A lot of places saw an unusually warm Christmas this year – my parents said it was nearly 70 degrees in Massachusetts! – and much of Norway was no exception. Trondheim was snowy when I left and Bø was snowy when I arrived, but by Christmastime all that snow had been rained away. But while December 23rd saw my family driving through heavy rain as we headed up into the mountains towards my grandmother’s cabin in Rauland, eventually the rain turned to into snow and we were driving through a winter wonderland!
Or more like a blizzard. But don’t worry, we made it up the mountain eventually (erm, well at least one of our two cars did). To a beautiful white Christmas!
I’ve written about Rauland several times before, so if you’ve been following my blog for a while you might be just a bit tired of my unending enthusiasm from this mountain town at the foot of Hardangervidda. In which case I’m really sorry, because you’re going to be hearing a lot more from me about this magical place.
A lot more.
Perhaps you guessed? I know at least a few of you did.
That’s right, I will be spending this winter in Rauland!
And the lovely part is, I have you guys to thank! Well, you guys in the sense that I probably wouldn’t be blogging if no one were reading, and I wouldn’t be moving to Rauland if it weren’t for blogging.
You see, after visiting Rauland over the summer and writing this post, I began talking with the marketing head at Visit Rauland and I guess he read one of my posts where I admitted to being jobless in Trondheim because he was all “why don’t you just move to Rauland?”
To which I of course was all “didn’t you read the part where I was super proud about having finally chosen a place to stay and signing a lease? I can’t leave Trondheim!”
But then I had to put off the job hunt until after my trip back to the U.S., by which time Dan had started a seasonal job that he loved and had been asked to return for the spring season as well, which meant that he would have no job for the winter.
So I sent out another email being all “just kidding, I totally want to move to Rauland for the winter! But can you find me a job? And can you also find a job for my boyfriend? K thanks!”
It was the sort of email that I think anywhere else in the world would have been sent straight to Trash, but because Norwegians are simply the nicest, within a couple of weeks Dan and I found ourselves hooked up with jobs at Rauland’s local supermarket. There might also be some projects in collaboration with Visit Rauland in the works – exciting stuff!
To add to the excitement, it turned out that renting an apartment in Rauland would cost the same as renting a car (about 5,000 kroner/month) and so my grandmother generously suggested that we get a car and live in her cabin!
Do you remember when I wrote about how I was nervous to move to Norway, because it’s always been such a special place of happy holiday escapes for me, and I didn’t want real life to ruin that? I’ve been so pleased to find that while life in Norway has brought plenty of lows, living here and getting to know Norway better and discovering the often surprising ways that Norwegian culture had influenced me growing up without my quite realizing it has only made me love the country more.
But now moving to Rauland, and specifically my grandmother’s cabin, will be the ultimate test. Because this cabin might just be my favorite place in this whole wide world of ours.
I actually just went back and read the post I wrote after spending last christmas at the cabin, and I might have gotten a little misty eyed when I read:
Mostly I just spent my time pinching myself to see if I had actually so quickly been transported from Thailand to this winter wonderland, and thinking up ways in which I could stay here forever.”
I’ve always placed a possibly (probably) unhealthy importance on place. You know how people always say “home is where the heart is?” Yeah, I’ve never felt that way. I’ve always loved my family more than I can even quite wrap my mind around, and yet still that love was never going to be enough to keep me in Worcester, or even the United States.
Is it a bad thing that I don’t think I could be truly happy living anywhere, that some places can never feel like home, while others, sometimes already at first sight fill me with life?
It does seem somehow weak on my part to always attach my happiness to a place. I know my sister could be happy anywhere in the world if only she has the right collection of books with her, and my parents managed to up and leave their home in Tübingen, aka the most charming town in Germany, to move to Dallas, Texas in order to pursue their dream careers as college professors.
I should be taking inspiration from my parents’ success, but something must be a bit wrong with me, because that compartment of my soul that’s meant to hold my career ambitions is instead full of images of snowy mountains and log cabins.
In a way I’m half hoping that living out my mountain cabin dream will snap me back to reality, but the thought of that happening is also so sad.
And sure enough, yesterday morning when I had to get up before dawn to scrape ice from the car and drive to work, in place of my usual enthusiasm all I could find was grumpiness and I was pretty sure I had already managed to ruin Rauland for myself. But then I drove around a corner and set against the dark blue, snowy landscape was a pair of bright orange mountain peaks reflecting the light of the rising sun. And suddenly that enthusiasm rushed back in full force, as I remembered how absurdly lucky I am to be in such a beautiful place.
And then I had to violently swerve to avoid a snowdrift.
Forget tackling mountain dialects, de-icing the car, and working in the oh so cold dairy fridge – the toughest part about living in Rauland is going to be concentrating on the road while driving.
Though if you ask Dan his answer will be this:
the outhouse
Oh you guys, I didn’t mean to write such a sentimental post! I think all the end of year feelings are getting to me. I hope you all enjoy the rest of 2015, and you’ll hear from me again in 2016! Uh, does anyone else suddenly feel old? I’m pretty sure it was just 1999.
Happy almost New Year!
Renates Reiser says
Oh, that place looks sooo cosy! Funny how life works 😀 So kind of your grandmother to let you guys live there, it looks like a winder wonderland dream. Good luck with everything!
Oh, and yes. I feel super old. I’m pretty sure I’ll turn 65 next year… ;(
Silvia says
Haha that made me laugh out loud. But seriously, pretty soon it’s going to be 2020…
Megan says
i think i may join yall 😉 when i first moved to norway i hated the thought of going to a cabin simply because i got bored. now id give anything to be somewhere remote and away from people. ohhhh the introvert in me. especially a place buried in beautiful snow like that cabin <3 good luck with everything!!! happy new year!
Silvia says
We’ve got guest rooms, just saying! The cabin actually used to be a guest house way back when, so it likes visitors 🙂
Nate says
Hi….. just saying 😉
Silvia says
Come come! I was about to add “if you can handle the cold,” but then I remembered Tajikistan. So come!
Patti says
You had me right up to the outhouse! 🙂
Silvia says
Haha I think that pretty much sums up Dan’s feelings about this new adventure.
Scott says
Speaking from someone missing a white Christmas. … your chosen home sounds idyllic. The trek to the outhouse is going to test your resolve and recalls for me memories of an outdoor biffy years ago when I lived on a farm in southern Alberta. One tended to one’s business quickly … no time or inclination to dilly dally …. stay well … stay WARM.
Silvia says
I’ve told Dan that he’s going to want to set aside his habit of listening to football podcasts in the bathroom, ha.
Elizabeth says
This looks so amazing and picturesque – what a place to spend the winter!
Silvia says
It will definitely be a very wintry winter here, haha.
Sarah says
It looks so beautiful and cosy – I hope you’ll both have a happy winter there!
Silvia says
Thanks, Sarah, I’m pretty excited about it!
Mary B says
Uhhh, is the outhouse your only bathroom? Frozen buns and having to put on all your outer layers just to get to a toilet would be my biggest challenge, for sure! But the cabin itself sounds amazing. I’ve often wished for a place like that, the place where you feel totally comfortable and happy and loved.
Silvia says
Haha yup, the only bathroom. I’ve never minded it because it’s so beautiful outside at night with the sparkling snow and stars, but then again I’ve never stayed at the cabin for longer than a week or two. So we’ll see how it goes!
Van (@snowintromso) says
I honestly envy you so much for being in this winter wonderland!! I definitely miss snow here in Germany… hadn’t even heard of Rauland before but I guess I need to put that place on my list 😉
That outhouse though….aahhhh!!! I’m going to spend Easter with the boyfriend’s parents in their hut in Swedish Lapland and I already said that I can only stay there for max. one night cause there’s no way I can deal with that outhouse, haha! Tell me, how bad is it actually? 😀
Silvia says
I actually really don’t mind the outhouse! I think it’s a nice excuse to get outside at least a few times a day, and at night it’s so beautiful with the stars and, in winter, sparkling snow. Plus you get more privacy – I would definitely choose an outhouse over a bathroom where everyone can hear your business, ha. Not sure how I’ll feel about outhouses after months of having one though, but in your case it definitely seems worth it to get to stay in a hut in Swedish Lapland – that sounds amazing!
Our Wanders says
Oh I can totally relate to this ‘attaching happiness to places’ thingy. 😀 Though my happiness is attached to the ocean, not to snowy mountains. I always wanted to live near the ocean and run on the beach every morning. I’ve lived pretty close to the ocean for a year and I’m sure I won’t feel 100% complete until I move to such a place finally. But there’s also so many places I want to try before I settle down finally… 🙂
Happy New Year to you too!
Bea
Silvia says
Oh I’m glad I’m not the only one so obsessed with certain places!
Maria's Adventure says
Oh, it looks super cozy! Hope you enjoy your time there!
Silvia says
Thanks, Maria, it’s definitely cozy 🙂
Timothy Nowak says
You are a marvelous writer. Your essay flowed beautifully and was very thoughtful. It shouldn’t be too hard to write a book at this point.
Silvia says
Ha, I leave the serious writing to everyone else in my family, but your comments continue to give me a confidence boost!
Sarah says
I enjoyed that – it looks beautiful! And then I got to the end and now I FEEL TOTALLY OLD so thanks. Jeez, 1999 was 16/17(!) years ago. Blimey.
Silvia says
Um, right?? I really don’t know where this whole 2016 business came from.
Lauren Lalicon says
I’m late to this post! But Happy New Year! Rauland looks definitely a lot more like country-living than Trondheim, I’m assuming. Props to you for battling out the snow! Driving in the snow is the only thing I dread about winter.
Also, I don’t think it’s bad at all that you attach happiness to a place. I think some places feel more like home than others. I wish I could be one of those people who can pack up and live abroad for an undetermined amount of time, but like how that works for certain people, I’m a certain person who needs a home-y feeling in order to feel like home.
Silvia says
Yeah, I’m still working on that whole driving in snow thing, haha. And it is interesting how home can mean different things for different people!