The Swedish Summer House

Everyone in Sweden including the taxi driver seems to have a "summer house"!!

So when my friend, AnnSofie, messaged that there was a change in plans and that instead of staying in her flat in Stockholm, we were now going to her summer house, I was more than thrilled. I had heard about the Swedes' passion for summer houses and how they all head there over the weekend or over MidSummers.

Her summer house is an hour or so away from Stockholm at the easternmost point in a place called Graddo. Once I was there, I could see why she and her husband take every opportunity to visit it. Though it is called a "summer house", it is actually a year round retreat for the family. It is a place where many happy memories are shared and new experiences created with family and friends. Her sister in law has a place next door and her neighbours are her long time friends.

She has chickens who are fat and happy. She grows herbs and vegetables, though the roedeer have a feast eating them. Her neighbour Lotta is an avid gardener who spends most of her time amongst her vegetables, fruits and herbs.

AnnSofie's house is by a lake where they have a couple of boats moored. When the weather is good, they go sailing in the archipelago and catch fish. I am told that they love jumping into the cold water after soaking in the hot sauna at Lotta's. Most of the weekends are spent working on the house and the extension. I was informed that most Swedes love working on their homes and they lovingly restore or build it up to their expectations. The charming red houses with white gables are a lovely sight to behold.

Mushroom picking in the forests nearby is another activity that is quite popular. AnnSofie and I went walking in the forest but all we could see were cows and no edible mushrooms. We didn't pass a single human being during the time we were there. Honestly I don't think I could have done a walk like that on my own as one can easily lose one's way in the forest.

Horse riding is another activity that seems very popular.

AnnSofie made my visit to her summer house quite memorable - a dinner with her friends and family cooked with produce grown in her garden and fish that she herself had caught, mushroom picking in the forest, elk burgers and coffee at her neighbour Lotta's. She let me have an insight into a very private world and I am privileged to have had the opportunity.

Lotta's house

The harbour at Graddo

Graddo

The fat chickens

The mushrooms that were inedible

Flowers from Lotta's garden

Summer houses: The facts -

- Twenty percent of Swedes, or 1.8 million people, own a summer house
- About 40 percent of Swedes say they plan on buying a summer house at an average cost of 670,000 kronor (USD 91,250)
- In 2006/07 some 29,000 Swedes will buy a summer house, spending a total of 19 billion kronor (USD 2.5 billion)
Source: Nordea Bank
- The most popular areas to buy summer houses are the Stockholm archipelago, Skåne, Öland, Gotland, the West Coast and Småland
- Between 2000 and 2005, the national average price for a summer house rose by 48 percent
- During the period March to May 2006 1,282 summer houses were sold in Sweden
(source: Association of Swedish Real Estate Agents)