Norway
Norway!
Since I’ve been living in Norway unregulary the past few years I thought I’ll tell you a little bit about how it all started and the different places I have been living in.
Some facts:
- Norway is the neighbour country of Sweden facing the Atlantic Ocean.
- Norwegians and Swedish people speak different languages but can understand each other most of the time.
- The Norwegian nature is extreme with high mountains, big national parks, deep fjords and wild nature.
- Svalbard, the island with polar bears belongs to Norway.
- Norwegians are really outdoorsy and do a lot of skiing, crosscountry skiing and hiking.
- Norwegians love to eat “hardbread”, “kvicklunjs”, “römmegröt”, speak a “happy sounding language” and are very warm and friendly people.
- Their biggest income comes from the fish and oil industry.
HODDEVIKA
My first ever visit to Norway was when I went surfing in the cold Atlantic Ocean. Me, Johan and Nicklas decided to visit a little remote surfing village on the westcoast of Norway, a twelve hours drive from our city in Sweden.
With our boards on the roof, really thick wetsuits and winterclothes packed, we filled up the tank and drove towards the land of the north man.
We lived in a wooden house right by the beach and surfed really cold water with the most beautiful surroundings you could imagine. Even though it snowed, was blowing like crazy and crazy big waves came in, we had the most amazing trip. The warm Norwegian house, the thick wetsuit, hot showers and cozy evenings really added to the trip.
Norway introduced itself in the best possible way and when we left, I felt the urge to get back.
LOFOTEN
Lofoten is famous for the insanely beautiful nature. The islands up north was constantly on nature programs and in addition to overhearing a man on a train on the way home from a trip to Lofoten I had the feeling that I should go there.
One summer I applied for several jobs and managed to get three to choose from; either at a place in Örebro (Sweden), at a zoo in south or Norway called Dyreparken, or at a little fishing restaurant in a remote little fishingvillage in Lofoten.
I chose Lofoten and moved up above the arctic circle to the little island of the fishingvillage.
The name of the little village was Henningsvaer and was besides the fishery famous for being the north European “climbing mecha”.
Surrounded by the most beautiful nature you can imagine, right by the sea but still facing endless mountains, I spent my time working like crazy and hiking every steep mountain I could find.
Lofoten was literally my paradise which made me return to the same place the next summer to work and keep reaching the high points. When I left at the end of summer to go to Africa I had pretty much visited every mountain in a close distance and considered that I was finished with my exploring, at least for a while.
One day I would really love to come back and visit the people I got to know and try out the steep faces and the popular trad climbing. Lofoten became a second home for me and I am insanely happy that I chose to live there.
If you’re going to Lofoten and want some advice or recommendations of places, hikes and things to do -I’ve got plenty to share!
BERGEN
Some people go to warmer places far away for their exchange studies. I decided to go to Norway. Because of the offered courses and the access to mountain life I decided to move to Bergen for half a year to do my master studies in law.
Even though it might sound a little strange this is definitely one of my best life decisions.
I went flatting with three Norwegian girls who became my best friends, studied mind blowing courses, went indoor climbing twice a week with my flatmate Brita and did heaps of hiking and tenting in harsh and beautiful nature.
Bergen is known for its seven mountains and I got to know them pretty well both when covered in snow and during springtime when the nature was flourishing like crazy.
What I loved about Bergen was the endless possibilities of outdoor life, the climbingsession, the kindest and most caring people I’ve ever met, the access to citylife and the special Bergen atmosphere, the sea and the airport close by that gave an easy access to the rest of the world.
GAUSTATOPPEN
The second summer I lived in Lofoten I worked with a girl called Linnéa. As she and her boyfriend were preparing to sail around the world they settled by the mountain to thicken their budget. She asked me if I wanted to come and work for her at the hotel and since it sounded like a cool place I decided to say yes.
So here I am, at the moment finishing my last week of work at this amazing place with access to the great Gaustatoppen itself and the famous nationalpark of Hardangervidda.
If you’re into nature and don’t mind living remote this is a place worth a visit.
At wintertime there are plenty of skiing, both downhill, randonee and crosscountry and if you are visiting during summertime you could spend your day just like I did yesterday - doing a bungy jump from a bridge, having lunch up in the mountains, going climbing in a city close by, finishing the day off with heaps of candles and some good danish friends sharing some crazy funny stories.
CONCLUSION
No matter how many times I leave Norway there is something constantly bringing me back and I really don’t mind since it is one of the coolest countries I know.
If you ever get the chance to visit this country, just do it! There is so much to explore!
For more insight in my day-to-day life follow my instagram @madebywillyams
xxx Maddy