What is glamping?

Not to long ago me and @emuse had ourselves a little weekend getaway a little out of the ordinary. We went glamping at a pretty fantastic location on the Western coast of Norway. This is definitely a trip we won't soon forget.

This little 7 sqm box with connected incineration toilet was our humble little abode for the night. It's fittingly named a "Birdbox". The inside of the Birdbox features a king size bed with a 270 degree view of the surrounding area including a coffee table and two chairs. On the outside there's a few wooden picnic tables with accompanying benches.

This is pretty much what sets glamping apart from normal camping. It's a night in the outdoors (relatively speaking) but you don't have to worry about freezing to death or sleeping on uneven ground in a sleeping bag. It's camping but with added glamour, hence the term glamping. Glamping is a trend that has really exploded in Norway the last few years but this is the first time we've given it a go and it's unlikely that it will be the last.

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Our night in the Birdbox

The Birdbox is about an hours drive away from where we live. The hike from the parking lot and up to the Birdbox took us around 20 minutes walking in a relatively slow tempo. It's not a rough hike but there is a fair bit of elevation that comes all at once. You're mostly walking downhill, then flat for a little bit before you hit a massive elevation taking you all the way to the top of this rock.

The entire area was quite cozy. The ground used to belong to an outdoors/open air kindergarten operated by the same people who now own the Birdbox. There were traces of the old kindergarten all around the area. Along the trail we could see small figurines and painted rocks expressing different kinds of emotions. Almost like vintage emojies. In some places they made up formations in the grass and in other placed they were wedged into the mountainside, almost bringing it to life.

We were pleasantly surprised when we reached the Birdbox. It was a lot nicer than we had thought it would be and the pictures in the AirBnB ad didn't do it any justice. The inside of the Birdbox looked like a proper hotel room and the view was far superior in real life, which it often is.

The owners has left a small bottle of champagne for us on the coffee table alongside some small chocolate eggs. It was Easter after all. On the little shelf above the bed we found filled water bottles and fresh eggs from the nearby farm. Perfect for the breakfast come tomorrow morning.

Since it was blowing rather harshly outside, which is often the case along the coast, we sat inside to warm up a little bit while waiting for the sun to pop out. We took the time to just enjoy the view with the help of some binoculars and a looking glass.

When the sun finally popped out we went for a walk hoping to find a nice spot to do some fishing. That ended up being harder than anticipated given the surrounding area. Most areas close to the water were really steep with accompanying shallow water. A surprise to be sure and an unwelcome one. We did however find more traces of the old kindergarten that used to call this area its home.

Returning fishless from our trip we decided it was time for supper so we fired up the camping stove to cock us up some pancakes. @emuse had made the batter at home and bottled it up for us to cook on the trip. Since it was still rather windy we had some issued finding a suitable spot where the flame and pan would get hot enough for the pancakes to actually cook but after some experimenting and hauling around of the picnic tables we found a suitable arrangement.

An hour later we were able to enjoy a perfect meal, given the circumstances, inside in the warm Birdbox. It was quite idyllic eating a warm meal like this while looking out over the vast ocean and perfectly timed sunset. We were even lucky enough to see two white-tailed eagles dancing in the air less than a hundred meters outside of the window.

I can safely say that falling asleep and waking up in a place like this is quite magical. It has the kind of view that you can just look at for hours and always see something new. With all the eagles and other bird life in the area you'll have entertainment for days.

Come morning we were able to sleep in seeing as check out wasn't until 13:00. We took our time, fried up the fresh farm eggs and heated up some beans for yet another meal with a view. Sadly the sun doesn't set and rise in the same location so we didn't get no sunset breakfast. If I had to choose I would have still chosen the sunset anyways.

And that's how out little getaway concluded. With beans.

If you ever get the chance to go glamping I would strongly recommend giving it a go. It's the perfect mix of going to a nice hotel while still being close to the outdoors. If it should just so happen that you're going in Western Norway I would highly recommend this Birdbox AirBnb.+

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^{All images in this post are taken by me.}

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