SoA and the Cat's Paw

SoA BAD: Hello, Hello, and welcome to the CCI Grid and today to the Lofoten Islands and please be quiet for a moment. 

Our second stop of the day, and a very optimistic SoA prepared to give us an uninterrupted explanation of a very beautiful, large, accurate, and enjoyable region on his grid, CCI  which he shares with Siwas. She's Norwegian, he's German, and their home grid is a delightful mix of the two cultures and sensibilities, with a lot of fantasy and humor thrown in.

SoA BAD: First, a quick note. Set your lighting to regional lighting to create an atmosphere that corresponds to a sunset at this time of year. You can take a look around the horse farm while I provide some information about Lofoten for those who are really interested. After that, we will walk across the island together.

Tosha Tyran: sounds good, Soa
Alex Salamander: beautiful light
James Atlloud: yes, wonderful windlight!

SoA BAD: The Lofoten Islands are a region in the Norwegian province of Nordland and part of an archipelago off the coast of northern Norway, consisting of about 80 islands. The Lofoten Islands are located about 100 to 300 km north of the Arctic Circle in the Atlantic Ocean, separated from the mainland by the Vestfjord. The largest islands are connected by bridges or tunnels. The Lofoten region has approximately 24,000 inhabitants and covers an area of 1,227 km². Only the large islands are accessible by roads, bridges, and tunnels; otherwise, the road network is very sparse, and most traffic and supplies are handled by ferries, ships, and boats.

Jumping from our first destination on Spacegrid to our second destination on CCI grid took a little bit of extra travel this week,  requiring a restart, or a return home between stops... and for a few of the group, the first destination just didn't happen, so we were all raring to go when we arrived at Lofoten. Address at the end of the post.
Petlove Petshop: Hi all : )
Forest Azure: hi! yes, logging off helped
James Atlloud: To make the hop I had to go back to home grid.
SoA BAD: The Lofoten Islands have been inhabited for around 6,000 years. Originally, the inhabitants lived from fishing and hunting. During the Viking Age, several settlements with chieftain farms were established. The region is also known for being a great place to observe the northern lights. In addition to tourism, the main source of income for the inhabitants of Lofoten is fishing and the associated industry.

SoA BAD: The Lofoten Islands are actually a mountain range of overwhelming beauty far out at sea. There is a jumble of mountains, lakes, rocks, fjords, fishing huts, and islands densely packed into a small area. The mountains are on average 500 to 600 meters high, but have a high mountain character throughout.

SoA BAD: In winter, there are six weeks of complete darkness from the beginning of December to mid-January, and before and after that it is somewhat dim during the day. In summer, there is midnight sun, with two months of light at night from mid-May to mid-July. We will now walk to the city, and a little later, each of you can copy and rez a motorboat and then go on your own exploration tour. See you here on the farm and then let's go
Thirza Ember: ok let's walk, we are good at walking
SoA BAD [de→en]: On the left a ferry, main means of transport on the Lofoten. On the other hand, a small boat yard and repair for boat. On the right one of the many waterfalls and a small swimming lake with camping. Typical floating water houses on the left
James Atlloud: And nudists!

Fantastic builder and native Norwegian, Siwas.

Thirza Ember: Siwas, have you been to Lofoten many times?
SIWAS S: I was not there often, I come from even further up, but Bad was fishing there
Dings Digital: is there a translation for the name Lofoten?
Thirza Ember: i think it means the foot of the lynx because of the shape of the islands
SoA BAD [de→en]: If a Tyrolean landscape is here for the Lofoten, it is realistic
Forest Azure: has a lynx a special foot?
Tosha Tyran: yes, Forest, a special linx foot... boah, this is beautiful!
Thirza Ember: think of a cat's paw print, the little toes are the islands

James Atlloud: My Danish wife always complained 'why put a blue stripe in our flag?"

SoA BAD [de→en]: Behind me the place where the Midsummer is celebrated on June 24th Of course with a lot of liquid, dance and fire

Tosha Tyran: does anyone know why so many houses in northern Europe are red and white? or rather: why not in the rest of the world?
Petlove Petshop: red's often the color of vitality.... ??

Tosha Tyran: they look damn beautiful
Petlove Petshop: and yes it's pretty!
Forest Azure: maybe they found a massive quantity of red paint?

Thirza Ember: are there really so many electric windmills in Lofoten?
SoA BAD [de→en]:Right in front of us a fishing camp with a gemschaftshaus and residential huts for 4 to 6 men. Here is the investor for the fish hall
Neo Nook: something smells fishy here
Thirza Ember: sushi!

SoA BAD [de→en]: We are now coming to a larger towns
James Atlloud: I see golden arches! Is the Filet-o-fish locally sourced? lol
Thirza Ember: like moscow!
Kimm Starr: The golden arches are every where

James Atlloud: This is so expansive!
SoA BAD [de→en]: Ok, you can now explore the city and shops and banks for 5 minutes, I smoke a cigarette and then go on, lol Take a look at the city, the yacht club with blues is below the promenade
Thirza Ember: like we were saying in moscow, it's interesting to see a rl place made by people who really know it
SoA BAD [de→en]: Ok, see, you don't want to explore
Thirza Ember: lol we explore with the cam hahahaha
Petlove Petshop: very natural looking sim!
Yara Eild: How long did it take you to do all this? It must be a lot of work.
Star Ravenhurst: There is so much detail here, it feels real.
SoA BAD [de→en]: The small shops are also typical, Large shopping centers are only available on 2 large islands.
Dings Digital: yes, love the small shops
Thirza Ember: I love the ham in the snackbar... now i'm hungry
Tosha Tyran: what surprises me is the amount of huge cars... I mean for islands. I just read: 2024 about 96 % of all new cars in Norway were electric
James.Atlloud: yes, @tosha, I've read the same about EVs
SoA BAD [de→en]: Outside you can see an entertainment boat, mostly all sailing ships for party and dance. And of course the water protection police and customs must not be missing
Thirza Ember: I fell in the sea... I knew that was too much Vodka
Star Ravenhurst: Thirza that is what you get for not sharing!
SoA BAD [de→en]: Here is a typical vacation and Fishing Resort of which there are now many. You go on vacation on the water, each house has your own boat
James Atlloud: I am admiring the Opensim Coast Guard!
Thirza Ember: they work hard James... lol that is the third time I fell in the water
Dings Digital: that is the most important thing
James Atlloud: Garcon... two cabernet please.
Tina Bey: This place is great!!!!!
Nara Nook: I know it's very relaxing to walk through here.
Petlove Petshop: it really is! I love the lighting and just everything!
Thirza Ember: Do you have parties here on the sim Soa?
SoA BAD [de→en]: No, not yet
Tosha Tyran: it is really fantastic Soa
Thirza Ember: it's modern, it's wild, and the water is quite dry
Koshari Mahana: are we all going boating?
Thirza Ember: I think I better just watch from the side, or I might kill someone... it's kind of fun to watch them go

SoA BAD [de→en]: If you don't want to go boat, you should follow me, I fly ahead, come after. Here again vacation houses but they are used by Norwegians themselves. And here everything is even a little more elegant with indoor pool, sauna. Well the boaters are on the way.

James Atlloud: my goodness - what army of designers helped build all this?!!
Thirza Ember: lovely architecture... this place must be a paradise in the summer but the winter - I wonder if it is a good place to be... you just stay home with a good book and a good bottle or two...
Star Ravenhurst: Probably cold
SoA BAD [de→en]: The Lofoten don't have so much snow in winter and we hardly colder than 10 degrees minus. A lot of snow and 30 degrees minus on the mainland, not here in the Atlantic, although we are on the Arctic Circle

Tina and Tosha had an undisclosed boating adventure - if you're curious about it, ask them, or better still, go over to Lofoten and try the boats yourself! IN this photo I'm not entirely sure if they had already fallen in the water... If you like driving things, this is one of the Great Grids for racing. Both the Nuerburgring and Bikers World are here, the first is an authentic copy of the famous rl racetrack, the second is a multilevel motorbike racetrack through all kinds of terrains and scenery.

Tina Bey: Sorry!! I think we already broke everything!!
Tosha Tyran: thank you, my hero... that was fun
Star Ravenhurst: I am surprised. I thought it would be colder.
Dings Digital: oh it is warmer here?
Thirza Ember: must be the Jet Stream

SoA BAD [de→en]: Houseboats to rent
Star Ravenhurst: This is a truly incredible build. Thank you for showing it to us.
Nara Nook: I wouldn't mind living in a houseboat like that
James Atlloud: Unbelievable - really a place to get lost in the ambiance.
SoA BAD [de→en]: And if you want to learn sailing in OS, properly with wind control, you can come to us on California Sailing. Everyone can sail in an hour. The Vikings are here too, but you already know them.

Dings Digital: wonderful place to explore, for vacation, and some snacks :)
SoA BAD [de→en]: There is more to see here in an hour
Thirza Ember: yes, we all need to return to explore more!
James Atlloud: And what a workout - got my steps in for sure.
Nara Nook: Thank you for having us it is a beautiful region
Tina Bey: yes!! Thank you for having us it is a beautiful region
James Atlloud: Thank you everybody! Another excellent Safari.
Tosha Tyran: Danke, Soa! Es war toll!

HG Address: hg.cc-group.cc:8002:CCI Lofoten