Backyard all inclusive. How do we relax today, and how did our grandparents relax?

Our grandparents most often spent their holidays close to home. City dwellers traveled to the countryside to visit family, where the children helped with haymaking and harvesting, and spent their free time playing hopscotch, jumping rope, and swimming in the river. A luxury was camping by the lake or attending a summer camp organized by their parents' company. And few could afford this luxury. Today, a trip to the seaside or the mountains is practically standard. We travel faster and farther, choosing hotels with pools, entertainment, and full board. Instead of evenings by the fire, we choose evenings with Wi-Fi and air conditioning.

Electricity? Absolutely nothing.

Summer afternoons of decades ago were filled with analog games: playing bottle caps, scavenger hunts, catching fireflies, and building blanket shelters. Children were outside "from dawn till dusk," and parents—though they didn't have trackers or cell phones—knew they were safe, and if they weren't at one neighbor's, they were certainly playing at another or third, which meant that if they didn't lose themselves in the fun, they'd be back for dinner. Time passed more slowly—it wasn't measured by the number of photos uploaded to Instagram, but by the number of new freckles and scraped knees. Today, it's hard to imagine going out without a phone, headphones, or a power bank. Vacations are measured by the number of video game matches played, TikToks recorded, or Netflix series watched.

The pinnacle of luxury and luxury at the top

Ice cream from a thermos, tea in a plastic bottle, cherry compote, bread with lard, and potatoes from the campfire. The heights of luxury from years past, the taste of summer. Today, the summer menu is unremarkable. Virtually every product can be easily purchased year-round. We also rarely try anything new, because in the age of food trucks and restaurants offering delicacies from around the world, we've probably long since become familiar with these flavors. Instead of vacations in the countryside, we choose exotic destinations in all-inclusive hotels. And while there's nothing wrong with that, we increasingly stray from the simplest things and places that would truly allow us to relax. At the end of summer, it's worth experiencing "holidays like they used to be," at least for a moment. The need to rest and escape from everyday life remains unchanged, even though the ways to relax are so radically different. Let's try activities like a phone-free walk, a picnic under a tree, a TV-free evening, and face-to-face conversations without unnecessary distractions. What was once a necessity and an everyday occurrence can now become a conscious choice – a ritual that brings us closer and truly allows us to relax. Because even though the world is changing, summer still tastes best when we're not in a rush.