I first went to Narvik in 1975 on my
European gap year trip. As an impecunious student to be I felt
morally obliged to get my money's worth from the month's free rail travel
afforded me by my Interail ticket and determined to visit Narvik, simply
because it was the furthest North my ticket would take me. It turned
out to be my most expensive "free" destination as I ended up having to
stay at the youth hostel for two nights (due to an inconvenient change in
seasonal timetables) and consequently spent a week's accommodation budget
in two nights. I spent a further day's food budget by purchasing a
single banana (not that anyone was offering cheap local fare) and was
altogether in such a state of shock that I almost failed to notice the
staggeringly beautiful scenery. That was in September when the
tundra just glows with gold, red, orange and other intense colours; even
in these 1989 midsummer photos you might get some idea of the amazing
light. A word of warning: if you intend
going north to see the midnight sun, allow at least a few days, otherwise
you will, like me, end up with an impressive set of under-exposed photos
of the midnight rain! Another word of warning: prices have not gone
down since 1975 and even by Norwegian standards, Narvik is mind-numbingly
expensive.
Rather helpfully, the Tourist Information
office is closed at weekends and on public holidays...and most of the
rest of the time!
|