The King's Park

Five photos from Kungsträdgården. People photographing, or being photographed. Cherry Blossom season in full swing. I was there for the spectacle of it all. People watching is a big hobby of mine. And I still have a few more photos to show you.

Fine-tuning his guitar

It is déjà vu all over again. Red, back at his bench at Norr Mälarstrand on Kungsholmen. I have photographed him a few times before, always on this bench. Always dressed in red. Always with his guitar. And always a good sign of Spring. This time he was fine-tuning his guitar when he noticed me. I gave him the international sign for "do you mind if I take a photo" and that was that. When I was done, another photographer walked over for a few snaps and when I was back on my bike they were chatting away.

Cherry Blossom Photographer

I had a feeling yesterday morning that another visit to Kungsträdgården, and the Cherry Blossom, was in order. On my way there, I ended up in a hail storm. But it is still April so that sort of thing is to be expected. Arriving at the King's Park, the first person I noticed was this guy. So I took his photo and then walked over and showed it to him. He looked a bit surprised at first, but then asked if I had a place online where he could see the photos, so I told him where to find it. I then spent maybe thirty minutes photographing left, right and center, so I now have enough Cherry Blossom photos to show you every day for the rest of the year! I will try not to do that. But I will probably show you a few more.

Scenes from a wonderful Spring day

A few photos from Skånegatan and the square Nytorget on Södermalm in Stockholm. This is a hipster area since maybe 20 years. There are great restaurants, bars, cafés, markets and much more here. A lot of young families live here. The street is only for pedestrian use these days, so you can probably understand the appeal. The square is also popular. There is a big playground for the kids, and lots of grass to sit on while picnicking. And as you can see, if you are a cool teenager, you can sit up against the wall while enjoying the sunshine and watching the world go by.

Playing his way through the park

It was one of those warm, (ish), April days this unusual Spring. I was standing on the top of the hill at Sofia, next to the big church. This is on Södermalm in Stockholm. The church is surrounded by a big park with old wooden buildings and a lot of green lawns with meandering paths going up, down, and across the hill. I took a few photos of people picnicking, and then I heard a guitar. Below me, I could see the guy slowly making his way up to where I was standing, and a few minutes later I snapped this photo of him.

Cherry Blossom, almost

So, three days ago, we had Summer. I took this photo at Kungsträdgården on Saturday. It was 20C, and everyone was in early Summer mode. The city was packed with people. Tourists everywhere. Locals trying out their new Summer outfits. Here you can see the first signs of the Cherry Blossom in the park. Normally, when that happens, thousands of people flock to the park to look at the color explosion. And to photograph it, of course, I showed that to you last year. Then on Sunday, the temperature started to drop. And as I am typing this, it has rained for most of the night. The sky is gray, and it is no more than 5C. I saw a photo from the park taken yesterday by a flickr friend, and it was empty despite the bloom.

A little protest

Walking through The King's Park on Saturday, I noticed a group of climate activists getting ready for a protest. They were from Återställ Våtmarker. Restore Wetlands. Quite a small group that, if I remember correctly, blocked one of Greta Thunberg's massive climate protests last Summer, anything for the attention I guess. The group had been busy all week around Stockholm, and I think this was their last gathering, so I decided to take a few photos despite being a little early in the day. I waved to the pretty police officer in the top photo, and she responded by turning away from me and my camera.

Loftbod

Three hundred years ago there was an Inn here at Sabbatsberg, Vasastan in Stockholm. This loftbod, an old time storage building, was a place where travelers could stay overnight. It is located next to an old wooden church, and the Falu Red painted building is today a sacristy. You will find this at the big park Vasaparken, which is very popular year round.Famous author Astrid Lindgren lived near the park, and she often mentioned it in her books.

Icehockey Legend

I spotted an icehockey legend at Nybroplan in Stockholm yesterday. And one of my childhood heroes. Ulf "Lill-Pröjsarn" Nilsson. He played for the Winnipeg Jets in the WHA, and also for the New York Rangers in the NHL. He was one of the first Swedish player to cross the pond back in the 1970s, together with players like Börje Salming R.I.P., and Anders Hedberg. I was a big hockey fan as a kid, and I watched every game that the Swedish national ice hockey team played. We were on opposite sides of the street waiting at a stop light on our eBikes. I spotted him at the same time as he noticed me. He was looking at my camera. I gave him a nod. He gave one back to me. I snapped the photo. Then as we passed one another on the crossing, another nod. He grew up in Nynäshamn, a city that I often visit. And I think Ulf was active for a while here at Flickr many years ago.

Another sign of Spring

It is not a real Spring if I don't photograph some blåsippor. I have two places in Haninge where I know I will find them, and these two macro photos are from one of those places. It is a favorite spot for quite a few reasons. One, it is a nature reserve here called Gullringskärret that I always enjoy walking through. There is also a burial ground with graves from the Iron Age here, known as Jordbro gravfält. I have a flickr album with at the moment 199 photos if you want to check it out.

Nynäshamn

I took my first eBike ride of the year to the port city of Nynäshamn just over a week ago. It was a fine day. I took the same route as I did on a visit two years ago, almost on the same day. I stopped at a cemetery. And at a commuter station where a former Social Democratic politician turned businessman is building three apartment buildings pretty much at the station which I find a bit unusual. I then continued to the Nickstabadet beach, where I ate my lunch on the new wooden deck next to the dive tower. From there I took the scenic route Strandvägen, with a stop at Lövhagen where a few people were enjoying their "fika" in the garden.

At the cemetery

Another beautiful Spring day. I parked the eBike at the information center and café, (fourth photo), at the Woodland cemetery in Enskede, and went for a short photo walk. The wooden headstone is a bit different. The bench is of the old type. There are probably a hundred benches like this one at Skogskyrkogården.

Norrmalmstorg

Two photos from Norrmalmstorg. A square in Stockholm that became world-famous back in the 1970s during the Norrmalmstorg robbery. It is also where the term Stockholm Syndrome came from. I was a kid when all that happened, but I remember it as it was yesterday, well almost. Last year, they made a Netflix TV series about an infamous criminal, Clark Olofsson. He was the guy that the bank robber Jan-Erik Olsson demanded be released, so he could join him in the bank, where they stayed for nearly a week. I haven't watched the show, but last I heard, Clark was unhappy with how they made him look in the show. Anyway, today the square looks a bit different. There are often big protests here. I was here with Greta last year, and just a few days ago I walked in to another protest. But when I took these two photos people were just out in the Spring sunshine, have a good time on the benches or at Brasserie Vau De Ville.

A sunny afternoon at the old town

Cycling towards home after a day out shooting the street life in Stockholm, I passed by the Kornhamstorg square in the old town. It was one of those wonderful Spring days, and glancing to my left I could see that the outdoor area at the Formosa restaurant looked very crowded, and inviting at the same time. So I parked the bike and walked over for a quick photo.

Djurgårdsstrand

At Royal Djurgården. Down by the water at Djurgårdsstrand. If you enjoy museums, this is a walk I can recommend. Junibacken for the kids. The famous Vasa museum. The Viking Museum. Museum of Spirits. A diving museum, and just a short walk from here the Abba museum. I was there for the people photos. In the top photo, a popular ice cream place. The guy running it, Kenny, won the ice cream championship, whatever that is, last year. The boardwalk along the Wasa harbor is always a popular spot when the sun shines, as it did on this visit. Most places serve food and drinks here. But as you can see, if you just feel like a hot dog, that also works.

Villa Lusthusporten

Out strolling at Royal Djurgården. This building is hard to miss. Built for Alfred Brinck in the 1870s. Designed first by Hjalmar Kumlien, and later by Carl Möller. During the General Art and Industrial Exposition of Stockholm in 1897 the villa was used as a police station. Eighty years ago, in 1940, the villa was donated to the Nordic Museum that you can find across the street. It was used by the Institute of Ethnology up until 2015.

Better safe than sorry

I am just like her. Sure, it was the warmest day of the year, so far, but you never know. It might start to snow any minute. Photographed at Strandvägen in Stockholm a couple of warm days ago. As I am typing this, it is back to 6C and we are expecting some rain.

Garfield and the Easter Bunny

Like I have said before, you have to be quick if you want to catch all the good graffiti at the Farsta wall. Here are two recent works. I photographed the Easter Bunny yesterday. It was painted on the side that you see from the bike path. And a few days earlier it was Garfield. He was on the other side that faces the soccer pitch.

One of those days

People enjoying the Spring weather at Blasieholmen in Stockholm. The four people in the top photo are sitting on the stairs at a café/ticket office building down by the water at Strömkajen. A good place to rest for a bit if you are waiting for a ferry. You also have a great view over the bay towards the Royal Palace. On the second photo, I spotted a man at the Lydmar Hotel enjoying a glass of Champagne, so I decided to grab a quick photo of that moment.

King's Park

Six images from Kungsträdgården in Stockholm. King's Garden. Another good place for people watching. The cafés were filled to capacity here as well. I had to Google what I photographed in the second photo. Something to do with a game called God of War. The benches overlooking the pond are always popular around lunchtime. There are a few famous cafés at the park, Café Söderberg is one of them. The guide in the fifth photo had a busy day. I spotted him at three different locations in the city on this day. Here he was telling a story about an old king. Oh, and you can never ever in the history of time and everything else figure out the name of the bunny sculpture in the last photo, where a woman is doing her best to hide from her kids.