VI
EN
Article and photos:Thinh Tran
From the capital Oslo, the modern train took us up north to experience the white nights, a fascinating natural phenomenon present in the kingdom famous for its many bays and lakes and the lemon-yellow grasslands undulating on the charming mountain slopes. Pointing at the unique signs with a rather large letter “” on the side of the road, I asked Hansen about the meaning. My Norwegian companion said that “” in Norwegian means river and water. This word is also on the list of the strangest words in the world.
We arrived at Lofoten - an archipelago in the North of Norway and also a place that attracts tourists from all over the world to come here to travel in the summer. In this archipelago, the charming highlight is the image of small, pretty villages nestled along the road full of wild roses with signs for renting vacation homes with bustling salmon and snow fishing services. If you like, you can rent a cruise to Svalbard - a small island that is very well preserved for the development and preservation of polar bears that are on the world's red list.
However, what people are most looking forward to is the extremely famous phenomenon of "Northern Lights" and Lofoten is the place where you can enjoy this space best in Norway. Hansen said: according to the legend of the ancient Scandinavian people, they believe that when the sky reflects sparkling streaks of light running across the sky, that is also the time when the Goddess of War Valkyries puts on her armor to blind the dark forces from hell. To distinguish between good and bad people, the sun god also stands still and refuses to sleep to help the goddess Valkyries distinguish between humans and demons. With boundless faith, Scandinavian residents believe that when the aurora appears to signal the coming of the white night, it is also the time when death will be eliminated. Today, although scientists have explained this phenomenon, I still wish to hear more legends and myths of the gods of the Nordic land with a curious and excited mood.
There are countless sea fish in Lofoten. Indeed, after only a few hours of rowing and casting nets, Hansen and his host surprised us when they brought in three huge fish, estimated to weigh 6-7 kg each. That evening, we had soup and delicious grilled fish for the whole group to enjoy. Although dinner was at 7:30, the sky was as calm as it was around 3 pm; the sunlight still shone pink, gently warming everyone's skin, making up for the nine long, cold winter months.
Even though dinner was at 7:30, the sky was still as calm as it was around 3:00 pm; the sunlight still shone rosy, gently warming everyone's skin, making up for the nine long, cold winter months.
Hansen said that in winter, the weather in Norway is quite cold, so when summer comes, all citizens are supported by the Government to travel everywhere. As a Norwegian civil servant, you get a winter break and a vacation time of up to a month. In summer, they enjoy domestic trips with adventurous forms such as mountain climbing, exploring islands, learning gardening or driving their own car to camp from Norway to neighboring countries.
Chatting with Hansen, looking at the clock, it was already 12 o'clock at night but the sky was still as bright as day! The glass of wine made me ecstatic as I enjoyed a friendly dinner with the white-skinned, platinum-haired, open-minded and extremely friendly people. On the other side of the motel fence, a group of tourists were hugging and dancing to a melodious music that made everyone feel like the space had stopped. Holding a glass of wine, we went over to get acquainted and asked to learn to dance; together with the group of friends, we decided to fully enjoy the white night.
At 4am, sleepiness suddenly overtook me, and I went back to my room to rest. The host invited me in, and carefully pulled the thick, heavy curtains over the windows to keep me from being dazzled. Perhaps the wine had made me dizzy, because after a few minutes, I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, even though the sun was still overhead.
After a few days of fun in Lofoten, our journey continued to Troms and Nordland, two places not far from Lofoten. During our days here, we had the opportunity to experience a duck hunting trip on the lake and a very interesting mushroom picking trip in the forest. What I like most is that when you go into the forest, you can freely admire the beautiful birds singing loudly in the sky or the deer calmly watching people passing by. If you like to admire the mountain and forest scenery on a summer day when the sun never sets, you will be advised to stay in the forest areas for tourists, which is also an opportunity to practice slow living while immersing yourself in nature. There are also classes to practice forest skills and teach survival in risky environments led by skilled Norwegian tour guides.
During my short stay in Nordland, the peaceful atmosphere here made me forget about the internet and the constant turmoil of news that appeared daily on the mass media. The image of the bold pigeons in Nordland captivated me every morning when I woke up. How lovely it was to hear them cooing at the window and boldly flying right into my hand to beg for pieces of dry bread that every house had a bag on the porch to give to the birds to eat.
The journey to experience the beautiful aurora rays and the white night has brought me back to the peace that I thought I would never enjoy again. The quiet depth of the majestic mountains, the residence of the gods Thor, Odin, Loki, Frey… all left in me a wonderful impression of the beautiful Scandinavian peninsula.
More information:
+ “White Nights” is a wonderful natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer in some European countries, including Russia, allowing people to admire the sunset that lasts during the night. In Norway, “White Nights” take place from the end of June until mid-July. The best place to see the “White Nights” in Norway is the Lofoten Islands.
+ Transportation: Currently, there are no direct flights from Vietnam to Norway, but you can easily book flights with airlines such as Vietnam Airlines, Airfrance, Turkist Airlines... to this kingdom with transit points from Germany, Turkey, France..., then land at Âlesund or Oslo airport. Currently, there are a few companies in Vietnam that have made tours to Northern Europe such as TST, Saigontourist..., you can refer to the companies' websites for more details.
+ The currency of Norway is Krone (abbreviated as NOK). However, Norway has signed an agreement to use the common currency of Euro and USD. Therefore, you do not need to exchange Norwegian Krone for spending.
+ Services for foreign tourists coming to Norway to enjoy the white nights are quite diverse, including: fishing resorts, duck hunting, mountain climbing, camping, visiting bays and lakes and enjoying sea games, exploring conservation areas of polar bears, seals, whales... However, Asian tourists still have difficulty getting used to swimming in the sea because the northernmost sea of Norway is still quite cold in the summer.
