Summer houses

I asked my cousin last night if she could help me find a summer house to rent for a bit this summer. And then I read a blog of a friend of mine, wondering what in the world is the attraction for Icelanders with summer houses anyhow? 

I think that is a legitimate question, but that the answer is not so easy. Of course there are plenty who take it as a status marker that they own a summer house, and can say that is where they are going. There are others who like it for the chance to socialize with new people, either those who have summer houses nearby or those who come to stay at the summer house. I think some Icelanders like to go to summer houses because they see that, as many also see camping, as a good excuse to get really drunk, since no one has to drive anywhere. Surely there are others who head out to summer houses filled with romantic notions of getting back to basics, away from the TV or whathaveyou, out in the countryside. 

But for me, the summer house is the place to go with kids. And then it is not about status or getting drunk or even romantic simplicity. Nope, it is about exploring. When I was a kid staying at a summer house, I spent very, very, very little time inside. I spent everyday, as much time as possible, walking with my cousins here or there. Up a hill, along a river, through the grass. Stopping, noticing, looking. An entire day was easily filled just hanging out in one field, looking at things. The more time you give yourself to look around and notice, the more fascinating it becomes, the more it reveals itself. This is what I want for my son, I want my son to have a chance to be bombarded simply by the sensory input that comes from sitting outside, next to a river. 

I used to also go camping with my family in California. But truth be told, one's explorative spirit is rather dampened in the midst of the Mohave Desert. Either the heat or the monotony or the dangerous critters everywhere made me instead rather content to just practice my skills at going really fast on my ATV. 

I was happy to have had both options, a good balance really. 

Comments

ג. ג. said…
I admit that I'm still not convinced about the point of going to a summer house, if you live outside Reykjavik.

When was the last time you went to a summer house?
April 23, 2009 at 9:41 PM
Lissy said…
Last summer when my son was here I could not get a summer house, although I tried (went camping instead at Husafell and peaked in the window at the summer houses there!). The summer before that I stayed a few nights with my second cousin and her son, same age as mine, near Ulfljotsvatn, and that was very nice. Summer before that I was at a summer house near Fluðir for the weekend. So, I try to go every summer, I guess. My favorite was probably the week I spent at the Ladies Club summer house in Hvolsvollur, turns out the summer house was on the same farm where my great grandfather had been born! I do not think I would mind owning one, but then there is all the upkeep. Mostly I just want to get into one of those felags because then I could explore lots of different valleys, depending on what was available. I haven't been to the east coast in forever, and never up to the Northwest fjords, embarrassingly enough.
April 24, 2009 at 12:34 AM
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