That Old Tree

Last post of the year. My latest visit to the old tree a couple of cold days ago.

Hammar

The Hammar estate in Tungelsta. Dates back a couple of centuries. Renovated a decade ago. The same family has owned it since it was first built. I used to meet the current owner, Charlotte, quite often. Always out on long walks. She was a good friend to my aunt Kerstin, who passed away earlier this year.

Winter Road

Walking down Allévägen, from Hammar to Krigslida on a cold Winter day. Not too many people out and about as you can see. And it was all very silent, thanks to the snow.

Available seating

Another Winter promenade in Tungelsta. I have a thing for benches. And an even bigger thing for snow covered benches.

Färglådorna

That was the unofficial name of this area back in the early 1970s when it was brand new. I had a lot of friends who lived here back then. And one evening in 1976 or there abouts, I visited two girls together with my then best friend, Arne. The girls were two years older than us, and let's just say more experienced. So maybe first base. But I think I had a few dreams about them after that evening.

Up for a challenge

I met two cyclists during my Winter promenade yesterday, a bit surprising considering the weather and the unploughed roads, but there you go. Anywho, this is Mats Wiger. Born and bred in Tungelsta, just like me. He was on his way to work, and complained a bit about the conditions. Back when my family still had the greenhouse nursery, I would see him almost every day. Mats ran a truck company, and would drop by twice a day to pick up flowers that he delivered to Årsta partihallar, the big wholesale market at Årsta in Stockholm. A good business considering that Tungelsta have had more than one hundred greenhouse nurseries. These days there are maybe five left.

A walk in the park

This was the scene in the park in Tungelsta yesterday morning. So we got a white Christmas after all. It was -9C when I snapped this photo. The plan was to walk over to the old tree for a snow photo of it, but it was way too cold for that, so I might try that later today. Glad fortsättning as we say here the day after Julafton.

Julafton

December 24. Julafton. God Jul everyone.

Vintermorgon

Vintermorgon. Winter morning. This was the first thing I saw this morning when I stumbled out of bed and looked out the window, before walking down to the kitchen to prepare my breakfast. Looks like we will have a white Christmas after all.

Winter Count 2023

My 14th Winter Count. One photo per month from 2023. January sees a well-known sculpture at Sergels torg. A snowy Meditation Hill view from Skogskyrkogården in February. Classic Stockholm view with Riddarfjärden, Riddarholmen and Stadshuset for March. The annual Cherry Blossom craze at Kungsträdgården works well for April. I met the guy on the "Höghjuling" in the May photo twice this year, he shouted to me saying that there are no brakes on the bike. Gustav Vasa posing for a photo represents June. A Royal Guard at the Royal Palace was my pick for July. The wedding couple were having their photo taken by another photographer when I arrived at City Hall and I could not resist taking my own photo of them. The police officer in the September photo was busy keeping an eye on Greta Thunberg and myself during a demonstration from the Royal Palace to Medborgarplatsen. My Autumn photo comes from Djurgårdsbrunn. Back to Kungsträdgården for the November shot with a group of tourists posing on the same spot as my April photo but with different colors. We finish with my preferred vehicle year round, my Gazelle Ultimate 8 eBike.

Blue Hour

I picked up my bike after I took the photo of the planes. Walking in to the shop, the owner, Harry, in his mid 80s by now, gave me the evil eye. Sort of. And then he told me how hard it was to just fix a flat tire and adjust the gears on my eBike, like I did not already know that. I kept a straight face, but laughed about it while cycling home. And then I stopped to take a photo at Mulsta as it was getting dark, and I liked how this house looked with the Christmas lights.

Julgransflygnig

Twelve SK 60 doing a fly-by in a Christmas Tree formation yesterday afternoon. I had hoped that they would fly over me, but they were probably over the water when I snapped this one, standing in the middle of a muddy field on the Nedersta farm. I only had a few seconds to get a shot before they disappeared behind the trees. And you will have to be a huge Christmas fan to spot the tree, I think. But just two minutes before I took my shot, my Australian flickr buddy Brian, who lives in Stockholm, took the perfect photo.

Nynäsbanan

Time flies and all that. The railway line Nynäsbanan was the reason my family moved here 120 years ago to set up two greenhouse nurseries. Back then, it was just one track. The bridge in the background is the Krigslida bridge. I remember photographing it during the construction. Just as I did with the pedestrian bridge to nowhere. From where I took this photo.

That Old Tree

Most of the snow is gone. I was on my bike earlier today when I got a flat tire. So I walked the bike over to the mechanic. He would have it ready by tomorrow afternoon, also looking at the gears and the breaks. After that I took a long promenade home with a pit-stop at the old tree.

knäppe.mappar.borsta

That is the Swedish what3words address to the gingerbread factory in Tyresö where these ginger thins, or pepparkakor were made. And they have been baking them for nearly a century. The plan was to go for a walk over to the old tree, but as I opened the door and looked out it started to rain, so I snapped a photo of the weather situation, before going back in for a mug of coffee and said ginger thins.

Blossa

The brother just left in a taxi, heading for Arlanda. Flying back home to Barcelona after a three-day visit. Out shopping yesterday he came home with a bottle of Blossa so we enjoyed a few glasses of glögg. Also had time to watch the latest episode of På spåret where we knew most of the answers.

Headstone

A photo from a recent visit to the cemetery at the Medieval church in Västerhaninge. It was a cold day. This is a headstone elonig to my family btw.

1700 Hours

After a few days with a temperature around freezing it is getting older again. Expecting -11C today. I only took two photos yesterday, and here they are. The old stationhouse in Tungelsta, and a few of the row-houses at Lillgården on the other side of the railroad. Snapped just after 1700 hours yesterday.

Winter at Ribby Allé

Ribby, in Västerhaninge. Another place that I used to follow with my camera when it was constructed over several years.

Winter

Benches at Nederstaleden in Västerhaninge. I have been known to stop here while out on long bike rides. Kind of close to home, but still a good place to relax for a few minutes. But maybe not right now.

Winter cycling

A few Winters ago, a number of municipalities around Stockholm made a promise to keep a bike path from North to South snow and ice free by de-icing, using a salt brine solution after removing the snow. They don't always live up to that promise, though. As seen and photographed at the Krigslida commuter station two days ago.

Bird spotting

Bird up a frosty tree at the 700-year-old Nedersta farm. There used to be an old barn here, but it collapsed a number of years ago after a snow storm.

A finished project

I started photographing this building site project,Södra Tungelsta just as the construction got under way. Looks like it is finished now. It took a few years. Colorful row houses. A pre-school. Apartment building. Retirement home. New school. And more.The newest houses are the one furthest away btw.

Vinterfrost

Believe it or not, but I took out the eBike yesterday. Sure was a chilly ride, but quite short, just 12 kilometers. The bike path was cleared from snow and ice, which was nice. Frost everywhere after a few freezing days with -15C, which I figured would make for great views. Top photo shows a little skogsdunge at Stav. Next to a very modern pre-school that sits out on an open field, and you can see it on the second photo. Oh, and the black building up on the hill is new, and I believe that a woman that I photographed when she was still a teenager lives there today with her family.

The Café

A café in Tungelsta called Med Mig. Located in an old church that was also a gym for a few years. The religious people were fighting each other, (where have I heard that before?), and their boss, (God maybe?), visited one day, and he threw everyone out and changed the locks. A few years later a local construction company stepped in and bought this property and also an older building nearby, and since then two entrepreneurial women have opened this café and also a restaurant in the other building.

A cold winter night

I managed to take a few photos last night. It was a chilly promenade -13C, with frost everywhere. This is the old stationhouse at the Tungelsta commuter station. I upped the ISO here to show the frost in the lit up tree.

No more bird seeds?

My photography is on hold at the moment. I can't cope with the Winter we are having. I am sure this squirrel feels the same. It is the same one that I showed you a couple of days ago. Even sitting in the same tree. Just photographed from another angle. I had to wade through the snow as I made my way up the hill at home to get the shot. Snapped yesterday.

!&?@#!#%&!

I waded into Old&Grumpy this morning and asked him about the weather. I couldn't have said it better myself.

Ljuspunkt

Yet to use a camera in December, but after lighting a candle yesterday, I snapped this photo using my macro lens on the old Canon 77D. And then someone at Flickr pointed it out that it is första advent today. First Sunday of Advent, so why not. Back when my mother was still around she always asked me to fix a Chandelier de l'Avent, and I would then go for a walk in the forest at home picking up some vitmossa, also known as fönsterlav for that. I can't do that today because of the snow, so this will have to do.

Hazelnut Lover

A squirrel up a tree enjoying it's lunch on a cold Winter day.

Winter sculpture

A sculpture in the park in Tungelsta. Rörd av blommor. Made by Klara Kristalova. The name of the park is Tungelsta trädgårdspark. The garden park. Named so because of the many greenhouse nurseries that made Tungelsta at least a little famous back in the day. There have been more than 100 family owned and operated greenhouse nurseries here. The first one opened 115 years ago, by my great-grandparents, btw. It was called Bergdalens Handelsträdgård. It is still here today, but under a different name and with a new owner.

The bridge

During my promenade through the park I noticed that no one had walked over the bridge crossing Rocklösaån, since the latest snowfall, so I walked around it to get a "clean" shot from the other side, because why not. The yellow house is where the local bands play their music. Before that it was a privade recidence. One of the kids that grew up there, Birdman, also known as Jocke became a musician and have played at the local rock festival several times.

Winter Problems

This is bus 835 stopping at the commuter station in Tungelsta yesterday.Winter arrived as per usual with chaos in the traffic. Accidents. Cancelled public transport. Planes not able to fly when and where they should. Long queues. More accidents. So, a normal first real bad Winter day in the Stockholm area.

Vinterbänk

Winter is here to stay. Snow everywhere during my walk today. This is a bench in the park in Tungelsta. As I took the photo, I was reminded about of the time when I sat down on this actual bench during the rock festival held here every Summer. There was a guy sitting next to me. He was enjoying the music, and we started to talk. After a few minutes of chit-chat he gave me a funny look, like he knew who I was, and that's when I realized that I had known him since we were teenagers. We were also classmates in secondary school. Sorry about that, Per, but people can change quite a lot if you don't see them that often.

My Sunday

I looked at the thermometer as I walked down the stairs to prepare my breakfast. It read -6C. Normally I don't think that is too cold for a Winter promenade, but I did yesterday. So when a ski race got under way on TV I stood ready on my trekkrunner and as the skiers made their way around the ice-cold course over in Finland I took an indoor promenade! Not much fun, but I needed the exercise. I also watched some biathlon because why not. After lunch, I read a few chapters in the latest Stephen King novel, Holly. And then at 1500 hours it was time for the sunset. I am not a fan of early sunsets, but there's not really much you can do about it, so I took this photo. After an early dinner, I watched some alpine skiing from the US, followed by an episode of Who Shot Otto Mueller? Oh, and I also uploaded a bunch of portraits of pretty girls to Flickr as I will often look through my Canon archives when I have nothing better to do.

Snow apple

I heard noises from the veranda. A few birds flying in for a treat that wasn't there as I am all out of bird seeds. So I cut up a few apples and also placed one apple on the table, because why not. I guess I could use it to see the Winter progress.

Woke up this morning...

...and noticed that Winter had arrived. Snapped this photo ten miutes ago from a window on the second floor. -5C at the moment.

Ice Cycling

Swedish word of the day.Iscykling. Ice cycling. Not something I really enjoy. And usually the municipality will keep one walkway/bike path in Haninge clear from ice and snow at all time, but not yesterday when it was non-stop bone breaking cycling for most of the way. This is particularly bad here in Handen as this stretch was redesigned and made narrower a number of years ago when a new bus stop was temporarily moved here during the construction of a new underground bus depot closer to the commuter station. And then when all that work was done they somehow forgot to change this stretch back to how it used to look.

Autumn scenes

Horrible weather here for the last couple of weeks. Rain. Snow. Cold. Windy. Not my favorite. So here are a couple of colorful Autumn scenes from a recent bike ride through Kungsholmen. Top photo shows Eden, (restaurant at Smedsudden), and Marieberg, with the accordion building as a nice backdrop. Second photo taken at "Rålis", a popular park. There is a bridge/bike path that I often use hidden behind the trees. There'a big green lawn at Smedsudden and also a sandy beach where on a sunny Summer day you would find hundreds of sunbathers. This time of the year, you will only see dog walkers and runners, and that is where I stood when I snapped the last photo.

Dark

Two photos from yesterday evening. Top photo shot with the mirrorless Canon. It shows the commuter station in Tungelsta, snapped from a walkway in Lillgården. Second photo taken from the commuter station, showing Gröna Huset, a popular restaurant. I shot that one with the Canon 77D. Both handheld, so I had to use the burst mode, IE take a lot of photos, and then use a script in Photoshop to stack the images together and get rid of the noise caused by high ISO. Less of a problem with the newer camera, of course.

Window shopping

Back in the old town again, because why not. Pashmina Stockholm. Red scooter. Happy Socks store, I wear a pair most days. A bistro. Stutterheim, for rainy days.