That Old Tree

No snow left near the old tree, just some ice on the path. Snapped this photo yesterday afternoon. Ninety minutes earlier in Stockholm at the big cemetery, there was snow everywhere, photos of that to come. A weird feeling. Winter at one place and Spring like conditions 30 km away. Oh, and this is my 650th photo of the Swedish Whitebeam.

The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

Constructed a century ago as a knitting factory known as Trikåfabriken. At the entrance to Västra Sjöstaden, (Hammarby Sjöstad). Rebuilt by the architects at Tengbom to very modern standards a couple of years ago. Today the new home of Naturvårdsverket. Shot as a panorama, this is 12 photos stitched together. And for the architect lovers, more photos here.

Old Town Architecture

Possibly two of the most iconic buildings in the old town in Stockholm. At Stortorget. The Grand Square. To the left, Schantzska huset. Built in 1650. And next to it, the older, Seyfridtzska huset, from around 1520. There have been markets on this square for just over 500 years, and I have shown you the last two Christmas Markets here. You will also find the Nobel museum at the square. And usually a lot of tourists. I shot this as a panorama with my Canon 77D, using the 60mm lens. I "cleaned" it up a bit by removing a wire. I am yet to try the coffee from Zoéga. I bought it on the same day as I took the photo.

Four scenes from the old town

Four street scenes from the old town. I did a full circle. Started my walk at the Royal Palace and ended it at the palace. I spotted the girl dressed for Winter outside the Nobel museum, totally in her own world. The Hot Chocolate café at Stortorget is always a big his with visiting tourists. I came across the two school girls a few times during my promenade, they stopped at every shop window. The two guys carrying some sort of equipment noticed me as I lifted the camera.

Kunskapsskolan

The Knowledge School. Also known as Kunskapsgymnasiet. A secondary school located at Arenavägen in Johaneshov, close to the Globe Arena. I don't really know anything about the building. Í shot this as a panorama, it is eight photos stitched together.

Lugnets Terrass

Four more reflection photos from my recent visit to Sickla. Technically this is in Nacka, a neighboring municipality to Stockholm. But all part of Hammarby Sjöstad. The church that you can see in two of the shots is Sofia kyrka that sits on top of a hill on Södermalm in Stockholm. I took these photos from the terrace where I photographed the birds out on the ice.

Semladags

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday. Originally called Fettisdagen in Swedish. But these days more and more people call it Semmeldagen. The day when we all enjoy a semla. I ate this one on my first fika break of the day, and it was very good.

A reflection

Out walking at Hammarby Sjöstad. It was a good day for reflection photos. This is Henriksdal. The water is Hammarby sjö. The municipality is Nacka. If you would like to see a photo from above press here. I shot this from the left pier in the middle of that overview photo. From a terrace called Lugnets Terrass.

Pecking

I visited Sickla in Hammarby sjöstad a while back. I mostly photographed modern buildings and reflections. There is a place there called Lugnets terrass that I always try to visit when I am in the area. A wooden terrace down by Hammarby sjö. A great spot for people watching, especially during the warmer parts of the year. On this visit I was the only one on the terrace and the first photo I took was this one. Two birds out on the ice. One of them busy pecking, obviously there was something interesting under the ice.

The Royal Mail

The entrance to the former Central Post Office at Vasagatan in Stockholm. The building was designed by the famous architect Ferdinand Boberg, just over a century ago. He took some inspiration from Vadstena castle. I had a few weeks of work experience practice in this building when I was 15 years old. It was mostly boring paper work, but I did enjoy riding the Pater Noster elevator. Today this is a government building.

At the office

"I saw your email and I totally agree. We need to deal with this immediately. I am in the office right now looking at it, and I think we can fix this before close of business".
As seen while standing on the circular jetty at Lake Drevviken taking photos while being observed by a dog earlier this week.

What are standard window sizes?

That is the question of the day. Two photos of the facade of the Scandic Continental Hotel at Klarabergsgatan/Vasagatan in Stockholm. Shot on two different days from two different places. The hotel was designed by a Danish architect, from the firm 3XN. It replaced a previous hotel from the 1960s. The Continental has three roof terraces, one of which is open to the public.

The Photographer

I had just walked up a hill at Skogskyrkogården after taking a photo of the meditation mill across the road when I noticed the hunched down photographer at Gunnar Asplund's Stairs, as they are called. Asplund was one of the two architects that designed the cemetery a century ago. They did a fantastic job, and one proof of that is that there are always people here just to marvel at the World Heritage Site and take photos of it.

Royal Guards

I took a walk in the old town. Always fun to look at the tourists, and no one knows that I am a local, so I blend in nicely with the crowds. After a stroll around the big square, Stortorget, where they have the big Christmas market that I have shown you a couple of times, I walked up to the Great Church, Storkyrkan. It is next to the Royal Palace, so I decided to get a photo of one of the Royal Guards. I gave her a little nod before I took the portrait, and she gave me one back. The sensible thing to do when you shoot someone that is armed, pun intended. The name Ven on her peaked cap tells me that she is from Fjärde sjöstridsflottiljen. Or The 4th Naval Warfare Flotilla. They are based at Berga in Haninge and I have been there on an open-house weekend a number of years ago.

Riksdagshuset

Top photo shows a fifteen photo panorama of the parliament house at Helgeandsholmen in Stockholm, because why not. Shot with the Canon 77D, using the 60mm lens. Photographed from Vasabron, a bridge connecting Norrmalm with Gamla stan. The building dates back to 1890, and was designed by an architect called Aron Johansson. And for good measure, the front of the same building photographed on a Summer day last year, snapped from another bridge, called Strömbron.

Same same, but different

This is an eight-story office building from the 1970s. With shops on the first floor. Located at Tegelbacken, next to the Sheraton Hotel. Or, it was, as it is currently being demolished to be replaced with, you guessed it, a brand new six-story office building with shops on the first floor. But it is not all bad, they will use some of the facade material on the roof of the new building. And the nightlife in the area will be improved. At least that is the idea.

Watching the photographer

It has been a weird Winter. This is a recent photo from Skogskyrkogården. I rode into the Woodland Cemetery, using the entrance at Sockenvägen, and sat down on a bench next to the big information boards that explain how this UNESCO World Heritage Site came to be. As I enjoyed a sandwich, I kept my eyes on the photographer walking on grass. He was photographing the Meditation Hill, and just before I jumped on the bike again I decided to take this shot.

Strategic Architecture

Kungsbrohuset. Västra Järnvägsgatan. This building from 2010 is famous for its two facades. Both made of glass. Which saves a lot of energy. Designed by Kerstin Heijde from Strategisk Arkitektur.

Åhléns

A bit controversial this. There used to be a popular theater here at Östermalmstorg. It was called Folkan, (The People's Theatre). That building was demolished some fifteen years ago. The owners claimed that there were too many problems with the deep foundation. So today we have this department store, and above it apartments and offices. This is the same square as the renovated Saluhall that I showed you a few days ago.

The Royal College of Music

The Royal College of Music campus is just a decade old. Located along Valhallavägen at Gärdet in Stockholm. Whenever I see the back side of the building, I think piano. And if you enjoy cool reflection photos, all you have to do is walk around the corner, so that is what I did to snap the second photo. Continuing our walk around the building, we see the glass facade of another building at the campus. And lastly, the old brick stable that some people wanted to tear down, now a part of the college as a beautiful library.

Winter Returns

The temperature dropped a few days ago and we got a thin layer of snow. That change in the weather was enough for the ice to form on the lakes again. This was Nedre Rudasjön, the lower lake, at Rudan in Handen yesterday. A few people sitting, or standing out on the frozen lake ice-fishing. Oh, and please check out this video. I follow three walking channels from around Stockholm and a woman shot this from a lake in Nacka called Källtorpssjön.

Svampen

This is Svampen. A well-known rain shelter in Stockholm. The word means toadstool. Everyone living here have said the phrase "let's meet up at Svampen", at least one time. It dates back to the mid 1930s. Designed by the landscape architect Holger Blom who became famous for the Stockholm style, a way to design city parks. For some weird reason, it was removed in 1988. Uproar followed and a year later this copy appeared at Stureplan.

Östermalms Saluhall

The newly renovated Östermalms saluhall at Östermalmstorg in Stockholm. Built in 1888. 3000 m2 of delicatessen. During the four-year-long renovation, a temporary building was used, and I took this photo from where that building used to be. The old building won an award for the new work, so people seem to like it.

Unparalleled Luxury

Turning to the left after shooting yesterday's photo, we now look at a building from 1895 at Birger Jarlsgatan. Or, wait a minute, that looks more like a huge advertisement for something really unnecessary, my bad.

Daneliuska huset

Iconic limestone building at Stureplan in Stockholm. Daneliuska huset. Built for a wealthy salmon trader. The architect was Erik Josephson who got his inspiration from French Renaissance castles. Today, probably more famous for the nightclub Spy Bar. This is a panorama from 17 photos, shot with my Canon 77D, using the 60mm lens. Oh, and my brother had an office in this building before he decided to move to Barcelona.

Underwater Work

Workers from Svenska Undervattensentreprenader AB busy renovating the bridge to Skeppsholmen. Land rise and lower water levels have exposed parts of the bridge that used to be underwater. So now divers are fixing that, laying concrete underwater The work they are doing will hold everything together for at least another century.

Up to something

Back in November, I noticed that some trees had been cut down on a hill at Mulsta in Tungelsta. And a couple of weeks ago I spotted some sort of building under construction. The family that lives at the farm, the Andersson's, have done so for two hundred years. They have a horse farm. You have met one them, Josefine. No clue as yet what this will be. If it is a new house, it will have a decent view from up there. I guess it could also be a stable. Time will tell, I guess. Oh, and the building in the foreground is a preschool called Lilla Lillgården.

The Monument Hall

Theme day. Virtue. A tricky word for me. It can mean a lot of things. I decided to go with a view from my favorite cemetery, Skogskyrkogården. I parked the ebike, and walked up to the top of The Meditation Hill. From up there you have good views in any direction. This is the Monument Hall. During the warmer part of the year, I will often sit on the grass up here watching the world go by. It was a little too cold for that on this visit, so I remained standing.