That Old Tree

A December visit to the old tree. A monochrome version felt appropriate considering the lack of sunshine here this month.

14 photos from a very rainy day

The forecast said rain around noon, so I left nearly four hours before that, but boy was that a mistake. It rained pretty much all day. After a 100 minute wet bike ride I parked the bike under the golden bridge at Vattentorget which is part of the old town and went for an umbrella walk. Visiting the Christmas market and walking through different alleyways in Gamla stan, snapping away left and right. When I could not take it any more, I cycled for home. That was the worst bicycle experience of my life. It took two hours, and during that ride all I could think about was a warm shower and a warm meal. Arriving home, it took me five minutes just to undress because I was soaking wet and quite cold. But the shower was nice. Next the washing machine gave up, and it was sort of replaced, I now have two machines, one for washing and one for drying. It took 48 hours for my boots to dry and while in Stockholm yesterday something was smelling, and I realized that it was my Winter jacket and my gloves so they went into the machines yesterday afternoon. And guess what, it is raining again today.

Grand Hôtel

Two photos showing Grand Hôtel at Blasieholmen. Well, sort of, in the blurry background. I was out hoping to photograph some of the light installations for the Nobel Lights Week. There's maybe an hour between the two photos. I took the top photo while walking around Strömparterren waiting for the light feature to get under way, but nothing happened, so I started taking photos of all the glowing stars down by the water. I took the second photo one hour earlier at Skeppsbron, across the street from The Royal Palace. It is called Limina. It was made by Victoria Verseau. "For the Nobel Prizes, awarded annually in Stockholm, in the fields of science and literature. Limina reflects on how the Nobel Prize-awarded discoveries have opened doors to what cannot be seen with the naked eye and helped us understand the world". So now you know that.

One Way or Another

Nobel Lights artwork at Norrbro, next to Rosenbad. Through the visual language of everyday objects, a message of hope is displayed to the audience. The artwork consists of a set of reimagined luminous road signs. Together, they form a message to humanity, suggesting a shared direction for the future. Made by Tom Biddulph who was inspired by the Peace Prize laureate Ralph Bunche and a quote from his Nobel Peace Prize lecture. And they reminded both me and a Flickr contact of a couple of great songs with Kate Bush/Peter Gabriel and Blondie.

Portal

Classy portal at Kungsträdgårdsgatan. The building was once the headquarters for a company called Gamla Jernkontoret. Designed by the architect Axel Kumlien. Today you will find a bank here. SEB, I biked past it on a sunny day in May of last year when Greta and her friends were protesting about the bank's involvement with the fossil fuel industry. At the time, they claimed that SEB was the worst bank in the country when it came to protecting the environment. Most likely that have not changed.

A glowing blue heart for Christmas

At the Folksam building at Skanstull. The blue heart will be seen there until mid-January, I think. Last year it was a glowing pink heart here.

A Pippi Longstocking Christmas

A closer look at the annual Christmas display at Nordiska Kompaniet in Stockholm. The theme this year is Pippi Långstrump. Also known as Pippi Longstocking. A favourite among all kids since the first book by Astrid Lindgren was published all those years ago. Every window shows a famous scene from the books, and or movies about Pippi. And they all came with a quote. The first one is from the author herself. I write for the child within me. In the second scene, Pippi says: Please may I have thirty-six pounds of sweets. Next, Pippi is quoted saying: I have never tried that before, so I think I should definitely be able to do that. And in the fourth and last window, Pippi informs us that if you are very strong, you must also be very kind.

Hands 2 Ocean

There is a volunteer non-profit organization that work under the name Hands 2 Ocean. Previous name, Rena Mälaren. Founded by Fredrik Johansson. Their goal is to retrieve waste from the seabed of Lake Mälaren in and around Stockholm. And now also at many other places around Sweden. They use experienced divers that will locate e-scooters and everything else that have been dumped in the water. They have been doing it for quite a few years now, using around 300 volunteers. The divers tie a rope around their find and then another group of volunteers on dry land, so-called rope pullers, will finish the clean-up job. I found these e-scooters at Skeppsholmen a few days ago. Next to them were a sign explaining how they work.

Rutschkana

Swedish word of the day. Rutschkana. At Moderna museet on Skeppsholmen. Stockholm Slides by Carsten Höller. It consists of two parallel slides, 39 meters long. Eight photos stitched together, snapped with the mirrorless Canon and the vILTROX 85MM LENS.

Julgran

For a few years it was the biggest Christmas tree in the world. Usually around 35 meters high. I remember pointing that out on a photo, hoping that someone would protest, and of course they did. Anyway, this is a tradition started by the late Jan Stenbeck. He looked out his office window one Winter day and figured that a big "Julgran" would look nice at Skeppsbrokajen. In the background, teaterskeppet. The theatre ship. And in the second photo the same Christmas tree and also the building from where Stenbeck used to sit and look at the tree. It is the first building from the left. That photo taken from Skeppsholmen.

Storkyrkobrinken 3

From a recent walk through the Old Town, or Gamla stan as we like to call it, where I focused my cameras on doors and windows, as one does. The name of this building is Hippomenes 5. From 1640. Built for Hans Weiler who worked with gold and silver. The golden crown dates back to 1693 when Apoteket Kronan opened here. I photographed this as a vertical panorama, so this is three photos stitched together, taken with the mirrorless Canon using the 85 mm lens. I stood up against the wall on the other side of the alley, and two tourists were kind enough to wait for me to finish shooting.

Street Scenes

Street scenes from a recent promenade in Stockholm. Top photo shows a group of men enjoying some strong beverages inside a Christmas feature near Sergels torg. Next, a couple trying their best to manage a recent purchase from a store at Kungsgatan. In the third photo a high sculpture at Stureplan, it is called Höken och duvan, the hawk and the pigeon. Next more Christmas installations, this time at Birger Jarlsgatan. More happy shoppers in the fifth photo, waiting for their ride home outside the Elgiganten store at Kungsgatan.We finish with a police officer and his posse crossing the street outside City Hall. I almost stopped him to ask if they had found my stolen ebike that I had parked just behind him on that sunny Summer day a while back now.

Nytorgsgatan 5

One of the smallest buildings in Stockholm. Nytorgsgatan 5 at Katarina on Södermalm. From 1730. It started to rain as I took the photo so I cut my photo promenade short.

Stop Forced Organ Harvesting

A protest outside the Royal Palace at Mynttorget. More info here.

A day at the market

A second bunch of photos from the Old Town Christmas market at Stortorget. I had two cameras with me and these were the snaps I took with the mirrorless Canon. The two photographers were busy photographing the architecture. The women in the last photo made me chuckle a bit as they were sitting there doomscrolling instead of joining the real world. The classic Halmbock has an interesting story.