A Saab Midsummer

Midsummer is a genuine Swedish tradition so I decided to photograph a few Swedish cars during the celebrations at Sorunda. Top photo shows a 1958 Saab. Second we see a Saab 96 from 1975. Third photo shows a Saab 99 also from 1975. Sadly out of business since 2012. But soon we might see some news about NEVS.

Arriving in style

The Midsummer celebrations at Sorunda always feature a few classic cars. Top photo shows a 1955 Lincoln Capri. That was my favorite of the day. Second photo shows a Chevrolet Bel Air Sport from 1957. Third snap is of a 1941 Mercury Eight.

Midsummer at Sorunda

Visited the Prästgårdsparken in Sorunda during the Midsummer celebrations. They have a very different take on how the "Midsommarstång" should look like. It's a tradition that dates back many years. Didn't stay for the dancing this time so this is as traditional as it got. But I did enjoy a bite of the famous Sorundatårta, a pastry with a very secret recipe.

Kram

Swedish word of the day. Kram. Hug. As seen on a roundabout dog, (rondellhund), in Tungelsta earlier in the week.

Roe Deer

The field that follows the bike path between Västerhaninge and Krigslida belongs to the Nödesta farm. This year it is in "träda", you might have to Google that. There's always a roe deer or two there and this time I decided to stop for a photo.

Crazy Golf

The miniature golf course at Brandbergen. The background has changed a bit since I was last in the area. It used to be a parking lot where a couple of times every year a travelling tivoli would set up shop. There have been a few arson attacks here in the last few years. A car dealership was destroyed in a fire. The area was declared more or less unsafe by the locals. A man was found dead in an old caravan next to a preschool. Vattenfall's building was left abandoned before it was demolished. So quite a lot of bad news. But now Danator AB are building a four storey retirement home here and also sixty apartments. So I guess that is good news. The area will also get a new walkway and bike path.

Murphy's law

Stefan, for some reason decided to try the "Sommarsemla" at my favorite cafe yesterday. There's no such thing of course, you can only eat the original semla, and only during the Winter, we all know that. But he didn't so he ordered it anyway, and as he came around the corner, heading for the table, he dropped the pastry on the ground. I asked him if he knew about another fun myth, the five second rule, but he hadn't heard about that one either so he just ate the pastry anyway.

Quote of the Day

Ni går rakt in i ensamheten. Inte jag, jag har böckerna. A quote about books and loneliness from Marguerite Duras last novel. The bag is from Ellerströms förlag. They sell quality literature. Spotted the redhead girl from the cafe chair a couple of sunny days ago.

Motorcycles

That time of the year again when I sometimes jump off my bike on the pedestrian bridge that crosses the busy Gudöbroleden for a few photos of passing motorcycles. Yesterday was one of those days. A fine Swedish Summer day, so maybe 20C cooler than an Aussie Summer day, but still kinda nice.

Four snaps from the cafe chair

Four moments in time from my visit to the cafe yesterday afternoon. Not my cigarettes. I gave up that habit a quarter of a century ago. Belongs to the Hunter S. Thompson lookalike in the background. Two weeks from now it will be illegal to smoke at outdoor cafes and a few other public places in Sweden. Can't wait. The warning reads: Children whose parents smoked are likely to smoke themselves. Second photo shows a butterfly on my hand. The Finnish name is 22-pistepirkko. Not a bad band, not sure if they are still around. Flew in while I was chatting away with some of the usual suspects at the cafe yesterday afternoon. www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=mQ0Ueiqy45o The couple on the Honda sat at the next table for an hour or so. Nice nails. The plane comes from Täby Sjöflygklubb. Krister, a contact at flickr usually comes a bit closer with his camera.

Buttercup Field

The ever changing Summer colors. A field at Stav in Tungelsta filled with blooming buttercups, or smörblommor as we like to call them. In the background the new houses at Kolonilottsvägen in Lillgården. This is the same field where the bonfire that never was stood back in early May.

Behind Bars

Before watching the Seine Fishing at Gålö on Saturday I met this goat. He lives at the Frönäs Goat farm. If you live nearby check out their products and try the cafe, well worth a visit.

Musical paintings

Artist Gösta Engström next to one of his paintings at the gallery in Österhaninge, Galleri Kyrkskolan. He calls the works at the vernissage for Musical paintings. Gösta is still a very active artist and only 89 years old. Enjoyed coffee in the gallery garden with one of the usual suspects. Mid coffee another suspect called and wanted to know if anyone was up for some coffee so a few minutes later there was three coffee drinkers in the garden. Chatted away with three of the artists, one that we had met the previous day during the Seine Fishing at Gålö.

Notdragning

The reason for my visit to Frönäs at the Gålö peninsula over the weekend was to witness my first ever seine fishing. An annual event here by the local historical association Gålö Gärsar. Top photo shows the row boat Pärlan and the big net used for the fishing. The whole fishing expedition took around 90 minutes. It was very interesting to see how the locals used to fish here back in the day. In the end they came back to land with around 75 kilo of strömming and nors. Everyone who wanted some fish got around one kilo to take home. I met with one of the members the day after the event and he told me that they had prepared a a very tasty fish dinner from their catch. If you want to learn more about Notdragning, or Strömmingsnot as it is also called you can read up at the wikipedia article about Seine Fishing. All in all this was a great experience. As the men took out the boat on the bay we followed them from land walking along the coastline and sometimes through a forest.

Frönäs

I visited Frönäs over the weekend. It is a goat farm on the Gålö peninsula. It was a fantastic Summer day. The farm had moved it's cafe down to the water for the day for a special occasion. Something that just over 100 people found interesting enough to attend. They served some really tasty cheese cake with the coffee and I will fill you in why we were there in tomorrows post.

Amanda Lind

Amanda Lind, Minister for Culture and Democracy, (and Sports as well), speaking at the cultural festival "Kulturparksfestivalen" in Handen yesterday afternoon. She is a member of the Green Party. Tricky to see from this angle perhaps, but Amanda is pregnant with her third child. She gave a fine speech about all the culture that we have around us. If you speak the local lingo you can hear the speech here.

Moo!

The cattle lives at the Berga Agricultural College and usually spends the Summer in this pasture at Kapp-Ekeby near Fors in Västerhaninge.

Gärdesgård

Nylända gård near Årsta castle in Österhaninge. This type of fence is known as a gärdesgård.