Flowering a Lighthouse for Two
A charming stay at Molja Fyr, Alesund Norway
Welcome to the Flowerlogue…, a happy place to share my flower travels with you from all over the world. In a hustle, bustle world in which we live, I hope you can take a little time out to vicariously enjoy the happiness I gain with discovering, working and scouting flowers. Please note all photos in this post were taken either by myself or Hubby G.
Perched at the mouth of Ålesund’s harbor is one of the coziest and most unexpected places we’ve ever stayed - Molja Fyr, a tiny, working lighthouse that’s been turned into a hotel room. Just one room, actually. Room 47 is affectionately known as “the honeymoon suite”.
It’s part of Hotel Brosundet, a stunning historic building in the heart of Alesund, Norway which has been renovated inside in a very stylish and contemporary way. Molja Fyr however, is traditional in its style and is located a 5-minute, cobble stone walk from the Hotel. It stands completely on its own, perched at the end of a stone jetty with the whole Art Nouveau city behind it and the open sea in front. For over 150 years, it has guided sailors through Alesund’s harbour, but today, as well as still continuing to work as a lighthouse, the interior has been reimagined as a snug, dreamland-worthy retreat.
From the outside, it looks like something out of a storybook, faded red with a white 3rd storey surrounding the lamp. Two narrow floors, and only enough space for the essentials. Inside, it’s snug and beautiful in that very Norwegian way: curved wooden walls and staircase, soft lighting, and a crisp linen lined bed cuddled right under a small window facing the outer harbour.
Hubby G and I fell asleep cocooned in this historic maritime marvel, lulled by the soft flash of the lighthouse overhead and the sound of lapping waves, and woke up to tugboats powering past on their way to a tow job, the scent of the sea and a hand delivered breakfast basket waiting at our door - still warm, smelling of coffee and fresh bread.
Hubby G had been working at a consulting office that day, so I surprised him as he walked home along stone jetty to our lighthouse home, by swinging the bathroom window open revealing me and my floral offering!
Whenever I travel, I have this flower ritual: I bring a vase and my snips, and find a few local flowers to make the space feel more like home. In Ålesund, I stopped by a florist in town and brought back a few bunches of pastel calla lilies, wax flower, Great Masterwort or astrantia - a typical Scandinavian seemingly random combination of shapes, small pretty flowers, but overall nothing too formal. I tucked the vases into the bathroom and window ledges. Something about fresh flowers in a space like that makes everything feel slower, calmer.
Molja Fyr felt like the kind of place you accidentally stumble on and never forget. Romantic, for sure - but also kind of magical. There’s no television in the lighthouse, and no distractions (apart from the occasional tourist outside wanting to get in!). Just the sea, the light, some antique sea story books and a little wooden door you close behind you. It’s a space built for stillness. And sometimes, that’s exactly what travel should be.
A Florist’s Note
When I’m in a new place, I like to let the local flowers settle me. I buy simple bunches or forage just a stem or two, trim them short, and drop them into a drinking glass or jar. Place them somewhere I’ll notice them - on the windowsill, beside my toothbrush, near my coffee cup or computer. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Just thoughtful.
Let the flowers remind you: you’re somewhere new, and that’s something to celebrate.
Do you have any rituals you do when you travel? I’d love to know.
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Such a tender and gentle way you told this story. What an unusual place and how you made it special with your flower touch. I would love to experience this lighthouse.
So beautiful! Sounds like such a special experience. ☺️