Humlegården

I parked my ebike at one of the three tree lined lanes at the big park Humlegården in Stockholm and went for a photo walk. This is what I saw. The Carl von Linné monument dates back to 1885. When it was unveiled, there were 21 000 plants here. Must have been quite the sight. More about the man himself can be read here. The park dates back just over 400 years. Before that, the land was owned by Ekeby gård. They got it as a gift from King Magnus Ladulås in 1288. Next we see the annex at the National Library. The sculpture in the third photo is in memory of the artist Avicii. Next up, the entrance to Kungliga Biblioteket with a few students arriving. I find the old oak in the fifth photo very impressive. It took ten photos in a panorama to photograph it. Then one of several flower pots in front of the National Library. The rock sculpture was a gift to Sweden by the Chilean artist Francisco Gazitúa. It is called Cordillera de Los Andes. Then another look at the library with another ten-photo panorama. The tree stump is what is left after a big tree just collapsed earlier in the Summer. Most likely because of damage from the big Winter storm last November. We finish off with another tree lined avenue, the one I used when I left the park.

Stockholms stadsbibliotek

A famous building along Sveavägen in Stockholm that sees around one million visitors annually. The Stockholm Public Library. Designed by Gunnar Asplund, the same architect that designed the Woodland Cemetery that I have shown you quite a few photos from lately. Asplund also designed the park here, some of what you can see in the second photo. There is a big fountain in the park, but there was no water in it on this visit, so I will have to go back for that photo. I have read a couple of articles about the state of this old library recently, and one word stands out in those articles, and that word is Scandal! A lot of people want Stockholm to build a modern library, just like our neighbors have done in Helsinki, Copenhagen, and Oslo. And they want to see serious renovation plans for this classic building.

Bus Stop Library

I had a look at the books at the bus stop/library at Årsta Havsbad yesterday. This is one of three bookshelves. I have read a couple of these novels, and seen the movie. The Norwegian guy, Nesbö is a great crime writer. I read the Hotakainen novel a few years ago. In the end, I picked the Frantzen novel, The corrections. That should be an interesting read, and a little close to home as it is a family drama involving Parkinson's disease.

Free books!

I like things like this. A bus stop with a little library at Norrskogen on Torö. The normal rule is that if you take a book you should leave one, but I didn't know about it until I saw it earlier in the week. I picked a crime novel by Carolina Neurath, and told the author about it via Twitter and she seemed to like it. I shot this after a longish ride on the eBike on what was probably the warmest day of the Summer so far. And after snapping this I had an equally long ride home. The novel was okay. Two female journalists working together trying to dig up information about a story end up in a very serious situation involving human trafficking, murder and more.

The Book Stacking Problem

This is not the original book stacking problem, but it is still a good one. This is the book stacking that you can see in the library at the cultural centre in Handen. Locally known as Boktornet, or The Book Tower, it will surprise most visitors to the library. It was created quite a few years ago now by the scenographer Annika Thore. And if you are curious about how it was made don't ask Annika because she prefers to keep that to herself!

Sit down and read a book why don't you

Fun initiative from a librarian in Västerhaninge. Two boxes filled with books for both kids and adults sits on the doorstep to the library with a note saying, help yourself to a book, sit down here and relax and read for a while in the Summer heat.

Free Cake Anyone?

The cultural centre in Handen celebrated ten years earlier this week. When I popped in for a visit, a group of people working at the centre were making their way towards the library where they presented a couple of surprised visitors with free cake and a a number of Christmas carols.

The Cultural Centre

This is the library at the cultural centre at Poseidon's Square in Handen. The Cultural Centre celebrates ten years in December. The celebrations takes place on 12.12.12. You can expect to see and hear some local artists including R & B-star Mary N’diaye and watch air acrobatics from Cirkus Cirkör.

At the library

Remember that murder story I told you about a few months ago? If not here is a link to that story. On the top photo you can see Anita and Bo Stjernström. Two of the members of the historical association here in Haninge. And also the authors to the book about that murder at Näringsberg all those years ago. I met them at the library in Västerhaninge today. The library celebrated forty years, and Anita and Bo gave a talk about Västerhaninge, while showing some photos. There is an ongoing photo exhibition at the library, and as I had a look around I found a photo of my great grandfather, Johan Fredrik Jansson! He was a gardener and politician. The photo was dated 1920, and I hadn't seen it before, so that was fun. Downstairs at the library a band called Kulturhusbandet was playing some music. There was also some activities for the kids and for those who arrived in time there was cake!

To the Bookmobile!

This is the new book bus and mobile library in Haninge. The book bus is an artwork in itself, designed by the artist Kristoffer Zetterstrand whom I met today. He told me a little about his work. He started on this project back in February. He sometimes works in 3 D, and then often uses the Maya software for his art. After our short talk I asked him to pose for a few portraits. This summer he has had an art exhibition in the Cultural Centre here in Handen, a building that also houses the library. The artwork on the bus covers everything from classical books written in different languages, to modern day computer games. The big unveiling takes place today at Poseidon's Square in Handen. The bus will visit all the pre schools in Haninge and hopefully the kids will discover the joy of reading. It will also visit nursing homes and other facilities for the elderly and for the disabled. And I'm sure I could borrow a book there using my library card.

Library Window

Christmas decorations at the Västerhaninge public library. You really don't need to do more than this me thinks. If you feel like reading a book or listening to one, or perhaps see a movie (they have DVD's), drop by the library. And there's the "Friends of the Library group" that invites authors and such.

Books, books and more books

Theme day. Books. I read books all the time. Normally I have two or even three books going at the same time. In English and in Swedish. There are a few libraries close to where I live. This is the Cultural Centre in Handen, it opened back in 2002. This is the view looking into the library where you can see some of the 90.000 books, audio books (and CDs), in different languages that are on offer if you have a library card. There's an area for the kids, and a cafeteria where you can enjoy a cup of coffee and read one of the 70 different news papers that the library offers. If you are interested in local history this is the place for you. There's also an art gallery here with interesting exhibitions and they often have concerts and theatre plays. All in all a very popular building with the locals.



Earlier this year this 1000 year old rune stone was moved from it's previous location behind the library and can now be seen from Poseidon's Square, where you will find the big entrance to the Cultural Centre. So even back then the Vikings read if not books at least runic inscriptions on the rune stones. Press here to see what the inscription says.


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