The Times - UK (2022-06-11)

the times Saturday June 11 2022

Travel 41

‘Myriad tiles in blue and white

stretch out, complementing

the sea view beyond’

Sarah Tomczak at the newest hotel on the Amalfi coast

on a visit is nature hollering, “Come

hither!”, and as any Scandinavian will tell

you, the best hither in summer involves

H 2 O. It’s no coincidence those water-

rich Scandi nations are the happiest

on earth.

As the region’s capitals

rediscover their harbours, the

smart visitor skips grander

hotels for stays where breakfast

is served beside a sparkling fjord.

Travel within two hours of a city

and you’ll find Scandinavian

holidaymakers ensconced in a

smart clapperboard hotel on the

coast, or enjoying simple #bestlives in

a pretty red cabin beside a lake; fishing,

canoeing, barbecuing at midnight,

perhaps a swim in the half-light before a

sauna or hot tub, an essential element

of the Scandinavian experience. To

embrace the life, consider a floating

Fancy a break in a

f loating cabin or

designer beach

cottage? Here’s how

to have a dreamy

Nordic summer.

By James Stewart

T

here’s a Norwegian

concept known as

friluftsliv. Coined by the

playwright Henrik Ibsen,

it translates as “open-air

living” but is better

understood as the

transcendent, spiritual value of being

outdoors. If that outdoors can be remote,

so much the better.

Perhaps only a Scandinavian truly

appreciates getting outside. Not just

because they have an awful lot of it but

because there’s nothing like a long, dark

winter to make you embrace gilded

summers with messianic zeal. Over the

next couple of months, the days and

nights blur – now, in early June, Tromso

is experiencing 23 hours of daylight. The

light assumes a luminous quality and

birch forests become a symphony of

greens. That persistent sound you hear

cabin in the lakeland of Finland or in the

Rane River valley, Sweden.

Around Norway’s awesome Lofoten

Islands and in the Swedish Arctic

accommodation becomes more

sophisticated as the scenery

becomes grander. Remote resorts

have minimalist glass-walled

cabins with a front-row view of

the scenery. Most places offer a

ton of activities but I bet you’ll

spend as much time goggling at

mountains and watching light

shift across the sea.

In short, you’ll slow down,

reconnect with nature. Probably with

yourself too. Because that’s the

unspoken benefit of friluftsliv. Smart

cookies, the Scandinavians.

Great Scandi escapes next page

Arctic Bath,

Harads, Sweden

Travel

Page

46

Scandi escapes

by the water

GETTY IMAGES

A fisherman’s

cabin in Hamnoy,

Lofoten Islands

Huts, hotels and houseboats