The mysterious Norwegian hytte

We are two foreigners in this group of researchers, a Dane and a German. Being one of them I can tell you: it is not easy at all to get to grips with the Norwegian hytta. Luckily, almost every Norwegian loves to talk about his or her hytta. Many stories are told, and what every Norwegian knows about hytter is patiently explained to the ignorant foreigner.

Thomas Berker og Mark Vacher

Still, we who never have lived through a happy childhood summer at the family hytta find it difficult to understand. At the surface it seems simple: In their holidays Norwegians enjoy a simple life in the middle of magnificent Norwegian nature. But then it quickly gets difficult: There are seaside hytter and forest hytter and mountain hytter, I am told, and every type of hytte has a “typical” form and typical activities associated to it. Of course the “typical” form can be modified and often it is. And if you continue to ask about what happens at the hytte an endless variety of possible “lives at the hytta” reveals itself. The simple refuge in the middle of nature exists, no doubt, but an average “hyttefelt” providing all the luxury of contemporary homes is the fastest growing type of hytte right now. So what is a hytte? The quest continues. See you tomorrow at the fair…