Snaps from a festival

There was a festival in Stockholm earlier in the Summer. Kulturfestivalen. There were at least five stages set up with artists performing from the early afternoon to late at night. For whatever reason I didnt go, but as the festival got under way I did check out a few places, but it was a bit early on, so not that much was happening. These photos are from Skeppsbron, Norrbro, Kungsträdgården and Strandvägen. The last two photos shows a photo exhibiton called Winners and Losers in the Swedish Nature, done by Naturfotograferna.

Walking down a hill

After drinking the water, sitting in the shade in the park, I walked down to get my bike. The first two photos here are from where I got that heat stroke feeling walking up. No such problems walking down. I spotted the dad tourist with his camera and figured that would be a good shot. Most people walking up here stop for photos as soon as they see the steep climb and the stairs with the cafe. I took the last two photos a few minutes later while sitting on the bike. It shows Swedenborgsgatan which becomes a popular pedestrian street during the summer. Filled with places to sit and enjoy a coffee or a meal, or even doing some chalk painting as we can see here.

A summer report from a park

It was a brutally warm day. I had been out on a long bike ride, in total around 80km. I parked the bike at Mariatorget on Södermalm, and walked up to the Ivar Lo park which has the best view over the city, at Monteliusvägen. That turned out to be a bad idea. Walking in, I was close to a heat stroke. A few people gave me worried looks as I made my way towards a bench in the shade. I sat down for a few minutes, drank a bottle of water before snapping a photo of the Ivar Lo bust. Ivar was a childhood friend to my grandfather, and he grew up to become a famous author. He lived across the street from the park for half a century, and after his death in 1990 the park was renamed in his honour. After regaining my strength I walked back down the hill, drank another bottle of water, before cycling over to the Woodland Cemetery where I cooled down in the restroom with more water, and a few minutes later I pedaled for home, a 25 km ride. After an early dinner, I was out of it for the rest of the evening.

Six Street Shots

Here are six snaps taken while out walking at Kungsgatan, Malmskillnadsgatan, Sveavägen and Kammakargatan in central Stockholm a few warm days ago. We start with the Grand cinema at Sveavägen where Olof Palme watched a movie before being murdered in 1986. Second, we see K25, at Kungsgatan 25. It consists of ten restaurants. A place where you can have breakfast, lunch and dinner, order takeaway. Third snap says something like kids will be kids. My guess is that they were waiting for their mothers, who were inside shopping. There are two bridges crossing Kungsgatan. The fourth and fifth photos shows the view in both directions from Regeringsgatans bro. The final photo for today shows a street called Kammakargatan. The last "kammakare" in Sweden passed away in 1942. And he had been the last "kammakare" for half a century by then. So now you know that.

Hedvig Eleonora

Alternative title, Steffe goes to church, but not really. This is the cemetery at Hedvig Eleonora church at Östermalm on a sunny summer afternoon in August. The summer café always draws a big crowd from the nearby offices. And mid-lunch people turn their heads and look out onto the street, Sibyllegatan, when the Royal Swedish Mounted Guards ride past from their visit to the castle.

Watercrafts

Time for more photos of water crafts. We start with The Sightseeing Ride. Seeing Stockholm from the water in an electric boat will cost you 260 SEK. A totally silent boat ride, not counting the tour guide... Next up is the Else Nora, a ship I don't think that I have seen before and know nothing about. Nice with the sun on the big sail, though. In the third photo we can see a bit of Briggen Tre Kronor, anchored at Kastellholmen. Built to sail the Baltic Sea for a century, as it said on a website somewhere. Back at Skeppsholmen, where I also snapped the first two photos, we see the M/S Segelkronan which is a restaurant. Leaving Skeppsholmen we continue past Blasieholmen and head for Strandvägen where M/S Östan is just back from a trip to the archipelago with a large chunk of tourists. And lastly an SL commuter boat with Hellstrandska huset in the background. When it was constructed it was the largest residential building in Stockholm with huge apartments with up to ten rooms. These days it is a different story as the building houses offices and also the Irish embassy.

Corps-de-garde

I visited the Galley Shipyard Cemetery, or Galärvarvskyrkogården on Djurgården on a hot day earlier in the month. This building, overlooking the cemetery, is known as Galärvarvskastellet. It dates back to 1839 and was the guardhouse, the corps-de-garde. It was designed by the architect Fredrik Blom. Up to 5000 people have been buried at this cemetery over the centuries. Many of the men that rests here were in the Swedish navy, and there are a lot of monuments and stories about the Vasa ship, and more recently the Estonia disaster. You will also find a few famous artists, directors and politicians buried here. Today this is actually the home of the caretaker, and his wife, and as I walked in to the cemetery I exchanged a few words with him about the weather as it was a brutally hot day.

At the market

On Saturdays, chances are good that you could find something to buy at the farmer's market at Katarina Bangata on Södermalm. Bondens egen marknad in Swedish. I was there for the people shots, of course. I noticed the Picasso bag and walked a little closer to get a good shot. I had to wait for a few people to walk past it. I also noticed a young woman, she was eyeing both me and the Picasso bag. I gave her a smile as I walked away, and a few minutes later I saw her talking to the seller and paying for her new bag. The girl selling the liquorice is always there. I am a big liquorice fan, as are most Swedes, so I am sure she makes some money from that stand.

Election Time

That time again. General election three weeks from now. This was the scene near Sergels torg yesterday. I didn't dare go any closer because the guy in the blue t-shirt on the second photo, from the Liberal Party, had his eyes on me the whole time, thinking, that looks like a potential voter, whereas I was thinking more in the lines of, not this again. On the top photo you can see the PM in a styled election poster and a few of her party members as well as up to four possible voters I guess.

Running For Office

Back in the day, did you ever watch the Alan Parker movie, Midnight Express? About a guy who smuggles hashish and ends up in a Turkish prison. I have seen it a couple of times. Why do you ask I hear you say? Well we have an upcoming general election here, in three weeks time, so everywhere you look there are election posters. And normally they all look the same. A smiling and styled politician on a very photoshopped image looking at you with the biggest fake smile that you have ever seen. So when I spotted this one yesterday, I stopped for a second look. This is Bengt O Björklund. Poet. Artist, and also running for office for The Left Party. And I can assure you that this photo is not styled in any way. Or photoshopped. Back to the movie Midnight Express, where there is a character called Erich. He is based partly on Bengt who was convicted for hashish smuggling in Turkey back in 1968. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

That sinking feeling

You know that feeling in your stomach just before the big drop while sitting in the rollercoaster. This is it. Air Time coming just up. This is the Twister at the amusement park Gröna Lund in Stockholm. Photographed from the nearby island Skeppsholmen. And if you want to try it, but safely from home because you are a bit of a wuss, press here.

Free Beer!

Sort of, anyway. Lapin Kulta 0,0. Götgatsbacken a couple of warm days ago.

Girl with elephant tattoo

I was standing on a bridge the other day, Västerbron, taking photos of an old wooden building, down below. It dates back nearly two centuries. It is located near a popular beach, Smedsuddsbadet at Kungsholmen. The building stood empty for several years before it opened as a newly renovated restaurant called Eden, earlier this Summer. And the idea was to write a post about it, and now I sort of have, but standing there I noticed the two girls on their Standup Paddleboards and for whatever reason my focus changed to them.

Dress to dine?

Don't you guys in Sweden always eat nearly in the nude while visiting City Hall? As seen while walking around the garden at Stockholm stadshus on a really hot day.

Brutalist Summer

Whenever I take the bicycle on a long ride, in and around Stockholm I usually take the Skanstull bridge and from up there you can look down at this concrete pier, or betongbrygga in Swedish. Anyway, I decided to give you a better look from street level, so to speak. So this is how it looks from Södra Hammarbyhamnen, in Hammarby Sjöstad. During the Summer month, this pier is always filled with sunbathers, young and old.

Beach from a distance

A week ago I showed you a real Summer shot with people enjoying a lazy day at Långholmsbadet. Some of you were surprised to learn that there are beaches in Stockholm. All you have to do really is to look at a map over the city to see that there is a lot of water here, and islands, and beaches. I figured it would be fun to show the Långholmen beach from a distance, so I took the bike over to Marieberg and biked up the hill and shot this view. I was standing next to a building that I have showed you before, The Accordion Building. So here is the little beach, and if the high rises in the background looks familiar it is because I showed you the yet to open Sky Bar at Liljeholmen a while back.

Ice cream break

A bicycle police stopping for an ice cream at the pier Lugnets terrass at Hammarby Sjöstad. Seemed like the smart thing to do as it was one of those warm Summer days. There are around forty police officers riding around Stockholm, all of them using mountainbikes from Santos, a Dutch brand.

Sjöstjernan

There are twelve ships anchored along the pier at Norra Hammarbyhamnen in Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm. Thirty years ago, this was an industrial zone. Today, maybe 30 000 people call this part of the city home. One of the boats at the pier is Sjöstjernan. The owner, Christofer Andersson did a good job with the ship. I snapped a few photos of the ship last Summer when they were busy renovating it. The ship was originally called Polstjernan. It was constructed as a steamship by Göteborgs Mekaniska Verkstad in 1890. For many years a pilot-ship, until 1929 when it was bought by a brewery and used to ship beer around Lake Vänern until 1970. Today it has a modern Volvo diesel engine.

Vita Bergen

Three photos from a park on Södermalm. The area is known as Vita Bergen. The White Mountains. It is dominated by the Sofia church that sits on top of the hill, and I snapped the two last photos from up there. The park is very popular with picnickers and sunbathers, weather permitting of course. The first photo shows a restaurant called Kajsas i parken.

Rosendal Palace

Two photos showing a nice little palace pavilion at Royal Djurgården. The Rosendal Palace. I might move in here one day, or not. Originally built in the 1820s for King Karl XIV Johan, the first Bernadotte as a Summer house, or a lustslott as we like to call it. Today a museum. Top photo from a few days ago with a tour guide a two visitors chatting away. I shot the second photo back in May.