Summertime

The beach at Flatenbadet. I took an 80 kilometre bike ride on one of my old bikes in the Summer heat. Probably drank five bottles of water. All the uphill climbs around the city are back now, as I am without an ebike. Good for the cardio and all, but so much more tiring. But nice to sit down at the beach for a while before continuing the ride home.

A day at the old town beach

I did not have any plans for Midsummer, so I jumped on the bike to check out an empty Stockholm. A few hundred thousand people had left the city for the archipelago, or the countryside, so it was just me and a bunch of tourists. The Munkbrohamnen beach in the old town opened last Summer. You will find the metro station behind the wall. The blue fence surrounds a new swimming area that opened here last week. Not very big, but it looks nice enough. Photos taken from Riddarholmen and from the beach itself with Södermalm and Söder Mälarstrand as a nice backdrop. The couple on the sand have a great view over the Riddarfjärden bay and all the motorboats, yachts and ferries that you will see there during the Summer month

Summertime

Four photos from a few days ago, taken at Rålambshovsparken on Kungsholmen in Stockholm. The park was packed with sunbathers, picnickers and beach volleyball players. This is one of the more popular parks in the city. There is another beach nearby. And a marina, and a lot of activities for kids and teenagers. Summer is looking good so far. We celebrate our National Day today and there will be a lot of fun activities to check out if the rain stays away.

Flatenbadet

Cycling home via Flatenbadet a few days ago. Nice day for it. 23C. I had expected a few more people at the beach, though. I was on the phone with my brother in Barcelona. It was one of those rare occasions when it was warmer in Stockholm, but only with one degree Celsius. Shot this with one hand while resting on a big rock.

Lake Flaten

Unusually warm for late December, around 8C on this day. Cycling home from Stockholm, I decided to take a longer route home, with a pit-stop at Lake Flaten. Not too many people in my photos, but there were lots of people out walking. There is a popular trail around the lake. I walked around it with a friend a few Summers ago.

Two stories

On my way to a BBQ. A bit early, so I stopped at the beach at Lake Flaten. Sat next to a drunk couple. Always fun. Long discussion about what to drink and what not to mix with other spirits. The woman had enjoyed a cocktail with Cointreau, and explained how good it was. The guy lost it completely. He nearly had a heart attack while screaming for maybe five minutes how you can't make a cocktail from Cointreau because it is the best Triple sec liqueur in the world! After hearing that, I jumped on the bike and pedaled over to Villa Blåmes, where three of the usual suspects enjoyed grilled meat, beer, whiskey, and more. A few hours later, the worst thunderstorm of the Summer got under way as I cycled for home. Lighting struck everywhere, and it rained hard all the way home. A bit scary, but I survived to tell the story, although I have never been so soaking wet in my life.

Ten photos from Lake Drevviken

It was one of those rare calm days this cold and windy Spring. I decided to make a few pit-stops at Lake Drevviken, at Larsboda. First at the circular pier where I spotted another photographer. I walked out for a few reflection photos of buildings at Sköndal, including the terrace house that you have probably seen before. I then continued over to the boardwalk, where I got a closer look at the swans and a nice view over the beach with some of the new apartment buildings as a backdrop. My next stop was the beach, Hökarängsbadet, where I tested the brand-new jetty. The old one had been taken over last Autumn by a large group of Canada Geese, which I showed you back then. This is the same area, btw, where I have shown you a number of Winter views with ice skaters out on the then frozen lake.

Autumn Beach

A recent walk along the boardwalk at Hökarängsbadet. You can see a boathouse at what used to be an old farm. Lots of construction in this area, both up ahead and behind me to the left. New apartments everywhere. The beach is deserted in late Autumn, but always crowded during the Summer. The lake is called Drevviken and I have shown it to you a few times before in different seasons as it is a favorite place.

Still Summer

Two places that I bike past a couple of times every week. Top photo show Lake Drevviken. Photographed from a beach known as Hökarängsbadet. One of the places I enjoy visiting whatever the season. The second photo is from Hammarby sjöstad. I often photograph the concrete pier from the Skanstull bridge if it is warm and sunny, as I find it a great urban scene. Now, in early September, most of the sunbathers are gone, replaced with office workers enjoying their lunch break in the sunshine while chatting away with colleagues. As I am typing this it is 17C, but the meteorologists have promised 23C later in the day, my kind of temperature.

Last days of Summer

The new month started with rain and cold weather. Which was a bit of a bummer as I had planned to visit both a carnival and a car meet yesterday. But the warm weather will come back on Monday. I took this photo last week. At a beach on Kungsholmen in Stockholm. It is called Smedsuddsbadet. Next to a big park nicknamed Rålis. The green on the other side of the Riddarfjärden bay is another popular island, with beaches and cliffs, it is called Långholmen.

Early October

I am sure some of you remember the photos from last Winter with the ice skaters out on the frozen Drevviken lake. This is another look at that beach. It is called Hökarängsbadet. Always very crowded during the Summer months, now, not so much.

Beach from a distance

A week ago I showed you a real Summer shot with people enjoying a lazy day at Långholmsbadet. Some of you were surprised to learn that there are beaches in Stockholm. All you have to do really is to look at a map over the city to see that there is a lot of water here, and islands, and beaches. I figured it would be fun to show the Långholmen beach from a distance, so I took the bike over to Marieberg and biked up the hill and shot this view. I was standing next to a building that I have showed you before, The Accordion Building. So here is the little beach, and if the high rises in the background looks familiar it is because I showed you the yet to open Sky Bar at Liljeholmen a while back.

Lazy day at the beach

There are many popular beaches in Stockholm. Some big, some small. At Långholmen you will find both as well as many cliff baths. This little beach is just a few meters from the old prison.

Winter Beach

I noticed a very dark, blue gray sky and figured a visit to the beach at Årsta Havsbad was in order. No real problem riding the e-bike on the roads, despite a bit of ice here and there, at least if you don't consider the cold. Top photo shows two islets where the ferry passes almost every day on its way between Årsta brygga and the archipelago. In the background, a bit of a golden sky at the Gålö peninsula. I took the second photo down at the beach, which is a bit more crowded in the Summer, always fun with a snowy beach. The third photo shows the Hårsfjärden bay towards Muskö in Nynäshamn, and it got me really confused, as I couldn't figure out why I was seeing the big cranes at the port in Nynäshamn. And I'm still unsure what, or where, those cranes are.

A sudden change in the weather

Frost everywhere earlier in the week. I decided to stop by a favorite nature reserve that I have shown you many times before. Rudan. Two lakes, beaches, and a lot of forest, just a short walk from the commuter station in Handen. I stopped at four places and took the first winter-like photos of the season.It was ery slippery at the rocks so I fell and hurt myself both here and there. Anywho, this is a beach abstract that I shot at the sandy beach at the Lower Lake.

Tanto Beach

As you walk along Årstaviken you see people sunbathing everywhere, on the rocks, on the piers, on the grassy areas, and of course at what is called Tanto strandbad.

A day at the beach

The warm summer days just continue. It is not as hot as the Summer of 2018, but I'm happy enough. Although I drink a lot of water while out on my long eBike rides around Södertörn. This was the scene at Nickstabadet a few days ago. A very popular beach at a bay in Nynäshamn, just minutes away from two commuter stations. The camping here is open year round. I'm sure I showed you a Winter photo from here back in February. On this July day people were sitting outside their caravans and at their rented cottages verandas eating a late breakfast, or maybe an early lunch. The beach was slowly filling up with people as I lifted my camera to shoot this panorama.

Hornsbergs strandpark

I cycled down one of the more boring streets in Stockholm, Lindhagensgatan, to get to this place. This is Hornsbergs beach park, or strandpark as we like to call it. The water is Ulvsundasjön. Always a big hit with sunbathers, lunch eaters, and people out for a long walk around Kungsholmen, (highly recmomended). This was an industrial area for many years. Today you will find a new high-rise and countless cafes, restaurants and more in this happening part of Stockholmn.

Smedsuddsbadet

I made a quick stop at Smedsuddsbadet earlier in the week. It is a popular beach near Rålambshovsparken at Kungsholmen, with a great view over Riddarfjärden in Stockholm. There is a popular water promenade here so it is always a lot of people in this area year round, but probably a little more during the Summer.

The Beach in February

This was the scene at my favorite beach, Årsta Havsbad, a couple of days ago. We still had winter 4 days ago. It was a really chilly bike ride. I counted around 8 people at the beach. Including the tough guy that you can see on the third photo here.