The Other Side of European Summer: Why Cool Girls Are Choosing the Mountains
Every summer used to end with sunburns, beach towels and sand in your beach bag. This year it looks different. The hottest destinations are getting hotter, so we are going higher. Living in cities these days that reach 35 to 40 degrees changes what we actually crave. We spend all of July trying to cool down, looking for shade, carrying water bottles everywhere and counting down until the next cold shower. So when vacation finally arrives we don't necessarily want another heatwave. We want fresh air. We want cold lakes. We want to wear a hoodie at night and look at a sky full of sparkling stars.
There is something about mountains that immediately changes the way our body and mind moves. You breathe a little deeper. Time stretches out. The air feels cleaner, mornings begin with birds and evenings end underneath the crystal clear sky. Nature has a way of making everything that feels urgent back home seem surprisingly quiet. The magic mountains carry has never belonged exclusively to winter. This summer they have officially become the cool girl escape. Sunrise hikes, swimming in glacier lakes, reading on a blanket after a long walk, cows with bells instead of DJs, picnics instead of reservations, fresh mountain air instead of air conditioning, disconnecting because reception barely exists.
The change finds its way into our wardrobes too. Dad sneakers and thick socks replace sandals and kitten heels. A technical backpack takes over beaded clutches. Cycling shorts combined with bikini tops. Longsleeves are wrapped around shoulders after sunset. Windbreakers become evening jackets in the middle of summer. Suddenly your favourite outfit isn't the tiniest one in your wardrobe. It's the one that lets you swim in a lake, hike to the next viewpoint and still stop for dinner in a small mountain village without changing once. Getting dressed becomes less about impressing social media and more about being ready for whatever the day brings. There is something freeing about that. It's easy and gives your head space. Space we can use to think or to not think at all and just be entranced by nature.
And then comes the food. Somehow everything tastes better after you've earned it. A slice of fresh sourdough with local butter. Wild blueberries picked along the trail. Kaiserschmarrn shared at a mountain hut. Homemade pasta after a twelve kilometre hike through the Dolomites. Melted cheese, wild mushrooms, fresh herbs and ice cold sparkling water straight from the source. You eat because you're hungry, because you've spent the entire day moving, breathing and exploring. Meals become slower, longer and less performative. Nobody cares if your lunch is aesthetic when you're sitting on a wooden bench overlooking an entire valley. The conversation replaces the camera.
For the girls who can't imagine a summer without salt in their hair, don't worry. Nobody is asking you to give up the beach completely. Maybe this is simply the year to discover that you don't have to choose. Italy lets you spend the morning hiking through the Dolomites before driving towards Lake Garda or the coast for sunset aperitivo in your favourite summer dress and sparkly heels. Southern France gives you alpine trails one day and the Mediterranean the next. Switzerland offers turquoise rivers and dramatic mountains within a single trip. If your dream summer still ends by the sea, let it. Maybe the mountains simply become part of the story instead of replacing it.
Mountain summers make you feel different. It's about feeling alive. About coming home with stronger legs, clearer thoughts, freckles on your nose and a camera roll filled with moments you almost forgot to photograph because you were too busy living them. Not escaping life for a week but remembering how good it feels to be completely present in it.
by Lareen Roth
PHOTOGRAPHY by Pinterest / @kairocalvitto/ ◟@isabella rosa ig