Boathouse in Norway: how a boathouse turned into a summer cottage

I heard that Norway is called a truly fabulous country due to its natural beauty. Indeed, the abundance of water bodies gives the state a special charm. Norway has access to three seas at once and has about 400 thousand lakes. This is a very impressive figure for me!

Not surprisingly, many locals have their own boats. The premises for their storage and maintenance, located directly above the water, were once called "boathouses". Before, I could not even imagine that ordinary boat sheds are hidden behind such a beautiful word. Associated with something cozy, romantic and incredibly beautiful.

Meanwhile, this term originated in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 20th century. The boathouse literally translates as "construction for repair". In the 20s of the last century, such buildings gained wide popularity in different countries. At first, they were used exclusively for storing floating equipment in the cold season, as well as for repairing them and storing equipment.

However, today the slipways can be safely called multifunctional buildings. I've heard that in Crimea they are used for very comfortable accommodation of tourists. True, such houses are located not directly on the water, but in the immediate vicinity of the sea. But I will not be distracted, back to Norway.

Modified Norwegian boat sheds are full-fledged two-story houses or even mini-cottages. In the lower part of the building there is a storage room for boats and equipment. Often it is equipped with a slipway - a special inclined base that is used for lowering and raising a boat. If the lower floor of the boathouse has a purely technical purpose, then the upper one is equipped with a living area.

As a rule, it is divided into sections and consists of a kitchenette, dining room and bedroom. Often, the Norwegians equip the boathouses with full-fledged banquet halls, paneled with wood. Fishing tackle, shells and other "seafood" are used here as decorations. Boathouses cannot do without a mini-bar with outlandish bottles from different parts of the world. The windows of the second floor of these buildings overlook the endless sea. I would like to relax in such a cottage with my loved one. Romance is in the air ...

In the summertime, boathouses are used both for temporary family residence and for meeting friends. Often exclusively male gatherings take place here. A kind of Norwegian alternative to our garage gatherings. Sincerely, cute and very colorful. Although the Norwegians are quite quiet and measured people, they are never averse to having fun in a warm company near the water. It is a pity that I have no friends in Norway. I'd love to get out to them for the weekend.

The marina is an integral continuation of the boathouse. Here they fish, take seafood from boats, smoke a pipe, drink beer and communicate with neighbors. The hostess, busy preparing dinner, can chat with her husband sitting in a sun lounger through the second-floor window. On clear, fine days, birds come to the pier. Feeding the birds is another entertainment for the inhabitants of the local boathouses. It is sad that in my native Siberia there is no sea, and it is somehow not customary to build slipways on the river here. Would you like to have such a house on the water?