Basel - Bodø

The alarm goes off at 4 am, because our first flight leaves Basel at 6:00. Today a new road trip to the Lofoten Islands begins, and as in 2022 and 2024, we travel there via Bodø. In August 2022 we arrived here after almost ten hours on the train from Trondheim, in February 2024 after a whole day of flying via Helsinki and Oslo. That time, there were about 15 centimetres of fresh snow on the streets the next morning. This time we fly via Frankfurt, and it is September.

The flight to Frankfurt takes about an hour, and we have several hours until our connecting flight at 11:30. We have breakfast at the airport. There are filled baguettes with vegetables.

At 11:30 we fly on to Bodø. The approach is truly panoramic, with views of mountains and fjords. There is no time difference. Norway is on the same time as Switzerland. From the airport, which is right on the edge of town, we take the bus into the centre. The ride only takes a few minutes.

We check in at the Scandic Havet. After the Comfort Hotel in 2022 and the Radisson Blu in 2024, this time we are giving this one a try. It stands right on the quay in the centre, next to the Stormen cultural centre, and it is the tallest building in town. The hotel is beautiful, and we really like the lounge too.

Afterwards we walk around Bodø harbour. The sun is shining and the atmosphere is lovely. White motor yachts lie in the harbour basin, behind them fishing boats are moored at the jetty, and the mountains rise in the distance.

We keep walking along the water. In the late afternoon the sun is already low this far north, the light is warm and there are clouds over the sea. Modern apartment blocks line the shore. One red brick building still has its scaffolding up and a digger in front of it. With the telephoto lens at 150 millimetres, the mountains seem to sit right behind the houses. From the rocks on the shore we see a sailing boat off the coast.

Back at the hotel we go up to the 17th floor, home to the Roast restaurant and its bar. For our apéro we have olives and alcohol-free cocktails. The Roast has views in every direction, over the harbour where we were walking just now and all the way to the mountains.

For dinner we go to LystPå, a restaurant and wine bar in the Torghallen building on the market square that also makes Neapolitan pizza. We have a delicious pizza, a cordon bleu and fish.