Pastoral Idyll

I really love riding my bicycle. I prefer rural areas and gravel roads where there's no traffic to speak off. Over the last week or so I have been busy pedalling up and down most of the old roads in Österhaninge, shooting farm buildings, runestones and the odd Baptist chapel. All scenes that you will see on this blog in the next week or so. This is a view that I have come to really enjoy. This is Stadsberga. A small village with three farms, two of which you can see here. Remember Stig-Arne? The man you saw with my friend Jim at the old Smitty a few days ago. He lives in the farm house to the very left. On the other side of the big tree you can just see part of the Bakehouse. It is more that 300 years old and the bake oven is still there although the building today serves as a private home. Next is the stable and above that is the old barn where you can see something a bit different. To the right is Stadsberga Gård which I visited with Henrietta a couple of days ago. If you climb the steep road you will get up to a number of small red cottages that you can rent for the summer. All in all this is an idyll.

Kasimir & Wojtek

Meet Kasimir Ruhnke and his son Wojtek. They had just arrived to Sweden and Nynäshamn with the ferry from Poland when I met them. They live in Duisburg, Germany, but are originally from Poland, and they told me that they have been in Człuchów visiting the family. And now they were on their way to Stockholm. From there they will be pedalling north. All the way up to Boden. Then they will head over to Finland and continue south to Helsinki. And after Finland, the next stop will be Tallinn in Estonia, before they go back home. All this in around 16 days, which sounds a little short if you ask me. And as they will be sleeping in their tent, lets hope that the next few weeks will be warm and sunny! After our chat I started shooting, only to realise that I didn't have any battery in the camera! Luckily for me I had an extra battery in the bag. A bike holiday through Scandinavia seems to be a popular choice this summer. It was only two weeks ago that I met Maciej here, he was heading for the North Cape.

Moo!

There's something special about cows. And as I live in an area with quite a few farms, I do see a lot of cattle on my journeys around Haninge. And as with many other things I have to stop for a closer look and some photos especially as these cows are very photogenic. The top photo was taken near Alvsta on a recent bike ride with my friend Jim. This is Scottish Highland cattle, also known as Kyloe. Just after I took this shot Jim was on his way into the pasture to check out a standing stone, but as that got the attention of the herd, he was quickly back on the other side of the fence!



I shot the second photo close to Stadsberga, but it is actually from the same pasture, and the cattle all belong to the nearby Årsta Säteri. This was from a bike ride just two days ago with Henrietta, a birdwatcher I have met a few times. We stopped at a few interesting places and I will show some photos from our trip in a day or three.

Bacon

This is Rebecka, or Bacon as her friends call her. I met her at the Västerhaninge shopping centre. I was waiting for my flickr contact Jim, and figured I had time to shoot a portrait when I noticed Rebecka. She lives in Västerhaninge. She's a student at the Fredrika Bremer secondary school in Handen as are quite a few of the young people I have photographed. She'd just arrived home from a visit to Kokkola in Finland where her maternal grandparents lives. Her paternal grandfather is Italian. He comes from Udine in Northern Italy, so Bacon has spent many summers in that part of Europe. I told her of a visit to Lago di Garda, and she said she had been there as well. As I sometimes do I mentioned one of my previous portraits, taken here in VH, the priest Sara, and that brought a smile to Rebecka's face as Sara was her confirmation priest. By now Jim had joined us, so I took a few portraits of Bacon and that was that.

The old Smitty

In rural Österhaninge near the Hårsfjärden bay there is a picturesque little village called Stadsberga. I have visited the Västergården farm before, so you know at least one horse that lives there! And I have shown you the beautiful rural road that leads up the Middle Farm. A few days ago Jim and I decided have a closer look at the Mellangården (Middle Farm). Luckily for us we met the owners, Ulla and Stig-Arne Skärbäck. They bought the place back in 2001. As Ulla disappeared into the stable with one of her horses, Stig-Arne gave us a guided tour around the old farm. So you can expect a few more photos in the next week or so. But today I will show you the old smitty. It's around 300 years old and in need of restoration. Stig-Arne and his wife have been busy fixing up all the buildings at the farm, but have yet to start with the smitty. We climbed (!) in and sat on the floor (mind your head), as Stig-Arne and Jim discussed all the stuff in the smitty. What you see here is a Fältässja, (a forge). A tool that the smith used to heat up the metal. This is a portable version and I believe it was foot-powered. It's hard to understand, but the smitty was in use up until 25 years ago.

The Tricycle Constructor

I saw this unique tricycle in Jordbro. It disappeared down a tunnel so I followed suit, and that's how I met with Rifat and his son Mehmet. Rifat is from Turkey, but has lived in Sweden since 1996. He has his own auto repair business in Jordbro and lives nearby. And he has designed this patented tricycle. It is called an Arda Bike. It's unique, as it is powered by both pedals and hand cranks. Rifat hopes to have ten bikes ready for sale later this year. If you want one, be ready to pay around 30 000 SEK. Mehmet told me that his dad used to drive him to kindergarten on the bike, but that he is too big to sit on the extra seat now. Rifat told me about another idea he had that sounded interesting. He would like to be the first person to travel between Stockholm and Istanbul on a tricycle. Sounds like fun! I was invited to visit his shop, and have a look at the construction of the bikes, so it's possible that you will see more of this tricycle in the future.

The Abandoned Farm

This is the abandoned (well sort of), Högsta farm at Åvavägen in Haninge. I guess most people that pass by here on their way to the Högsta Motor Stadium or the Tyresta National Park don't think twice about this place. The last person who lived here was Bertil Eriksson. He sold the property in the 1960's, but lived here until 1990 when Rolf Norlin and his wife bought the nearby Hammarby Farm. Berra has written a message above the door to his house. It says Merry Christmas, so maybe Berra moved out sometime after celebrating one last Christmas here. After leaving Högsta Bertil moved to an apartment in Handen, bud died later the same year. He was originally from Gålö. Rolf Norlin now has plans to build a new stable here, and is hoping to fix up the old house with the help of some of his employee.. On the field behind the house there's even a runestone from the Viking Era. If not unique, that has to be a bit special!




There are a few buildings of interest here. Together with my flickr friend Jim I had a look around the farm a few days ago. The big barn looks like it could collapse at any time. Inside we found one horse carriage and two sleighs. One of the sleighs ought to be at the nearby Berga Agricultural museum I think. Another item that should be in a better setting is the Thermænius Treshing Machine from 1950. There are not many of those still around. The company that made it, AB Johan Thermaenius & Son, started in Hallsberg in 1894. Since then the name has changed as many times as it has changed owners, today the owner is Volvo.



I should point out that there are signs of life here. The property is owned byTina and Rolf Norlin. It's their crops that surround the runestone. The Norlin's live and work at the nearby Hammarby Farm. They rent out the stable building, where a group of young girls have their horses.

Anna

There's often horseback riders at the ancient grave field in Jordbro and this was no exception. This is Anna and her horse Rose. Anna is from Haninge and has her horse at the Hässlingby stable (where I was chased by a few horses a couple of weeks ago). As Anna has a family, and a job to keep her busy, the horseback riding is the one hobby she has time for. Speaking of horses, there are more than 120 companies in Haninge involved in the horse industry. And more than 2000 horses. The municipality is planning a horse trail that will connect all parts of Haninge, which is good news for all horse lovers. And it looks like a new race track might be built near the Berga agricultural school in a few years time.

Up in Smoke

But not the Cheech and Chong version.

Quit smoking before you will go up in smoke. That's the name of this piece. Made by the artist Bengt Hurtig. From the 2009 Art Promenade in Österhaninge. The theme this year is Money. I was a smoker myself for many years. Started smoking when I was eleven years old. Decided to give it up when I was thirty and haven't touched a cigarette since. I wonder how much money I have lost to smoking and how much I have saved since quitting.

The Globetrotter

If you see someone with a camera at Krigslida chances are that it's me photographing smiling joggers or weird machines. So when I spotted this guy out shooting, I zoomed in on him to see who he was. This is Magnus. He grew up here but moved away when he was eighteen. Today he was back to see what had changed. And he has travelled quite a bit. All the way from São Paulo in Brazil. Magnus works for Ericsson and has been living abroad for around five years. After the summer holidays he will go back to South America, but then he will probably move to Santiago, Chile where he was stationed before, and that's also where his girlfriend lives. It's a great life he told me. He has been able to visit a few interesting places like Easter Island. Before South America he was based in South Africa and he has also worked in the USA, so he is quite the globetrotter. He told me that it was a strange feeling walking around here compared to the crowded cities in Chile and Brazil and that he felt that people here were staring at him when he walked around with his camera aiming it to all the familiar places from his youth. I didn't have a notebook on me today but when I saw a woman in her garden looking at us I walked over and got some writing paper from her.

Roe Deer Buck

Whenever I am visiting Slätmossen, the old peat moor, made into a popular bird park in Handen, I expect to meet pretty girls like Andrea or the Sun-Worshippers, or even a Dalmatian, but yesterday the park was empty. But suddenly I noticed a Roe Deer Buck walking up behind some trees where it started to eat some tasty blueberries. I was on the bike so I stopped slowly not to scare away the animal and took out my camera from the bag. I had to change to the zoom lens but the buck didn't mind waiting. Normally the animal will run away when they hear something, or if you get to close. But on this occasion it was yours truly who jumped back onto the bike and headed for home while the deer continued his lunch.

Two Cool Dudes

I was in Handen when I noticed these two guys leaving a tattoo parlour and figured they would be interesting to talk with. And I was right. Meet Hugo and Robban. They haven't been friends for very long, they met while working. Hugo was the most talkative of the two. He is originally from Norrköping and is looking for an apartment in the Stockholm area whilst living at his sister's place in Västerhaninge. He described himself as a skater who is interested in piercings and computers. Robban was the one who was going to get the tattoo, and he was at the parlour to book a sitting. The tattoo he wanted was some sort of skull on his left arm. Robban's big hobby is fantasy painting, and he is apparently a decent artist. After I took a few snaps of the guys, Hugo asked if I could shoot a few portraits of him, which I did then and there. And if he liked the photos he said he was going to buy them, and I have mailed him a contact sheet.

A lucky escape

You need to be careful these days. Dangerous creatures are everywhere. Out walking on a very warm day I was suddenly in a garden and before I knew it I was surrounded by gargoyles and dragons. I nearly stepped on a crocodile that was lurking in the water. On the walls there was many evil figurines looking down on me. In a tub one of the grotesque figures were spitting at me. They say that the devil comes in many forms, and after my visit to this scary garden I will have to agree with that. I managed to escape unharmed into a glasshouse where I was able to get some coffee and relax my nerves. But then as I was trying to escape all the monsters, I took a wrong turn and suddenly a zombie was slowly creeping my way. I froze, but managed to pull myself together, lifted the camera and took a few snaps before I started running for my life. I have no idea how I escaped, and as my memory from the ordeal is vague, these photos are my only proof of what happened.

Heading to the North Cape!

I guess you could call this a coincidence. Only a few weeks ago I shot a portrait on this exact spot in Handen. Back then I had met Maria from Zakopane in Poland. Now it was Maciej Marczewski from Augustów, which is also in Poland! Maciej had just arrived to Nynäshamn, with the ferry when I met him a few days ago. His first stop on his bicycle trip through Scandinavia was Stockholm, where he was planning to stay for a couple of days. I asked him where he was going after that, and was a bit surprised by his answer, which was Nordkap! Also known as the North Cape in northern Norway. That's quite a journey! He reckons he will be on the bike for the next seven weeks. Very impressive indeed. He has a tent with him so he will be sleeping in that for most of the trip. Which is very economical, I only hope it is water proof. After our chat I wished him the best of luck, and was ready to leave, when he pointed out that I hadn't taken any photos yet! It's not the first time that has happened, but it's always a bit embarrassing! If you speak Polish check out Maciej's website. I'm not sure if he has designed it himself, but it is possible, because he is a web designer.

Bay Side

I spent one hour down at the ferry pier at Årsta Havsbad at the Hårsfjärden Bay on Wednesday. Relaxing in the sunshine near the kiosk as I was taking photos of boats out on the bay. I also aimed the camera at a few tourists waiting for the Silverpilen ferry to arrive to the pier. The boat will take them out to the archipelago and the Utö island. Årsta Havsbad dates back to 1929. It was built as a summer resort for workers after an idea from the architect Sven Wallander. Seven hundred small wooden houses were built along with a hotel (it burned down in 1970), and a number of stores, including a butcher and a hair dresser. Today it looks a bit different as many people live here year round. Despite that all the stores are gone, except for a pizza place and a small convenient store at the square. If you recognise the name, it's because this is where you will find my favorite beach and I have shown you a number of photos from here over the last three years. Here is a link to a beach panorama I shot last month.

Meet The Vicar

This is Sara. One of the priests in the Västerhaninge-Muskö parish. I met her at the Medieval Västerhaninge Church on Tuesday. And when I noticed her modern outfit I decided I had to take a portrait of her. Sara comes from Handen. She has a twelve year old daughter. Her hobbies include painting and playing classical music on her piano. Sara told me that she has been a priest for four years. The reason for my visit to the church was that I wanted to climb up the tower and have a look at the great view from up there. Unfortunately that wasnt possible on my visit as the man responsible for the tower was elsewhere. And that was probably for the best, as just a few minutes after I took this photo it started to rain and a thunderstorm quickly followed. And I know that the tower has been hit by lightning on at least one occasion

Malin

This was a chance encounter. Just ten minutes after I shot the photos in yesterdays post I was on the bike and decided to take a shortcut on a gravel road at Ekeby in Tungelsta, where there's normally no traffic. But on this occasion the roads in the forest were filled with Jeeps and Land Rovers. It was the Swedish Offroad Tour that had a stopover at Ekeby. The event which is in it's fourteenth year started on July 4th in Kristianstad, and will end in the land of the Midnight Sun, in Kiruna on the 19th of July. Around 400 cars and ATV takes part this year, and I sat down and talked to a few people from O.A.S which stands for Off-road & Adventure Society. This is the club's founder and chairperson Malin Bruce. She drives a Land Rover Discovery and had her 12 year old Labrador Harry ( got the dogs name wrong but that has been corrected now) with her. The club is brand new and has 127 members around Stockholm. The members are adventure seekers that enjoy everything from diving and climbing to mountain biking and horse marathon! At the moment Malin is trying to set up a new blog for the club, and we talked a bit about the advantages of blogger, flickr and Picasa. I didn't have the Canon with me, and as I explained that to Malin she told me that I could use her Nikon and that's what I did. So thanks for the chat and the photos that just landed in my gmail box.

Abandoned Plant Nursery

Sometimes I ask people if they can guess how many family owned greenhouse nurseries there has been in Tungelsta in the last 100 years. No one has ever been able guess the correct number. Or even been close. The correct answer is 95. Today 8 of those 95 plant nurseries are still in business. This is not one of them. This is Stenvreten at Karlsro. This greenhouse skeleton is the only evidence that there once was a nursery here. As you can see it's very over-grown, and on my visit on Saturday the place was crowded with butterflies. If you look more closely on the ground you can still see the foundations from some of the other greenhouses.




On a small hillside overlooking the greenhouses, this is the house where Viran Eklöf lived. She was the woman who owned Stenvreten. I don't have any information about her. But by the looks of it the house has been abandoned for around forty years or so, but there was still some window decorations left. As I walked around the house I found a marble table in the garden. As I stood there it was easy to imagine how it must have been to sit there in the berceau, drinking coffee and chatting away an hour or two. There was a padlock on the door, so I couldn't go in, but from a window that faced the greenhouses they must have been able to see the steam train pass by on the Nynäsbanan track. Next to the house there is a small barn, and if you continue past that building the road will take you up to a modern house. I don't know the people that live there or if they own this property, but it's a good location and I'm a bit surprised that no one has bought the old nursery.

A Sign of True Love

You don't see too many people with matching shoes, so when I spotted this couple in Handen a while back, I knew I had to ask for a photo. This is Anders (or Bentley as he is known as in the gaming community), and his girlfriend Emmi. Anders works as a security guard at the Jordbro business park and Emmi is a nursing assistant. For now she lives in Västerås (100 km away), but is planning to move back to Haninge. And when that happens, the couple with the matching shoes are hoping to live together.

Romancing in the park

Here are as promised a few more photos from my recent visit to the Häringe Castle down at the nature reserve, at the Häringe peninsula. On my walk around the garden I noticed this couple near the pond at the 17th century palace. I took a quick snap and I don't think they saw me.



Just in front of the main entrance you can see this sculpture. If you like Shakespeare, Häringe is the place for you this summer. The Mirror Theatre group is setting up the comedy The Taming of the Shrew at the Rotunda, that for this purpose has been made to look as a piazza in Padova. It's not the first time that the theatre group sets up a Shakespeare play. They have been doing that for 24 summers. But it is the first Shakespeare place at the castle. And as the castle today is a popular hotel, you can buy a package that includes the show, dinner, a room for the night, and breakfast in the morning. Or you could go for the Josephine Baker suite in the seawing. It comes with a jacuzzi, and if the kids don't like the play, the hotel have 42" TVs with Playstation. All the rooms are named after famous celebrities and movie stars that have visited the castle.

Nina

A while back on what probably was the warmest day of the year I had just decided to cut my bike ride short due to the heat. And on my way home I spotted this woman at Torvalla in Handen and figured she was up for a quick portrait and a question or two. This is Nina. She turned out to be the manager of the big restaurant Parabolen at City Hall here in Handen, so she has probably met a few of the other people I have photographed around here, like perhaps Rikard Lundin, the city planner who work in the same building. Nina lives in Handen, and when I met her she was out on a promenade that would probably end down at the beach at Lake Rudan.

H1N1

The biggest scare with the outbreak of the swine flu isn't that it could be as severe as the 1918 flu pandemic. No, the worst thing is that a lot of people wont be able to produce and consume for a long time! That's the interpretation by Klaus Appelt for the 2009 Art Promenade in Österhaninge, where the theme this summer is Money. This is the heaviest sculpture I have seen here. The pig and keyboard weighs in at more than 100 kilos. To show you a little more of the setting for the art promenade, here is another photo of the same sculpture taken from the nearby cemetery at the Medieval church.

The Biker

Sometimes it's very easy to get good portraits of interesting people. Shooting a couple of photos of this rough looking biker (check out the tattoos), was dead easy. I say rough looking, but it's pretty easy to notice his big smile behind that impressive beard that must have taken a few years to grow. I was at home when I heard the motorcycles drive up the road. A minute later my brother told me that it was probably time to get the camera ready. And a minute after that I was talking to Tony. A long time member of Slackers MC, and he sure looks the business, doesn't he. Tony drives a 1999 Harley Davidson Roadking. If you want one, expect to pay around 170 000 SEK. Slackers MC has nine members, and their headquarters is only a couple of kilometres away, at Håga. I mentioned some of the other bikers and people that I have met since I started shooting portraits, and sure enough Tony knew all of them. And I'm quite sure I will meet Tony again, later this year at the big bike meet at Vegabaren. If you live locally and like cool bikes, be sure to get up to Handen on the fifth of September. I'm guessing you all really want to know what Tony was up to when I met him. The answer is that he was waiting for his girlfriend who was buying some flowers from Blomorado. They got the laugh of the day when I said that I thought Tony would stand out a little in a crowd. Just a little you say? Yes, just a little.

A Murder Story

I'm reading a novel about a murder at the moment. It's a true story. A man was murdered by three of his employees. It happened at Näringberg a very long time ago. It's an old estate near the Hårsfjärden Bay, with a long and dramatic history. In 1719 the Russians attacked, and the estate was burned down, only to be rebuilt on the same spot a few years later. The mansion is situated on a small hill, from where you had a good view over the surrounding landscape and the bay. The murder took place on a summer night back in 1853. On the day I started reading the book I decided to see the place for myself. So I took a bike ride down to Näringsberg, which today is in the hand of the military. Luckily for me there was no military activity on this day. They use it as a training facility, and there are warning signs all over the place not to pick up any ammunition you might find! I passed the rusty old gates without any problems and continued down the impressive tree lined avenue leading up to the house. The place was empty so for one hour I walked around looking at all the buildings while taking a few photos. The murder victim, Hugo Jaedren, was a very brutal man and he probably got what he deserved. Arriving home one night he had to stop his horse and wagon as the gates to his estate were closed. And before he knew it he was attacked and beaten to death. His helper, a young boy, managed to sound the alarm, but when help arrived, the murderers were nowhere to be seen. The police was called in. Three men were soon arrested, and they all later confessed to the murder during the following trial. One of them was sentenced to death, and he was the last person to be executed at the execution rock in Jordbro. For many years the buildings at Näringsberg stood empty and the place was slowly decaying. But luckily the authors to the book, Bo and Anita Stjernström has managed to raise the necessary funds from the Swedish Fortification Agency to restore the place.

Under the shade of a tree

This is Anna. I noticed her at the commuter station in Jordbro a while back. She was getting ready to jump up on her bike and pedal home, and as you can see she said yes to having her photo taken. It was very sunny so we walked over to a tree for a question or two in the shade. Anna lives at Jordbro, she is married and have a kid. She's currently looking for a job. She enjoys the outdoors and is a keen cyclist, and she often goes on long promenades around Haninge. Some of her favourite places includes Lake Rudan and Dalarö which I will have to agree with, as those places are on my list as well. After I finished my questions I snapped a few portraits ( I did have some camera trouble), before we jumped on our bikes and took off in different directions.

Hay Harvesting

It's that time of the year again. Hay Harvesting. All around Haninge the farmers have been busy with the harvest. I have seen it in large scale near the Häringe castle, where they use many big machines from the Fituna Farm, and small scale like this at Husby in Österhaninge, where there is a small stable just up the hill where the hay from this field will end up as food for the horses. Nice to see the young and old working together here. Shot this last week on one of those very warm days. I believe that the people here are members of Helena Persson's family. Helena is one of Sweden's best English Riders.

The Strawberry Girl

Heading home from the beach on the warmest day of the summer so far (this was a few days ago), I stopped at Håga to buy some strawberries from the stand by the side of the road. This is Tove. She is from Västerhaninge and come the fall, she will be a ninth grader at the Ribby school in Västerhaninge. This summer she will be busy selling strawberries and cherries. And when I left with my purchase, there was a long queue of cars at the bus station near Mulstavägen, so business was probably very good today. Tove is into soccer and is a member of Tungelsta IF. Because of a foot injury she hasn't been able to play for a while, but when she is fit again she will join the Tungelsta ladies team. And probably score a few goals. Go Tungelsta!

An exiting day in Österhaninge

Husby is an old farm in Österhaninge. Back in the good old days this was the place where the local farmers paid their taxes to the king. They would arrive on their wagons that were filled with their produce. This is the old watermill that was also used as a sawmill, and later it also got a turbine which generated the electricity to the farm. Today there is a golf course here. And believe it or not, to get to the tenth hole you have to walk through the old mill! I spent some time here on Thursday with a flickr friend and photographer, Jim, who you can see here on the steep stairs, zooming in on a detail from the old mill.



We started by having coffee at the golf club, and that turned out to bee a big mistake, as it was very warm, and I was beginning to feel the heat. Luckily it was a bit cooler down by the stream. This is the view from inside the mill. What you see here is the Husby stream and a salmon staircase, also known as a fish ladder.



What you don't see here is what happened one hour after the visit to the mill. By then the temperature was around 30C and I was really feeling the heat as we were walking through an ancient grave field where you will also find Haninge's biggest ant hill in an old barn! Anyway, I was very dizzy and needed more water and as we made our way back to our bikes, we were chased by a bunch of angry horses through a horse pasture! Hard to believe, but that is what happened. I ran as fast as I could, while Jim hid behind a tree. Back at the stable, we told a bunch of girls what had happened as I drank around three litres of water in under five minutes. They probably got a big laugh out of that. Luckily for me it started to rain, and as I had a ten km bike ride home that rain probably saved me as my temperature slowly turned back to normal in the rain.

Marcus and Liam

On another beautiful summer day recently I decided to shoot a couple of street portraits. This is Marcus and his son Liam. They were out on a promenade in Handen and live nearby in Brandbergen. Marcus comes from Skåne in the very south of Sweden. He used to live in Båstad, but love made him move north. Today he is married and works as a IT consultant and is employed by Manpower.

Maria From Zakopane

This is Maria whom I met in Handen a couple of days ago. Originally from Poland where she lived in a village in the Tatra Mountains region called Zakopane. These days she lives in Haninge and have just finished a course called Swedish as a Second Language. And now she is qualified for further studies and she has decided that she wants to work with kids at a Kindergarten and those studies will take place here in Haninge. We talked about the fact that there are quite a few people from Poland living and working here now that we are all members of the EU.

A visit to an old castle

On a very hot summer day (it was yesterday), I jumped on the bike and via a few rarely used gravel roads winding through a rural landscape, I arrived to the Häringe Castle some forty minutes later. If you read this blog last summer you may remember my meeting with the musical duo in the castle orchard here. Or perhaps my encounter with Mr. Grotesque.




On the doors to the old castle that today is a popular hotel, you will find a couple of impressive knockers. Ha ha, I really nailed that last sentence didn't I! Lets have a look inside.




You really get the feeling that you are in an old castle by looking at the stairs leading up to the second floor here. Everything looks just like one would expect. And lets pretend that it's the middle of the night, and that you for some reason are walking down those same stairs, this is what you will see. A Knight in shining armour! Enough to wake anyone up I would imagine.



I will show you some more of the castle and it's surroundings in a couple of days.