Blogs from Bardu, Northern Norway, Norway, Europe

Today was going to be about exploring the area around Harstad….umm…..until we walked outside and noticed one of the rental car back tires was very low. Brian inspected and sure enough, there was a screw. Screwed seems to be the operative word. We called the closest rental outlet at the airport who gave us the “It’s not our problem, call the guys you rented from” so we tried that. They were far away and told us to use the Fix-a-Flat and the portable compressor. We learned all about how that little gem of a kit works and we were on the road in a few minutes. However, you shouldn't drive fast or far with a screw still in your tire so we didn’t want to go as far as we planned. We explored just an hour ... read more

It was our first full night in the land of the midnight sun. It's daylight 24/7. After a light breakfast of eggs, bacon, muesli, bread, and cheese, we hit the open road. We visited one of several white beaches that look very much like the Caribbean. It's still only about 50 deg F, so we weren't fooled too much. Next stop, the government liqueur store. Success after several failed attempts! We loaded up on wine for future wine-thirties and Amy got her much-loved pistachio ice cream with a new bonus - dipped in dark chocolate. (Brian likes it too!). After a 3 hour ride through the snow-capped mountains of Bardu, we arrived at the Polar Park. It's a combination wildlife preserve and zoo. The enclosures are huge wooded areas (acres and acres) fenced in but house ... read more