Trading Posts

     We have now visited three former trading posts along the coast, and it has been interesting to see how each is faring in modern times. Trading posts, or handelssted, were strategically placed along the coast on major shipping routes or by fishing grounds. They not only had warehouses, but families would go for social gatherings and to get supplies and mail. Some had schools.  The first was  Mageroya, which I described earlier. It is now a simple restaurant and music venue. The second was called Selsoya. It has been in the same family for 150 years. Since it is summer vacation for most Norwegians, the extended family has come back to help out, working in the store or fixing the docks. It had a very nice restaurant in the old schoolhouse and an active general store and fish plant with giant freezers. Residents of the surrounding islands come there for groceries, hardware, and fishing gear. Boats from the fish farms came and went, loading equipment and offloading fish. There is a brewery on the island. The marina was busy and the next night there was going to be a concert. The ferry and cruise ships charged through the very narrow strait. 

Selsoya harbor

I think something got lost in the translation

The active fish operation. They let Nico charge our electric outboard engine in the building.

The store. We bought the BEST smoked salmon (smoked on the island). It really had everything one could need tucked away in corners.

An old sign. They loved their coffee and tobacco.

The local island beer.

The owner made this cake for the King of Norway when he visited a few years ago. It is a traditional cake with a shortbread crust, an almond filling, and a top that is a shortbread, egg white lattice.

Nico had scrambled eggs and the fabulous smoked salmon. I had melted brie, nuts, bacon, and local honey.

The old school house. The present owner went there as a kid.

The trading post's location. One wouldn't think of it as a main shipping route, but it is pretty protected.

I don't usually buy beer for its label, but I loved this one.

     The third trading post was called Hopsjoen. We arrived on a Friday night when a weekend festival was happening. The little marina was packed, but someone left just as we arrived, and we slipped in. We enjoyed live music and a plate full of cold shrimp - the wonderful variety that we used to get in Maine (Pendalis borealis) before they moved north. The upstairs of the building is a whaling museum, complete with movies, harpoon guns, and canned whale meat. Many summer people congregate there in their powerboats to enjoy the restaurant. All three former posts had similar architecture. Luckily, they are still being kept up and continuing the tradition of a place for social interaction and food.

A lovely location, also in a narrow, protected strait.

  

There was an old church next door, built in the 1300s.

I managed to find a couple of horses. There is an old farm building from the 1800s and they still keep sheep and horses like they used to.

A herring net from the old days.

The building was against the rocks. The entrance to the third-floor museum was from the walkway.

New addition! After I posted this, we passed by a fourth trading post, Rugsund, pictured below. Familiar architecture by now.