Me and my daughter are now in Norway. We live in the city of Buda. In Norwegian, the name of the city is written Bodø.
Every week we go to one of the Lofoten Islands.
The first island for our exploration is Serland.
First quick impressions:
- The island is not a tourist, but a working one.
- Everywhere on the island there are dryers for fish.
- Time on the island is stuck at the level of the 18th century.
About 600 people permanently live on the island.
In winter, professional fishermen live and work here.
The season ends in April and the fishermen leave the island.
In summer, tourists come here and stay in the houses of professional fishermen.
The village of Værøy has a hospital, a school, a beautiful church, a shop, a police and municipal office.
Serland Island - the island of professional fishermen.
Serland Island is an island of professional fishermen. The largest fishery in Nordland for cod, herring, mackerel, blue halibut, and capelin is concentrated here.
Serland's "business card" (chip, "face") is cod. Dried cod. There are many dryers on the island. The largest dryers are for cod fillets. Cod heads are dried separately.
The word "cod" itself comes from the Old Norse word turskskr, which means turrfiskr (dried fish).
Fish are dried by sun and wind. If the fish is unsalted, then it is called boknafisk. If the fish is salty, then it is called “klipfisk”. Norwegian fishermen only began salting fish in the 18th century when they gained access to cheap salt from Europe.
In addition to dried fish, on the island of Serland we found sandy beaches of fantastic beauty.
We also found an amazing, old fishermen's village on the island. But I will talk about it next time.
