There's Room At The Inn

bought this hotel six years ago. It was cheap because everyone knew that the mine was closing down. Back then, it was used as housing for the workers. The big guns didn’t stay here of course. They stayed down at the real hotel. It used to be proper fancy. I own that place too, but it’s been ruined. We’ll probably knock it down and use the parts to build an extension to this one. I remember the few first times I was here visiting. Back then it was still all about dancing and music at the community hall. There were fancy parties at the old hotel. Invitation only, of course. They had staff in uniforms and silverware at dinner. Imagine the people who lived here in the 60s and 70s and how sad it must be for them to see what’s happening now. The community is disappearing. So anyway, we bought this hotel. We cleaned it for few days, and it was good to go. I bought the old school too, and I’m having someone come look at it today. He’s interested in buying it as a vacation home. People thought we were a bit odd for buying this place, but now I’m getting offers to sell. It’s been five years, and we’re doing OK. I think the main reason nobody from here bought this place before I could is the mine. For 60 years the mine would take care of everything for everyone. If so much as a light bulb blew, they would change it for you. It goes back several generations, so people have been brought up with it. It killed all the settler spirit. Other people try to start things up here. They’ll build and they’ll take loans. That’s the way it goes. And then they’ll only be able to stay open during the winter months—no more than four or five months a year. Then they’ll go belly up and get bought up by some larger corporation. People from a lot of major car manufacturers have started coming here to have their cars tested. There are people coming from Germany, France, and Asia. They’ll come during the winter and they’ll bring their prototypes and they’ll drive around and around on the ice for eight hours to see what the car can take. This entire area, with all the other towns and villages included, has a little over 3,000 people in it. Each year the car tests will bring in about €350,000 for the local authorities, but then they’ll tell us we need to SAVE a couple of hundred thousand. How is that possible? In this hotel, we’ve got three people working 50 rooms, managing the bar, and cooking in the restaurant. I have Norwegians coming over to stay here every year. They’ll come to drive scooters—it’s completely banned in Norway—and to party. Sure they’ll bring their own drinks, but they buy from me too. I have a lot of Germans too, from the companies. They’ll have breakfast in the morning, go out, come in at night and have dinner and then they’re quiet. That’s a comfortable job. These Norwegians here now are a handful though. They’ve kept us up, going at it for two days and two nights now. 40 hours. But they’ll be driving back across the border today. JAN-PETER