Nordkap, Europe's northernmost outpost

Since we were driving north anyway, it was probably a good idea to continue, we thought. We’ll probably never drive this far north again. With this reasoning, we suddenly found ourselves at Nordkap, Europe’s northernmost outpost. At the far end of the island of Magerøya, which you reach along winding roads and an underwater tunnel, you’ll find Nordkap and its visitor center Nordkapp Hall.

The road up to the plateau where Nordkap is located is magnificent and the nature is wonderful. However, it is not for the faint of heart. The roads are narrow and sometimes very steep and winding. When we were here, it was also so terribly windy that it was a bit difficult to stay on the road. Watch the video below as I bounce in the wind as if I were on the moon. 🙂

Out on the cape it really feels like you are at the end of the world. This day wasn’t particularly clear, but you still didn’t see anything but endless sea; the next stop before the North Pole is Svalbard. If you turn your gaze to the other side, you instead see dramatic cliffs and steep slopes. Of course, you should also climb up to take a photo of the large globe that is the famous landmark of the North Pole.

Another beautiful and somewhat moving landmark is Children of the Earth. It is a collection of seven circular bronze statues created by children from all seven continents. The idea is that they together should symbolize friendship and unity, perhaps especially important in times like these. Every year in June, a ceremony is held here to remind us of community and that we are one people.

Now, it is primarily the environment that makes you want to visit Nordkap, but if you still want some history about the place and to get indoors for a while, you can visit Nordkapphallen. However, be prepared to get a bit of a shock: the entrance alone cost 360 NOK per person, and that doesn’t include the parking fee, which isn’t free either. I read somewhere that it was Norway’s most expensive public toilet. 🙂 Anyway, there are a few more things than toilets here, and nowadays there are also toilets outside. But anyway, it was nice to come here and it was especially nice to get a little warm after being out in the wind.

Inside the hall there is, among other things, an exhibition about the hardships that were required to get here about 100-150 years ago. I wrote at the beginning that the road was winding and narrow; there is, after all, a road here, but it wasn’t like that back then. As a reminder of the first Asian visitor, there is a small exhibition dedicated to the Thai King Chulalongkorn who in 1907 made the arduous journey here. Furthermore, there is also a small wedding chapel for those who want to get married and don’t find the usual wedding logistics challenging enough. 🙂

If you get hungry, there is a café and a restaurant here. We actually booked a table at the restaurant for the evening. In the right season, you can sit in the restaurant and watch the northern lights, which is certainly a fantastic experience. However, this day we decided to postpone our dinner and head down to the main town of Honningsvåg instead. Given the weather, it seemed wise. Instead, we had a warming soup for lunch in the café before we continued our exploration of the various exhibitions. Since it was the wrong season for the northern lights, we instead enjoyed the wonderful light at Cave of Lights, which in a neat way simulated the northern lights so it almost felt like it was real.

It was truly a thrilling experience to visit Nordkap; it’s one of those things that many people have on their bucket list and now we can tick it off. As you can see, we weren’t really impressed with the visitor center, but the place was spectacular. As a final note, you can watch our film below.