HiMolde's students during the hiking. Photo: Umid Mirzaev

Experiencing the traditional Norwegian hyttetur with iFri

RAUMA (Panorama): Last weekend, 20 international and Norwegian students experienced the unique outdoor life on a cabin trip to Skorgedalsbu organized by iFri.  

By UMID MIRZAEV (text & photo)

When it comes to taking a little break from studying, there is nothing better than surrounding yourself with the magnificence of nature. Nothing compares to hytta (the cabin) when you feel the connection to nature, while at the same time you have the feeling of coziness, warm and security. For many of us, it was the unique experience of comprehending Friluftsliv (open-air living).

After a 1.5-hour drive from Molde, we found ourselves among the snow-white mountains, the endless green forest and our cabin standing on the top of the hill. The cabin is owned by DNT (the Norwegian trekking association) and has electricity, oven and cellphone signal, which did not take us away from ordinary life. After unloading our things, we immediately rushed to explore the surrounding area.

The cabin has easy access from the parking lot (about 20 minutes by walk) which makes it suitable for everyone regardless of the physical form. The spot surrounded by mountains including Skarven (1048 masl) and Smørbottfjellet (1188 masl) is equally good both in winter and in summer periods.

Incredible view of the iconic mountain Romsdalshorn from the cabin. Photo: Umid Mirzaev

The weekend was full of all the charms of Norwegian life in nature: hiking, skiing, cooking on a bonfire and spending the night in the fresh air. However, the most important thing was cozy evening gatherings, where everyone was involved in board games and sincere conversations.

«I really liked our trip. It was organized very well and there were so many great people. It was my first cabin trip experience because we don’t have such thing in France,» says Chloé Perreira, an Erasmus exchange student from France.

«It was adventuring from the beginning of the trip, because it’s not very easy to drive on the slippery road with a Toyota Yaris. The trip was organized very well.  We have visited mountains with the stunning view that are located outside our cabin.  The cabin was the best one yet, because I have never seen such a cabin before. We did quite a few hikes and all of them were great. It was very interesting to meet some new people, including all the exchange students. When you’re doing your master’s, you just focus on other master students, but not on exchange students. It was easy to get to know all the people, because we played some pretty fun games,» smiles Nikolas Kolb, a German first-year master’s student in logistics.

Satisfied students before leaving. Photo: private

Leaving this cozy place with the feeling of sadness you begin to understand why many Norwegians prefer to spend time in the middle of untouched nature.

Many thanks to iFri for organizing this incredible journey!