"Reine, Lofoten - Wonderful" a Reine Travel Page by deptlads

This is Reine in the Lofoten islands. In fact, this is the view from the living room of the "rorbu" (fisherman's cabin) where we stayed for a couple of days. Fantastic, isn't it?

Actually, I nearly cried when we arrived. It was perfect - the weather was bright and sunny; the scenery was stunning; the village was as picturesque as you could wish; the 'cabin' (think 'chalet' really) was spacious, comfortable, very nicely furnished, and wonderfully sited; the rorbu manager was exceptionally friendly and welcoming; it was quiet and peaceful.

We arrived after having spent a lovely, sunny day driving through the Lofoten islands, and I just felt very, very happy.

Reine is spread out a bit over a series of islands across the mouth of the wide Reinefjorden. The main part of the village is on a small flat-ish rocky island reached by a high causeway from the main road. At the north end of the island there is a cluster of 20 or so rorbuer - the typical "fishermen's cabins" that you get all over Lofoten. These ones (including the one pictured here) are mostly run by 'Reine Rorbuer' as holiday accommodation. It is all absurdly pictureseque and scenic - and highly recommended!

Don't come to Lofoten if you don't like fish (at least not during the first half of the year). Everwhere in and around the villages there are racks for drying the cod that they catch in the Vestfjord from January to April.

In this part of Lofoten they seem to use horizontal racks, and the fish are tied in pairs by the tail and then hung over the poles to dry for a few months. Strangely, there is really not much of a fishy smell at all, and even more strangely, the seagulls (of which there are many) do not just steal all the nice food away. We did ask about why this was not a problem, but never got a satisfactory answer.