Hanukkah

I am a few days behind with my photo editing so here is a photo taken at Norrmalmstorg a few days ago now. A square in Stockholm that became very famous back in the 1970s. Where the Stockholm Syndrome came from.

The Swedish Whitebeam

We had several minutes (!), of sunshine yesterday. Which was nice. Quite warm for the season, maybe 6C, so I took a long bike ride, as is the rule. I visited the flea market at Hötorget. Took a walk along Drottninggatan, before finishing my Stockholm visit with a promenade in the old town, together with all the tourists. Cycling home, I figured that the sunset could be worth photographing, and when I jumped off the ebike at Välsta I managed to get the absolute last light with this photo of the Swedish Whitebeam.

Göta Lejon

Göta Lejon opened in 1928. Back then as a cinema and I have seen a few movies here. Later they also did theatre productions and I especially remember seeing Fröken Fleggmans mustasch here with my brother and our parents, just over 40 years ago. Written by the duo HasseåTage. With two legends on stage. Lena Nyman and Gösta Ekman. I also came here with my friends for a few concerts back in the 1980s. One concert that I really enjoyed was with the Canadian band Saga. I bought their debut album in 1978 and stayed a fan for many years. The theatre got a new owner two years ago when Live Nation bought it. I have been wanting to take a photo of the neon sign for a while, but the E wasn't lit up, but now it is, so I stopped for a quick shot a few days ago.

Lake Flaten

Unusually warm for late December, around 8C on this day. Cycling home from Stockholm, I decided to take a longer route home, with a pit-stop at Lake Flaten. Not too many people in my photos, but there were lots of people out walking. There is a popular trail around the lake. I walked around it with a friend a few Summers ago.

Plastic Santa

A photo from two days ago. It was 8C,from a very gray sky and I was out on a five hour bike ride, with stops here and there for photos of course. This is El-tjänst, a lamp store along Vendelsövägen at Trollbäcken in Tyresö. Been there since the late 1960s.

Heading home

A late afternoon photo from Götgatsbacken on Södermalm. A very hip street with lots of shops, bars and more. From here to Skanstull there are seven stop lights, and it is always a bit of an adventure to see if you can ride the bike all the way without stopping. That rarely happens, btw.

Blue Hour

Three blue hour photos from Klockelund at Lake Drevviken. I often stop here on my way to and from Stockholm. The top photo shows the beach known as Hökarängsbadet, usually packed during warm Summer days. Photographed from the boardwalk. Next, the first ever terrace house in Sweden, at Sköndal, also photographed from the boardwalk, well almost as I stepped down to the edge of the water for that shot. I took the third photo from the circular pier at Klockelundsvägen. Popular with swimmers, dog walkers and photographers. Lots of new apartments under construction here since more than three years. The first people have already moved in, so the lake, beach and boardwalk will be even more popular in the future.

God Jul

The finished IKEA-style Christmas tree at Skeppsbrokajen. Across the street from the Kinnevik office. A tradition that dates back to the mid 1990s when the then CEO Jan Stenbeck figured that Stockholm needed a big Julgran.

Christmas windows

I have a thing for windows. Here are a few Christmas windows from Sveavägen, Västra trädgårdsgatan and Kungsgatan, in no particular order.

Julhets

Swedish word of the day. Julhets. I guess many people feel it. The Christmas stress. This is just across the street from the photos in yesterday's post. Taken at the shopping mall Gallerian, located at Hamngatan in Norrmalm.

Christmas display

It is Christmas. The year is 1915. The department store NK, Nordiska Kompaniet at Hamngatan in Stockholm starts the tradition with Christmas displays in their big windows. A Century later the tradition is extremly popular. It is always people here looking. And not just kids.

Engelen

Popular taverna in the old town at Kornhamnstorg. I used to be a frequent guest here back in the day. Always a good place for live music. The name is an old spelling of angel. Many years ago there was a pharmacy here with that name, and the angel above the entrance dates back to that time.

Each to their own

Welcome to Haninge. That is what it says on a sign next to this property at Nordenskiölds väg at Vega in Haninge. There used to be another building here, but it was teared down earlier this year. I think that the municipality have plans for this area. This is very close to Vegastaden.

The Ice Princess

Always someone to photograph at Kungsträdgården. Like this Ice Princess.

The Force Awakens

The workers at Tesla in Sweden have been striking since October 2023 because the company refuses to sign a Collective agreement. Oh, and I am not a Star Wars guy, so the Force will have to awaken without me, I'm afraid. This is a building on the corner of Kungsgatan/Sveavägen. The property is owned by Hufvudstaden. Before Tesla moved in you could by Adidas sneakers here.

A glowing heart

Two recent photos of the glowing heart at the Folksam building. It is an insurance company. They do this every Winter. It was orange for a week, because of Orange Day. And now it is pink. I took the top photo on a Monday afternoon when people were still working. The second photo is from a Sunday when the building is more or less empty. Both photos taken from the bike path on the Skanstull bridge while cycling home.

Lit up tree

Lots of trees with lights to photograph this Christmas. This one can be found near the Globe Arena at Johanneshov.

The Red Ribbon

A more serious Christmas Light installation at Berzelii park.

The annual Santa Run

Twelve hundred people, all dressed as Santa Claus, (more or less), took part in the annual Santa Run in Stockholm. The start and the finish took place at Kungsträdgården. You could choose between a 3 km course, or a 6 km course. Both courses went through the old town and past the Royal Palace. The streets were lined with onlookers and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. And as you can guess I took way too many photos, and you can see them all in my Flickr album.

2024 Winter Count

Another Winter Count. Starting with a "solpelare" from January. February is always a good time for enjoying a semla. A tunnel photo for March.Brunkebergstunneln. I have a thing for photographing windows. I snapped this with the zoom lens at Söder Mälarstrand in May. Kinda fun that the guy noticed me. A lot of people get married at Stockholm City Hall. Back in May, I got a photo of this couple. A busy street turned into a pedestrian heaven for a few weekends this past Summer. This contortionist caught me eye so much that I made an album with her performance inside the whale skeleton at Sveavägen. I took many promenades through the old town this year. In July, these two teenage girls asked to have their photo taken. On a whim I decided that I should start documenting Solna, so I started two Flickr albums that I quickly filled up with photos from that municipality. This a new parking garage called the Beehive. After a three-year-long hiatus, the BBQ evenings at Villa Blåmes started again. Which was nice, not counting the hangovers. I walked up to the top of the Hammarbybacken hill twice this Autumn because of all the great views over Stockholm from that ski hill. In November I decided to start a new 100 days of darkness project. And lastly, a photo from the annual Stockholm Santa Run. Perfect for for December I think.

The King of the Forest

The King of the Forest. Skogens konung. This Christmas, there are six moose at Raoul Wallenberg's place at Nybroplan. And they are very popular with locals, tourists and photographers.

STHLM 01

You have seen it before, and chances are you that will see it again. The STHLM 01 building near Hammarby Sjöstad. I was out taking some evening/darkness photos and as I really like this building I decided to start here. From where I took this photo, it is tricky to get a good shot of the high-rise. I tried with my wide-angle lens a while back, but it came out looking weird, so on this day I did what I usually do which is to shoot a panorama. So this is umpteen photos snapped with the mirrorless, using the 85mm lens and then stitched together.