Tinas challenge this week is to take us Around the Neighborhood. Your own, someone else’s or maybe from where you stayed on one of your travels. I have chosen our summer paradise in Blekinge, Sweden.

We have a tiny cottage there, where we spend some lovely summer weeks every year.

Our summer house is small, but the area is known for its big and beautiful old buildings.

The park, Ronneby Brunn, is a famous, prize winning beauty, but in the neighborhood you will also find old mansions – some abandoned- but their gardens are kept alive.

So, what more will you find here? Harmony…

and the sea. Quiet mornings you can take the canoe and paddle along the little stream reaching from the sea to a lake nearby.

Or, you can walk or bike along the country roads and listen to the birds singing and the cattle munching away. You will soon get used to the strange looks you get…

Blekinge is also renowned for its many old oak trees. This giant stands at Gökalv, where we spend much time hiking and watching the sunset. Estimated age – several hundred years old.

When dinner is finished, we walk or bike along the shore to see the horses and the swans showing off their young.

And when sunset is approaching, we return to Gökalv for the glorious ending of the day.

Maybe a final swim before going to bed – if it is a warm night…

The longest day of the year, darkness will never fall, so, we walk along the water line and listen to the swallows chasing mosquitos. Being grateful to just exist.

Thank you, Tina, for an inspiring challenge and the opportunity to visit so many neighborhoods around the world!