Look at that!

After the visit to Kalkberget we drove through the island towards Södertälje. We passed a few old farms and what looked to be a poplular place for a bite to eat, located in a private garden, Crêperie Marie, we didnt go in as it looked a bit too crowded, but made a mental note to check it out later. Spotting this unusual looking house a few kilometers later I felt the urge to stop and photograph it so that is what I did. No idea who lives there or anything but the tower or turell, looked interesting.

Mörkö Kyrka

The medieval church at Mörkö. Some parts of the building date back just over 700 years. It has looked like this since around 1780. The aristocratic family Bonde that live on the island since a few hundred years has paid for some of the work on the church over time. I showed you their castle last Winter, press here to see that post.

Kalkberget

This was the third hill I climbed during my hill-climbing week. And the one that was furthest away. It took maybe 90 minutes to get here by car, and that included a short ferry ride at Skanssundet. These photos show the Egelsviken bay and the bigger Himmerfjärden bay from the Kalkberget hill. This is an old limestone quarry at the island of Mörkö. Today a nature reserve with a marked trail up on the hill and through the forest. I was there with one of the usual suspects. We enjoyed coffee looking at the view in the top photo before walking on. I will remember this as the first "Summer" day of the year as it was around 15C from a clear blue sky and I was in my Summer uniform! I took the official route snapping away as I walked. My buddy of the day took another way over the hill but when we compared stories later we both met just one other person up on the hill, a photographer who was busy not looking at the view but crawling on all four shooting macro-images of anemones.

A coffee stop at a canal

Here are a few photos from a very brief thermos coffee stop in Södertälje while on my way home from a limestone quarry at Mörkö. Södertälje is a city famous for a few things, including Björn Borg. Hopefully I will make a longer stop in the near future and show you some of the the sights. The top photo here shows the railway bridge crossing the canal. It is a lift bridge built a decade ago. Photographed from Igelsta strand, which used to be a very dull industrial part of the city. At the moment JM is building a lot of new homes, Kanalhusen here, just meters from the canal, and as you can see there were one or two locals down by the water enjoying the sunshine.

Fyren

After my visit to the Käringboda nature reserve I turned the bike around and cycled back to Nynäshamn to check out one of the new apartment buildings there. It is called Fyren. You have seen it before and are very likely to see it again as it is not finished yet. But if you look closely just as I did when I shot the top photo, which is a panorama made from umpteen photos of the Lighthouse, you can see that people have already moved in to a few of the 466 apartments. I had a look at the real estate agents web site and it looks like there are maybe two apartments left for sale. And that was on the first floor, where a three-room apartment will cost you 5 000 000 SEK. Oh, and if you have good eyes you should be able to spot my bike.

View From A Hill

I visited three nature reserves last week. In three different municipalities. And climbed up three hills. This was the second one. At Käringboda in Nynäshamn. It was a great Spring day, perfect for a combined bike ride/trek. This hill can be found at Sågen, overlooking the Nynäsviken Bay. The view back towards Nynäshamn is well worth the climb. On my way up I scared away a white-tailed eagle. These houses are located at Gröndalsviken and shows pretty well the differences in houses in this port city. I shot the last photo down by the water and it shows the hill that I climbed.

A little cemetery

Cycling to a nature reserve in Nynäshamn last week I stopped at a little cemetery. It dates back to 1874. Only 129 souls rest here. It started as a private cemetery for people from the nearby Nynäs Gård, (manor house), but was later opened up for the public so to speak. I couldnt read the name on this headstone but thought it looked nice with all the Spring flowers. The bell tower up on the hill is a bit unusal in design. Reminds me more of a windmill. It has an interesting story. It was paid for by the workers at the estate who didn't like the idea that the same bell that rang when it was time to go to work should be used for when they had passed away. I will show you photos from the nature reseve tomorrow.

Notholmen

Whenever I visit Tyresö Palace I always continue out to the little island that is Notholmen. There is a very popular cafe on the island, but it will not open until early May. There is also a hostel here called Fiskarbostaden for anyone who wants to spend the night. And there is also a little marina, empty today but come the Summer it will be busy with yachts and speedboats.

Tyresö Palace

This was the halfway-point during my bike ride to Tyresö last week. The Tyresö Palace. It sits on a hill overlooking the Kalvfjärden bay and the nearby church. It was built by Gabriel Gustafsson Oxenstierna who inherited the land here in 1620. Fredrik Magnus Piper added the English garden in 1770, that is where I stood when I took these two photos. The first photo is a panorama made from 16 photos. The last private owner was Claes Lagergren and his American wife Caroline, born Russell. The owner today is the Nordiska Museet. It is open for the public and there are guided tours quite often. There are also a cafe and a restaurant, and both were open during my visit.

View from a hill

Cycling along the hilly Vissvassvägen in Tyresö is great fun. And a really good workout. Never much traffic here so great for a dedicated cyclist like myself. When I left home on this day last week it was no more than 5C and quite windy. An hour later it was a few degrees warmer, but still windy and I was getting a bit tired so after reaching the top of a hill I parked the bike and climbed up the hill for a rest and a look at the view. These photos show Bergholm and Hammarberget. The latter is a nature reserve that I plan to visit soon.

Åva Gård

I showed you a few photos from Spirudden last month thanks to a flat tire. Happy to report that I now have completed that bike ride without any major incidents. So here is a first report from that chilly ride. This is Åva gård. It used to be a dairy farm. And a very popular one as it had many visitors young and old. The farmers, Fredrik and Malin worked hard here for thirteen years. The farm has a very long history and dates back to the Viking Era. It was the last dairy farm owned by Stockholm Stad. When the couple asked to have the farm renovated by the city it refused, so the tenants packed up and moved to Gotland. The city then sold the property to the Environmental Protection Agency and rumors have it that the farm will be incorporated with the Tyresta National Park in a not too distant future.

Kids Wall

I spent three years as a student at the Jordbromalmsskolan back in the late 1970s. The school sits next to the shopping centre where we spent a lot of time. Both will be gone soon. The school was a cultural centre for the last decade, but closed a couple of years ago. These murals can be found on a wall at the shopping centre, they were made with the help of the Jordbro World Orchestra two years ago. A new school opened nearby a few years ago, I remember snapping a few shots when that construction started a decade ago now. A new mall will be built closer to the commuter station in Jordbro, and a number of apartment buildings will be built where the shopping centre and school buildings stands today.

Renovering

Swedish word of the day. Renovering. Restoration of the Century-old stationhouse at the Tungelsta commuter station. The building is owned by the municipality. They are replacing the old panelling.

Viper

A viper enjoying the Spring sunshine at the Gullringskärret nature reserve. As seen a couple of days ago while obviously out on another bike ride.

That Old Tree

A chilly mid-April visit to the old tree.

Handenterminalen

After a two year delay the new underground bus terminal, Handenterminalen, opened for traffic this week. Still, some work to be done both inside and outside the terminal which is part of the huge project that is Haningeterrassen in Handen, located near the Rudan nature reserve, the mall and the commuter station. When that work is done next phase starts. Building a number of apartment buildings on the roof of the underground terminal. The artwork seen here were made by Andreas Johansson. It is called Evig sommar, Eternal Summer. The artist's photos have been printed on enameled sheets which have then been mounted on the walls. Oh, and if you wonder why that is a big deal feel free to check out a photo of the old bus terminal.

Your eyes can deceive you

Because when I left home for my bike ride a couple of days ago I was in full winter uniform. It was no more than 5C and very windy. Looking at this young guy cooling himself down in the water at the Upper Lake at the Rudan nature reserve you could think it was a Summer day. It was not.

The Jewels

Cycling through the Höglunda park in Jordbro yesterday I decided to check out the sculpture Juvelerna i Jordbro. Translated that means The Jewels in Jordbro. The artwork, in form of a six meter high metal tree, is a collaboration between 125 fourth grade school kids, and the two artists Mette Björnberg and Richard Johansson. The official unveiling took place on Walpurgis Night ten years ago, and I was there that day and remember it like it was yesterday. The jewels are of course all the kids, but also the many silhouettes including the ☮ sign. The sculpture is said to tell the story about how the kids came to live in Jordbro, a suburb with a big immigrant population. Ten years on and the sculpture loooked almost as it did a decade ago.

Farm Houses

Two more photos from the old village at the Tyresta national Park in Haninge. Before the pandemic hit I used to visit the different exhibitions and what have you that used to take place in the Dahlgren farm house which you can see in the top photo. These days I do as the people seen here, I usually sit in the warming sunshine enjoying a bite to eat. The second photo shows the Jansson farm house on the top of the hill overlooking the little village. Today it is the caretakers office building. The flagpole is a mobile mast in disguise btw.

A visit to the national park

These photos and the one in yesterdays post are all from the Tyresta National Park that I visited earlier in the week. There are several old farm houses at the little village at Tyresta as well as a working farm. Ever since the start of the pandemic the national park has seen a lot of new visitors which is great I think. It is a unique park as it is so close to Stockholm, if you drive it is just 30 minutes away from the nations Capitol. I bike here and that takes me around 45 minutes one-way. On this visit I decided to walk over to the bird-watching tower.

Why did the chicken cross the road?