DSCF3880 Tiny outdoors tables at a cafe in Sweden

DSCF3880 Tiny outdoors tables at the Bla Katten cafe in Mariefred, Sweden

Mariefred is a town in Sweden where the Gripsholm Castle is. The Bla Katten Mariefred struck me as a place with the tiniest outdoor seating area that I’ve ever seen. You can’t call it a sidewalk cafe, because this is not even a sidewalk, but a narrow strip of decorative stones between the house and the parking lot. Even 14 years later I’m yet to see an outdoors cafe with a smaller footprint. Regardless, this narrow strip of land manages to host a bench with several tiny tables, which, for lack of space, are “sprouting” from the bench. I suppose one can pull that off in Sweden, but Americans expect any eating establishment to provide much more personal space.

Mariefred, Sweden, May of 2006