Cabins

Much of life in Norway revolves around time spent in cabins.  For those who live by the sea, a cabin in the mountains is a must.  For those who live in the mountains, there’s a good chance they own a cabin by the sea.

Cabins are highly regulated in Norway in that no one is allowed to use them for more than eight months a year, and they are never allowed to receive mail there.  Mostly, I suppose, because the mailman wouldn’t want to schlepp up mountainsides to deliver it. 

There’s an entire sub-culture in Norway around cabins.  It seems they all use the same decorating style, which I love.  Knotty-pine is used for floors, walls and ceilings, mostly because it’s the cheapest wood available, but it’s also the coziest looking. 

An entire genre of “cabin furniture” has special patterns on the fabric and wooden arms and legs that match the walls and floors. 

Family heirlooms are often kept in cabins – whether it’s grandma’s hand woven throw rug or a pair of grandpa’s handmade skis hanging on the wall.  Felted wool slippers always sit by the door, and hand crotched towels are used in the kitchen. 

It’s a throwback in time to step into a Norwegian cabin.  It’s almost a shrine to life in the old days when everything was handmade, life was simpler, and there wasn’t much to do when the day’s chores were done. 

Norwegians enjoy going to their cabins to go for walks in the summer or ski in the winter, followed by massive amounts of coffee and just relaxing. 

Most cabins don’t have bathrooms.  Pit toilets are the norm and running water often comes from a nearby stream.  Oil lamps sit on the mantel, and rock fireplaces are well stocked with wood for the burning.

Even those who don’t own cabins can belong to hiking clubs and have access to mountain cabins owned by the club.  There is an entire “mountain cabin” system where it’s possible to hike from cabin to cabin and enjoy a decent night’s sleep, safe from the elements.  Some cabins are even stocked with bedding and food and those who use them just pay on the honor system for what they’ve used.  That would never work in America.

Even if a person doesn’t own a cabin, if no one is home, many will just use the deck or steps as a place to rest or have a meal, as if they were the owners. 

As far as the Norwegian society has progressed, with a very high standard of living, it seems odd to me that what they enjoy the most is the simplistic living of years past.