En stor suksess: Min første hyttetur

The hytte (cabin in the wilderness) is a staple of modern Norwegian life, as I finally found out for myself this past weekend. Many Norwegian families own or otherwise have access to a hytte somewhere in the country. These hyttene (plural, definite form of hytte; look at you, learning Norwegian!) are a popular place to spend the weekend or a longer vacation, and they help fulfill the inherent Norwegian need to be away from people and close to nature. They are also popular among students, and the university here has several in the region that they rent out. Why I hadn't been to a hytte before now beats me, but there's a first time for everything, and the firsts in Norway keep on coming!

I got to stay at a hytte with a group of good friends, old and new, mainly from a student ministry group called Quest (not to be confused with A Tribe Called Quest). Some hytter (plural, indefinite) are remote and rustic, and don't have electricity or running water. I was pleasantly surprised to find both at our destination, my friend Line's family cabin. From Trondheim we drove a couple hours south to Kvikne, settled in, and began making dinner-- homemade pizza.

In the entryway of the main cabin there was a supply of wool mittens, slippers, and even sweaters, all knitted by Line's grandma and free to use during our visit.

Line has spent a lot of time here with her family,

and made sure we knew:

"It's weird to be here with all of you."

Haha, likewise!

Adhering to the strict hytte dress code

Knitting is a good hytte activity...
someone has to keep those sweaters coming!

On Saturday we were fortunate to have good hiking weather (a mix of sun and clouds and just a little rain), so we bundled up and enjoyed a crisp fall day together.

 Ready to explore!

Look, Ma, we're exploring!

My favorite part of the hike was good conversations along the way. For a little while I chatted with the other American on the trip, who I'd just met. She is learning Norwegian and commented how it was sometimes difficult to get Norwegians to speak Norwegian with her. I can sympathize so I obliged (even though I'm a poor substitute for the real deal) and we spoke in Norwegian to each other the rest of way, very fun!

 Lunch break:
I sat in some berries by accident. Typisk.

WARNING: The following picture is
EXTREMELY NORWEGIAN!

Be advised and proceed with caution, if you think you can handle it.

Marius sweaters, Kvik Lunsj chocolate, and Solo orange pop.

Pay attention, people, it doesn't get much more Norwegian than this.

Sitting and eating is half the fun of hiking

We walked on until we came to a plateau with a ton of reindeer moss, a soft, spongy plant that looks a lot like sea coral and is very forgiving after a long afternoon:

Actually, a few of us stumbled upon the amazing softness when we fell down in protest at the back of the group. We wanted to stop there, enjoy the surroundings, and then turn around... it worked and we convinced the others to join us. Here's us making our big discovery:

The landscape was clearly very special. I felt like I was on another planet, since I'd never seen anything quite like reindeer moss blanketing the whole ground. Definitely otherworldly... and when I had a runny nose but no tissue I found reindeer moss both highly absorbent and surprisingly gentle on the skin.

I imagine Håkon is thinking,
"Reindeer eat it, I wonder if it tastes good?"

Great hike, now let's go back and get warm!
FYI: temperatures are already dropping
below freezing here during the night.

Tilbake på hytta:

Hyggelige nordmenn, med varm middag og fin utsikt

Sorry, sometimes the Norwegian comes out and I can't help it.

I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, which were a hit. Chocolate chips exist very scarcely and expensively in Norway, so I use the ones my mom has sent me to make some of my favorite cookies. I think this might be a big reason why Norwegians have kept me around as long as they have ;)

And this has to be one of my favorite pictures from the weekend:

The only running water was in the kitchen,

making it a popular spot to hang out.

Almost as soon as we came, it was time to go again. But what great weekend of nature, getting to know people, worshipping and seeking Jesus together, and being met by Him. I'm thankful for the opportunity and very pleased with my first hytte experience, sure hope it won't be the last. The hytte is a great place to go to get away without going too far, and a good way to catch a glimpse into Norwegian life.

Line asked me to write about our trip

in the guest book for everyone to sign.

I was honored to do so!

I thought about writing in Norwegian, but we

didn't have that much time so I settled for

English. Lame. Oh well, next time :)

Tusen takk for turen, alle sammen!