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: