Filipina photographer Grace Orbon-Emmelot moved to the Norway together with her three children. She shares her friluftsliv, and tips on embracing nature, dressing warm, thrifting, and a minimalist expat living in Norway.
To thrive in Norway, embracing the concept of Friluftsliv is essential. Friluftsliv or free air life means interacting with nature without spoiling it is at the core of Norwegian life, with her vast inland hills, mountains, valleys, coastal plains, and fjords.
I love the outdoors, and before coming to Norway, I had already been accustomed to the outdoor life, though in a warmer climate. The day after I first landed in Norway, Pieter, my fiancé at the time, and I went snowshoeing in the mountains with truger (snowshoes). It was a proper baptism of fire in a snowy winter wonderland.
No such thing as bad weather
There’s a beautiful Norwegian saying – Det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlig klær! which translates to “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing!” The very first thing Pieter prepared me for was to wear the proper clothing from head to toe. He didn’t want me to complain about the cold. The key is layering: a base layer of good quality (merino) wool, an isolating layer of fleece or wool, which can be a sweater or vest, and then an outer shell layer, like a jacket that protects you from the rain, snow, and the wind.
While I was keen on style and all the colors, my husband told me that the mountains don’t care what color I wear. He told me to buy suitable quality materials, so I could skip purchasing in the next ten years.
“Buy nice or buy twice.” I only understood this on our first trip to the mountains. The clothing he bought me cost four times as much as my wedding dress.
The only consolation was that I got clothes from the children’s section, a few kroner cheaper than adult sizes, around Kr. 7000, (roughly Php 37.000).
While I was keen on style and all the colors, my husband told me that the mountains don’t care what color I wear.
Grace Orbon-Emmelot, Filipina in Norway
Minimalist living in Norway
I discovered that thrift stores or online marketplaces like Facebook or www.finn.no are ways to purchase anything without spending a lot of money.
There is a great tradition of gjenbruk in Norway, which refers to recycling or reusing. I can’t count how often I have encountered people giving away items they have never or hardly ever used. I reckon this is the consequence of a surplus of spending, high purchasing power, being too lazy to throw things away, or simply Norwegian generosity. It can be anything, but it benefits those on a budget.
When I was still living in the Philippines, I couldn’t afford to travel leisurely, so working as a photographer allowed me to travel affordably. I also met my husband while working on a destination photoshoot in Singapore. Photography and traveling have been part of our lives.
Norway is a costly country to live in, but a prudent Filipina like me has ways to keep the traveling aspect at a low cost. Here are some things we usually do to keep our expenses minimal:
First, we plan, and part of it is checking the weather forecast for places we want to visit and preparing practical equipment and food. Since Norwegian weather can be unpredictable, we always have a plan B. If we don’t travel, maximizing places within our municipality is the best option. We are so lucky to be living in the countryside that. is only a five-minute drive to the mountains.
If we go to a popular destination or touristy spot in Norway, we always visit very early or during the off-peak time of the day.
We also avoid expensive hotels or resorts. But, sometimes, we indulge in a bit of convenience once in a while, like booking a hytta in the mountains with a short walk in the snow, we have to spend around Kr.700 a night (Php3600).
The hytta/cabins cost around Kr.450 or more. There is always a cheaper option for hiking and camping in the mountains. You can bring your tent in the wilderness or go to the state-owned hytta.
But going to these cabins takes a lot of preparation and endurance because you need to walk 3 to 5 hours by truger/snowshoes, or if you hone the skill of country skiing, you get there much faster. In one of our winter hikes, we started walking late at noon during a full moon in December and reached an accessible cabin in the mountain after five hours on showshoes.
Norway is a costly country to live in, but a prudent Filipina like me has ways to keep the traveling aspect at a low cost.
Grace Orbon-Emmelot, Filipina in Norway
The mountain is almost free
September marks a year since my four kids, ages 17, 15, 13, and 11, arrived in Norway through family reunification. Now, we are a family of six that needs to be more economical when planning trips. Our first option is always going to the mountain close to our house.
Last summer, we set individual goals for our climb of our favorite mountain, Bangsbereget. It didn’t cost anything except the gas driving to the base. We were very nervous when we first introduced friluftsliv to the kids. We were over- prepared with food and extra equipment to ensure that we could address any need. Our concern was to make their first significant winter hike easy but memorable.
Everything went well, so we started planning a major adventure in the winter wonderland in the wilderness. I was so amazed how the kids managed to walk 15km or almost 9 hours in the snow. Fortunately, we had good weather conditions. The northern lights appeared even though the moon was too bright.
A trip to the mountain is the most inexpensive way to enjoy the outdoors with family. Nature is free; apart from food and gas, we spend nothing else. Some equipment for the kids can also be borrowed from the municipal office. We just need to book them in advance.
Hiking up the mountain is exhausting. Behind the incredible images and videos, it’s strenuous, far from perfect, and not for everyone.
When we travel, I am with the most important people in my life, and together, we get through the fun and difficulties. Some discomforts during the hike make us appreciate everything we have.
Born with skis on their feet
The second aspect of Norwegian winter life is learning how to ski. Unless you grew up skiing, it is not that expensive anymore.
But we were not born with skis on our feet like many Norwegians, so we all have to start from scratch. This is an activity that even some locals frown upon regarding cost.
Going to a ski resort is expensive. Prices may range from Kr.500/pax (Ph3000- up) day pass to Kr.7300 (Ph38500) high season pass. On our part, we only borrowed equipment from the municipal office, or another option is to look for gist bort/gratis, free stuff that people are giving away.
Then we practiced for several days before buying a day pass at a ski resort. For my kids and me, it took five days before we could confidently say we could ski on red and blue tracks (intermediate + expert tracks). I will leave the expert tracks to my husband and the kids. I am content to say I can ski on a groomedtrail.
The “NorWay of Life” is our life now; though we are still not used to it wholeheartedly, we will probably drift from loving it and hating it now and then. Nordic winter is no doubt brutally cold, grey, or sometimes darker, which can drive one to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) or the winter blues. I can list a thousand reasons to hate winter, but the key to thriving in Norway is to embrace it like Norwegians do.
As a family, we will manage and make the most of our winter blues together. We may not always go to the ski resorts to enjoy skiing or hiking as there are other ways to enjoy winter, like building an igloo in your backyard, sitting by the fireplace with warm soup or hot chocolates, playing board games, solving puzzles, or watching a movie.
The “NorWay of Life” is our life now; though we are still not used to it wholeheartedly, we will probably drift from loving it and hating it now and then.
Grace Orbon-Emmelot, Filipina in Norway
It doesn’t matter what we do. As long as the whole family is warm to each other, we will get through these cold winter days and nights.
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