By the water special
Dip your toe into our Vol 14 Summer Simply Scandi Special, which celebrates our Scandinavian friends' love of the water. We chatted to travel writer Laura Hall as she sets sail around the rugged, rocky coastline of Scandinavia in search of reasons to love the fjords, seas and waterways.
"Little islands perch on the horizon in the twinkling blue sea all along the coastlines of Norway, Sweden and Denmark; sailboats and motorboats chug to and fro, children splash in shallow water and families relax on beaches with an ice cream. Even more than for us Brits (I’m one living in Copenhagen), summer in Scandinavia is about spending time at the seaside,” says Laura.
“Here, the sea is never just the sea. It’s the road ancestors travelled in the past, a trading and raiding route plied by great wooden boats, a path connecting nations. It’s the larder of the region too, the great herring hunting ground and a fertile fishing spot that has fed generations. It’s also an ever-changing place of inspiration for artists, where every day brings different colours, and influences may wash up on the shore. For these nations which have a stronger than average connection with nature, the sea is not just a landscape feature but a key part of living culture in the region,” explains Laura.
