Aka: Who goes to Norway and and goes Vintage Shopping?
Me! That’s who. The object of the Photo Tour to Norway was to see the northern lights and visit the Lofoten Islands.(see above image). And I did both! However, I got a bit sidetracked by one of my favorite activities…vintage shopping.
If you read my last post “Why you need a good travel agent” you know we almost did not make this trip. 36 hours before we were supposed to depart Lufthansa announces that there will be a strike for five days. The strike would have forced us to miss some important days of the tour. So my trusty travel agent fixed it by having us fly into to Tromsø, Norway one day earlier than planned. But since we had already given ourselves a buffer day this left us with TWO WHOLE days before the tour started. What is a girl supposed to do with two whole extra days in a foreign land? Bingo! Go vintage shopping.
I packed too light!
I had only brought two pairs of footwear for this trip. I was trying to keep it light because I was carrying so much camera equipment. The big ass Canadian snow boots that I was planning on using at night when we were going to be out 8 hours to shoot the Aurora. I had to wear them on the plane to give me more room in the suitcase. The others were a pair of walk around shoes in the form of Skechers. However, it was snowy and icy on all the sidewalks. How could I have known that ahead of time? Duh! Maybe traveling to north of the Arctic circle could have been a clue. I found myself desperately looking for some nice sturdy walking boots in order not to slip, fall and kill myself. Off shopping we went.
While we were walking the town we unexpectedly passed a vintage shop. I love to shop vintage. I have many items in my house that are vintage. And I’m a decorating fanatic. It’s not like I was looking for a credenza. But you never know what little gem your’e going to find. I spotted it as soon as we entered the store. A vintage full length mink coat.
The fur dilemma
I was never in the market for a fur coat even though I live in the Chicago area and spend much of my time in Toronto with my partner. I wouldn’t buy fur for several reasons including being well aware of the controversy around fur and also because I could never afford one. The coat had just come into the shop. It was the first day on display. On a whim I tried it on. It fit like a glove, including the sleeve length which is alway problematic for me because I’m petite. No knuckle dragging in this family! When I asked for the price I was gobsmacked. It was one tenth of the original price. I told the salesperson I needed to think about it.
What I really needed to think about was not the price but rather buying and wearing fur. I’m a big proponent of recycling and repurposing. Even though fur coats are now illegal in many places there are still plenty of them around. All the major fashion designers are using faux fur…which is made from plastic. Seriously! The little critters who were used for this vintage coat had been dead for a couple of decades. What’s the point of throwing them in a landfill? Why not let a petite, frugal, retired Spanish teacher buy it and wear it? So I went back and bought it. And I love it. It’s so warm; perfect for Midwestern winters. And because it’s not a credenza it fit in my suitcase…along with the walking boots.
Now for the beauty of Norway.
We found Norway enchanting. I even developed a new fondness for winter even though I’m a candy ass when it comes to cold weather. My level of comfort hovers around 72 to 78 degrees. The wintry landscape was spectacular. And I was prepared for the cold…for the most part. I layered like crazy, had electric gloves, the aforementioned big ass Canadian Baffin boots, and a couple of pairs of WoolX long underwear. I wear the last item around the house! And for my winter walks at home.
Below is a small gallery of the incredible beauty of wintry Norway. Click on the images to see in full view.
The trip was even better than I had anticipated. Our professionals with Open Sky Expeditions were fantastic. Equally fantastic was the extra bonus of vintage shopping and coming home with a real ‘find’.
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