August 12 Bus, Plane, Train (Day 320)
A travel day today, heading south by various transportation methods! We walked to the main bus station in Narvik, only about 10 minutes away, to wait for our bus. We had a one hour ride to the airport, crossing the Ofotfjord on the Hålogalandsbrua, the bridge we saw from the train as we approached Narvik on August 9th.
Being on the bridge wasn’t as impressive as the view of the bridge from the train!
We arrived at the airport with enough time to go through security check which was surprisingly crowded.
That must be our plane, I think I see my bag on top of the luggage cart!
We’re heading to Bodø, named European Capital of Culture 2024! A short 35 minute flight away to the second largest town in northern Norway, and it’s just above the Arctic Circle! The largest northern town is Tromsø, almost 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle!
Shortly after takeoff, before we went above the clouds, a brief view of the Ofotfjord.
Another view with some aquaculture pens on the lower right.
As we approached Bodø, at the entrance of the Saltfjorden. The Bodø harbor opens to the Norwegian Sea east to Greenland.
The airport seems about as big and as busy as Redmond-Bend airport. Bodø (pronounced sort of like ‘Boo-Doe’, but with a Norwegian accent that I can’t get right!) was just a short stop for us, we caught a public bus to go across town to the train station where we caught the train to Fauske (pronounced ‘Faoos-Keh’).
The train follows the shore of the large Skjerstad fjord. Fauske sits at the end of a small finger of the fjord.
Our host picked us up at the train station and drove us the short distance to the house where we dropped our luggage then he gave us a ride to the town center so we could do some grocery shopping. We also did some sightseeing since the shopping area is on the waterfront!
Fauske has it’s own little “Jet d’eau” fountain!
Walking along the waterfront we found information about Fauske and what it is known for, which is marble! Fauske has the largest marble quarry in Norway and produces the Norwegian Rose marble that has been used in buildings all around the world, including the UN Headquarters in New York!
Information and samples of the marble quarried around Fauske.
We walked back to the apartment with our groceries along the quiet streets in the warmth of the day, the clouds dispersing and a cool breeze helping us along.