🇳🇴 ~ Vardø

Breathing the winter polar wind in the extreme north-east

01 March 2025 to 01 May 2025
Looking on a map, Vardø is an extremely distant town closer to the North Pole than it actually is from Paris, and from where Russia is just a few kilometers away. Nonetheless, people live there and have been for hundred years.
This is a town that somehow lives during long polar nights and through regular arctic storms. I decided that I wanted to see it during those moments, in arctic winter. This gallery shows life moments in and around Vardø in the second half of winter.

Arriving to Vardø

The drive itself is an adventure, often with extremely icy roads, very strong winds and low visibility. But sometimes... the sky clears up, the road dries up and reindeers appear!

Just accross a channel from Vardø we can see the island of Hornøya, famous for its puffins and bird's cliff.
Clear nights are rare, but when they happen stargazing is... exceptional, with regular auroras.
The town is located on a butterfly-shaped island, with the fishing and Hurtigruten harbour in the middle. There aren't many people outside, but when they do they go out well-equiped!

Arctic storms

The wind is permanent on the island. Sometimes it's just a breeze and some gusts, and sometimes... A real storm kicks in.

It sometimes even feels apocalyptic...

Hurtigruten

Because of how exposed the roads are under such an extreme climate, the Hurtigruten is a key link for coastal cities in Northern Norway.

Vardø's east coast and the Drakkar

The longest half of the island is exposed to an incredible sunset light, and it's possible to hike to the northernmost point while passing by a drying fish rack and an artistic Drakkar.

Witches memorial

Vardø is also famous for the witches memorial. It's such a very strange building that gathers hundred of names and testimonials from dark times when accusations of witchcraft were frequent. A good (and dark) book on the topic is Witches of Vardø, by Anya Bergman.

Another part of the memorial contains a chair in fire in the middle of mirrors. The wind blowing in holes in the wall generates very mysterious sounds - It quickly made me feel quite uncomfortable so I guess it reached its goal! A lot of imprisonment happened in the fortress that is still open to the public.

Leaving Vardø

This place is exceptional, and it exceeded any expectations. Between the rough weather, the very kind and welcoming community, the unforgettable views.. This will definitely be a very special travel memory.
Just as they welcomed us on arrival, reindeers were also there when driving away.