Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category

20
Jan
09

The 2008 retrospection

In the past couple of weeks I came upon a multitude of blog posts around the web with 2008 contemplations, like lists of achievements and earnings, summaries and so on.

It’s kind of cool to look back over the course of one year and run through the facts, especially if the year has been good, in a way you define good.

Since I’ve been taken photos quite often this past year, I thought it would be neat to make a wrap-up. Therefore, here is is my 2008 Swedish photo retrospection. For every month, I selected an image that I like and made some sort of retroactive calendar.

January
Gloom
The image was taken on Djurgården on a sunny day, but I played a little bit with some fog effect to give it this sulky look.

February
Path
In Uppsala.

March
Park

April

On Djurgården. At that time I was experimenting a bit with vignette effects, which I’m not too fond of now, but I found it cool back then. I have to process this image again, and spare it of any weird dark edges.

May
Slant
This is from Hagaparken, a huge park nearby the office, a few days after I got the bicycle from ebay.

June
Slussen
Layers of buildings in Slussen, taken from the City hall.

July

On our way back from a trip to Dalarna, we stopped to eat near a small lake and we got surrounded by seagulls and ducks.

August
Krokträsk
The lake in Norra Sandsjärv, from a trip up-north.

September
Gärdet
In Gärdet, near Kaknästornet.

October
The chase
From a walk on Kungsholmen, nearby home. Nobody was hurt during the process. Bobcat wasn’t really chasing them.

November
Conversations
Conversations between statues near the City hall.

December
The message
From a walk in the short period of daylight in December.

Well, actually, I cheated a little bit. I got nothing in January, March and April, at least not something worth mentioning, so I put some images from adjacent months. What the heck, it’s good to be king of the blog and I bet you don’t really care about that. :)

No resolution for 2009. Just living.

08
Sep
08

Wild culinary temptations in Norrbotten

Wild temptation

After visiting the old church in Gammelstad, we went to Margaretas Värdshus, a nice inn nearby the church with traditional Swedish cuisine, to fill up the bellies. The bellies gladly accepted some Vild Frestelse (Wild Temptation), which is a sort of pie containing mixed meat from bear, moose and reindeer. I have no picture with the pie, but you may admire the pepper used to spice it up.
Ground pepper

Surströmming – the feat of endurance

During this trip I was introduced to surströmming, a special delicacy which I’ve been planning toSurströmming try since I came to Sweden. Surströmming is fermented herring in a can. Reading more about it here will give you an idea of what it is, but it will not make you feel the smell. It basically smells like dead animal. Not recently.

Surströmming is traditionally eaten on a mix of boiled potatoes and onion, put on hard bread which was previously buttered. Keep a glass of beer nearby. The taste was quite all-right, but it was very hard to overcome the stench ordeal, so I gave up after one sandwich and a half. I highly recommend trying the surströmming, but don’t forget to open the can outside, or you’ll have to sleep over by some friends.

Lingon harvest

Lingonberries are another landmark of the region. Only by collecting the one in front of the cottage, in about 30 squared meters, we obtained about 5 kg of berries. Very good for pies. Actually, I’m eating some as I write this post.
Lingon

Things you’re not supposed to eat

Besides McDonald’s, which seem not very welcome up here, Amanita muscaria is yet another thing you’re not supposed to eat up-north. Or anywhere else for that matter. It is said that the vikings used it for drugs. Probably the addiction was fed by the fact that it’s all over the place. I haven’t seen so many mushrooms in my whole life, as I saw in these 4 days in the north.
Amanita muscaria




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