Blue Charm

Let the party begin. Burgers anyone? Drinks? People enjoying themselves aboard M/S Blue Charm at Strandvägen in Stockholm on a warm and sunny August day.

Better safe than sorry

Spotted at Djurgårdsgrind, at Royal Djurgården in Stockholm on a sunny August day.

Sixteen Recent Snaps

A photographer, like me, shooting street photos at Medis. Architecture detail at Johanneshov. People on a bench at Medis. Detail on the Af Chapman ship. The bike lane along Götgatan. Street snap at Götgatsbacken. Sunbather at Hökarängsbadet. Cyclist at Slussen. Lunch time at Södermalm. A house at the water near Hökarängsbadet. Mother & daghter at Medis. The wrong time. Canoeist at Lake Drevviken. Girl on an e-scooter at Slussen. Antenna. Rastafari at the royal castle.

A Stockholm View

The view from the Ersta terrace at Södermalm in Stockhom towards Skeppsholmen and Kastellholmen, two islands that I have shown you photos from earlier this summer.

Ladies Got the Blues

Once every week there is live music outside Hellstone Music at Götgatsbacken at Södermalm. I showed you a jazz band a while back. This time it was the blues band Ladies Got the Blues that were playing. I passed by earlier in the day when they were setting up and made a mental note to swing by a little later for a listen. If you would like to check them out, their YouTube channel is a good start.

Paradise

Sculptures at the Moderna museet on the Skeppsholmen island in Stockholm. Part of a group of fun and colorful sculptures in a park near the museum. Made by the French sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle, who grew up in New York. She was inspired by Hieronymus Bosch,Francisco Goya and Jackson Pollock.

Street Scenes

Götgatsbacken is a very busy pedestrian street at Södermalm in Stockholm. The street is lined with restaurants and shops, and it is always filled with tourists, locals and people just passing by on foot, bike or e-scooters. I snapped a photo of a jazz band here a while back, and decided the other day to jump off my eBike and take a few street photos to show you how it looks on a week day. Oh, and it was only after arriving home and going through the photos that I noticed that the woman in the top photo gave me some tongue!

Graffare

Swedish word of the day. Graffare at the Tanto Graffiti Wall. A graffare is someone who creates graffiti. I only learned about that term a few years ago when I took a portrait of a very pretty graffare. I took this photo from the Liljeholmsbron.

Tanto Södra koloniträdgårdsförening

The allotment garden Tanto Södra koloniträdgårdsförening, yes it is a longish name, at Årstaviken, Södermalm in Stockholm. Dates back to 1915.

Tanto Beach

As you walk along Årstaviken you see people sunbathing everywhere, on the rocks, on the piers, on the grassy areas, and of course at what is called Tanto strandbad.

Sixteen recent snaps

Sometimes when I have a few photos that I don't know what to do with, for different reasons, I use them in a collage. In no particular order. Three people photos from Hornsbergs strand. Two old buildings at Södermalm. Two very new, and modern buildings at Vasastan and Kungsholmen. A graffiti rat that was gone within 24 hours. A golden cross from the church at Riddarholmen. A zoomed in photo of a facade from a high rise at a waterfront. Apartment buildings at Minneberg. A hotel. Unlucky windsurfers at Rålambshovsparken. Tourists, a cyclist, and a sculpture at Riddarholmen. Street art from under a bridge near that French café. And the city hall tower.

A silent tango

Cycling along Årstaviken a while back, I noticed these two kids at the outdoor dance arena, known as Sprallen, working on their tango moves. Årstaviken is a picturesque promenade along the water, probably the most popular promenade in the Nation's Capitol.

oh la la

Guingette oh la la Klara. café • musique • art 〰️ open air café 〰️ located by the water - près de l'eau under the bridge - sous le pont (Barnhusbron). Sadly it was closed when I passed by, but maybe next time.

Epic Kayak

A woman in a kayak at Karlsbergskanalen in Stockholm. Sure was a fine day for that sort of thing.Photographed last week while cycling around the Kungsholmen island.

Åsöberget

This is Åsöberget, a 37-meter-high hill at Södermalm in Stockholm. A historical part of the nation's capital with a lot of old wooden buildings. This is a cultural reserve since the 1950s. Most buildings are one story, and all of them are more than 300 years old. All painted with the Falu-red paint. The people that lived here back then were mostly poor, working either at the docks, or in the tar industry. Today, all the buildings here are owned by Stadsholmen AB, a company controlled by the city. All in all, they own nearly 300 old buildings in Stockholm. To live here today, you can expect to queue for many years.

Batman

Street art with a political statement. Xi Jinping as Batman. I have seen this at a few different places. This one is on a barge along Kungsholms strandväg in Stockholm.

Faggens krog

Three hundred years ago there was a famous Inn here at Gaveliusgatan called Faggens krog. One very famous guest was Carl Mikael Bellman, something he wrote about in one of his famous poems. This is one of my favorite parts of Södermalm, in Stockholm, and I will show you a few more interesting places in the next few days.

Sailing

During the Summer, chances are that there will be some sort of regatta in the port city, Nynäshamn. On this day, it looked like it was a bunch of kids out on the Fagerviken bay, either learning to sail or competing. I snapped this from the picturesque Strandvägen road while out on another longish eBike ride on the new Gazelle.

79&Park

That is the address of this new apartment building at Gärdet in Stockholm. The architect behind it is Bjarke Ingels. The facade is made from cedar wood. There are 169 apartments here and hundreds of terraces, both private and common, all filled with green plants. And up on the roof you will find 25 trees! The location is key, very close to Djurgården, Östermalm and Frihamnen. And the building has it's own pre-school, so very family-oriented. More info about the building here.

That Old Tree

Cycling home yesterday, I decided that it was time for another visit to the old tree at Välsta. We had an interesting day weather vise. A bit of sunshine, followed by gray skies and rain and, then more sunshine.

Thai Food Anyone?

Out on my eBike at Södermalm in Stockholm, closing in on an area known as Sofia, I stopped at the intersection Erstagatan/Skånegatan to let a few pedestrians cross the street, and while waiting for them to do that I decided to snap a quick photo of the colorful Thai Take Away place that calls itself Thai Kök.

Walking the dogs

A recent street scene from Stockholm. One of those really warm Summer days. A young girl out walking with the family dogs near the Royal castle.

Höskrinda

Swedish unused word for quite some time, höskrinda. And two of them. Spotted while walking across the farmer's field near Kalvsvik a few days ago. This land is used by Rolf Norlin from Hammarby gård, a farm a few kilometers from here.

Nationalmuseum

At Blasieholmen, in Stockholm, this is the National Museum. And, behind it in the little park, there is an anonymous building with a very cool pattern covering two whole walls, I believe it is the loading dock. And now, you are asking, especially William, when can we have a look inside? That is a very good question. The answer is, I don't know, because I really don't do museums. I prefer to stay outdoors for most of the time.

How’s it going?

I noticed this guy while at Årsta havsbad earlier in the week. He was standing at a fence, drinking a beer and smoking a cigarette.

Bus Stop Library

I had a look at the books at the bus stop/library at Årsta Havsbad yesterday. This is one of three bookshelves. I have read a couple of these novels, and seen the movie. The Norwegian guy, Nesbö is a great crime writer. I read the Hotakainen novel a few years ago. In the end, I picked the Frantzen novel, The corrections. That should be an interesting read, and a little close to home as it is a family drama involving Parkinson's disease.

Decked Out

Superb weather. 25C from a very blue Swedish summer sky. You are on a cruise with AIDAprima. The ship has arrived to Stockholm, one of the more attractive cities in the world. Why would you just choose to stay aboard?

Berg- och dalbana

Swedish word of the day. Berg- och dalbana. Roller Coaster. One of the fun rides at the amusement park Gröna Lund at Djurgården in Stockholm. Photographed from the top of a hill at the nearby islet Beckholmen.

SkyView

The SkyView at the Globe Arena. Or Avicii Arena as it is called these days. Never been up in the gondola, but the Globe Arena is quite big, 85 meter high so the view should be good. I took this photo with the zoom lens from the bike path on the other side of the motorway at Johanneshov on my way to Stockholm last week.

A candid collage and a portrait

Street and candid photography are always fun. It's up there on my top list with real street portraits, and here is a combination of the two. The collage consists of 16 photos that I took in July. All in Stockholm at different places. The girl in the portrait photo can also be found in the collage. I spotted her and her boyfriend as they were paddleboarding along the canal at Djurgården last week, so I took a few photos before cycling on. And then a few minutes later, as I was enjoying a light lunch on the grass close to the water, she paddled up to me and asked if I had taken her photo. Sure did, was my answer. I want the photos, she said, so I told her where she could see them and as I lifted the camera again to take a portrait of her she couldn't stop smiling. The photos in the collage are from Hammarby Sjöstad, Sickla, Kungsholmen, Långholmen, Skeppsholmen and a few other places.

Polkagrisar Anyone?

This is a new sculpture at the Rosendal castle at Djurgården. It is called Life Rings, but all I can think of when I see it is Polkagris candy from Gränna. A very sticky candy I might add. The sculpture is made from steel, and is eight meter high. Made by the artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset for Princess Estelle's cultural foundation. Curious about the Princess? She is nine years old and the daughter of Crown Princess Victoria. Theme Day, Sticky.