Tired of the view from your window? Look through someone else’s!
View from my flat’s window; Riomaggiore, Cinque Terra, Italy
One of the small pleasures of traveling is looking out the window of your accommodation to take in the view. While we may not be traveling to new windows at the moment, there is an alternative: Window Swap lets you gaze out strangers’ windows from across the globe.
Anyone can access the site—no app downloads or subscriptions needed—and find a video of a window to gaze through. The view you get may be from Ukraine, Australia, Portugal, Hong Kong—it’s completely random. You can cycle through as you please by clicking a button at the bottom of the screen. When you tire of peering at someone’s backyard waterfall in Singapore, switch to someone else’s balcony garden in Munich or listen to the traffic go by in Beijing.
If you’re curious about how that’s possible—because yeah, it sounds a little voyeuristic—don’t worry. This is a voluntary platform: anyone can submit a 10-minute horizontal HD video of a window and frame. All windows, weathers, and sceneries are welcome!
Some videos are especially beautiful, featuring city skylines, pristine lakes, or lovely countrysides. Others are fairly ordinary, showing plant-filled porches, outdoor construction, or suburban neighborhoods. You may even catch a glimpse of a pet.
The site features over twenty cities, with more added every week. For those social distancing in urban, granite-rich, pigeon-populated areas, picturesque nature scenes can be a boost to mental health. Those stranded with their parents in the ‘burbs may welcome a rainy London skyline or rows of Bangkok apartments. Working from home? You can take in the street scene in Stockholm, lose yourself in waves off the coast of France, listen to birds in Montreal, or watch rain in New York. We’re all yearning for something.
I find it both compelling and relaxing. It’s a reminder not only is the world wide, but it’s populated by real people in real living spaces. We’re experiencing a plague that feels insular and endless, one that puts limitations on luxuries we once took for granted. The technology of Window Swap lets me peer into the worlds of others, helping tide me over until I can see them again IRL. Plus, a scenery change is just a fun, pleasant vortex to fall into when the fire escape or lawn or whatever your window view is becomes tiresome.
La Boule, France
Bangalore, India
London, England
Twist’s Take: Relieve your boredom, quell your wanderlust, and remind yourself we’re all connected by enjoying these views through stranger’s windows from around the world.
