A cuppa in the garden: Cafe Koloni at Olle Nyman's atelier

Sitting in the shade of the old linden trees by Olle Nyman's atelier at Cafe Koloni in Saltsjö-Duvnäs.

I've always been a cafe person. I love sipping from a cup of steaming tea or coffee and observing passers-by, alternatively resting my eyes on something soothing and beautiful, like a stunning view or a flower-filled garden. Not many places can combine both, but Cafe Koloni is one of them, and that's why I keep going back there when in Stockholm.

*A gathering of houses; above, the cafe at the left and the house where Olle Nyman lived on the right. Below, the studio to the left, and Olle's atelier to the right.

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Situated in Saltsjö-Duvnäs some 8 kilometers from the city, Cafe Koloni is tucked away in a white-washed wing in a gathering of houses, an atelier and a studio that used to belong to the Swedish artist Olle Nyman. You can choose to sit either inside the building or in the adjoining herb garden, or further away in the old fruit orchard. If you choose your seat carefully, you can watch sailing boats glide by on the adjoining inlet of Duvnäsviken.

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Entrance to the veranda at Olle's house.

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Despite it has lost some of its initial "hidden gem" atmosphere, Koloni still is one of those rare places where you can sit surrounded by the graceful patina of the 18th and 19th century buildings, listening to the whisper of the old lindens. After your coffee, you can check out the annual exhibition in the studio; it always has a connection to either Olle Nyman or Saltsjö-Duvnäs, and even the name Koloni refers to Olle Nyman's time when he together with his artist friends filled the place with a buzz of creative activity. A place well worth a little day trip, especially for those with artistic ambitions... whether they are gardeners or not.

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On the balcony, an undated painting by Olle Nyman. It shows a couple on one of the buildings at the Koloni towards the inlet of Duvnäsviken; one of my favorite paintings of his in all its simplicity...