The view from the new observation tower

The new observation tower at Tornberget. The highest point at Södertörn at 111 m a.s.l. It's a 25 minute hike through the forest if you walk from Tornbergavägen in Tungelsta which is what I did together with my buddy Hasse earlier in the week. The old tower was dismantled back in 1981 and this new tower opened for visitors a couple of months ago, although the official unveiling was last weekend. On a good day you can see the medieval church in Västerhaninge, Jordbro, Handen, Brandbergen, the archipelago, the old masts at Nacka, Tyresta national park, the Globe Arena in Stockholm and a quite a few more buildings in the nations capitol. We saw all of that as it was a fantastic Summer day with a blue sky and maybe 24C. The different parts of the tower was assembled at the Tornberga farm and then flown by helicopter to the hill side where it stands today. This will be a popular place to visit from now on, I have several friends that are planning to either hike from handen or bike through the forest on mountain-bike. I will return to the tower myself in a few weeks time equipped with more zoom power and a sturdy tripod and also with barbecue material as the tables near the tower are a good place for a picnic. On the second photo you can see the power plant in Jordbro. Third photo shows the medieval church that I showed you on my Walpurgis Night post a while back. The fourth snap really shows that I live smack in the middle of a forest as that is all you can see of Tungelsta, it is the new buildings at Lillgården that I have shown you a few times during their construction. The last photo shows a few famous buildings in Stockholm including the Globe Arena and the Kaknäs Tower.

JJ Audio Bass Face

Summer arrived and with that my urge to go out and photograph cars with a difference. Like this 1966 Cadillac Deville that I spotted from the pedestrian bridge that crosses Gudöbroleden in Handen yesterday. We probably broke another temperature record, and I'm all for that sort of thing, as I am sure is that very happy guy with the large loudspeaker on his convertible.

The colors are back

Finally! It was a long and cold wait but now the colors are back, everywhere. I pass by these trees at Nederstaleden in Västerhaninge most days and it was a great feeling seeing this.

Requiem for Peace?

The long black arm was suddenly there in front of the cultural centre in Handen. Then a few hours later when I passed by there again, it was gone. A mystery that needs to be solved.

The second day of Summer

Cycling on the old road to Nynäshamn these days means that you are only likely to meet other, (happy), cyclists. Very different from a few years ago when this was one of the most accident ridden roads in the country. The new highway opened for traffic back in 2010 and the only people using the old road are locals and cyclists like these happy riders.

That Old Tree

13C as I approached the old tree late yesterday afternoon after a sunny sitting at the cafe. I had hoped to see a few buds on the tree, but there were no signs of Spring here at all. Not counting the green grass on the fields of course.

Towers and gazebos

Here are a couple of interesting architectural details that I noticed during my recent promenade around Dalarö. There are lots of pretty gazebos, unusual towers and what have you there.

Seaside Living

I wouldn't mind living here. Close to the water at Dalarö. But I don't have the money for that. The crane in the photo stands near one of the more impressing mansions at Dalarö where they are currently building 13 new villas, with a couple of apartments in each, 51 in total. Maybe I should have look see and check out how much those are, they are showing the houses on Sunday. If you speak the local lingo and are interested in an apartment check out the builders web site.

Swiss chalet style

The seaside resort Dalarö in Haninge is famous for a few different things. Many prominent people lived and worked here a Century ago,including August Strindberg, Anders Zorn and Carl Larsson. But what I like the most are the many Swiss chalet style villas from that same period and here are three examples.

Tillda Uttermans café

I took a walk at the seaside resort Dalarö today together with my brother. We were at Dalarö to visit our mother who lives at the care facility Malmgården, and as the mother decided that it was time for an afternoon nap we decided to go for a walk. This is a little red cottage at the corner of Frejavägen and Wallinvägen. Today a private residence but back in 1893 this was Tillda Uttermans café. Not sure about the spelling as I found it spelled both Tillda and Tilda.

Walpurgis Night

We celebrated the arrival of Spring today. That is what Valborgsmässoafton/Walpurgis Night stands for in this country. Thousands of bonfires burn all over Sweden as people gather around the fires talking and drinking. A choir sings a few songs about Spring as the kids run around or eat candy. I stopped at two such bonfires this cold and very windy Walpurgis Night. The fire in Tungelsta had already burned out when I got there on the Steel Horse so I pedalled five kilometres against the strong wind to the bonfire at Kyrkbacken in Västerhaninge where a few hundred people had gathered, including a couple of fire-fighters that kept an eye on the big bonfire. The fire was moved the evening before to give the local hedgehogs a chance to survive. The church in the background is the Medieval church in Västerhaninge.

Örnens Väg

Preparations are under way for the new houses that are to be built here at Örnens Väg in central Handen. Too see a 3D map of how it will look press here. More facts in Swedish here. Last time I was here there was still a little forest here and you couldn't see the apartment buildings in the background that dates back to 1992. Had I turned the camera around 180 degrees you would have seen even more new buildings. But those are temporary student/refugee/anyone else/ apartments.

Salvador Dali

Spotted Salvador Dali in Jordbro a while back. He was with a travelling tivoli, but had been left on his own at a nearby parking lot. But that didn't seem to bother him much.

Location, location, location

For many years there was a filling station here at the intersection between Nynäsvägen and Dalarövägen in central Handen. It was known as Nynäs Bensinstation. Operated by the Ljung family. The last occupant was Gilberts lastbilsservice, he closed a couple of years ago, and last fall the building was demolished. I'm guessing you will see a few more apartment buildings like the ones at Haninge park in the background here in a not too distant future

Old oak at Tjursta

This is an old oak at Tjursta in rural Österhaninge. You can see the tree from the Dalarövägen and I have wanted to photograph it close-up for a few years now. It was a muddy walk across two fields in my Adidas sneakers earlier in the week, but if you want a specific photo you have to sacrifice yourself a bit. Not sure how old this oak is, but it was probably already picturesque back when the long lost property Tjurstatorp was still standing. I will go back for a Summer view of the tree a few months from now.

Sixten Recent Snaps

Natalia's second attempt to bring lazy Hasse another coffee. Tiny yellow flower I found under an oak yesterday. The old tree. Walkway at Håga. Barren trees at a hillside in Österhaninge. A recent dinner out on the veranda when it was still warm. Rocks on a field near Dalarövägen. The farm house at Nödesta needs some love and caring. The new houses at Lillgården shot from the hill at Bergdalen. The old silo at Nödesta. Cigar stump at the cafe. Digger at Håga industrial park. The meandering path towards Klemms Kulle. Tree on a hill at Österhaninge. More barren trees. A glass of red wine.

Ploughed Field

A ploughed field at the tiny hamlet Ormsta in rural Haninge. Decided to try a stacked landscape photo of the ploughed field and the farm buildings. This is six photos shot handheld at f/.8. Shot with the Canon 70-200mm lens.

Blue&White

I have shown you a few photos from the Iron Age burial field in Jordbro over the years. One reason for that is that I bike through the site most every week. Another, that it is a beautiful place with lots of interesting things to see. One of which is the anemones that bloom here every spring. The blue ones usually comes first, followed by the white a few weeks later. This year I spotted them the same day. Which is very unusual. When all the white anemones bloom, the fields and the forests turns white in the Gullringskärrets nature reserve, and that is always a spectacular thing to see. If you live nearby there's an organized tour here to see just that. This years meeting will take place on the 5th of May. Facts in Swedish here.

Summer is here

Summer came early this year. Even before the real Spring arrived. That is very unusual for Stockholm. Summer means that all the classic cars will be out on the roads again. Spotted this one while sitting at the cafe with the usual suspects. The driver noticed me and gave me a wave. It was a close call as I shot with the 105mm lens, but I managed to get a couple of decent snaps before it was gone.

Sixteen Recent Snaps

Cold Leffe on the veranda with dinner yesterday. The old tree on Thursday afternoon. Greek Salad dinner. Blåsippor at the ancient gravefield in Jordbro. Påsklilja detail near the old tree. Guy walking home from Systembolaget with a "flak" of beer. Birch tree snapped on my way to the old tree. Cyclist passing the cafe. Jim has anew look for the year. Trygg-Hansa at Slätmossen. Jujja handling the sun and the heat at Malmens. View from a bridge at the nature park Slätmossen. The stolen, dumped and torched car again. Another cyclist pedals past the cafe. Vitsippor at the Iron Age burial site. Muslim woman walks by the cafe.

Viking Era Runestone

A 1,000 year old runestone that once stood at the long gone village of Blista, not far from Alvsta in Haninge. There's an old painting of the runestone dating back 400 years, and the top right corner of the stone was already missing back then. Today the stone stands close to Årsta castle in Österhaninge. It has been there since around 1864 when Gustav Upmark pieced the stone together. At that time the stone had been missing for hundreds of years and when it was found it was broken in several pieces. It is 263 centimetres high and 146 centimetres wide. The inscription reads: Sven had this stone made...(a few words are missing here) ...his good father and for Gudvar. The inscription was made by Halvdan. It means that Sven raised the stone in memory of his parents.

Roundabout

Roundabout here is where they are building a new "rondell" along Stavsvägen in Tungelsta an area with many new houses still under construction. Shot this as an extreme shallow depth of field photo by stitching together multiple photos taken with the Sigma macro lens.

Naval Ships

Took the fixie bike down to my favourite beach yesterday. 15C from a blueish sky. Happy to report that all the ice is gone from the Horsfjärden bay. Top photo shows the corvette HMS Visby. Photographed with my 70-200mm Canon lens with the help of the 1.4 Viltrox Extender. Snapped from the little marina at the Årsta Brygga. Second photo shows the minehunter HMS Kullen. A Landsort-class mine countermeasures vessel. Took that photo from a pier at the Årsta Havsbad beach. Both vessels are part of the 4th Naval Warfare Flotilla at the nearby Berga Navybase. I visited the base a few years ago when they had an open-house weekend.

New preschool

New preeschool under construction at what used to be a parking lot at Ringvägen in Västerhaninge.

Friday the thirteenth

Still a thin layer of ice covering the Lower Lake at the Rudan nature reserve. One not so clever guy tried ice fishing on Friday the 13th. Didn't end well. But he did survive.

Microcar

Roughly three meters long. Very pink. Easy to park, easy to spot.

Bullerskärm

Bullerskärm. Swedish word of the day. Noise barrier fence along the Nynäsbanan railway line at Håga in Västehaninge. In the background a new building at the industrial park.