In the summers of 2019 and 2020 I worked at Trollstigen Drift AS, the company that runs the kafé, the camping and the souvenir shop at Trollstigen — the legendary mountain road in Åndalsnes, Møre og Romsdal. My title was simply helper: various tasks in exchange for food, accommodation and a salary, with the honest goal of gaining work experience and improving my English. It turned out to be two of the most beautiful workplaces in Norway.
🏝️ The place
Trollstigen means “the Troll’s ladder”: 11 hairpin bends climbing from the Isterdalen valley to the Trollstigplatået plateau at 858 m, with the 180-metre Stigfossen waterfall plunging past the road. At the top, a modern visitor centre overlooks the valley; at the bottom, the family-run Trollstigen Camping og Gjestegård sits in the green Isterdalen valley:
The view that made the job worth it — the hairpin bends of the Trolls’ ladder and the Stigfossen waterfall.
The road itself — 11 hairpin bends, best appreciated on two wheels.
The Istra river racing down Isterdalen, past the camping and up to the plateau.
☕ Year one (2019): kafé and camping
The first summer I worked as a waiter in the Trollstigen Kafé and as a general camping helper: cleaning, cutting grass, maintenance — whatever the day needed, in exchange for a bunk, food and a first real salary. My English improved fast: the kafé and the camping see visitors from every corner of the planet.
🧧 Year two (2020): the souvenir shop and a Mission: Impossible villain
The second summer I moved to the souvenir shop on the Trollstigplatået plateau, in the visitor centre overlooking the valley:
And that’s where the summer’s best story happened. That year the crew of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning was filming in Norway — the famous train-top fight sequence on the Raumabanen railway — and one day Esai Morales, the actor who plays Gabriel, the villain opposite Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), walked into the shop. He bought a magnet. I sold a magnet to the bad guy of Mission: Impossible.
🥈 Off days: Rampestreken and a stop in Oslo
Time off meant exploring the neighbourhood. The classic hike from Åndalsnes climbs the Romsdalstrappa — the Sherpa-built stone staircase — up Mount Nesaksla to the Rampestreken viewpoint, 537 m above the town, with the Romsdalsfjord and the Rauma river delta spread out below:
Rampestreken viewpoint, Mount Nesaksla — Åndalsnes and the Romsdalsfjord below.
The climb itself — Romsdalstrappa, the Sherpa staircase above Åndalsnes.
And when the clouds came down, a train ride to Oslo for the new Deichman Bjørvika library — honeycomb concrete ceiling, the Brainstorm neon installation, and red self-service desks under a cathedral of books:
Deichman Bjørvika, Oslo — the Brainstorm light installation by Lars Ø. Ramberg.
🎓 What it gave me
- My first full-time summer job abroad, before the double master’s and before Ericsson.
- English every day, with guests from all over the world — the goal I came for.
- Norway’s west coast: mountains, fjords, midnight sun — and a healthy respect for Norwegian weather.
Trollstigen Trollstigen Drift AS Norway · Åndalsnes · 2019–2020 Mission: Impossible