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Comment by rob74 | Hacker News Reader

Yes... spending thousands of $/€ to go somewhere and then focus on sleeping as long as possible instead of sightseeing, sampling the local cuisine and other stuff regular tourists do, sounds like the ultimate luxury indeed! Because it shows that you have not only the money, but also the free time to travel somewhere just to sleep there - something that a person who can maybe afford the same vacation, but has a limited number of vacation days, won't even consider.

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> the free time to travel somewhere just to sleep there - something that a person who can maybe afford the same vacation, but has a limited number of vacation days, won't even consider

Seeking out solitude is an ancient style of holidaying coming back into vogue. From an economic perspective, I'd argue it's better bang for one's buck than many resort-style options. (I'll also readily admit that one of the bigger pay-offs of summer backpacking is falling asleep under the stars.)

That is because we've been brainwashed as to what a vacation/holiday is. It doesn't have to be a todo list.

> It doesn't have to be a todo list.

Exactly. I'm on holiday to relax, enjoy myself, and, if so inclined, discover something new. I'm not there to tick off a check-list at breathtaking speed, to add more stress to my system..

I don't think it's "instead of", it's only a little more hours a night.

Swedes in FTE are entitled to 25 days holiday. https://www.government.se/contentassets/eaf3467d4f484c9fb727...

25 days are the mandated minimum. Many have 30 days or more.

Buy not only that, you are entitled to 4 consecutive weeks during the summer months.

Having 4 (or more) weeks off during summer is the norm in Sweden.

So the question is rarely about if you're gonna be off, but rather how you're going to spend that time.

But are the 4 consecutive weeks during summer apart from the 25 (or 30 or whatever) days? If not that seems actually limiting, to have to use up most of the days in one go.

It's not separate, but they don't necessarily have to use them like that. They merely can.

You are free to distribute your days as you wish mostly. The 4 consecutive weeks thing is something that the employer is not allowed to deny you. The norm is to use the 4 weeks and then use the remaining days to stretch public holidays a little further.

They aren't, you use your allocated vacation time but are able to take the 4 weeks without question or needing to schedule around other coworkers (it's auto-approved).

Usually around June/July there's very few people working at most places, some restaurants are closed, etc. At one employer it'd be around 10-15% of us around during summer.

I actually prefer to work during this time, much slower pace, time to get into projects that couldn't be planned for. At max I like taking a week off and saving the rest of my vacation days for end of September when the weather starts to get cold.

I don't really understand why some prefer to travel outside of Sweden in June/July/August since those are the best months to be around (and it's high tourism season anywhere else in Europe).

Similar system in Finland. But generally there is implicit negotiations in tech that someone will be around to look after things. And if no one is willing the employer can order the placement of vacations. But there is generally enough people willing to move things around a bit for most to get what they want.

With most office jobs it is pretty free. But when it comes to factories or mandatory services the employer can absolutely ensure that there is enough workers.

June/July is the peak season in Scandinavia for restaurants. I have never heard of a Nordic restaurant that closes in those months, although many close after August outside of the cities. June/July is when they make their money.

Many of my favorite lunch places in Stockholm closes some weeks over the summer, typically first weeks in August but earlier as well.

Definitely not what I experience in Stockholm, in July quite a few of the restaurants I tend to go are closed.

I have never heard of a Nordic restaurant that closes in those months

Lots of restaurants in that mainly cater to lunch guests close for at least a few weeks during those months, since 90+% of their customer base are away and they get very few tourists.

> I don't really understand why some prefer to travel outside of Sweden in June/July/August since those are the best months to be around (and it's high tourism season anywhere else in Europe).

I live in a part of Canada where the summer months are the best months to be here. I used to spend lots of the summer here and travel mostly during less pleasant parts of the year until I had kids. Now they’re out of school for the summer so that’s when we travel… especially to see aunts and uncles who have kids, who are also not in school and thus available to spend time with us when wee visit.

Ah, that explains a lot! We actually visited Sweden last summer (with a camper van), and the first few days were still in the summer vacation. The first night was no problem, because we had reserved a place, but for the second night we only found a place at the third campground we tried. Then, once the vacation was over, the campgrounds were much less crowded (except for an influx of pensioners) - but some attractions (e.g. a historical railway) were already closed.

I don't think anyone actually does that. It just sounds stupid. Why the fuck would you spend your hard-earned vacation days on sleeping when you can do that at home?? Most people take their vacation in the summer because that's when Sweden is nice and they don't waste it on sleeping.

The article reminds me of those you read about Japan. You take some random Japanese word like "bisekatahori" and make it into a thing: Here is why the Japanese love bisekatahori. Everyone in the West should do bisekatahori too. Studies have found bisekatahori good for you.

When you want to squeeze out the last krona from your real estate investment but the only selling point is that one can sleep in it.

>something that a person who can maybe afford the same vacation, but has a limited number of vacation days, won't even consider.

See, and I do not consider doing "normal" tourist things, spending days on the beach or whatever a lot of people consider a great experience. Vacation for me is usually action (bike rides, hiking e.g.) or relaxing and doing as few things as possible, possibly in a quiet environment

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