather in the area.
Leknes Beach – Bottom of the Hill
Constellation from the Hill
Tender Port from the Summit
I was able get a great picture of the tall mountain near Leknes on the tender ride back.
The Sail Away from Leknes was made that more interesting because of the great visibility (next seven photos).
Finally back into the open sea.
Dinner in the San Marco Dining Room was very good. Our waiter has been very good at getting the chef to make us a veggie version of the pasta of the evening.
Showtime tonight was Niels Duinker – Juggler/Comedian.
Pedometer: 4937 steps; 2.34 miles; 242 calories
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