Chez Sven tends not to get as much attention as some of Wellfleet's other lodging options, perhaps because it is small - one room, one suite, and a cottage, all with private bathrooms - or because many of its guests are from Sweden and France. Sven Rudstrom, who is Swedish, and his wife, Alexandra Grabbe, an American who lived in France for 25 years, moved here eight years ago from Paris to care for her elderly parents.
The innkeepers have created one of the few green lodging spots on the Outer Cape. Whenever possible, Rudstrom and Grabbe line-dry their organic cotton sheets and duvets. They use only "green" cleaning products and supplies. The soaps are made by Emz Blendz, a small Oregon soapmaker, and contain only natural oils and butters. For romantic moments, the hosts provide nonpolluting candles.
The week before we arrived, Grabbe alerted us that a guest coming after us in Seagull Cottage had multiple chemical sensitivities and requested that we not spray perfume during our visit. Pets are not allowed.
But Chez Sven is a rare bed-and-breakfast on the Cape that not only allows kids but welcomes toddlers and young children, a stance Grabbe has reinforced on the B&B's website and her Chez Sven Blog (chezsven.blogspot.com). She was full of suggestions for activities that would delight young minds, including programs at the nearby Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.
Grabbe's parents bought the property when they retired in 1970. They had been searching for a house close enough to the center of Wellfleet to walk downtown. But when they couldn't find a suitable place, they got creative: They purchased two tiny cabins from a motel on the market, figuring they'd buy some land and combine the cabins into a single cottage.
But as soon as they bought the cabins, a lovely 18th-century house went on the market. So they bought the house, too, and moved the cabins into the yard, configuring them into a one-bedroom cottage. And so they lived into their 90s.
