Oh hey, blog, I remember you! It’s not that I’ve been meaning to ignore you, it’s just that I’ve been distracted. By what, you ask? All the cabin things.
Dan and I moved into my grandmother’s cabin in Rauland on Tuesday, which was also when we started our super exciting jobs at the local supermarket.
Have I dreamt of scanning food products every night this week? Yes.
The good news is, I’m getting close to knowing all the Norwegian words for the shop’s fruit and vegetables. No, that time I had to ask a customer what oranges are called in Norwegian was not my proudest moment, but in my defense, appelsin sounds a whole lot more like an apple than an orange, don’t you think?
And in even better news, now every once in a while when someone starts chatting with me in a thick mountain dialect I’ll know whether to laugh or nod pensively. Okay, I still usually end up laughing in their face when they are actually asking to buy tobacco from behind the register, but I think the appropriate phrase here is “baby steps.”
Speaking of which, Dan took his first this weekend!
The Norwegian version of baby steps, I mean. Haven’t you heard the saying “Norwegians are born with skis on their feet?” It’s a true story.
But apparently it’s only true for 100% Norwegians, as my mother quickly realized when she placed 18 month old me on my first pair of skis and instead of zooming away I just scooted forward a few feet and slowly tipped over into a snow bank. 26 years later my skiing form hasn’t improved much, but I have high hopes that a winter in Telemark will cure my American half of its clumsy ways.
I mean, what better place to learn to ski than the place where modern skiing originated? In fact, in Rauland we’re not far from Morgedal, which is known as “the cradle of skiing.” I’ll admit I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I assume it’s something more about Norwegian babies on skis.
And when I’m not outside skiing I’m pretty much always sitting in front of the fireplace trying to keep warm. On Thursday it was -25°C and I’m still waiting for my toes to defrost.
Luckily Dan is deep into the book Norwegian Wood: Chopping, Stacking, and Drying Wood the Scandinavian Way, so our fireplace is in good hands. Yesterday he mastered attempted an upside down fire, lit from the top instead of the bottom, which is supposed to burn more slowly and need less tending to. It doesn’t look like it should work, but it does!
I know, it’s an exciting life this cabin life of ours.
But I think my favorite part about this cabin life is that someone is actually paying me to wake up in the early morning hours to see this snowy landscape in its prettiest purple and blue light.
Like, I’d usually never manage to wake up for that, I should really be paying them! Then again, my charming ways with the customers must be raking in the sales. So no one is managing to buy tobacco, at least now they can buy oranges from me. It’s healthier anyway.
Wait, no! My favorite thing about cabin life is actually the out house. For real. I’ll have to write a whole post about it someday.
What are you up to this January?
PIN IT!
Shing says
Cabin life in Norway is my idea of heaven! Haha I’ve certainly heard the saying about Norwegian’s being born with skiis on their feet, and they’re also crazy ass hikers who put everyone else to shame. (When they say a hike is easy, it’s all LIES!).
I’d love to hear more about your job, like is it a supermarket in the middle of nowhere, or does it get a lot of footfall? What, wait, applesin means orange? My brain fails to accept it.
Silvia says
The supermarket gets very few people during the week, and then a ton on the weekends when Norwegians are going out to their cabins. And yeah, applesin is the worst.
Antonina says
Interesting, in Russian and Ukrainian appelsin stands for orange too. And you are right, it has something to do with apples – for whatever weird reason it is, appelsin means “Chinese apple”. anyway, now you can sell (or buy) oranges in Russia and Ukraine as well 🙂
Silvia says
Ooooh mystery solved! And good to know I now have skills to sell oranges in Russia and Ukraine now too, woohoo! haha
Megan says
i will never comprehend appelsin meaning orange, but the worst for me is ananas meaning pineapple and not bananas. even though universally it means that like everywhere 🙂 ohhh cabin life. i need an escape from germany sometimes and would give anything to take my introverted butt to the middle of nowhere and hide in a cabin 😛
Silvia says
Haha I now always think of you when I sell a pineapple at the store! And come visit! I’ll promise to leave you alone for a bit. But just a bit.
Our Wanders says
While reading your post with all the pics it feels like we are there! Just without the -25, uh, we don’t miss that part. 😀 But skiing definitely. Have fun you guys! 🙂
Silvia says
Yeah, -25 is… not fun. Anything below -15 just becomes hard to breathe!
Mr. Espana says
Looks like a roomy fireplace/ hearth – which makes sense. I want to see a bigger pic of it. Oranges in Norway? Are things trucked in or arriving on a barge and then trucked in – like weekly? How far in advance do you have to place orders for the store?
Silvia says
Hmm I’m not sure I have the language skills to figure out how we place orders yet, though as SPAR is a chain I think part of that comes from higher up. I will try to take a bigger picture of the fireplace for you though! Hope you are doing okay xx
Anca | Globaloud says
Even I, the ultimate snow hater, enjoy your beautiful pictures of the whitest Norwegian landscape (probably cause I can’t feel the cold through the photos).
Yep, and I’m interested too in your new supermarket job. It sounds like a perfect place for filming European movie (bit artistic).
Silvia says
Haha I love thinking of supermarket life as a European film – it definitely makes it feel less dull!
Justine says
Haha, you definitely need to dedicate a whole post to the outhouse!
Silvia says
Ha, I will!
Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki says
Cabin life looks gorgeous! Orange is appelsína in Icelandic, and it took me a long time to get that it was not talking about an apple, even though apple is basically the first part of the word.
Silvia says
It’s like they’re messing with us, right? ha
Madi | Restless Worker says
Ah I’m so jealous! I absolutely love the winter and the snow and I would pick a cabin in the woods with snow all around me over summer ANYDAY. Unfortunately Ontario hasn’t quite been getting the snow we usually do and my cabin days have been few and far between. Guess this means I’ve got to start planning!
Silvia says
Plan a trip to Norway!
Mary B says
Thank you for providing a link to that book that Dan is reading, I would have really thought you were making it up otherwise! But now I’m enjoying the description on Amazon: “The latest Scandinavian publishing phenomenon is not a Stieg Larsson–like thriller; it’s a book about chopping, stacking, and burning wood that has sold more than 200,000 copies in Norway and Sweden and has been a fixture on the bestseller lists there for more than a year. Norwegian Wood provides useful advice on the rustic hows and whys of taking care of your heating needs, but it’s also a thoughtful attempt to understand man’s age-old predilection for stacking wood and passion for open fires.”
Does man have an age-old predilection for stacking wood?? This (wo)man does not – or perhaps it has just gone untapped. I do feel fairly passionate about open fires, though.
Silvia says
Haha I hadn’t actually read the description of the book, but that’s hilarious. I’m with you about being more passionate for the open fires.
Diana Maria says
Oh my goodness, this looks like such a dream, almost like a winter wonderland. I’ve always wanted to live in a cabin up in the woods like this during the winter, you are so lucky and your photos are beautiful! It looks like you’re having an amazing time.
http://mylovelierdays.com
Silvia says
I do feel quite lucky to get to live in a real life cabin in the woods!
Van (@snowintromso) says
Yes please write a post about the out house so that I know what to expect for Easter!!! 😀
I’m totally with you when it comes to Norwegian though. I started a new job too last week and I’m still hoping every day that no one starts talking to me during lunch break because I almost never understand people right away. Don’t know where my colleagues all come from but some of them have the weirdest dialects! 😀
Silvia says
Right, some of these dialects! And you can expect an outhouse post soon, I’m sure. haha
Kerri says
What a fantastic place to be! I’ve always loved winter and snow, but I’ve never had the pleasure of living or being around Real Snow… real, thick, white, never ending snow like this. I’m going to have to fix that soon! A cabin adventure seems like a good way to fix that!
Silvia says
The snow really is never ending here. It sounds like you need to make a trip to Rauland!
Maryrose says
Ahhh I can’t stop looking at the pictures! Living in Hawaii, all we wish for is going somewhere for a white christmas. Looks like an awesome time!
Silvia says
I have to admit I wouldn’t mind being in Hawaii for a bit right now – the grass is always greener!
Justine says
HI, really interesting blog I’ve stumbled on here! I have just returned from Norway – I totally adore the place and wish to live there – least part time. I want the cabin in the woods. Any advice, approx costs etc would be gratefully appreciated. I love the snow, the hikes, the skis! Your country is amazing. I look forward to following you. I currently live in the UK.
Silvia says
Do you mean you want to buy a cabin? You can find cabins for sale and for rent probably on finn.no, and there are also lots of cabin for rent on airbnb.com. Good luck!