Whatever the time of year and regardless of the weather, I’ve noticed our Norwegian friends and neighbours driving off to stay at their cabins to relax and enjoy the great outdoors. I was keen to try and soak up this excellent part of living in Norway by spending the weekend at a hytte in Sirdal. So we followed the crowds out of town one Friday afternoon in preparation for a chilled out weekend of walking, relaxing by the fire and eating!
The view from our cabin
We stayed in Sinnes in Sirdal, which has access to a lot of good walking areas nearby. When the snow arrives, you can ski out onto a cross country route straight from the cabin. It’s also very convenient to get to from Stavanger – under 2hrs drive. This was great, because it meant we had 2 full days to make the most of. When you’re out walking, you can follow trails marked with red (summer) and blue (winter). There are generally parking spaces at the sides of the road, or small car parks. Paths are well marked, and you often find maps near the parking spots to help you find which route to take. Take a packed lunch and make sure you have the obligatory thermos of coffee!
Hiking with the dogs in the mountains
In the evenings, time was spent drinking wine and playing cards in front of the fire. Your cabin may be equipped with a sauna or Jacuzzi. There’s bound to be someone who dares you to take a dip in the freezing water or snow outside after sitting in the sauna! But if not, you’ll probably need to take some games to keep you occupied. You should also pay a visit to the supermarket on the way as some areas won’t have a local shop. We found our cabin well stocked with kitchen equipment and we were well prepared with food, so enjoyed a typical hytte meal of roasted moose, potatoes and veg. Yum!
Let’s face it, most of us don’t have access to our own cabins here, so how can we get involved in this hytte weekend experience? Actually, there are plenty of ways for everyone to enjoy cabin weekends. If you or your partner work for one of the large oil companies, you may be lucky enough to be part of a ‘cabin club’ where you pay an annual membership and can book from a selection of cabins that the company own. Do check it out, because it’s a great benefit to make the most of here. And watch out – you may have to go in to a draw to get the date you want if it’s a really popular weekend.
There are also companies that you can rent cabins from. Check out the links below for more info –
To find out more about areas to visit for a winter skiing break, check out Lani’s article on Where the Slopes Are and my article on Winter Sports.
And if you’ve been on a cabin weekend booked through a rental company please let everyone know about it in the comments below or on our Facebook page.
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About Sadie Ramm
Sadie is English and moved to Stavanger in May 2010 with her boyfriend who works in the oil industry. After leaving her career in marketing to relocate to Norway, she's currently freelancing as a marketing consultant, specialising in helping small businesses with strategy and planning, website design and copywriting. She is making the most of the great outdoors that Norway has to offer, and has taken up cycling since moving here. She loves making stuff - knitting, sewing and cooking in particular. She's most often found out walking with her Manchester Terrier puppy, Nero.
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