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.

Tyresö Palace

I took a late afternoon bike ride to Tyresö Palace. Early May and everything quickly turning green again. It was a lovely day, warm and not very windy. I actually got a little lost during my ride! Two bike paths that I normally use were closed off because of construction work, so I just picked another randomly and ended up near a dam at Alby nature reserve. But I knew roughly where I was, so I found my way again in no time at all. I stopped at the church and the palace before riding over the bridge to Fiskarholmen. The café was open, and I could hear both German and American spoken. On my way back to the palace and the English garden, the Thai woman wearing the pink pants hit me on the forehead as she was fishing! No real harm done, so I laughed it off when she apologized. Heading home, I took another route, through the Tyresta National Park. Very hilly, and hardly any traffic at all. And you can only ride a bike the whole way, as the main road stops at marinas at both the Tyresö and Haninge side of the National Park.

Notholmen

Whenever I visit Tyresö Palace I always continue out to the little island that is Notholmen. There is a very popular cafe on the island, but it will not open until early May. There is also a hostel here called Fiskarbostaden for anyone who wants to spend the night. And there is also a little marina, empty today but come the Summer it will be busy with yachts and speedboats.

Tyresö Palace

This was the halfway-point during my bike ride to Tyresö last week. The Tyresö Palace. It sits on a hill overlooking the Kalvfjärden bay and the nearby church. It was built by Gabriel Gustafsson Oxenstierna who inherited the land here in 1620. Fredrik Magnus Piper added the English garden in 1770, that is where I stood when I took these two photos. The first photo is a panorama made from 16 photos. The last private owner was Claes Lagergren and his American wife Caroline, born Russell. The owner today is the Nordiska Museet. It is open for the public and there are guided tours quite often. There are also a cafe and a restaurant, and both were open during my visit.

View from a hill

Cycling along the hilly Vissvassvägen in Tyresö is great fun. And a really good workout. Never much traffic here so great for a dedicated cyclist like myself. When I left home on this day last week it was no more than 5C and quite windy. An hour later it was a few degrees warmer, but still windy and I was getting a bit tired so after reaching the top of a hill I parked the bike and climbed up the hill for a rest and a look at the view. These photos show Bergholm and Hammarberget. The latter is a nature reserve that I plan to visit soon.

Åva Gård

I showed you a few photos from Spirudden last month thanks to a flat tire. Happy to report that I now have completed that bike ride without any major incidents. So here is a first report from that chilly ride. This is Åva gård. It used to be a dairy farm. And a very popular one as it had many visitors young and old. The farmers, Fredrik and Malin worked hard here for thirteen years. The farm has a very long history and dates back to the Viking Era. It was the last dairy farm owned by Stockholm Stad. When the couple asked to have the farm renovated by the city it refused, so the tenants packed up and moved to Gotland. The city then sold the property to the Environmental Protection Agency and rumors have it that the farm will be incorporated with the Tyresta National Park in a not too distant future.

Cutting Edge Living

Newish sixteen story building with 105 apartments at Regnbågsgatan near Forelltorget, at what is today known as Norra Tyresö Centrum. Built by Botrygg, together with Semrén & Månsson. The cutting edge part comes from the builders web site.

Smokefree Living

One of several new smoke-free buildings at Bollmora Allé in Tyresö. Built by Wallenstam. Located just a few hundred meters from the Tyresö mall. The message on the second photo welcomes you to Tyresö.

Flexible Living

Two photos from Rimfrostgränd at what is today known as Norra Tyresö Centrum. The apartments at Brf Steget are described as flexible. That means that you can move a wall to make your one-room apartment into a two-room apartment. Or if you live in a three-room apartment you can change that to a four-room apartment! Oh, and there is a hotel on the roof for butterflies!

Sjötungan

Sjötungan is the name of the bostadsrättsförening that you will find here. I picked that word to help Judith with her Swedish vocabulary. And this is the entrance to their parking garage. As seen while out cycling in Tyresö last week. And to find out what the word Sjötunga means press here.

Spirudden

It was the warmest day of the year, so far, but that doesn't really mean anything because it was only 12C, but after a long Winter it was good enough for me. So I planned for a very long bike ride but in the end I only got to this place Spirudden in the neighbouring municipality Tyresö. However, what I didnt plan for was another flat tire, so while I waited for my ride home to arrive, (friendly neighbour in her Jeep), I went for a walk and snapped these photos.

Påsk

I spotted this Easter-decorated tree at a bus stop at the Tyresö mall a couple of days ago.

Klövberget

My plan was to take the bike to the Brevik peninsula in Tyresö. My guess was that it would have taken me around two hours to get there on my bicycle. In the end, I decided to go with a friend so we took his car. And I'm very happy with that decision because this was a very hilly peninsula, never seen anything like it before this close to Stockholm. Our goal was to visit a newish nature reserve at Klövberget. Even with the help of Google Maps on my smartphone, it took us a few wrong turns before we finally got to the nature reserve. There is a big cave here but we decided that the climb to the top would be enough on this first visit. To get there you climb a wooden staircase. My buddy Hasse did a good job balancing the two coffees to go for all the 150 or so steps. The weather was as spectacular as the view over Noret, the bay, Tyresö Palace, and Notholmen. I had to be a little careful as I made my way around the steep cliffs as the wind picked up a bit during our visit. We stayed for maybe 45 minutes. We were both very impressed with the view and decided on the spot to check out a few more places in the are in the future.

Threat of Rain

If you walk through the palace garden at Tyresö you will end up at a little bridge. If you walk over it you will be at Notholmen, a tiny island at the Kalvfjärden bay with a popular cafe, a marina, and a picturesque hostel. Here are six photos from my recent visit. Luckily the rain stayed away.

Far away from Tuscany

The Tyresö Palace park. Designed by Fredrik Magnus Piper back in 1770. A century later the park got an Italian touch. This building is a memorial chapel for Caroline Lagergren.

Övergångsställe

Swedish word of the day. Övergångsställe. As seen at the Tyresö mall a while back.

Tyresö Palace

Situated at the beautiful Kalvfjärden Bay, this is Tyresö Palace. Gabriel Gustafsson Oxenstierna inherited the land here in 1620 and had the palace built. The castle has changed owners a few times during the centuries. The last private owner was Claes Lagergren and his American wife Caroline, born Russell. The owner today is the Nordiska Museet.

Vissvass

I took a bike ride to Tyresö last Sunday, the third that week. This time via Åva and Vissvass. The Falu-red buildings along Sjöviksvägen are part of the old village Vissvass by. The second photo shows a cottage called Lillmyra. The third and fourth photo shows a property at Mörkdalen. This area is very popular with hikers, there are trails everywhere and it is very close to the Tyresta national park.