Only place in the world ‘without time’
A tiny fishing village where the sun doesn’t set for 69 days is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Home to just 300 people, the island’s residents have chosen not to live by strict time conventions and instead “do what they want — when they want”.
Sommarøy, meaning ‘summer island’ has constant sunlight between May 18 to July 26 every year.
You can walk across the sandy beaches at 2am, and stroll among the gorgeous Arctic mountains while others are sleeping.
Due to its northern location, it hardly ever gets warm in Sommarøy, with average temperatures between seven and 15 degrees.
And in the winter, the midnight sun is replaced by constant darkness, which occurs between November and January.
The long polar nights are perfect for seeing the Aurora Borealis, which can light up the sky at any time during the “day” or “night”.
The island’s economy depends on fishing and tourism and there’s so much to do for visitors, including hiking, swimming and kayaking.
Time free zone
Due to its unusual daylight hours, Sommarøy exists without the normal time constraints placed on society.
In fact, the iconic Sommarøy Bridge, which is used as a way to access the island is covered in watches from visitors, who want to ditch the concept of time while on the island.
In 2019, the inhabitants launched a campaign to make Sommarøy “time free”.
“In many cases this can be linked to the feeling of being trapped by the clock”, ” Kjell Ove Hveding, the leader of the campaign said.
“We will be a time-free zone where everyone can live their lives to the fullest … Our goal is to provide full flexibility, 24/7.
“If you want to cut the lawn at 4am, then you can do it.”
The campaign called for opening hours to be abolished, and for people do be allowed to do whatever they liked at any time of day.
Residents of the island said: “Here we enjoy every minute of the midnight sun, and yes, a coffee with friends on the beach at 2am is a normal thing.”
It was later revealed that the campaign was partly a marketing ploy by Visit Norway, to boost tourism to the island.
However, the island’s residents did have a meeting to sign a petition to become the word’s first time-free zone, and their unique attitude to time is real.
“We apologise as we should have been [clearer] from the start about the role of the agency”, Marianne Mork, former head of business communications for Visit Norway, told CNN.
“However, the initiative is real and came from the islanders themselves, and their time-free way of living is real.”
