Source: "The Social Guidebook to Norway"
Norwegians will drive for hours
Walk across forests, rivers and mountains
To reach a place where they can be isolated, in nature, alone and peaceful.
They will hide themselves in this place without running water nor electricity
They call it “hytte”
They will buy a hytte
Rather than spending their money travelling
Staying at nice hotels
Eating in nice restaurants
I thought Norwegians were trying to save money
Because Norwegians love saving money
This has nothing to do with saving money
Owning a “hytte”
May cost millions of kroner
An ad of a hytte for sale for 4 000 000 NOK - that is 475 000 US dollars (!) - reads as follow (March 2021)
"We have deliberately chosen not to have the possibility to drive our car close to the cabin in order to create a real cabin feeling, as well as the value of the extra exercise we get by transporting things with our own machine down to the cabin, where both children and adults can contribute. "
https://www.finn.no/realestate/leisuresale/ad.html?finnkode=211500306
To understand the “hytte”
You shall understand the Norwegian need to be alone and to suffer
These are one of the underlying "needs" of the Norwegian culture
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Learn more about the Norwegian culture in Our Social Guidebooks to Norway