Breakfast at Tiffany's

Thursday
I'm having breakfast at Tres in Palma, yet another succesful, stylish Swedish hotel on Mallorca. The instant-hit Portixol in Palma showed the way a few years ago, Puro followed (they also just opened an amazing beach resort in the Palma bay) and now the Portixol people has revamped the huge 50s Hotel Esplendido in Puerto de Soller to parts former glory, parts cool Nordic modernity. All the guidebooks and feature writers seem amazed at how the Swedes always get it so right, no matter if it's the naval charm of Portixol or the ethno-chic of Puro. I think the answer lies in the Swedish seriousness (often mistaken by Danes as boring) - that copying a surface isn't enough: you have to understand how it's done and why, so that you can make your own choices.
In futuristic novels like Jon Courtenay Grimwood's Arabesk trilogy, Scandinavians are depicted as untouchable, mysteriously rich and laid-back high-tech backpackers. Now I know where these society surfers will get their wealth from: being exclusive and still inviting (almost) anyone in.