Posts Tagged ‘Stockholm



02
Dec
08

The silent Kranglans

The days got shorter. If you wake up late you risk having breakfast in the “evening”. Photography wise, this means that a tripod is desired for steady clear images. This Sunday I took mine and headed on a short cycle trip to Hästhagen.

I first made a short stop in the western part of Hästhagen. There is a rock from the top of which you get a nice panoramic view toward Nacka Forum.

View from Hästhagen

Then I moved along east and came to a place called Kranglans. Very quiet area. The sound of the shutter release from the camera seemed so loud, almost scaring the birds around.

The day was gloomy and gray, as in late November around Stockholm, and I was looking for something more colored as the subject for my images.

After trying with some green moss, I came upon two boats silently waiting besides a pair of floating docks. One of the docks was distinctively painted with red on the metal part, making a nice contrast against the background.

The dock with the red touch

Buddies

16
Nov
08

Cycling in Nacka

I was told recently that the mind functions better in the morning. I can definitely use some “better” in that area, so I decided to become a morning person, to see how it goes.

Therefore, today I woke up at 12, as part of this successful so far plan, and I saw a lot of clouds on the sky, instigating for photos. I’ve been wanting to check out some forest area south of Nacka for a while now, so today it seemed like a good opportunity to do it. After breakfast I checked the map and then I started spinning the wheels (cycling) to Nacka.

The plan was to get to Källtorpssjön, a small lake south of Hästhagen, as you may see on the map. That region is called Älta, as I found out later on the road.

It took me around one hour to get there. The tricky part is that no lake was in sight on neither side of the road. I turned right when I saw a sign with a guy swimming. This means water, right?

The path went on through the forest and it seemed like there is no end to it. Where is the freaking water? Suddenly, the small creek which you see in the image made itself heard and down the hill there was the lake. Oh, yeah, sweet victory! It wasn’t the lake I was looking for, but I was happy with this one as well.

Leakage

After one hour spent by the lake, taking pictures and watching the joggers, I had to head back home, since it was already after lunch time and in November in Stockholm this means darkness.

Nevertheless, I think it was pretty hard to get lost in those woods. In Sweden, there seem to be people jogging even in wilderness, moreover in some small forest in Älta, so in the worst case scenario I would’ve follow a poor guy trying to stay in shape.

View from the bridge

On the way home I passed by this building somewhere in Nacka and I noticed that most of the companies names on it were either blue or yellow, matching the dark blue sky of the evening. I stopped and snapped a few pics and this I like the most.

The building with blue brands

03
Nov
08

All Saints Day

Last Saturday, on November 1st, All Saints Day was celebrated in Sweden. During this day, most Swedes visits the graves to light candles, lit areas appearing all over cemeteries.

In the evening I decided to go to Norra begravningsplatsen, a cemetery 20 minutes cycling from where I live, to take a few photos of the graves.

Crucifix

Graves

This evening was one of the first this year clearly reminding that winter is approaching. When I left, my bicycle was covered in frost and the ride home was face freezing.

20
Aug
08

Don’t miss the City Hall tower

This Sunday I managed to visit the City Hall tower for the first time since I’ve been living in Stockholm. I had 3 previous failed attempts at doing this.

First time was last summer, I got there at 16:50, 10 minutes before they closed and the last person from the queue to enter was the one before me.

Second attempt was in September, I got there at 16:10, early according to me, but late according to the schedule for September. They closed at 16.

Third time was on October 1st. I made sure I’m there even earlier, at around 12, but the door was locked.

A woman in the souvenir shop told me the season ended one day before, on 30 September. “See you in May, next year”, she said merrily.

If you’re in Stockholm, don’t miss the view from the City Hall tower. And check the opening hours before going. ;)

21
Jul
08

Midsummer’s retrospective

Things tend to become a little stale around here, since there isn’t much going on at the moment, except planning for the holiday in Romania next week. But since I don’t want to neglect my only subscriber, as Feedburner indicates, I’m going to write a bit about this year’s Midsummer’s Eve.

The Midsummer’s Eve is one of the biggest celebrations in Sweden. People get together in some specially designated places and have picnics, watch live shows and, the most important part, dance around a big pole, called the maypole. This is the symbol of fertility, and given the shape and the looks, one can squarely think of something that resembles the image and has something to do with fertility.

Maypole

We sat down at the table captured in the picture, in Farsta, south of Stockholm, and ate a lot of goodies, but the party binder was the nubbar, a Swedish sort of flavored schnapps. Some mistakenly may think that the Swedes are a bit quiet, but after a few shots of schnapps a very nice neighbor who joined the party started confessing that he’s been feeling inclined to do number two with the toilet door open, as his father used to do it in the past.

Svenska Nubbar

This is not the neighbor in cause in the image below, but a kid from the neighborhood. He seemed to like to pose for pics, but for an unidentified reason I took them in a hurry and they didn’t come out very sharp.




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