Solna Roundchurch

This was where I was heading after taking the snowdrop photo in yesterday's post. To church! Which is kinda funny as I am the biggest atheist in the history. But I do like history. And my Flickr friend Paul's parents got married here many years ago, so I promised him I would swing by for a few photos. More facts about the church on it's Wikipedia page

Snowdrop

I have an English Flickr contact to thank for this photo. A while back he left a comment on a photo I took at Karolinska, a very modern university hospital. Paul mentioned that he was born at the hospital, and that his parents got married at the Medieval Solna church which is nearby, so I promised to stop at the church and take a few photos of it. And on route to Solna the other day I spotted hundreds of snowdrops on a lawn at Vanadislunden, so I stopped for a photo, as one does.

Winter scenes from Sickla

There is a beach promenade in Nacka, known as the Sickla beach walk, or Sickla strandpromenad in Swedish. It follows the Sickla lake, Sicklasjön, and there are good views over the Hammarbybacken ski hill there, which was why I was there in the first place. Supposedly on the last day of Winter I wanted to take a few more Winter photos, so here they are.

Slava Ukraini

Roundabout at Sickla in the Nacka municipality. After seeing that horrible White House display from Trump, Vance and the reporter that started it all.

Walking by

Each other. Sculpture along the Sickla beach promenade in Nacka. Made for an art project called Wallstreet. The sculptor was Amanuelabiy Abraham Gemeda.

Apple pie

I baked another apple pie. It lasted for three day, some sort of record I think. I ate the last bite last night, around 20:00 when Spring officially arrived to Stockholm according to SMHI.

Breaking News

Non-stop these days. Not good for anyone's mental health, really. Espresso House, Götgatsbacken.

Cracked ice

Looking down at the Riddarfjärden bay from the Västerbro bridge. Still Winter. Don't try walking on the ice, okay?

Weather forecast gone wrong

I often chat with the meteorologists at SMHI via social media, as I like to be updated on any sudden change in the weather. I especially enjoy chatting with a pretty cyclist/meteorologist called Emma. This past weekend, she had promised me 6C and partly sunny, which I of course believed. But instead we got a very gray day, and maybe 4C. So I cut my long bike ride short. The planned 100 km ride turned into a 65 km ride, but with a long promenade around parts of Södermalm.

This Will Not End Well

Cycling home from Stockholm on Saturday afternoon, I noticed some people out on the frozen Lake Drevviken near Ulrikedal. A family ice fishing. I saw a report about cracks in the ice here a few days ago. Moments after I took this photo, one ice skater skated up to them, most likely asking them about how smart that whole situation was.

Stockholm City Hall

Another visit to Stockholm City Hall. Lots of details to look at here. And good shadows. The majestic building was designed by Ragnar Östberg just over a century ago. This part of City Hall is my favourite spot almost every Saturday as that is the day when people usually get married here.

Are you having a laugh?

Parking the bike at Kornhamnstorg in Gamla stan, I spotted the two guys at the bench. They sure seemed happy about their Stockholm visit, so after locking the bike I took out the mirrorless Canon from the camera bag and took the first photo of this old town photo promenade.

At the cemetery

Two photos from Skogskyrkogården, my favorite cemetery. Taken from the exact same spot, just seconds apart. I stood on the Path of the Cross. The first photo with the Winter reader enjoying the sunshine shows that Spring might the on the way. The second photo, showing Almhöjden, where another photographer is hard at work, shows that it is still Winter.

Ice skating

February has been freezing in Stockholm. We don't have much snow, but the ice on lake Drevviken looked very inviting yesterday. I read the ice report, and it said that there were three ploughed paths for the ice skaters to enjoy. You need to be fit to try your luck at the longest one at 22km. The lake covers four municipalities, Stockholm, Tyresö, Huddinge and my neck of the woods, Haninge. While on the bike near Skogås I could see a lot of people walking on the frozen lake and half an hour later I parked the eBike near the circular pier and walked out for a closer look. It was a beautiful Winter day, although a few degrees too cold for my liking, around freezing.

Bummer of the day

Still a few degrees too cold for my liking. Out riding on the bike yesterday, I stopped at the old tree. And for the first time in 20 years I took a photo of the tree that you will never see, and I blame that on the cold weather. The most unfocused photo ever, so I deleted it the moment I realized what I had done after I came back home. I took this photo a few minutes after the tree photo without any problems, ice on rock in a stream.

Morning light and a setting moon

A before breakfast photo from this morning.

Monday Lisa

A familiar feeling, no doubt. Spotted a while back in the old town. I never drink Red Bull, obviously.

A recent photo collage

I have done a few hundred of these by now. Mostly for myself. If I look at them, I will remember that specific day, or sometimes days. A good way to show what I was up to on that occasion. Here I was out photographing flags at half-mast after that horrible school shooting, before a quick stop at Kungsträdgården where I shot a panorama of the Chinese New Year installation. I then biked over to Hagastaden for a look at all the new architecture there. Then, a quick stop on Södermalm for a photo of the Strato building. My last stop was at Lake Drevviken during the blue hour. All in all, a good day of photography.

That time of the year again

I have enjoyed my first two semla's of the year. Traditionally, you are not supposed to eat them before Shrove Tuesday, but no one cares about stuff like that these days. Especially not the bakeries.

Sjöhusen

Two of the new apartment buildings at Klockelund. They are called sjöhusen, which means the lake houses. And that is a good name as they are just meters from Lake Drevviken. There are 48 apartments here, in three buildings, designed by Dinell Johansson. And there are several more new building nearby so this will be aq very busy area in the future. Oh, and if you look closely you can see the light from my eBike.

Vinterfrost

Swedish word of the day. Vinterfrost. A chilly morning earlier this week. Photographed from a window on the second floor at home.

Ager Medicinare

From a walk at the Unversity Hospital and Nya Karolinska a few days ago. Mosaics made by Kristoffer Zetterstrand. I had some contact with him fifteen years ago. I took a few photos of a bookmobile that he designed. Later he asked if he could use some of the photos, which of course he could. This work is newer, if you look closely you can see the snake figure associated with Asclepios.

The Storyteller

Astrid Lindgren. The Storyteller. I grew up with her voice. Listened to her reading all the stories about Pippi and Emil. Fifty years later, I can still hear that voice by just looking at this sculpture outside the children's library at Nya Karolinska. There is a similar sculpture, made by the same artist, Hilda Hillfon at Junibacken on Royal Djurgården

Blue Hour

Cycling home in the late afternoon, during blue hour. Pit stop at the circular pier. First photo shows Ulrikedal. Second, the viev over Lake Drevviken towards Sköndal.

The Karolinska Institute

Out walking around the University Hospital in Solna. Mid-afternoon, and as the sun slowly started setting everything turned yellow, so I decided to photograph a few facades.

Smoke Break

Not what I was expecting to see on my promenade around Nya Karolinska, walking down a set of stairs. The huge University Hospital in Solna. Two construction workers chatting away while smoking a cigarette.

Chinese New Year

Walking through Kungsträdgården, stopping for a few photos celebrating the Chinese New Year. Better at night these figures of course. I tried my luck with a panorama, but it did look a bit weird to my poor eyes, but you might see it in an upcoming collage. Several events around the city regarding the celebrations. One in a few days time.

Flags at half-mast

Flags at half-mast at The Royal Palace in Stockholm yesterday, after the horrible school shooting in Örebro two days ago. Eleven people died, including the perpetrator Rickard Andersson.

Valvgång

Swedish word of the day. Valvgång. Ferkens gränd in the old town. Turn around and you are close to a popular square with a few good cafe's and restaurants. Or walk down to Skeppsbron, close to the water and maybe jump on a ferry somewhere?

Not just mail

Ryska Posten means The Russian Mail. Not a good name for a business after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. So Ryska Posten changed their name to Bara Posten, Just the Mail. Well, that didn't work either as PostNord told them that they owned the word Posten, and they were given one year to come up with a new name. So now they call themselves Inte bara post. Not just mail. Spotted at Munkbroleden a couple of days ago.

Church towers seen from a ski hill

A post especially for roentare who is not interested in churches. Well, I am a bit like that myself, as an atheist. But they can be pretty impressive buildings all the same. I walked up the Hammarbybacken ski hill again. For the third time in a few months time. The skiing closed ten days ago because of the lack of snow, and the fact that it was too warm to use the snow cannons. There were some snow left on the path I usually walk on, so this time I took the stairs up. The view here shows two church towers on Södermalm. To the right, Sofia kyrka, and then Katarina kyrka that was totally destroyed in a fire 20 years ago but was rebuilt in no time at all. To the left, you can also spot the spire of the Riddarholmskyrkan and also the Mosebacke Water Tower. And to the absolute right in the distance you can see The Northern Towers that were visible in yesterdays post as well.

Kungsholmen

Another photo from the top of the Västerbron bridge. With my eagle eyes, I spotted the construction workers from MVB at Fridhemsplan. So I took a photo of them. They are on the roof of an old building from the 1960s. It is being renovated, and two new floors will be added to it. There will a rooftop bar and restaurant up there, and I guess the view will be pretty good. The high-rises in the background are the Northern Towers at Torsgatan that I have showed you before. In the foreground, buildings at Norr Mälarstrand, a very expensive street at Kungsholmen.

Winter Fun

I spotted this group at Lake Drevviken at Ulrikedal yesterday. Ice skaters practising to get up from the freezing water. Something you need to know before skating on natural ice. It was a little colder yesterday. Maybe 3C. The bike ride was a bit chilly. But you get warm after an hour or so.

Literary Stockholm

There are signs like this one at many different places around Stockholm. All with quotes from novels. This one sits on the top of the Västerbron bridge. The quote here is from the Krilon trilogy by Eyvind Johnson. The blue sign have facts about the bridge itself.

Cherry Blossom Alley

Back at Kungsträdgården. Usually a very busy place, but not so much in late January. This is where I shoot all the Cherry Blossom photos in late Spring. The official name for this part of the park is Jussi Björlings allé.

Tupac Shakur

A recent work at the legal graffiti wall Farstaväggen.

At the cemetery

I walked through the Scattering Garden at Skogskyrkogården a couple of days ago. A new section at the cemeterey. Known as Askgravlunden. Chilly. Maybe 4C. But warm for January in Stockholm. I spotted a few ice roses, and this Winter flower.

The Rudan Nature Reserve

I visited the Rudan Nature Reserve yesterday. It is a five-minute walk to the ski track from the commuter station in Handen. And a 20-minute train ride from Stockholm. It was 4C during my visit. Ice on both lakes, but not thick enough for ice skating or ice fishing at the moment. The local ski club is Jordbänningarna. With the help of the snow we got a few weeks ago and the club's snow cannons, you can still go for a short ski run around Rudan.