Kvalvikhytta

Maybe it is order to record the episodes with our accommodation on Stranda. So, we had booked Kvalvikhytta via Storfjord Booking. The cabin was supposed to be for 12 persons (which sounded a bit high for 4 persons) and the booking agency promised that we can drive to the door, which has become important factor on selecting cabins around Stranda after the year, when we had to carry all the luggage, food and equipment from parking lot over 500 meters away from the cabin in soft snow up to the waist at 2 am in darkness…

So the expectations were high when we arrived. The first disappointment was that the road was not exactly all the way to the door; well, close enough – only 20 meters was separating the car and the front door, but there was plenty of snow and cross country ski tracks in between. Anyway, we got the gear into the cabin with almost dry feet.

Then, the quick exploration of the cabin revealed that we were lucky not to have a party of 12 skiers There was enough space for 4 people, but not for many more, and the critical facilities (like kitchen, toilet, shower) were definitely not planned for 12 hungry and sweaty explorer.

The next observation was that it was really cold inside. Luckily, we had ordered some fire wood and the fireplaces were working. So the situation was not desperate… Anyhow, Line from the agency arranged us two brand new electric radiators, but when we turned those on, the fuse blew almost right a way. It took a while and couple of calls before we found the fuse panel (you would not have ever believed that the fuse panel can be hidden on the very low attic) and the spare fuses.

And the fuses kept blowing… Until we called Line again, and she ordered electrician to check what’s going on and that lead to a good project local contractor: in the end there were 3 fellows working for a day, when they changed the fuse panel to a modern one and replaced the old wires.

Now everything was fine for couple of days, but then on Friday morning, the water pipe was frozen. Thus, we had to revert to smelting snow to get the morning porridge and tee… Well, it was again time to call Line and order plumber. It turned out that the pipe was frozen inside the building (which tells something about the heating and insulation). Anyhow, problem solved and we got warm shower also after a nice day.

Despite some minor defect on the accommodation, I have to say that the flexibility and “let’s fix it” attitude of Storfjord Booking was excellent. I could rent a cabin via them again…

Btw, now there is full photo set from the Stranda tour in Flickr, check out and get amused