mountains

The Family Hytte/ Cabin

A hytte is a cozy Norwegian cabin, often in the mountains, and used as an escape from the stress and noise of everyday life. Both Ole Magnus and his brother Christian have cabins a bit outside of Hønefoss. I have memories of spending Christmas at the cabin back in 2005, and maybe some vague memories of spending time here back when I was 4. But despite all of the time I’ve spent in Norway the last few years, I hadn’t made it back to the cabins. However, we made it a priority to get some hytte time in this trip. We left Hønefoss late morning, stopped for groceries (and ice cream), and made it to the cabin by the afternoon.

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OJ led us up the mountain which proved more taxing than anticipated. There was still a good amount of snow left up there, so navigating the snow patches and swampy areas took time.

Once we reached the lake, we hesitantly took a dip. OJ was the first one in the water, and he didn’t exactly make it look enjoyable. Nevertheless, I still managed to dunk myself before rushing back onto land to dry off and get dressed. Kayla was the only wimpy one, and only made it in up to her knees. It was really, really cold.

After we put our layers back on, we enjoyed some Coronas and chocolate before heading back down to the cabin.

We spent the night playing cards and boardgames, all of which OJ won. We cooked a yummy stir-fry and put a dent on both the bottles of tequila and fernet. Of course, it wasn’t time for bed until the sun already started rising.

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Our trip to Å

“Å” is one of the three extra letters in the Norwegian alphabet, but it is also the name of a village that sits on the southern end of the Lofoten archipelago. Maria, Margit and I spent our third day in Lofoten on a road trip down to Å.

Unfortunately (or luckily) I don’t know how to drive a manual car, so I was simply along for the ride. Thanks for being my chauffeur, ladies!

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I spent the whole car ride with my camera around my neck, constantly asking them to slow down in order to capture a through-the-window shot of the stunning surroundings.

Crystal clear water
Shot out of the car window

We made numerous pit-stops on our way down to Å, the first being at Ramberg Beach.

They are cute.
Ramberg Beach Selfie!
Swag Sisters
Ramberg Beach

The next stop was in Sund, an area known for their welded bird sculptures. The museum required a ticket to enter, (which we didn’t pay for,) so I don’t know much more about it.

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Another pit-stop, too pretty to drive passed.
The Sund bird museum

Shortly after Sund, we stopped to pick up a french hitch-hiker headed towards Å. He was more skeptical of us than we were of him, and he definitely didn’t catch our humor or sarcasm.

Outside of Reine
An Å cinnamon bun!
Honestly I forget where I took this, but I think it’s near Å?

Although she was missed, we decided it was a good thing Vigdis didn’t join us on our road trip. She would have been annoyed with our constant car-stopping, photo-taking, and selfie-spinning selves. Margit had to run away from a seagull that decided to attack her in Reine, and almost fell off the rocks in Å, (pictured below.) We were tourists, and we weren’t trying to hide it.

Hiking up Skottinden

Our second day in Leknes began like most days, with bread, coffee, and laughs. While Vigdis was hard at work, Margit, Maria, and I walked to Leknessjøen (Leknes Lake) in complete awe of our surroundings. With every turn we were faced with a new landscape just as jaw-dropping as the last. We were reminded of just how small Leknes really is when we ran into the lady Maria and I hitch-hiked with the day before. After tanning (like Norwegians) by the lake, we headed back to prepare dinner.

Vigdis returned from work just in time for dinner. After loading up on food and coffee, we set out on our first hike up Skottinden. As you can see below, Skottinden is a steep mountain with unique shape that stands out from the landscape.

 

As we began our trip to the summit, I realized my legs weren’t quite as strong as they used to be.

I had trouble keeping up with the Norwegian mountain-goddesses… but I am going to blame it on the constant amazing views.

We carefully maneuvered past a hole of unknown depth, (that took the life of a woman back in 1994,) in order to reach the summit. As if the views during the hike weren’t jaw-dropping enough, the view from the top was spectacular.

Maria and I at the summit

We somehow managed to find enough room up there to dance, skip, and practice our headstands before heading back down the mountain.

 

Lofoten Norway: Day One

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Lofoten is a stunning archipelago off of the northern coast of Norway. Maria, Margit and I made the trip to Leknes (an island near the southern tip of Lofoten) to visit our crazy cool Northern-Norwegian friend, Vigdis.

Boarding the plane!

Maria and I landed at the Leknes airport in the late morning. I use the word “airport” loosely because the runway is about the size of an american suburban driveway and the luggage belt is the size of a grocery store checkout counter.

Margit and Vigdis were due to arrive later that night so Maria and I had some time to kill. After hitching a ride into the center of town, we decided to explore. 6 minutes later, we deemed the town: explored. leknes3

While pondering what to do, we spotted a store that had a “Tourist Info” sign in the window. There was a guy (about our age) who was immediately eager to help us. We asked him for suggestions on what to do with the 5 hours we had left on our own. His response was basically: “Oh, you want to do something? You should probably go to the next town, Gravdal.”

Fast forward a few hours and we discover that the hospital is Gravdal’s greatest attraction. We decided to head back to Leknes and wait for our funny friends to arrive. Cups and cones of softis, (soft-serve ice cream, but 100% yummier), made the time fly by!