Scenic Myrland beach, Flakstadoy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Lofoten Islands Friday Photo Series

Scenic Myrland beach, Flakstadoy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Sunset at Myrland Beach, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 2013

Things will be a bit quite around here while I finish up the last few weeks of my travels before heading back to California in November.

In the mean time, I invite you over to 68 North where my weekly ‘FRIDAY PHOTO‘ series is nearing two years of posts.

Or, you can also see where I’m at and the images you’ll get to look forward to by checking out my FACEBOOK or INSTAGRAM pages, where It’s a bit easier to keep regular updates…

 

HIghland Park Distillery Tour Orkney Scotland

Orkney – Highland Park Distillery

HIghland Park Distillery Tour Orkney Scotland

Photo: A dram of Highland Park Whisky at the Distillery, Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland.  October 2013

During my first few visit to Orkney I somehow managed to always miss making a visit to the Highland Park distillery in Kirkwall; probably because I was a cheap backpacker back in those days 10+ years ago.  But now that I’m getting a bit older, I accept the fact that I should treat myself to some pleasures every once in a while.  Whisky is one of them.

I’m no stranger to Highland Park, and so on a typically grey and misty day after a four year absence from Orkney, I decided the best way to hide from the weather was with a distillery tour.

While I have not been on a high amount of distillery tours, I will say this one was one of my favorites.  Perhaps it is the Orcadian atmosphere and my romanticism of the place (after the Lofoten Islands, Orkney is one of my most favorite places in the world), but the smells of the fermenting barley in the cool island air seemed to be perfectly at place among the dark gray stone building beneath an even darker grey Orcadian sky.

At the end of the tour, I was feeling sufficiently pleased, that couldn’t leave before getting a bottle of 15 year old, which will be joining me this autumn for a road trip through Norway and Scotland.

HIghland Park Distillery Tour Orkney Scotland

Photo: Entrance to Highland Park Distillery in typical Orcadian weather, Kirkwall, Orkney.  October 2013

HIghland Park Distillery Tour Orkney Scotland

Photo: Peat fire for barley malting at Highland Park Distillery, Kirlwall, Orkney.  October 2013

HIghland Park Distillery Tour Orkney Scotland

Photo: Drying barley at Highland Park Distillery, Kirkwall, Orkney.  October 2013

HIghland Park Distillery Tour Orkney Scotland

Photo: Drying barley at Highland Park Distillery, Kirkwall, Orkney.  October 2013

HIghland Park Distillery Tour Orkney Scotland

Photo: Aging Highland Park whisky, Kirkwall, Orkney.  October 2013

HIghland Park Distillery Tour Orkney Scotland

Photo: Highland Park Visitors center, Kirkwall, Orkney.  October 2013

Looking down on Kvalvika beach from near summit of Ryten, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Kvalvika Beach – Lofoten Islands

Looking down on Kvalvika beach from near summit of Ryten, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Summer sun shines across Kvalvika Beach from the summit of Ryten, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  August 2012

was looking back through some old photos looking for something to post while traveling and came across these images.  I have posted the first one several times, as it is one of my favorite images of one of Lofoten’s most spectacular locations, Kvalvika beach.

The second image I’m not too sure if I have posted before.  But what caught me was the contrast between the two images.  They were taken 42 minutes apart, but might as well have been taken on different days.

Every time I hike up Ryten, I hike with the intention of staying for sunset.  But I also hope to get some nice light shining over Kvalvika beach.  Luckily this is an afternoon/evening event in summer, but there still can be quite a bit of time passed between a shining sun and sunset.  Time that I often spend shivering in the cold northern wind that seems to constantly blow across the summit of Ryten.

But the two scenes seem like such contrasts.  The first, the brilliant golden sunlight shining over the green hills seems so warm and inviting.  The second, dark and cold in appearance is more true to the day, where I was bitterly cold during the hours I spent up high in the mountains.

Looking down on Kvalvika beach from near summit of Ryten, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Twilight light over Kvalvika Beach from the summit of Ryten, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  August 2012