Ice skaters and a skate sailor

On this day last year, on my way home from Stockholm, on the ebike, I made a stop at the beach at Hökarängsbadet. Yesterday, on my way to Stockholm on the ebike, I stopped at the same lake, which is called Drevviken. This time further south, and at a new, (ish), circular jetty that I have only seen from a distance before, as this area is a busy building site at the moment and parts of it has been closed off. But my reason for the stop was the same as the previous year. To check out the ice skaters on the frozen lake. I soon realized that I was on the wrong side of the lake when I spotted the skate sailor on the Sköndal side. And minutes later I noticed a group of ice skaters near the jetty from where I snapped my photos last Winter. Not sure how thick the ice was here yesterday, but as the ice skaters say, thick enough!

Mariatorget

Top photo shows the Gustaf Mellbin store at Mariatorget in Stockholm. Sadly, the other one, located in the old town, closed a while back. It had been in operation since 1867. That is a lot of brassieres. The next three photos are also from the same square, Mariatorget on Södermalm. Second and third photo shows two hair saloons. One of them called Hair Today. Lastly the entrance to the Hôtel Rival. A classy place where you can stay the night, or just book a table for their popular New Year's Eve party.

Eye Chart Santa

Walking past this Synsam optician at Hornsgatan on Södermalm, I was reminded of M.A. Numminen.

Motorcycle Santa

Whenever I am at Mariaberget on Södermalm I will go up to Monteliusvägen. A famous walk along the hillside, above Söder Mälarstrand, with one of the best views over the city. Anyway, on my way up the hill I spotted Motorcycle Santa and as Christmas is over I figured I better post the photo before it is too late.

Spot the Christmas Tree

Nice day yesterday, 3C. No wind, but the sky was as grey as it can get, and then some. Perfect for a longish bike ride, I hear you all say, so that is what I did. No ice on the bike paths, but there were patches here and there that looked a bit suspicious, so I had to ride a bit slower than usual. No real goal other than to warm up the old muscles. I stopped at a few places, and to give you an idea of the weather, here are two photos taken from the Skanstull bridge with my old Canon 77D with the zoom lens. This is the 108-meter-high smokestack at the Hammarbyverket heating plant that today sits smack in the middle of Hammarby Sjöstad, on the south side. Nice touch with the Christmas Tree lights, I think.

Barbershop

A very typical barbershop. When I worked on Södermalm I used to go to a barber not far from here. It was a place along Folkungagatan, called Kalufsen, which is a nickname of your hairstyle. The first time I went there I had very long blond hair. Those were the days!

Brutalism Christmas

Riding home from Stockholm I stopped at Gullmarsplan for a photo of this office building. Looks kinda nice I think.

Windows

I took a walk at Ersta Diakoni a couple of days ago. Located at Fjällgatan on Södermalm in Stockholm. It is a not for profit", "voluntary" and "idealistic" organisation. I could not find a better English word which was weird. In Swedish we call it a "ideell" organisation. Anyway, they operate a hospital, social engineering education and more. The word diakon btw, is Greek and means to serve. They have been around here at Ersta since 1863. I usually come here for two reasons. The great view over Stockholm, and also to check up on the building sites as Ersta Diakoni are currently busy building a new hospital across the street from their old place. The architecture is a bit different, hence the third photo.

Skogskyrkogården

A couple out walking the 888-meter long "sju brunnars stig" at the World Heritage Site, Skogskyrkogården, the big cemetery at Enskede in Stockholm. Good of them to spot the crouching photographer. Not too many people around on this visit two days ago. As I always do I took a few photos of the Mediation Hill, or Almhöjden which is the offical name. I also walked over to Greta Garbo for a quick hello.

Stockholm at Christmas

A few more photos taken at the lookout point that is Fjällgatan on Södermalm in Stockholm. Top photo shows "Julkranen", which is a bit of a word pun. Julgran in Swedish is Christmas tree. And kran means crane. This lit up crane at the big construction site at Slussen has been there for a few years now. Panning a little to the left, we can see Stadsgårdsterminalen from 1972. A former cruise line terminal, turned into a cultural scene. If you have good eyes, you can see that I took this photo at 12:23. The clock sits on one of the most famous structures in Stockholm. Katarinahissen. Zooming in on buildings along Skeppsbron in the old town and a few church towers on the third photo. To the left, the German church, followed by the Great Church, still under wraps, and then Klara Kyrka. Panning more to the right, we see the ship Af Chapman at Skeppsholmen. A popular hostel for Stockholm visitors. Next we see another ship. This one at Kastellholmen. It is the brig Tre Kronor. Next, another look at M/S Enköping that you also saw in yesterday's post. And lastly, one of the many ferries that travels between Slussen and the amusement park Gröna Lund at Djurgården.

Stop dreaming

It is not going to be a White Christmas in Stockholm this year. More like a Gray Christmas. Because most of the snow is gone. I took a longish ebike ride today. Around 75 km. No ice on the roads, or on the bike path. Temperature around 3C, and no wind. I snapped this photo at Fjällgatan on Södermalm in Stockholm. The ship is M/S Enköping from 1868. The oldest passenger ship in the world, still in regular traffic. In the background, the IKEA-style Christmas tree at Skeppsbrokajen in the old town that I showed you a while ago.

Hungry?

There are several restaurants in this area that always make me hungry. This is not one of them. But it is open for business, and a lot of people use it, so I guess they must do something right. Either that, or the truckers at this industrial park don't know about those other places.

Winter Sky

On one of those really cold Winter days, I lifted the Canon towards the sky and snapped this shot. It was -15C, and frost everywhere.

A Winter View

A photo from what used to be a farmers' field at Lillgården in Tungelsta. The mound here is man-made and consists of sand, construction work is under way to build a lot of new homes here. The apartment block in the background is called Ankaret. It dates back to the 1960s. The smoke from the chimney comes from the old Stationhouse at the commuter station.

Frosty Window

I live in an old house. Built by my great-grandparents 120 years ago. Obviously, it has been renovated over the years, but there is always something that needs fixing. This was my bedroom window yesterday morning. Another -15C day.

That Old Tree

It was -15C yesterday. A bit chilly if you ask me, and obviously perfect weather for a long walk! Very icy so I put on my icebug boots just in case. It took me half an hour to get to the old tree. Not too many people out and about, but I did meet one Viking who was out running. I had a look in my flickr album and this is my 648th photo of the Swedish Whitebeam.

Koltrast

This Common blackbird was sitting outside my veranda yesterday. It is tough times for the birds when it is as cold and snowy as it is now. -10C as I am typing this. I am all out of bird seeds so I guess I need to fix that.

The Royal Guard

Two photos from yttre borggården at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. The Royal Guard looked a bit cold I think. When my brother did his mandatory military service, he spent some of his time here at the Royal Palace, and he was in charge of the soldiers wellbeing as they protected the palace. The second photo is the same view just photographed further back to show the facade. The architect was Nicodemus Tessin den yngre.

Fire in the sky

This was the sunset yesterday afternoon. Shot from home. We were expecting a snow storm overnight, but so far it has hit the island of Gotland, and parts of Northern Stockholm. So no new snow at my place, but it was a windy night and there were quite a few broken tree branches in the back garden. As I am typing this it is very calm, but cold, around -7C.

The Nordic Light

Västerlånggatan in the old town. A street every visitor to Stockholm will visit. The store in the top photo wanted to use my photo on their site. They sell handmade tomtar och troll. Café Schweizer is a place where you could try the soup of the day, or maybe a sandwich.

Outdoor Dining

Leaving the Christmas market in the old town, I stopped for a photo of Trattoria. Outdoor dining is always my preferred choice. And the setting at Stortorget is of course a good one. Might be a bit chilly this time of the year, but hey, just order a warm glass of glögg, and we are good to go. Meatballs or pizza it is, I will pass on the Fish & Chips.

Stortorgets Julmarknad

Five more photos from the Christmas market in the old town.

Old Town Christmas Market

There have been markets held at Stortorget in the old town in Stockholm for over 700 years. Must have been quite the experience walking around here during the Middle Ages. The annual Christmas market got under way in late November and is open daily. There are around 40 wooden stalls that sell everything from warm glögg to tomtar. The three stalls that you can see here sells tomtar, candy and angels.

The Meditation Hill

The Meditation Hill at Skogskyrkogården. The World Heritage Site at Enskede just outside Stockholm. As you probably know by now, I always visit this cemetery on my way to and from Stockholm. During the warmer parts of the year I often park the bike below and walk up the hill and then sit on the grass looking at the scenery while eating my lunch and snapping away as the whole area is very photogenic. On this visit, it was a little too cold for outdoor eating, so I just took a few photos.

Julgran

Remember that IKEA-assembled Christmas tree I showed you a while back? Here is an updated version. It sure is big, so big that I had to take four photos with my 60mm lens on my old Canon 77D and stitch those images together in Lightroom. I snapped this last week, and haven't been back since, so I am guessing that they have added the lights by now. You will find it at Skeppsbrokajen just a short icy sprint from the Royal castle. If you want to see how the finished version might look, check out this olden goldie that I took back in 2006.

Window Shopping

Julen is upon us, so I did some window shopping. Space is the world's biggest gaming center. Located in one of the high rises, known as Hötorgsskraporna in Stockholm. Opened last year. Butterick's is a classic place for many reasons. And the only place in the world where I have been caught shoplifting! Never been to the House of Candy. The window display at Åhléns looks familiar with a few classic Stockholm buildings made with LEGO, including the department store itself and City Hall just to mention one.