3.31.2010

Scandinavians and Their Urban Summer Cottages

My favorite eccentricity of Scandinavian cities is the existence of tiny summer cottages that fill large areas of land in otherwise densely populated cities. These are used during the long days of summer to lounge and garden, and most are too small to sleep in; plumbing is unusual.

I've seen these in varying styles in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. I took these pictures in the middle of Stockholm, in one such enclave of profligate cuteness:



What a civilized way to live! I can't think of a single city that wouldn't be greatly improved with a few blocks of urban summer cottages. During the warm months, families lucky enough to have a cottage often get much of their produce from these little plots:



Of course, it not all business. Many flowers are grown:



In places the foliage is dense enough to obscure the city entirely:



A haze of summer sun:

5 comments:

Mlle Paradis said...

gorgeous. great idea! i'm with you.

Rambling Tart said...

Ohhh, I love this. So much. :-) What an idyllic escape and splendid notion. :-)

Alix said...

I was already a little bit obsessed with Sweden (the language! the natural landscape! the Bergman films!) and thinking about teaching myself Swedish and all that, and then this-- there is absolutely no way I can procrastinate on learning Swedish any longer. Cramped quarters and unusual plumbing will deter me; I must live there, post haste.

Pistachio said...

This is amazing!!! Why don't I have this in Brooklyn?!

Anonymous said...

A amazing garden. I'd love to see more of it.

-Zane of ontario honey

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