Faraway Files #40

On By oregongirlaroundtheworldIn Faraway Files18 Comments

TRAVEL BLOG COMMUNITY

FORTY WEEKS OF SHARING TRAVEL STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Faraway Files is forty! Forty weeks old anyway. And how fun it has been to see how many places this fabulous travel community has visited. Need holiday inspiration for your next vacation? Look no further. Check out the link up below. Are you a travel writer? Take us somewhere. Link up your travel related post. We’d love to see.

As Faraway Files hosts, Katy, Clare and I love our link up and this supportive travel community. With over 130 contributors, we have read about 80 countries and territories around the world. If you join in and leave a link please reciprocate and comment on the hosts’ posts as well as at least two others that spark an interest. If we see a pattern of people not joining in, sadly we have decided to remove the links of those posters in the future.

Today I’m sharing the first of many posts from our recent Northern Norway trip. My heart is full of nature and wonder and awe and I have so much to show you. Ten days above the Arctic Circle in summer. It was epic. All of it. But one of my favorite experiences was the day we drove to see the world’s strongest maelstrom. Only 30km outside of the darling town Bodø, here you can witness 400 million cubic meters of churning, swirling and surging aqua awesomeness. You really should Visit Bodø and see Saltstraumen. Let me show you why.

FARAWAY FILES TRAVEL BLOG COMMUNITY LINKUP #40
WANT TO JOIN IN?

Jump in! The water is fine! Faraway Files is a creative community of travel bloggers who inspire and share each other’s posts. All three hosts will try to read and comment on every post and we’ll share them on social media too. Each week we’ll choose our favorites and highlight them on our blogs and social media channels using #FarawayFiles.

HOW IT WORKS:
  • Link up one travel-related post and add the Faraway Files badge onto the post or your blog (code below) or link back to the hosts.
  • The link up will go live every Thursday at 8 am UK time (9 am, CET) until midnight on Friday. It will alternate between Untold Morsels, Suitcases and Sandcastles, and Oregon Girl around the World.
  • Link ups work best if everyone shares so please comment on all three of the hosts’ posts and at least two others.

LINK UP HERE TODAY ON OREGON GIRL AROUND THE WORLD

TWEET US YOUR POSTS

(@suitandsand, @UntoldMorsels, @oregongirlworld) using the hashtag #FarawayFiles and we’ll retweet to our followers.

SHARE TRAVEL IMAGES ON INSTAGRAM

Tag @FarawayFiles and #FarawayFiles – and we’ll repost our favorites.


WE’LL PIN YOUR LINKS

We are posting each week’s links on community Pinterest page – join in over there.


FIND US ON FACEBOOK

Find Faraway Files on Facebook. Like us. We’ll like your page. We’re friendly that way.

GRAB BADGE CODE HERE:
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World’s Wildest Whirlpools | Saltstraumen Maelstrom, Bodø Norway

On By oregongirlaroundtheworldIn Norway83 Comments
Where and why to see the strongest maelstrom in the world

But what exactly IS a maelstrom I can hear you asking? Is it some kind of dark and ominous storm cloud of reckoning? Or something you might see in Lord of the Rings or read of in an epic like The Odyssey? Spoiler alert – it’s in the video below. The word maelstrom actually means crushing current. And Saltstraumen in Nordland Norway has it. Here’s why you need to see it. For yourself.

Saltstraumen Maelstrom

Just 30 kilometers west and then south from the town of Bodø you will find one of the most amazing places in Northern Norway. In anywhere really. Every 6 hours when the tide changes you can play witness to an astonishing display of Mother Nature’s brute forces here at Saltstraumen. This is the world’s strongest maelstrom with 400 million cubic meters of water pushing through a narrow strait that separates the islands of Knaplundsøya and Straumsøya. The strait spans 3 kilometers but is only 150 meters wide at the smallest point. When the tide changes, you can witness impressive surges as the water rushes to move between the massive Skjerstadfjord to the outer Saltfjord.

It is beyond mesmerizing to watch as the water tries to move in or out, depending on the time of day. Beautiful swirling whirlpools are created and water bubbles up in huge powerful pushes. The vortices of these can reach between 10 and 30 meters in diameter and are up to 5 meters deep. This is a dangerous place as speeds on the surface of the water may move at nearly 40 kilometers per hour. To put it simply. It is awesome. Seriously. AWE. SOME. As in full of awe. I’m still full of awe. You have to see it.

WHERE TO SEE SALTSTRAUMEN
#1 UNDER THE BRIDGE | KNAPLUNDSØYA SIDE

From Bodø, travel west on Route 80 and then south on Norwegian County Road 17. There are several viewing points, but start on the Knaplundsøya side (first parking lot on the right coming from Bodø.) Park down underneath the bridge and then follow the path to the strait. Here you can watch the water as it rushes into the narrow passage and the water pushes and churns close to shore. At peak on this side, it not difficult to get a real sense of just how much water is moving through here. If you want, you can carefully climb up into the little lighthouse here to get a better vantage point over the vortices.

#2 FROM TOP OF BRIDGE

Satisfied with the water here, you should really walk back up to the parking lot and head across the bridge. Stay on the right side. The views from the top give you a better idea of the amazing size of these whirlpools. Watch as boats expertly maneuver the calm (ish) water between the swirling and surging sides. You can take a safari in a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) and run right through it. And if you are a high-speed adrenaline junkie, you should do it. But I personally think you get a better sense for the magnitude of Saltstraumen from above. Cost? Free.

#3 STRAUMSØYA SIDE

There are viewpoints on the far side, but we felt the best were closer to the island of Knaplundsøya.

WHERE TO WET YOUR WHISTLE NEAR SALTSTRAUMEN

Marveling at maelstroms can make one hungry. Good news. You can try the local fish at nearby Kjelen Kafé with beautiful views out across the Skjerfjord. Do you fish? This is a perfect place to try to pluck a torsk (cod), kveite (halibut) or sei (coalfish/saithe) from the rushing cold waters. No pole, no problem – rent one here. Or just sit on the deck and order fish for dinner. We tried the sei and the kveite served old school style with potatoes and vegetables. The sei biff (saithe steak) was delicious with sauteed onions. They also have house-made desserts, draft beer and ice cream to help keep everyone happy if fish isn’t your thing.

 

Kjelen Kafé
Ripnesveien 40
8056 Saltstraumen
Opening hours summer season June 26 – August 20 | 10:00 – 22:00
Limited hours other seasons, check website.

LOOK OUT FOR THE LOCALS

Keep your eyes peeled on the way there and the way back and you might spot the elusive locals. MOOSE. Not minutes after seeing the sign, we spied two huge moose in the trees, which just added to the wonder of this beautiful area.

GOOD TO KNOW:
TIDE TABLES

Check the tides before you set out to Saltstraumen, the whirlpools are the widest at high and low tide. You can check here on the Bodø Kommune website and make sure you’ll enjoy the most water.

BUSSES TO SALTSTRAUMEN

Nordlandbuss line 200 takes you from Bodø Airport or Bodø Center to Saltstraumen. It takes between 30-40 minutes. Having a car allows you to time the tides, but can be expensive to rent in Norway. On a beautiful day in summer, there is no problem hiking and exploring the area around Salten in order to wait out water at peak.

SPECIAL THANKS

A huge tusen takk to Norwegian photographer Gøren Kristensen who shared insider tips with me before our trip. Check out his gorgeous feed on Instagram and tell him Oregon Girl said to say hej!

Oregon Girl Around the World

Faraway Files #38

On By oregongirlaroundtheworldIn Faraway Files14 Comments

TRAVEL BLOG COMMUNITY

THIRTY-EIGHT WEEKS OF SHARING TRAVEL STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Hej from Copenhagen! We’ve had a blast in a summer house on the Danish island of Bornholm right as school set out, but our real summer vacation starts this weekend and I am feeling free as a bird. My husband and I will soon be soaking up the midnight sun above the Arctic Circle to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. What a long strange trip it’s been. In all the best ways.

That is a long time. And we’ve been around the world. I feel so grateful that we have been able to share some of it with our children. But this trip. It’s just for us. We’re headed to the Lofoten Islands in northern Norway. I am seriously excited. And apparently, we seek out islands to mark important dates in our relationship.

We spent our honeymoon in the Cayman Islands; our first real holiday that we saved and paid for our own selves. For our 10th anniversary, we explored stunning San Juan Island in Washinton State. I can’t definitively tell you where the next 10 years will take us, but I wish only for a continued sense of adventure, curiosity and wonder. Together.

 I’ll be updating my Instagram stories from the road if you want to come follow along! I see mountains and fjords in my immediate future. What about you? Off to somewhere fun? Just back from an amazing experience? Do share! Take us some place far away! Today I’m sharing a little lesson in how to hygge in a Danish summer house. Don’t worry, these rules aren’t strict. Just there to help everyone enjoy. As it turns out the Danish concept of hygge has a lot to do with community.

As Faraway Files hosts, Katy, Clare and I love our link up and this supportive travel community. With over 130 contributors, we have read about 80 countries and territories around the world. If you join in and leave a link please reciprocate and comment on the hosts’ posts as well as at least two others that spark an interest. If we see a pattern of people not joining in, sadly we have decided to remove the links of those posters in the future.

Here are my favorite posts from last week!

Favorites Week 37

Do you ever feel like everyone you know is in one place and you aren’t? That’s how I feel about Greece this summer. Seems like everyone has been blown in that direction and when you catch the beauty of Kos – you can see why. Cathy of Mummy Travels shows us what to see and where to feel the bubbles at the beach. Curious? Check out her post!

11 THINGS TO DO IN KOS WITH KIDS | Mummy Travels

If you haven’t met Nicky and Dave of Go Live Young, pop over and say hej! They took their three boys around the world and this week shared what to do in and around Beijing. Beautiful and inspiring pics!

FIVE DAYS IN BEIJING | Go Live Young
Do you ever get a little bit obsessed with a place because you see it all over your social media accounts or in every must do list that floats over your news feed? Svalbard is one of those places for our family, mostly from my teenage son who has put it at the top of his travel wish list for awhile now. But thanks to Vanessa at Snow in Tromso for keeping it real and giving us the low down on what to expect and where to stay when planning a visit to this far north Norwegian territory.

This week I’m teaching a little about that oh so Danish concept of hygge and how to find it in a summer house. There are a few rules on how to rent a sommerhus and how to make it happy for all when here visiting Denmark. Don’t worry – everyone can handle these rules. Happy summer from Scandiland!

FARAWAY FILES TRAVEL BLOG COMMUNITY LINKUP #38
WANT TO JOIN IN?

Jump in! The water is fine! Faraway Files is a creative community of travel bloggers who inspire and share each other’s posts. All three hosts will try to read and comment on every post and we’ll share them on social media too. Each week we’ll choose our favorites and highlight them on our blogs and social media channels using #FarawayFiles.

HOW IT WORKS:
  • Link up one travel-related post and add the Faraway Files badge onto the post or your blog (code below) or link back to the hosts.
  • The link up will go live every Thursday at 8 am UK time (9 am, CET) until midnight on Friday. It will alternate between Untold Morsels, Suitcases and Sandcastles, and Oregon Girl around the World.
  • Link ups work best if everyone shares so please comment on all three of the hosts’ posts and at least two others.

LINK UP HERE TODAY ON OREGON GIRL AROUND THE WORLD

TWEET US YOUR POSTS

(@suitandsand, @UntoldMorsels, @oregongirlworld) using the hashtag #FarawayFiles and we’ll retweet to our followers.

SHARE TRAVEL IMAGES ON INSTAGRAM

Tag @FarawayFiles and #FarawayFiles – and we’ll repost our favorites.


WE’LL PIN YOUR LINKS

We are posting each week’s links on community Pinterest page – join in over there.


FIND US ON FACEBOOK

Find Faraway Files on Facebook. Like us. We’ll like your page. We’re friendly that way.

GRAB BADGE CODE HERE:
Oregon Girl Around the World
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