TINY HOME VILLAGE in Norway! (incredible sauna & outdoor shower)

Trying to get Demi. It feels so good.

We're Karen Nate. We've been traveling the world full time for the last four years, and we're currently in our 95th country of Norway.

So last night we stayed in this great little Airbnb here in Stavanger, but this morning we're checking out and we are heading into the mountains to stay at a super unique place. It's kind of hard to describe, but it's like this village of tiny mountain huts.

Let's go.

So one of the reasons that I was so excited to book this place is because it was going to require taking a ferry, like, two hours into the fjords. We were going to get to experience the fjords and then we could hike in from there.

However, we went to book the ferry yesterday and learned that it only runs until mid September, and it is currently October. So plan B. We rented this car and we're just gonna drive to the trailhead, but first gotta stock up on some food.

Okay.

We will be at the trailhead in one hour and 40 minutes.

So we were just following Google maps, and all of a sudden she was like, in 100 meters, take the ferry. The road just ends at the water.

All right, I think we have about 10 minutes until we get to the other side. The lady told us we could go to the bathroom, do whatever we want. Just be back in the car and don't hold up traffic when you get to the other side. The FS are stunning.

Soak up this. 10 minutes. This is our fjord time.

This is supposed to be two hours of this with the original plan, but we'll take what we can get at this point. Yeah.

Go, go, go. Don't get in trouble.

Back in the road. How incredibly gorgeous is this road? Next to this lake, there are waterfalls just spitting out water everywhere from the mountains. There are sheep on the side of the road.

Hey, your butt's in the road.

You have arrived.

I think we're here.

All right. We just started the hike. We should have about two hours until we get to the hut. And if this hike is half as beautiful as the drive here, it's going to be incredible. A little muddy, though.

This is incredible.

So pretty where we're going. Sc.

The hike itself was totally worth coming up here, but we're just getting our first views of where we're staying tonight, and I think it's about to get way better. This place is absolutely incredible.

Normally when you go to stay in a mountain hut, it's like a hostel scenario where you're sharing a Big room and bunk beds with a bunch of other strangers. But here they have six tiny homes and you can book one and have it all to yourself. Just in the middle of the absolutely stunning Norwegian wilderness.

Let's go.

Oh, I'm just so happy right now. It's honestly better than it looked.

These are so cute.

No way. No way. This is too good. Look at that view, Kara. It's incredible.

I am shocked at how large it is. What's up here?

Oh, wow. This can fit so many people.

No way.

We got a sheet. Oh, that's just a mattress. We got like an eggshell and then like a six inch thick mattress.

I wish we could have like friends here and have a party. Look at this.

Amazing. The coolest thing about these cabins is that they're called self centered service cabins and they are completely based on trust.

So they just rely on people being good humans. There's nobody that watches over this place. They're unlocked all the time and you're in charge of leaving it better than you found it.

And our place was super clean. Like they swept and folded the blankets.

Just don't look too close at the sheets.

I just feel like this is how it should be.

It's a reminder that people are mostly good. You just. It just seems like something like this would get so abused. Yeah, because like you're supposed to book it ahead of time.

We could have easily not paid for this and just showed up and like stay the night here. Nobody would have known.

$140 down the drain. I'm glad we paid for it.

So normally I would do like a room tour, but there's really not much to this room. It's just a cube with some beds. But we couldn't find a ton of information about this place online. So I did want to point out two things that we didn't know we would have. First one being the fireplace stocked with wood. And there's this little rack with hangers. We can hang your wet clothes, which is really convenient because I have two really wet socks. And we had no idea what the electricity situation was going to be. But I saw some huge solar panels outside. And we have a light that's on a timer. Haven't found any outlets yet though, but we do have access to a couple other buildings out here. So we don't have a bathroom in our cabin, but there's like a separate building that's a shared bathroom. So let me give you a little bathroom tour.

This is it.

Smells good.

Don't like the look of that.

Yep, that's just a big hole. Honestly, it's one of the better hole in the ground toilets that I've seen. The lid makes a big difference. Love that they have toilet paper.

Lots of toilet paper. I don't see a sink or running water, like, for a shower or to wash your hands.

Oh, it's warm in here.

So this is like the common area where everybody can just come hang out. I'm pretty sure anybody can come up here during the day and use this space. It's got, like, couches, tables, chairs, and this is like a full fledged kitchen with a gas stove. We didn't know what we were gonna have to cook with tonight, so we bought ramen.

Ramen noods, which I love.

This place is really nice, though. Like, much nicer than I thought it was gonna be.

Yeah, really cool. There's a corkscrew and wine glasses, and we could have had a party up here.

And I. Oh, I think people could be.

So there's a chance that we've been yelling.

And there's rooms right here. Oh, no.

That'S. That's the common area.

We're getting out of here. Okay. We can see the bedroom windows. I don't think anybody was in there. There is one more building, and I think we may have saved the best for last. This was what ultimately made me pull the trigger on booking this place. I mean, it's not easy to get here. We had to rent a car, drive an hour and a half outside of the city, then hike two hours here. But this is worth it.

Can you feel the heat?

No way.

There is a sauna in the middle of the mountains. Look at this view.

Wow. Someone's already started the fire for us. It's nice and warm.

This is amazing. We didn't know that this was here, so we came prepared to whoever started.

This fire before you left. Thank you.

We'll try to keep it going when we leave.

I'm just still amazed that this works. Yeah, the people come up here, they use it correctly, it stays in good condition. There's something about people who are, like, into the outdoors. They're just nicer people.

Especially in Norway.

Wow, it is hot in here.

I love it.

Okay, so I wasn't planning on taking a shower, but now I'm tempted. So this is the tank. You heat your water up using the fire from the sauna. You mix a little hot and cold water, get it the perfect temperature, and then just wait for it.

Boom. An outdoor shower. And you just stand in the creek while you take a shower. How's your view.

I like this much better than actually jumping in the freezing cold water. Spending the rest of the night in the sauna.

Nice.

It's so cool.

It's the new fashion. Swimsuits and hiking boots.

This feels so good. Trying to get steamy.

This is amazing.

It's time. The lake is so far away. Maybe I'll just lay down in this water so far. Is it worth doing? Yeah, I think I'm gonna go for it. I'm gonna go for it. You can stay.

Oh my gosh. He's freezing. He's so fast.

It's not deep at all. And I'm already freezing. I'm just gonna have to like, lay down in it.

Do it.

Okay.

Go in here.

My feet hurt so bad. Off the lake.

I'm so proud of you.

Oh, it's happening. It's so miserable. But then for some reason, I guess it's just like the contrast of how cold it is in the water versus outside. I feel like I'm wearing a jacket now. And take on the outdoors.

It's too cold for this.

All the way down.

No, that wasn't.

That wasn't a shower.

That wasn't it.

Get back here.

So I feel like we've been saying this a lot recently, but this is probably. Probably the coolest place we've ever stayed.

This is literally the best. The sauna. Just.

If they were all equal. Yeah, the sauna brought this one to the top.

I just love that saunas are such a thing here. It's a beautiful thing. I'm so warm. I'm standing out here pantsless and I'm not even cold.

Is there a better way to relax after a hike? Nope, I don't think so. I also really hope this towel doesn't fall off between here and our hut, cuz I may or may not have any pants off. This is the. The situation.

Mmm. Dinner.

All right. We are about to call it a night and get in bed. But before we do, I feel like everything that we've said about this place so far has been very romantic, but it's not all this dreamy. We learned that they change the sheets in these huts once per year.

They seem relatively clean for once per year.

Maybe I should stand up.

Anyways, the shop conveniently sold $40 sleeping bag liners, which we invested in. And you just kind of wrap yourself up in it like a cocoon. And then you don't touch the dirty sheets. Ideally, the sheets aren't dirty because everyone uses one of these.

M.

I think that's Drool.

Oh.

Look at there. Oh, look. This goes over your pillow. And then you slide in here like this. Oop. Super easy. There we go. And then.

In the bed.

Never have to touch any of the grossness.

It was hard to spend $80 investing in two sleeping bag liners for one night. But now that we'.

So we decided this place was way too cozy to sleep in separate beds. We took the mattresses and put them on the floor, and then we took two more mattresses from upstairs and put them on top. Sleepover.

It.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Love you.

When are we going to learn to start booking two nights at places like this?

It is already time to pack up, clean up, and leave this place better than we found it.

Challenge accepted.

Let's do this. Let's get back in bed and never leave.

Wait, where's my thing?

Time to go.

All right. After quite a bit more cleaning than expected, we are heading back down the mountain. We ended up meeting this Norwegian couple who translated a few of the signs for us. And turns out each cabin had its own responsibilities above and beyond. Just cleaning your own place, Which I loved.

It was like I felt like such a team. Like, some people were mopping, we were sweeping. Nate was in the sauna. Some people were taking out the trash. And that's just why this place works. Everybody does their part, and we thought.

We'D go above and beyond, since we were in such a team spirit, and carry the recycling down the mountain.

You're such a weenie. You're such a. We're doing it.

It's so cool. All right, I'm going to try again. Here we go.

Here we go.

Oh, gosh. Oh, gosh, it's cold. Oh, man.

I don't want my hair to get wet because there's no hair dryer. That I'll be wet and cold the.

Rest of the night.

Okay, I did it. Does that count?

So we've been trying to do a better job of saying.

I spill my coffee.

Oh, my goodness. Is this why you did a fantastic job on the sandwich? You put the meat and the cheese on there. Perfect.

Quite much better than cooking salmon.

That's nice and crispy on this side.

I jumped off this rock to get back on the trail, and my foot went straight in the water. Now my left boot is soaking wet.

It looks like both of them are soaking wet. We've completely fallen apart. We're having way too good a time now. Kara's falling in the water, and I've left my sunglasses somewhere a. I had slipped and fallen back there.

Well, I was trying to feel my feet, and they were just laying on the rock. Maybe a few more scratches than they had before, but at least I have. Yes. All right, we are calling it a night in our romantic twin beds on other sides of the room.

I think we can both fit.

Come on in.

Oh, there we go.

Look at that. If anybody's wondering, we only need one. Yeah, we could have saved 40 bucks, just bought one and shared it. That was a mistake.