Summer bride

Walking into the courtyard at Stockholm City Hall, this was the first thing I saw. A bride standing on the stairs having her photo taken by a photographer that I have seen here several times. RS Photo. And as I already had my camera ready, I took the top photo, before continuing my walk over to the garden where I sat down for a bite to eat. A few minutes later the photographer and the wedding couple, now also with the groom, joined me down by the water at the Riddarfjärden Bay, so I took two more photos, because why not.

Ten Summer Scenes

The amazing Summer weather just continues. Top photo shows a group of fitness freaks working out in the park behind the National museum. Summer fun on the sea awaiting this group of tourists at Skeppsbrokajen. Me having fun with camera/photoshop again in the third photo during the NOCCO Sweden 3×3 Tour at Medborgarplatsen on Södermalm where also two temporary stands had been erected on the square. Some sort of Dior giveaway at Kungsträdgården. Teaterskeppet, the theatre ship leaving port. A group of tourists discussing where to go next, ferry or by foot? Locals during their lunch break on the stairs to Konserthuset at Hötorget. Two young women window shopping at Nybroplan. Three men at Brillo Pizza, near Odenplan, maybe they had the 99SEK pizza deal.

Déplacé·e·s, Valeriia

Have you ever tried shooting a big panorama on a square where like a hundred people are trying to unveil a massive photograph of a refugee girl from Ukraine? Me neither until I did just that at Sergels torg a couple of days ago. Part of the Déplacé·e·s, Valeriia by the artist JR. He has travelled the world for several years with these big photos of refugees from different countries. As per usual when it comes to me, I had no previous knowledge that this event would happen, I just walked right into it. And as I took the top photo with my mirrorless Canon R, I could hear the security guards behind me informing each other with what they knew about what was happening, so I decided to stick around for a minute or two. Anywho, the second photo here is a 12 photo panorama shot with my 60mm lens on the old Canon 77D and then stitched together and cropped a bit. The third photo is a classic wide panorama. It is six photos stitched together, photographed the easy way from left to right as I hoped that the people taking part in the project would be standing still for a while. In the fourth photo we can see the artist JR, he is the guy using the megaphone. And in the fifth photo we can see a part of the photo with Valeriia's face.Looks like a problem displaying the third photo in my post, trying to fix that.

Coming and going

Ten sunny street scenes

We start with a hen-party, möhippa in Swedish. Snapped while on the bike, waiting at a stoplight at Nybroplan. Then we see two women out on the Riddarfjärden bay trying to keep a straight face while the photographer takes their photo. In the third photo, a tourist is ready to light up a cigarette for some weird reason. Next, a DJ hard at work at a pedestrian part of Malmsskillnadsgatan. In the fifth photo, we see a few Swifties. Taylor Swift was in town for three concerts. 180 000 fans were therewith her. Many flew in from all over the world. I read one story about the many US fans that were here. In the thousands. It was cheaper for them to fly to Sweden, and back, buy a ticket to a show, pay for hotel and food and the rest of it, than it would have been to see Swift play in the US! Madness. In the sixth photo, happy people at the stairs to Dramaten. Next, people enjoying lunch at Brasserie vau de ville at Norrmalmstorg. Next, another pedestrian street, Biblioteksgatan, always busy, year round. In the ninth photo, a woman is handing out free drinks at Stureplan, the hippest of hip places in Stockholm. I managed to not get one, as I would never even think to try a Nocco. We finish like we started, at a pedestrian crossing. This one at Strandvägen.

BBQ at Villa Blåmes

Three of the usual suspects decided that it was time for a BBQ at Villa Blåmes at 1700 hours yesterday afternoon, on what was probably the warmest day of the year. Two of the three suspects were there on time. The third, Jujja, had to be tracked down with a phone call as he was still at home waiting to be picked up and driven to the BBQ in a BMW, after claiming not to have promised to take his bike the short bike ride to Norrby. Twenty minutes later, the three suspects were finally gathered out on the veranda eating everything they could find, and then some. After the very tasty dinner followed two hours of ice cream eating, coffee sipping, cognac drinking and story telling, before Jujja decided that it was time to ride the bus back home. Half an hour after that, I jumped on my bike and pedaled for home. A decision was also made about a sunrise visit to a lookout point in the next week or so.

Four photos from around Stockholm

It was one of those days when I really didn't feel like photographing, but still did. When I passed the SEB headquarters, I noticed a few of Greta's friends protesting. They want the bank to stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry. No sign of Greta, but she was there earlier in the week. Next, a photo of Beridna Högvakten. On their way to the Royal Palace for the changing of the guards. In the third photo, we can see two people hard at work at Kungsträdgården. They were filming a conversation taking place on a stage about diversity in the work place. Another much bigger film crew had taken over part of the cemetery that I visit so often. Skogskyrkogården. If I had to guess, I would say that they were filming a funeral scene for the next Beck movie, because just to the right of the people in my fourth photo, people dressed in black were sitting on chairs doing noting at all.

That Old Tree

I have been trying to remember if I have ever experienced a more pleasant month of May in my life, and the answer to that question is, no, I have not. Riding home yesterday afternoon, I felt like celebrating the glorious weather with a second May visit to the old tree. So that is what I did. No farmer out on the field this time, and the only person I saw and said hello to was a young woman out walking her dog. The forecast for today says rain and a little colder, and I guess we really need the rain. Rumors have it that the warm weather will be back come Saturday, and another rumour says that there might be time for a BBQ with the usual suspects. Been three years since!

Adelswärdska huset

Funny story here. This is Adelswärdska huset at Strömgatan. From 1890. Designed by Isak Gustaf Clason. It sits next to the Prime Minister's residence, Sagerska palatset. It was sold to the Swedish Government just a few years ago. The then owner Ratos thought that it was yay big. But then the people from Areakorrekt measured it and told them that it was way bigger. So when they sold it to the state, they got much more money, around 550 MillionSEK than they had previously expected from the sale.

A cemetery picnic

It was another glorious Summer day. I had just walked through a part of Södermalm in Stockholm called Mosebacke when I decided to head over to the Katarina church and cemetery. The church was completely destroyed in a fire a few years ago, but have since been rebuilt. As I expected, the green lawns at the cemetery were filled with groups of people lunching, picnicking or just sitting down chatting away with friends. There are a few schools in the area and I noticed a steady stream of summer dressed teenagers walking through the cemetery as well.

More May Greenery

More May colors. The two first photos are from Norra bantorget. The sculpture is called Mitt hjärta i världen. My heart in the world. Made in memory of Olof Palme. Next, a sundeck at Blekholmsterrassen where a few people are talking and reading. Followed by six photos from Skogskyrkogården. The UNESCO World Heritage Site cemetery I visit a few times every week, for obvious reasons. In the last shot you can see my eBike parked at Korsets stig.

Out walking

Out walking in the wonderful Summer weather. I chatted with a meteorologist yesterday, Linnea, and she informed me that Summer arrived to Stockholm back in late April, so we are already seven weeks into Summer. Top photo shows people at a stop light outside The Central Post Office Building. It was the woman with the multicolored polka dot dress that caught my eye. Further down Vasagatan, it was the young woman that made me take that photo. Waynes is a popular place for a "fika" here. And if you would rather go for a salad, that is next door. Walking back to my bike parked at the Central station, I noticed the man with the headphones. We finish with an iconic hot dog place at Karlbergsvägen. Started by Günter Schwarz forty years ago. Sausages served with his special sauce, the hojhojsås. Günter is no longer with us. A character in the novel The Dying Detective suffers from a blood cloth after eating a sausage here. The new owner of the kiosk plays himself in the TV series.