Northern Scandinavia's forgotten lifestyle: family of 14 in remote cabin

[@OrjanAa]

This is from Lofoten and on the road to Festvåg. I walked by these houses this summer. I'm from a neighbouring small village. Sydalen about 4km away. My grandfather actually grew up at this exact place. There was a house very close to this one thats not there anymore. You can only see a stepping stone from the entrance in the grass. I can tell you that when he talks about how hard the weather is he is not lying and especially at this place. The wind falls from the mountains and its dangerous to be outside. I have experienced this many times. You just have to lay flat on the ground so the wind doesn't catch you. What you don't see in this video is also that this is a perfect place to watch the midnight sun. In the summer it never sets. Just goes down and doesn't dip under the horiozon.

[@magicmarker7047]

It sounds wonderful from afar. My question is where do they get the wood for their stoves? and is that the only source for heating or are they using the generators for that also? They mentioned gas for cooking, I didn't see any big tanks for fuel storage. It would be interesting to see this in the winter and get a true picture on how harsh it is.

[@edwardlulofs444]

@@OrjanAa I had the opportunity to experience the midnight sun on Baffin Island, Canada. It was a unique experience watching the sun move around in circles in the sky. I remember, once, noticing that it was 10pm and so I should get some sleep. I heard that the teenagers didn’t sleep for days until they “crashed “ in bed to rest. I shared a meal with a local family. It was very nice. Pang and Qik are small close communities. When my return time drew near, someone mentioned that sometimes the plane just doesn’t land! It was a very memorable trip. I hiked a glacial valley 100 miles long with scenery like Yosemite - except without any crowds. 😃

[@kcribin5654]

Utmost respect, love and admiration for people from the Nordics. Beautiful people. Respectt from Ireland 🇮🇪

[@garlicandchilipreppers8533]

You kno why the women are beutiful? The Vikings marauded around europe stealing all the prettiest women, Irish Redheads were a favourite.

[@Ronny.81]

@@garlicandchilipreppers8533 it would be interesting a DNA test from these parts compared with an Irish persons DNA

[@papajeff5486]

And respect from east Tennessee mountains…

[@LollyJK1]

My GG-grandparents came to Minnesota from Norway. Their first home was a cabin with a sod roof on 180 acres. In the late 1800's they built a home. The home is currently owned, and lived in, by the 6th generation.

[@dougtheviking6503]

Yep they did

[@leanordials8008]

❤

[@whatatypicaltime2412]

Parents 2, grandparents 4, G-grantparents 8, GG-grandparents 16. So all 16 of them? Or just 2 of them? Love how americans have such a selective imbracing of their past history by identifying themselves with whatever is the flavour of the month. Irish, italian, norwegian, swedish etc... But hey, cool story bro.

[@MiracleFound]

My great-grandparents too! They came from Dønna and Herøy (island of Seløy). Being a fisherman on the North sea was brutal.

[@LollyJK1]

@@whatatypicaltime2412 Just my maternal GG grandparents came from Norway. All others were born here. Your flavor comment is uncalled for. Hate much?

[@miangelsai]

Wondeful testimony of a harsh life ... Not many can be prepared for such tough conditions . Thanks for sharing a reality most of us have ignored .

[@voraciousreader3341]

@@miangelsai Not many have to be prepared for it except long ago when the first few generations of people made their lives there. The rest were born to it, and they adapted. Those who couldn’t deal with it left, I suppose, if they had the wherewithal. These days, if people wanted to live that way, they’d have a lot of information at their disposal and could decide if they were tough enough to do it. And as other people have shown, they could make a lot of money from a KZbin channel by filming or live-streaming the enormous challenges they face, once they built up an audience, lol!

[@miangelsai]

@@voraciousreader3341 One posibility ....

[@janeysiegrist5061]

Another wonderful video from the Dirksen crew! Thank you for all the hard work you do.. taking us to wonderful places.

[@JB-eg1tb]

Learning about how others lived is quite educational and intriguing. The area is picturesque, and water clear. I can only imagine this place during winter!

[@kirstendirksen]

I’ve heard it’s another type of beauty with the northern light(s).

[@JB-eg1tb]

@@kirstendirksen Oh wow.

[@play-doughsrepublic5121]

My Sami-Norwegian family lived in Kabelvag for over a hundred years, moving from Kvaefjord, Tromso in 1770. We left Kabelvag in 1905 for Oslo, then on to the US in 1930. We are now living in Minnesota and last year I bought an isolated and abandoned farm that hasn't been plow for over seventy years. For the first lime in five generations my family is farming again, but I never forgot where my family came from - the Lofoten... Thank you for this video. :)

[@IBLV2DOU]

My father grew up in Voss. He spoke of tough times, raising sheep, and eating potatoes. When ships came in he’d buy fruit. War. He immigrated to the USA, to Minnesota first, then Michigan to fish with his uncle. He’s long passed away now. But he spoke of the beauty of Norway, good people, one room schoolhouse, and how he had ridden his bicycle with a friend all around to the upper borders. He never returned. Hard to understand why not, looking at the many videos. Thank you for sharing the lovely area and stories.

[@Jordan-xg4pn]

There is a high speed train going through Voss, I have been through that place before. It’s beautiful.

[@Joanthebrightone]

@@IBLV2DOU wow! Potatoes are naive to Peru!

[@EL-be_real]

The quiet and sounds of nature is a blessing in and of itself. The world has become so noisy, even at night there's always some electrical buzzing going on.

[@edwardlulofs444]

Yes times 10. When camping alone for months I learned that my indigestion and irritability came from city noise and rude people.

[@isabelleb.1270]

The world became very noisy in the 19th century with the « industrial revolution »... Did you just wake up ?

[@smrk2452]

Yes it makes me crazy, and then people have to make more noise with their loud music and exhaust pipes.

[@smrk2452]

@@edwardlulofs444also mental health symptoms

[@stable-shadow]

Thanks Kirsten and Crew, this was very interesting..... that would be paradise for a few weeks.... Loved it! 🕊️

[@TheDoorspook11c]

I'll take a satellite internet dish and this could be sustainable. Solar panels. Some heavy equipment for a week to redo the HVAC to geothermal.

[@catnaz]

Very interesting. My wife has relatives in Røst and I'm so interested in visiting the place. We live in Sør-Varanger and I treasure that cabin that my inlaws built. No electricity, no internet, no phone... just raw nature and lots of weather. There is a magic in all of these. Now, I can imagine that back in the day... they rather changed the "magic" for something more comfortable... (LOL) Loved the video. Awesome!

[@serenakoleno9338]

You are living a wonderful life to be exploring such a beautiful, diverse assortment of homes. An idyllic spot that I would not want to be in during bad weather. So great he has the skills and drive to fix the homestead and pass it on to the next generations. TFS 😊😊❤❤

[@rubberbiscuit99]

What a beautiful place. Fascinating to see how humans adapt buildings to the demands of an extreme coastal environment. It seems unnatural that a storm can rip a roof off a building, when that roof was reinforced with rebar set in concrete. However, there is nothing more natural. I have seen for myself that it is nothing at all for a twister to embed a solid piece of wood deep into earth that has been compressed by decades of cattle walking upon it, or a blade of grass straight into a utility pole. It's humbling, to say the least. Thank you for this video. I will watch it more than once!

[@SpanishEclectic]

This is the second video I've seen from you that features Norway and the old ways people lived in these cold, harsh climates. His father's stories about the German warships are fascinating. I too have ancestors from both Norway and Denmark; they found Minnesota and Wisconsin to have climates they were used to, along with beautiful forests, lakes, and farmland.

[@noahbrown4388]

@@SpanishEclectic And the UP of Michigan!

[@williamkristiansen4938]

The climate is actually very different in the american mid west, many norwegians were used to wind and cold but an oceanic climate, the winters in the mid west were much colder than many norwegians were used too, and the flat lands hard to get used to

[@suelyons531]

Terrific job guys. So interesting. I love the places you pick to film. Birger's story sounds like it would make a great book.

[@russellrhodes1468]

This channel shows there’s so much out to experience. Thoughtful observations, with novel building facades. Accents abundant; most importantly, the history is rich in most of her posts.

[@kirstendirksen]

Thank you for the comment. There really is a lot of diversity in the world. Lucky for us many are willing to share their stories.

[@janmarchand7294]

Wow! Ya'll manage to bring us on totally new adventures every time. I love to see how different people build their homes to meet the conditions in their area, so this video was a total delight. ❤

[@kirstendirksen]

Yeah, these homes were built to air dry just like the stockfish.

[@janmarchand7294]

@@kirstendirksen 👍👍

[@cyndeeh]

My ALL-TIME FAV COUNTRY! Love this channel!

[@susanr5546]

Mine, too! such wonderful stories.

[@marieleopold1625]

SIMPLY AMAZING how resilient some people have become to adapt to their environment! YIKES! Thanks for sharing/making this vid! Health an' blessings! :)

[@kirstendirksen]

They really did adapt. It really was remote self-sufficiency.

[@Matisto1]

I think the appreciation for this place comes when you have a different safe space from which you visit.

[@ahkkariq7406]

Absolutely, that is right. My family come from such a place. It is really harsh in the winter.

[@serenakoleno9338]

Yet nowhere is truly safe. I live in a city, yet earlier my neighbor walked next door with his hunting rifle! It's deer hunting season, yet hunters should be far away from houses. 😮😢

[@makenziejaranson2843]

This is my new favorite video of yours!! I've learned a lot about the culture of some of my ancestors ❤️ ❤️ such a great perspective of the everyday life

[@phylliscraine]

I love places like this...

[@K.L.M.Online]

A window into a gorgeous, and different time and place. Thanks!

[@SCORPIUSANCTUM]

Love this channel! This is absolutely beautiful

[@kirstendirksen]

Thank you. We thought it was beautiful as well.

[@gregkrekelberg4632]

Man, the lighting in Norway is entrancing. I'm sure it's not for everyone, but it really calls to me. It's like a constant alpenglow. I really want to get to Svalbard someday.

[@JohnR-gk7ch]

Really enjoyable. Love the harshness of the surroundings yet the resilience of the Norwegians to adapt and survive. Despite the rough exteriors of their structures, the interiors were quiet nice and comfortable. Don't understand the sod roofs. Seems like an invite to wood rot and leakage. Great video- keep up the good work.

[@dalehamelin9538]

Thanks for sharing ! I Love the old homesteads &, self sufficiency & solitude From Nova Scotia.

[@StevenvonBriesen]

Wow! Thanks for that amazing insight into your lives! Visited Norway twice around 1980 with the US Navy. One of the most beautiful countries I have visited. God Bless!

[@susanaaragorn8606]

It is incredible how human beings have adapted to such harsh conditions. I would like to see a storm there!

[@rolfnilsen6385]

It is scary when the whole house shakes and you wonder if it will blow off the foundations and it is impossible to keep the house warm as the wind pushes through the gaps in the logs.

[@anaalves3658]

​@@rolfnilsen6385 doesn't sound like fun. It looks beautiful, but it's not for me,I like it hot 🥵. Lots of sunshine and warm water 😊

[@rolfnilsen6385]

@@anaalves3658 It is not. But modern houses are much better in that regard. Old houses were built to withstand the storms. And those who did not.. are not anymore. Most old houses in exposed places like shown in the video are placed as well as could be to use terrain features as shelter. But during winter there will be storms and most years also hurricanes with air temperatures around zero deg. Celcius. Those houses would not be pleasant in such conditions, but far better than being outdoors or in a small open boat 🙂 This specific house is well north of the arctic circle so during winter it will be mostly dark even during daytime. Which adds to the discomfort as you can not see how bad the storm is by looking at the seastate, bushes etc. But during summer it is a fantastic place.

[@jacobjorgenson9285]

I’m danish and got some Flint tools from my grand dad found in his farm in Denmark. They are dated 8000 years old

[@susanaaragorn8606]

@@jacobjorgenson9285 when did the glaciars retreat in Scandinavia?

[@tailgatecarpenter26]

Fabulous videography! I love the tie back concept to hold the buildings down. The winds on my hillside home reach 80 mph in the San Francisco area. Anything I plant or build has the wind in mind during planning. Thank you both for this episode.

[@lizasilomar8545]

I loved this. Great editing, Kirsten.

[@debojitmahanta]

Your work and the stories you bring out help me take a pause and think

[@DizzKola3]

This is a beautiful piece of the earth! I loved touring the home. If they bring in cod, and can make butter, I’d have dinner every night. 😋

[@sandialdrich1308]

Amazing hearty people. Thank you for the tour.

[@donwyates]

Oh my! This is such a beautiful place - it's just breathtaking. 😮

[@bill29-g3b]

I said 'wow' at the same time Kirsten did when he was talking about the sand in the boathouse! My parents grew up during the Great Depression. They passed down a motto I've lived by. "Use it up, wear it out. Make it do or do without".

[@tsbrownie]

Nice video. Thank you. It's always nice to have the longitude and latitude of remote places to see it on google earth.

[@ursa4212]

Amazing video, amazing landscape, amazing people. Thank you.

[@olarrist4273]

Am I the only one that wants to see this place during one of these massive storms? .

[@spmamabear]

The woodstove is made from soapstone. It has a very good heat retention capacity, and it uses efficient secondary combustion, so the masonry heater only needs a small armload of wood in one firing, hot and fast, and the smoke and heat travels through channels within the stove before exiting through the chimney, leaving the heat in the structure. It gives off radiant heat for 12-24 hours after the fire has already gone out and the flue closed. They're second only to pellet stoves in burn efficiency, and as such, exempt from many of the American EPA regulations. When I immigrated to the United States, I sincerely thought the 10-20 cord firewood piles people stocked up for winter were a several year supply! I was used to using so much less wood than American style woodstoves do, growing up with this woodstove technology. I'm hoping to eventually build one in my farmhouse in Idaho, with a small Swedish cast iron cooking hob, if I can find a way to import one to be bricked into a masonry heater with baking oven. It's more expensive to make one in the US than in the Nordic countries where the knowhow was never lost, but there are masons that are knowledgeable and availability has improved a lot since when I immigrated. The one in the cabin is a smaller model, you can find some for example with the search term "tulikivi", or the Masonry Heater Association of America's website. The tiled style stoves are "kakelugn", or "kaakeliuuni" or "kakluuni" or "kachelofen".

[@donjohnson5123]

The quiet is nice but good that he mentioned the horror of the winters. No ….thank….you. I’ll continue to enjoy my central Vietnam where there’s no such thing as cold.

[@phildo39645]

Awesome! You look Amazing Kirsten!😃😃😃

[@saurabhsingh2890]

I would lobe to spend time there, looks so cozy ans peaceful ❤

[@mk1fourwinds62]

I am old enough to remember my grandparents doing farming, logging, hunting, fishing, and gardening on a rocky farm with brutally cold winters.

[@ValerieReninger]

Thank you for sharing your personal lifestyle. It is so interesting!

[@michellewinkler3985]

Thank you so much for sharing this with us! From the USA

[@jarlovesen5722]

Even for a local living in the nearby area, this is super interesting.

[@rmbarnes672]

Thanks for your description. Your videos are the best of their kind.

[@rogerwilliams2902]

Lovely video, many thanks.

[@eshqa]

Very interesting!! 👌 Thank you! 💛

[@jfkpatriot1215]

harsh life surrounded by so much beauty

[@gjerrildkro]

Tak for sharing, life's adventure.

[@MyrtleRose-q7u]

This is the beautiful place I love it.

[@sockssandals934]

This place looks incredible!

[@gayabele4]

Such an interesting video! He said the house was heated with wood but I don't see many, if any, trees to provide fuel.

[@cindywiech2675]

Wondered the same thing

[@smrk2452]

My grandmother talked about how special it was to get a Christmas orange. She grew up in Yugoslavia in the 1920s & 1930s.

[@jamesmcnaughton5092]

My mother told me the same about getting fruit for Christmas in Yugoslavia , I still remember hearing this

[@fredsimmons2793]

KIRSTEN and husband truly go to the ends of the earth to share theirs dreams and kindred spirits dreams with us.My life is so much richer because of these efforts.

[@finallyfriday.]

Drafty old farm homes always last longer. A good roof, a solid foundation and drafty walls and it lasts forever. I'm a builder and a farmer and I've seen this hundreds of times

[@thinkplanetearth2946]

The cinematography of the landscape was really beautiful. I wonder if any footage exists anywhere of what it looks like in the winter. I can't imagine how hard full-time life must've been there.

[@wanderinglost1921]

Amazing life they live for this live, thankyou

[@sgrvtl7183]

This was a beautiful and interesting video. I will not get to these countries, and this is my way of traveling in the world! Thank You Kirsten~

[@meganbedell4868]

Love this! Great way of life.

[@MerwinARTist]

Amazing beauty .. what a mountain backdrop .. lots of history!

[@oldbird299]

Wonderful. Really enjoyed this. Thanks. I'm happy for the comforts of today though. "Deadly monotonous" would seem right compared to now.

[@jonathanmathau7401]

Beautiful place and life, would love to visit Norway.

[@DrunkenDemon]

The mountain lives. Incredible landscape :)

[@Adrinacolacoprakashsinha]

I was in the area a few months ago , so it was nice to see this

[@jgdays2439]

How incredibly beautiful ! Our life is so much easier , now , but lots of us have lots the connection with nature .

[@Kare1949]

It is a beautiful cabin. ❤️

[@PeppermintPatties]

This is lovely. I lived in Norway in my 20s, but I never went to Lofoten. ❤️

[@tatianapellegrinelli]

My god, how I wish I could live a lifestyle like this! It has its risks, sure, but it's simple and peaceful, just man and the elements. Natural beauty everywhere.

[@deniecedonnafield5264]

Very enjoyable video

[@kirstendirksen]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@joffrey.ph_]

I can imagine how peaceful life can be here in this place.

[@susanbradleyskov9179]

I live in Scandinavia, Denmark to be precise. If I ever tried to set myself up in an old farmhouse, even with permission from whoever owned it, I would have the state breathing down my neck, trying to move me into shoddy public housing so fast I wouldn’t be able to take a breath between the idea and finding the farmhouse. Hei hei Norge!

[@ahkkariq7406]

I got the impression that they don't live permanently in the place. It is probably their summer resort now - like so many other places along the Norwegian coast. If they wanted to, they would presumably have been allowed to settle permanently on the site.

[@susanbradleyskov9179]

@ It sounded like that to me, too. Tbh, who really wants a boulder washing up in their kitchen in the middle of winter, anyway? 😏

[@bethdumont9020]

I watch a lot of the homesteading channels. The key places appear to be Spain & Portugal. In Spain you can buy a ruin to restore under certain conditions. I'm assuming the state of the ruin has got a lot to do with being allowed to live in it. But you certainly can't live in it unrestored - you have to restore it. Sympathetically, using a licensed builder. So my guess is that it's more to do with the state of the building than being off the grid - at least as off the grid as you can get in a country like Denmark. The American homesteaders tend to look for off grid land to build up from scratch. They often choose counties without building codes and then build something that would exceed any building codes that may've existed. Even those who build weekend cabins overbuild them because it's better in the long run should you wish to sell at some time in the future - you've made improvements to the property.

[@jennifers6435]

How beautiful❤

[@apennell3575]

Fascinating .

[@SabuLepcha-s1l]

Amazing this is😊

[@sarahkelly7825]

New sub. here. My son told me about your channel. I loved this video!! I'm hooked!

[@gerardkiff2026]

I definitely could spend a long weekend there…..in the summer lol.

[@jdg9999]

21:54 Wow, what a landscape.

[@johnberry8117]

Really cool place!😊

[@VINTERIUM..EXPLORIUM.1]

Nice Work & Video 👍

[@Daytona2]

+6:48 love that oven design - large surface area = better heat distribution into the room, and several surfaces for cooking. I've never seen that design before.

[@tims.9883]

Interesting, thank you.

[@jojoberrypie6580]

The little boy flinches involuntarily. My heart prays for his safety.

[@nicolasboullosa]

We asked for permission to keep that particular recording. We are not that type of youtuber.

[@kirstendirksen]

I think he was reacting to my English. I speak very quickly and he's likely just learning the language.

[@RVRSABLE]

Would love to see the extreme weather season there

[@elsadimaano7394]

Hello kirsten i always wactching you i'm from philipines godbles you ❤

[@kirstendirksen]

Thanks for writing. Good to hear who’s watching and where.

[@kentceaser4413]

Another great video, so appreciative of this channel. I have to ask, given the extreme weather conditions and the severity of storms in this region, why do they build so close to the water’s edge? The gentleman mentions “the waves crashing in.” Are these homes not at risk for flooding or worst… being so close to the water? Thank you!

[@ahkkariq7406]

They lived off the sea, so they had to be near the sea - and as you can see, there's no other place you can build than on the water's edge. People had to live where it was possible to set up a house and at the same time have pasture for the animals. The mountain sides are very dangerous in winter because of the danger of avalanches. As you can see, the houses are a short distance from the mountain. If there were places that were higher in the terrain, and that were safe, they had already been taken by others. My family come from such a place.

[@floro7687]

Narrow rim of flat land between sea and steep mountain.

[@mikesorensen1981]

Amazing and very sturdy people to live in these conditions but they know how to live as comfortable as possible! I would like to know where did they get the wood for heating and building?

[@Ольга-б3и3ж]

Очень душевное и познавательное видео.

[@adelheidsnel5171]

That is sooo beautiful ❤

[@colleencarlson845]

Hi my grandfather came from a place like this life was hard there were 10 children he went looking for a job to help family and hide away on a ship heading for Australia ended up in a new land with a job and money in his pocket he saved an bought a block of land which he made self sufficient he was a hard working man but had a gental soul I love these stories and would love to see Norway ❤️👋🇦🇺

[@brendanalfo411]

I recommend lofoten is a lot different from western fjord country. And the south. Once you go though Norway will call you often to its soothing mountains. Especially nice if your still in touch with family there. My grandfather came over on a boat docking in Sydney for repairs 6 weeks he decided to be an alien until they caught him, Australian citizenship back than came from working on the snowyriver scheme. Nice to read about fellow Nordic Aussie.

[@Kofi.86]

Beautiful place

[@SylviaDiazMahfud]

How picturesque , you guys even have shorts on in the cold , wow

[@kirstendirksen]

Ha. I was freezing but we just hopped out of the car and started filming. The sun had been out earlier in the day. Lesson learned.

[@samhill3496]

Good vid. Harsh place but the families lived there year around for generations. People adapt and continue on with learned traditions. Much different that visiting for a month and going back to the city or to the interior. Good drone work and interviews. My family of two to five generations back grew up very similar in the mountains of East Kentucky USA, A homestead is a self sufficient place. Much as these people were. There were other families around as well. Work together and trade/help each other. We don't see a lot of that these days. All good. Thanks. Next time

[@Mnnvint]

My grandfather said that the house was so drafty, it got noticeably better once they put up wallpaper.

[@youtuber9758]

I think this is the true definition of sustainability, balanced, and coexisting with nature. Not helping the rich exploit humanity, fulfill their greed, and living a life without purpose.

[@closebits]

Oh that coastal rock that's been up-turned, folded, and more looks very much like Maine, US without the seaside hills, our hills are mostly inland. Wow!

[@MiracleFound]

My great-grandparents grew up like this! They were fishermen and some farming. They were from Dønna, Herøy (Seløy). We stayed at a cabin like this on Dønna.

[@iddet8867]

This is very similar to my grandparents' lifestyle in the Westfjords of Iceland. They lived as far north and west as you can go in Iceland in a very isolated area. My parents also grew up there, but everyone moved to the southwest coast at the end of World war II.