Happy Halloween

Although, a scary Halloween seems more appropriate. The artist working on the mural can be seen in the photo btw he is next to my bike. Normally the murals on this particular building at Götgatsbacken on Södermalm in Stockholm only last for short periods of time. I showed you a previous one just a few months ago. It was a woman and a bird on a balcony.

Walking the dog

A couple out walking their dog at Eskilsparken in Handen. They commented on the fact that I was aiming the camera into the fountain until they noticed the ice, and then I aimed the old Canon at them as they walked up the hill.

That Old Tree

Chilly day yesterday, but with a blue sky, and I can't remember when that happened last. Maybe 2C when I jumped on the bike. Dressed for Winter, but wearing the wrong pair of gloves, so when I took this photo of the old tree, my hands were freezing.

That time of the year...

Cycling home one afternoon, I noticed three people spray-painting on the legal graffiti wall at Farsta. The guy in the middle was working on this piece and I knew that I would have to stop for a look at the finished work, and two days later I stopped and did just that.

View from a bridge

Cycling over the high bridge that connects Kungsholmen with Södermalm, Västerbron, I stopped for a few photos. Top photo shows Eden, a restaurant that has been in the news a few times this year because of a lot of rule breaking, missing permits and heavy fines. Next, one of my favorite buildings in Marieberg. The accordion building. Dragspelshuset in Swedish. Aiming more to the left in the third photo, we can see a beach and a house at the island that sits between Kungsholmen and Södermalm, Långholmen, the number one Summer island in Stockholm with beaches and rocks. And lastly, a look back at Eden, the accordion building and all the Autumn colors at Smedsudden.

The warden tree

The oak standing in the courtyard at Stockholm City Hall was planted to function as a "warden tree". According to Nordic cultural tradition, "warden trees" serves as a dwelling for friendly protective spirits and grants the farm prosperity. I copied that sentence from the City Hall Facebook site. I took this photo a few days ago as I thought the Autumn colors looked great.

Zero-Energy Building

Not all buildings in The White City, or Vita staden at Hammarbyhöjden are white. As proven here. This is one of two new zero-energy apartment buildings on top of a hill at Finn Malmgrens väg. Designed by Wingårdhs in a style that is both modern and reminds us a bit of the old buildings from the 1940s that you can find in this area. The wood facade,ThermoWood is from Moelven. You have a pretty good view from the 64 apartments. And you are only minutes away from the city and from nature. Press Here to see how close. I photographed this as a panorama using the Canon 77D, using the 60mm lens.

The White City

Hammarbyhöjden, nicknamed Vita staden, the White City, dates back to 1930. There are a lot of interesting architecture from that period here. These row houses are more modern, though, from 2016. Designed by Arlert Arkitektkontor, which is if I am not mistaken just one man. Bertil Arlert. Hammarbyhöjden is located close to Hammarby sjöstad that I have shown you a few times. This very inviting metro suburb that sits high up on a hill is just a few stations from the central parts of Stockholm.

Tyresta National Park

A visit to the Tyresta National Park. Been a while since I was last there. I came by bicycle, of course. Parked it at a couple of different places during my visit and went for a walk near the old village. Great colors everywhere. It was a bit cold. The idea was to head into Stockholm, which I told a friend about when we met out on the road, but I realized that it was a bit too chilly for a long ride, and you can never go wrong with the National Park.

The swan family

Often when cycling to or from Stockholm I will do a few pit stops. This is one of them. A circular pier at Lake Drevviken near the beach at Hökarängsbadet. A nice place to just sit down for a few minutes. Lots of construction going on here at the moment, or since a few years, really. Roads are sometimes moved or closed off because of that, and don't get me started on the bike path. Anyway, on this recent Autumn visit it was just me and a few swan families enjoying the silence. I have shown you the house and the lake before both is Spring, Summer and Winter in case it looks familiar.

Winter&Autumn

We got the first snow of the season on Thursday. Social media exploded in snow shots. I took one photo, because that is the rule. It stopped snowing after ten minutes. It was gone within the hour. Stockholm saw some snow in the early evening. Then yesterday it snowed at my place for maybe five minutes. And then it rained and rained and rained. But up North they got the real deal, and traffic chaos followed as is the rule. Expecting a chilly Saturday with maybe 6C.

Autumn at the lakes

The Rudan nature reserve in Handen is a favorite of mine. If you don't believe me, press here. This is a view over the Lower Lake, Nedre Rudasjön. It is very popular with anglers in the Spring, Summer and Autumn. And with ice fishers during the Winter. There are six jetties around the lake from where they can fish, (although one was missing, probably to be replaced because of its recent wobbliness). On this visit I spotted only three people fishing and I said hello to one of them as he passed me by as I took this photo.

Looking back

Usually, when cycling home from Stockholm I use a bridge called Skanstullsbron as I leave Södermalm. If you stop just before it ends and look back, this is part of the view. In the photo you can see a few large buildings. To the left, Södersjukhuset, where I was born, and to the right, another hospital, called Rosenlunds sjukhus. The reason I stopped was because of the Autumn colors, but you probably already figured that out. Those trees grow along the most popular walk in Stockholm btw.

That Old Tree

From a visit to the old tree a few days ago.

Young Urban Professionals

Young Urban Professionals. Although that is a dated term I guess. Spotted a few days ago eating lunch down by the water at Nybrokajen in Stockholm.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Nybroplan, Stockholm. Usually a busy spot with both locals and tourists. Close to the water, a park, the Royal Dramatic Theatre and more. Rosa bandet.

Embassy of Israel

This classic building at Nobelparken in Stockholm used to be known as Gamla Skogsinstitutet. And also as Stora Blå porten. Originally built in 1773, it was later redesigned by Johan Adolf Hawerman. Today you will find the embassy of Israel here, and I thought it appropriate with a photo of the building because of the terror attack in Israel one week ago.

The conversation

Taking photos at Skogskyrkgården, a man that really needed to talk to someone joined me. He asked me if I had seen the moon this morning and asked if I knew what was next to it. Venus I said. He then asked about the sixth chapel here, but I never understood which one he meant. He also needed to tell me a few facts about an entrance to the cemetery across the road, and about the new askgravlund there, and he seemed a bit disappointed that I knew about that one as well. Then came a few words about birds. He then mentioned a photographer that only took the same photo here all the time. So obviously not me, although I am sure I have met the guy once before. Next he talked about the old Greeks and how they lived for 72 years and that had something to do with Venus and bla bla bla, and I have to admit to giving up on him at that point. Sorry about that. Oh, and he also showed me a bolt that he had found on the street. And a day after I posted this photo to Flickr I saw him again. This time very upset that a Japanese tourist had dropped something in the wrong bin! So as the tourist walked away, the talkative man opened the bin and took out whatever it was and put in the other bin while talking loudly and shaking his head as the poor photographer tried his best not to see or hear anything.

Memory lane

Strolling around in the still hip area of Södermalm I stumble upon this place. I don't think I have ever seen it before. As I took the photo, I noticed a movement and looking up, a guy dressed in Bajen colors were looking at me from a window. Many years ago, when I worked nearby, I used to walk this street almost every week. Back then there were a music store in this neighborhood where I bought LPs on a weekly basis.

It will be finished one day

A photo taken through a little round hole in the wooden fence from a bridge on Södermalm in Stockholm. This is Slussen, or at least a small part of it. An ongoing and quite messy construction site since, nearly, the beginning of time. The latest controversy involves one of the new bridges that will be built here. It had been in the plans for many years when just a few months ago SL that operates the trains and metro all of a sudden said that if the City and builders start the work on the new pedestrian/cyclist bridge we will not be able to run our trains through here and all passengers will have to walk between Slussen and The Old Town. That is a few hundred thousand people, so after threats about lawsuits and such fun, everyone sat down and decided to find a solution in one week's time after not being able to fix it for ten years or so. The result, a new bridge that will not be able to handle all the cyclists and that will miss an important ramp cyclist were supposed to use, as there's an 11-meter height difference here. Bicycle and traffic experts are not happy, but the responsible politicians have gone into hiding for the time being.

The Mystery of Banksy - A Genius Mind

The Mystery of Banksy - A Genius Mind. Copyright is for losers ©TM. Exhibition at Stadsgårdsterminalen in Stockholm. I did not pay the 200SEK to go in and see the reproductions, I snapped these photos outside. This is a new cultural scene in Stockholm. Run by a collective called Kollektivet Livet. Housed in what used to be Birkaterminalen. A ferry terminal situated down by the water,(obviously!), close to Fotografiska.

Portalvalv

Swedish word of the day. Portalvalv. The portal at Sankt Eriksplan, Vasastan in Stockholm. Next to a little park, metro station and more. Looking down Völundsgatan, part of the Atlas area. A popular scene for photographers, and school girls, because just as I started shooting the girls walked in and took some mobile snaps, most likely because they noticed me and wanted to know what I was photographing. So I waited them out and then took my photo which is a panorama made from six photos.