My family is fortunate enough to have a cabin by a lake out in the woods. When I was young I always enjoyed spending time there; swimming in the lake, rowing the boat, or going going for a stroll in the woods. It’s not too far from my parent’s house so we never stayed there for more than a couple of days in a row, instead opting for shorter but more frequent visits. It is however a very long way from my family’s house in Taiwan, so when we finally did go back to Sweden this summer, we thought it would be nice to stay for a longer time. That way me, my wife and our son would have plenty of time to to enjoy the things we wanted to do without feeling rushed. That turned out to be a great decision. We did all those things that you’re supposed to do during a summer in the cabin. We went mushroom picking in the forest, we went swimming in the lake; we rowed out to the little island just to have a look around; we picked berries in the garden and helped repair the broken jetty; we went fishing for crayfish but only caught a few; we had our meals outside and enjoyed the late sunset, and at the end of each day, my dad lit a fire in the fireplace so he and his grandson could sit a while watching the flames. I don’t think I need to say much more, from now on the photos can do the talking.

A couple of random shots from our week in the cabin

Entering the forest
Tantan exploring on his own

Yini was the master of actually finding mushrooms

While we searched for mushrooms, Tantan was busy picking blueberries

  • Tantan in the sun
  • Yini on the hunt
  • There were some beautiful but unedible mushrooms
  • Small boy in the woods
  • The harvest

There’s a small island out in the lake
Getting ready to cast off
Heading out towards the island

Sometimes I got help to row…
…and sometimes not

  • Halfway?
  • Drone selfie
  • Getting closer
  • Yini exploring the island
  • I like the contrast between the sky and trees
  • Tantan exploring on his own
  • How about a different angle
  • Of course we had to pick some blueberries
  • Island floating in the sky

Bird’s eye drone selfie

Doing various small “chores” around the house

Setting the crayfish cages was pretty fun
Picking them up in the rain on the other hand, was rather miserable

Of course, one of the most important reasons for staying in the cabin is so the family can spend time together.

  • Yini trying out the kayak
  • Follow me.
  • Reflections!
  • Let’s explore over here
  • Now I’m in the lead
  • Heading to the island
  • Yini is catching up
  • Let’s head back home

Me and Yini did a little outing with the kayaks. It was her first time paddling solo, but she looked like she knew what she was doing.

One last collage just because