the bare minimum
Lagom is a conveniently succinct Swedish word that roughly translates to 'not too much, not too little'; Something I heard of before moving to Stockholm, but only experienced in the year I've spent here.
of all things deceptively simple and functionally immaculate, it's the public toilets that I've come to associate with lagom, or the luxury of 'the bare minimum' — void of smell, spacious enough to feel a sense of privacy, tampons and paper rolls in sufficient quantities and not a single tap, flush or soap dispenser out of order. There are no bird sounds or warm seats with water pressure variations of the Japanese kind, but it reflects that elusive ideal of being just enough — which always makes me question where I draw the line for enough, and what constitutes my bare minimum. It was after a night out in the city recently that I concluded — clean toilets in a crowded pub, without a cleaning staff in sight, must be the sign of a civilised society. An exaggeration, maybe, but also one way to define where I'd like to belong.
A minor detail for some, and where I draw the line for bare minimum.