Daily photo Stockholm

Casual old town

2006-11-30T22:07:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it´s just nice to take a shot that does´nt require any further explanations. This photo taken from the old town is one. One of my favourite places in Stockholm, atleast when there is´nt a lot of people around.

Gustav II Adolf

2006-11-29T22:18:00.000-08:00

This statue may look a bit boring, but it depicts a important person in swedish history. More interesting though is the place where it stands...

But lets begin by telling who the fellow on the horseback is!
Gustav II Adolf was the king of Sweden from 1611 until 1632 when he died at the battle at Lützen, Germany, during the thirtyyear war.
You can read more about him (in english) at Wikipedia.

He stands at the Gustav II Adolf square which is the "zero point" in Stockholm. All distances to Stockholm itself are measured from this square which, even if it is quite anonymous, makes it a very interesting place and point.

Tunnel

2006-11-27T22:14:00.000-08:00

A bit behind on publishing pictures... This one is a bit unusual and dark. It´s, as you might have realized, the subwayrails. It´s not unusual for many of them to be lit in the way that this tunnel has been.
I would love to walk down a tunnel like this, sadly it´s stricly forbidden = )

Photo taken at Kungsträdgårdens subway by the way!

Christmas awaits

2006-11-26T13:52:00.000-08:00

Being at the end of november, a dark and extremly boring month in Sweden, you get a bit of fresh energy at the end of the month.
Yes ladies and gents, it´s time for the christmas decorations! Santas, electrical lights, yes, the all come out the last week of november. At first in a pretty shy way as the above picture from fashionable biblioteksgatan tells (biblioteksgatan = the library street). Later it will explode in more decorations in the weeks running up to christmas.

You either hate them or love them. Does it have anything with age to do? I dont know, I just know that this christmas wont be the same for me for personal reasons, but I still look forward to it.
Biblioteksgatan by the way is the real fashion street in Stockholm. You´ll need a thick wallet to pass this street and do some shopping...

Ah, a cup of java

2006-11-24T04:55:00.000-08:00

Swedes love having coffee. And since the beginning of the nineties we´ve had a much larger culture in going out for a cup or two than before.
No matter were you are in Stockholm a coffeplace is always close by. This photo is taken from one of several along Kungsgatan.

Female?

2006-11-23T23:19:00.000-08:00

Equal rights is something that always has a high priority in Sweden. But just as in many other countries there are holes in society where a man has more opportunities than a woman.
Some of these holes are tiny and neglectable and are purely there because they´ve always been there.
Trafficsigns for instance have always had a man on the pedestriansign. But this is something you can remedy if you feel like it. Walking down Kungsgatan I passed a small crossing with four signs and all had been "remodelled" to look female.

Someone has obviously had a lot of time on their hands = )

Hötorget

2006-11-22T15:29:00.000-08:00

Hötorget, or directly translated into english the hay square, has been a known place for markets since the 17th century.
Today it is one of few places that has a bigg gathering of market stalls in central Stockholm. Located as central as you can get this small square also becomes a bit of a welcome break in the normal modern city landscape.
Fruit, vegetables and flowers are the main sellers. Every evening each stall closes and moves leaving the square empty just to be opened early the next day.

Stina

2006-11-21T13:15:00.000-08:00

An old friend moves on... This was Stina, one of the nicest and most loving friends you could have. From this day though that tail will wave somewhere else as she was put to sleep today.
I hope she´s being walked by my mum wherever they are.

Thanks for being a great mate.

Belive it or not

2006-11-20T10:53:00.000-08:00

Is this really a post? Yes indeed it is! = )

After many weeks travelling with work it´s going to cool down now a bit for me personally. So now I can finally show some new pics!
The cinemahouse at Hötorget is the place to be if you love movies. With 14 cinemas inside it has the best range of movies naturally. But going to watch the movies in Stockholm is never far away if you feel the urge to watch the latest blockbuster or independent movie. Cinemas in central Stockholm are everywhere meaning that you always have a wide range of movies to chose from.

Swedes in general are very frequent cinemavisitors, although visits have decreased in past years, presumably due to increasing downloading.

Between the 16th and 29th of november the Stockholm film festival is held with loads of films that you normally would´nt be able to watch, but after loads of travels recently I instead felt the urge to have a good laugh instead of a serious plot.

So I went and watched Borat instead, I was´nt dissapointed = )

And out again...

2006-11-13T03:58:00.000-08:00

Well, not much photographing this weekend either. Been called away to Gothenburg, back on thursday again.
I really apologize and realize at the same time that this is´nt really a sufficient way in mainting an interest for my dailyblog but what can you say when work calls?

Fortunatly my travels will come down from thursday and atleast ten days ahead which will make posting a lot easier.

Feel free to discover Stockholm through the archives until then = )

/Alex

TWO WEEKS OUT!

2006-10-30T14:42:00.000-08:00

Right... so appart from being away quite a lot recently my current schedule reads like this:

Monday-wednesday 30/10-1/11 - Gothenburg (west coast approx 450 kilometres from Stockholm)
Wednesday night-sunday morning 1/11- 5/11 - Kalmar (east coast approx 450 kilometres from Stockholm)
Sunday - Stockholm!
Monday-Thursday 6/11-9/11 - Halmstad (west coast approx 400 kilometres from Stockholm)

Friday the 10th of november I will be back properly... Until then I´m sad to say there is no chance in hell that I can update the blog with Stockholmpics. I have´nt had time to take any pics recently due to lack of time, going to try to solve something with one of my mates perhaps posting a bit.

But if not you´ll know why I´m going to be absent for a while, work has taken it´s toll recently needless to say!

Stockholm lakes

2006-10-28T05:13:00.000-07:00

Stockholm is filled with many lakes. This photo is taken from the Haga Park, just outside central Stockholm. A great autumn day!
Notice the similarity to yesterdays post from the west coast. Same sky, same clouds and same light from the sun.

Field of dreams

2006-10-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

Back in the capital of Sweden again after a few days on the road. I had time for one shot before my camerabatteries died. But I´m pretty happy about the photo I got just outside Gothenburg!
This picture could just aswell be from Stockholm or any other place in Sweden. Sports is a essential part of life and even in the capital there are often plenty of footballpitches.

A blessing compared to the situation in many other bigger cities around Europe where playing fields are lost to fit in new houses.
Places like this creates dreams. Not only for kids, but also for the adults that still play with the thought of playing for Barcelona in their thirties =)

Entrance to power

2006-10-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

Quick post. I´m on my way to Gothenburg meaning that I once again will have to stall posts for a few days. Sorry for this, but I currently have a job which means that I have to travel 2-3 days a week meaning it´s pretty tough photographing and posting.

This is once of the entrances to our houses of parliament that was posted during the weekend. Very discrete, just as the head entrance!

The houses of parliament

2006-10-21T01:53:00.000-07:00

There is two facades of Riksdagen (the houses of parliament), the one I am showing now is the one closest to the royal castle.
Built at the end of the 19th century and completed in the beginning of the 20th it has that good old "oh, look at our fantastic building" feeling about it = )

To the left you can see a churchtower which you might remember from may in THIS PHOTO

Photo taken from Norrbron which is the same place from the channelphoto four days ago.

Globen

2006-10-20T15:47:00.000-07:00

Want to watch a hockeygame? No problem in Stockholm where the interest of watching hockey is pretty much rock bottom. In the Globen arena, the largest hemispherical building in the world, more than 11 000 seats were empty when Stockholm teams AIK and Hammarby meet in the second division.
Football (soccer) is the main sport nowadays in the capital of Sweden with one of the biggest clubs AIK football averaging around 21 000. AIK hockey on the other hand draws barely 1 500 a game, 10-15 years ago it was totally different.

Globen is much to blame for this. It´s enormous roof makes it virtually impossible to have a good atmosphere and the cost of playing in the arena is sky high. That and a very strange leaguesystem has made hockey a yawn for many Stockholmers.

Globen by the way you can see in THIS PIC that I actually borrowed from Wikipedia.

Västerlånggatan again.

2006-10-19T13:32:00.000-07:00

Usually a jampacked street during summer, filled with tourists, Västerlånggatan in the old town becomes a very nice place to walk down when autumn arrives.
Plenty of space suddenly which makes you take in all the details of this beautiful old street in a totally different way compared to when you have to share it with thousands of others.

A definitive must if you visit Stockholm in the off season!

Autumn

2006-10-18T22:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry for late posting yet again. Been traveling with work and will be doing that even more now in the future. I had saved some drafts but was´nt able to upload them.

Anyway! This photo was taken yesterday right after work. I was lucky, the clouds were´nt completly grey and managed to squeeze in some photos before it got to dark. It is really getting darker now in the evenings.

To the left of this building out of view is our houses of parliament and the photo is taken from the bridge called Norrbro.

A different view

2006-10-15T03:09:00.000-07:00

Right, I know I´m cheating with this photo but I´m in a hurry and my pile of photos is near empty = )
The above photo is taken from my swedish hometown Kalmar. This canon lies on the bastion that surrounds the local castle. What can I say, destruction meets beauty = )

Early morning street

2006-10-14T03:32:00.000-07:00

Lots of streetshots lately. I´ve got stuck creatively = )

This is Greve Ture gatan (the count Ture Street) early in the morning. As you can see the street slopes quite a bit. I love the old buildings here.

Angel

2006-10-12T11:06:00.000-07:00

My colleagues saw this massive angel when they were out on lunch the other day. Odd is´nt it? Swedish buildings from the thirties and fourties and onward are pretty low when it comes to exterior design. Therefore I was quite surprised to see this gracing the face of the building!

Unusual is to say the least = )

Gateway home

2006-10-11T22:11:00.000-07:00

In a hurry? In 90 percent of the cases people passing through the subwayentrance are. Atleast in the morning and evening. Rushing to and from work is a situation probably most of us have to reconcile with.

This photo is taken at Stockholms centralstation one early afternoon.

A anonymous church

2006-10-10T13:37:00.000-07:00

A little photo from the Adolf Fredriks church, located right next to busy Sveavägen that you could see yesterday. For those of you that follow this blog you will have noticed that churches are to be seen basically everywhere = )
The Adolf Fredrik church is surrounded by trees, and even though it´s not small it´s not that big either, making it an easy to pass by without even noticing it. Or to quote one of my friends when we passed it:
"Oh, I did´nt know that there was a church here!"
= )

Sveavägen

2006-10-09T15:06:00.000-07:00

Sveavägen in a photo taken during lunchtime. I had a bit of a fortune getting this street so empty when I took the shot. Is usually and was crowdy when I took the photo. Further up at the end of this street is the sergelfountain and to the right you might recognize the Hötorgethouses that I showed here on the blog

A shot from the observatory hill

2006-10-08T14:04:00.000-07:00

Sorry sorry for late post! But I´ve been there, and there and very much so everywhere lately.
This photo is one taken in the slightest of fogs from the observatory hill, about 40 metres up, down towards Sveavägen, one of the main streets of central Stockholm. To the left the city library can be seen ever so slightly.
You might recognize the small park below from this PHOTO

The Gustav Vasa church

2006-10-04T14:02:00.000-07:00

A little close up as promised of the Gustav Vasa church which may look old but is built in the early 1900:s. The church is named after Gustav Vasa who liberated Sweden from a two year old danish ruling back in 1523. He is also the man who made Sweden a protestant church, a choice made out of more economic reasons rather than the teachings of Martin Luther.

I´m away on travels as usual by the way so posting might be a bit slow come this weekend!

OdenPlan

2006-10-03T13:58:00.000-07:00

On both sides of this photo there is plenty of traffic as this is Odenplan, the heart of Vasastaden which is one of Stockholms main cityparts. This little square is between Karlbergsvägen and Odengatan. The big T that you can see in this picture is, yes, you guessed right, an entrance to the underground!
T stands for Tunnelbanan (The underground system) and if you ever visit Stockholm and want to commute with local trafficsystems that is the sign to look for!

In the background you can see the Gustav Vasa church, a church I will show you a bit closer tomorrow. The red buses in the background are local buslines going with different routes around Stockholm. This is a busy centre for those who commute and has basically always been. Many years ago this was one of the main centres for the tramwaylines going around central Stockholm.

Karlavägen

2006-10-02T15:40:00.000-07:00

Karlvavägen (vägen = road, street) is located in the fashionable Östermalmarea of Stockholm. I love this street and it´s a pity I did´nt get to photograph it on a sunny day. The walk down this path is usually filled with people on a warm day. With the trees accompaning your walk you finally end up in a small Park with a big fountain in the middle, Karlaplan.

Will have to show a picture of that tomorrow perhaps =)

Karlavägen is btw a very heavily trafficked road and kind of a pickle to get out of sometimes during rush hour!

White skies

2006-10-01T22:54:00.000-07:00

For starters I can say I sometimes get a few strange mails regarding my page. I´m sure some of you recognize that. One of the oddest ones though was the other week from a guy who blamed me for manipulating my pictures sky. "It looks unrealistic and silly he wrote"
Some people just have to much time on their hands...

Well this is actually how the sky can look in Stockholm. White. Which this photo from Kammakaregatan (gatan = street) is proof of. It may look cool but it´s quite grey and boring really.

This is also a typical central Stockholm sidestreet. Very calm, old housefacades that are renovated nine times out of ten, and very organized parking = )

Swedenborgsgatan

2006-09-30T03:26:00.000-07:00

Was thinking of doing another kind of post today. But... well... lets just say I´m not ready to do any sentimental things quite just yet.
Same motive as the past two days. The tree at Swedenborgsgatan. In this photo you can see that this street is filled with different kinds of trees which creates quite a nice walk through.

Citygreen

2006-09-29T16:13:00.000-07:00

I thought I would show you the location of that delightful autumntree shown yesterday. Here! Swedenborgsgatan. A street which has trees covering its sidewalk making it a quite pleasant place to walk = )

Autumn

2006-09-28T15:05:00.000-07:00

September has been unusually hot in Stockholm. But you can´t stop autumns face from showing itself. This photo was taken from a alley close to Mariatorget (The Maria square) which is filled with trees.
This time of the year, when leaves are falling and so many colors appear, is one of my favourites, but at the same time it´s kind of depressing. In a few weeks this tree will be naked and cold, and it will be another half year or so before it flourishes again.

More housefacades

2006-09-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

I thought I would continue the trend of house facades in todays post. This is a photo taken at Gävlegatan but it could be from any street in central Stockholm. It´s quite rare to see two buildings of similar colors. Atleast if the buildings are built prior to the forties.
It´s quite refreshing and makes streets constantly different to each other and most important, houses different from each other as you can see in this picture.

Nothing bores me more than to see similar houses standing next to each other, same color, same architecture. Sometimes, as said yesterday, it was better before =)

Differences

2006-09-26T22:54:00.000-07:00

Housefacades in Stockholm are often a mix between the old and the new. On this little sidestreet I found a obvious example of that!
A late 19th century building has survived progress and refurbished it´s squized in between two ugly buildings built in the sixties and seventies.

I really dont like the phrase "it was better before" but when it comes to architecture it´s a phrase that´s true!

A kind of art

2006-09-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

I like graffiti. Artistic graffiti that is. Tagging on the other hand is something I really hate since it´s pointless, lacks an art to it and is quite simply just stupid.
I was walking home today and passed a tunnel which was filled with tags (Stockholm is mostly a pretty graffitifree place since the city spends millions in keeping it clean, but they always miss this place) when I saw this. And I thought it was really cool.

Things that leave a thought is art for me. Never mind how simple it is.

The Linnéstatue

2006-09-24T01:23:00.000-07:00

This piedestal was empty for quite a while until recently when the refurnished statue of Carl Von Linné was put back in place. Carl Von Linné was a biologist, author and scientist who was the first to really document Swedens nature.
He lived from 1707 to 1778 and was in his time a real celebrety in Sweden. This statue is located in Humlegården, the central park, and as you can see it´s quite large!

More information in english about Linné can be read HERE

More artistic stuff from Football = )

2006-09-21T22:11:00.000-07:00

I thought I would show my team AIK:s opponents "Tifo". Djurgårdens IF hardcore fans were just as AIK:s located behind one of the goals. And as you can see from the above shot, yesterdays post and my post from the derby back in APRIL these games bring out a hell of a lot of creativity.
Djurgården make a pretty good parody of the movie the usual suspects depicting the head people in their own club. Not so wild and crazy as our "Tifo" but still a good eyecatcher!

Unfortunatly this was the best shot I could get of it. The smoke from us had´nt cleared yet and just a moment after I took this photo about 6-7000 people took it down to watch the game =)

Best shot so far

2006-09-20T13:48:00.000-07:00

I´ve done well over a 100 shots on this blog since the beginning. Some photos have been mediocre, some I´ve been really proud over. But the best shot I think I´ve taken is the one you see now.
For you that follow this blog you´ve probably understood that I´m a big footballfan and in that one of AIK, one of Stockholms biggest clubs, if not the biggest.
In the highly passionate derby against the overclassclub Djurgårdens IF, a derby highly ranked by neutral observers, 32 000 spectators saw a great "Tifo" in the beginning of the game.

For you new to the area it basically is a choreographed salute to the team. This game AIK were allowed to use Pyrotechnical devices, and as you can see the effects were quite stunning!

More pics of this will be put up HERE for your viewing! The game? We won 1-0 through a unbelivable goal by veteran Daniel Tjernström and we are top of the league! Work will be unbelivably easy tomorrow =D

Swedens new face

2006-09-19T22:07:00.000-07:00

Missed a post on monday due to laying in bed = )
Feel a bit better and will be going to work again on wednesday and get some new pics (my stash is nearly empty!).
Todays shot I thought I would use to give you the face of Swedens new primeminister; Fredrik Reinfeldt.
He might be bald but he does´nt look like a monkey or behave as one. Atleast not yet...

Voting time

2006-09-17T14:44:00.000-07:00

Today was the third sunday of september. And every fourth year on this day we do one thing in Sweden. We vote. As you could see from my pre-vote post a week ago Sweden has been very active lately in the run up.
The usual scandals, arguments, fights and once again scandals that you are accustomed to in politics have of course been there = )
Anyway, this is how it looked at my votingoffice and in thousands of others around Sweden. You have your votepapers. You get envelopes for each vote. And then you vote!

The votes are still being counted but everything shows that Sweden will have a shift in power for the next four years from the social democrats, left wing party and enviromental party that we´ve had for nearly 12 years.
I´m happy because I think it´s good =)

Back to bed, got to get rid of that cold that´s still harrassing me...

Ze old town

2006-09-16T11:18:00.000-07:00

A simple shot over the old town. From this view you can see circa half of the old town with one of it´s characteristic churches in the middle.
What you also see is a big chunk of Stockholm city and well worth noting is the total absense of skyscrapers. You have just got to love it!

Unpredictable weather

2006-09-15T11:23:00.000-07:00

Been hit with the fever and cold all week so I missed an update on thursday, sorry about that. One main reason for the fever and cold is the great shift of weather that you get in Sweden this time of year. One week you can have close to 30 degrees plus in august. The week after you can have constant rain and tempratures down to 15.
So basically every day I´ve gone with the subway into town I´ve heard coughs, sneezes and your basic moaning...
It´s not easy being sick =)
This photo taken from Drottninggatan of the cityhouse shows a bit of an uneasy sky, not really deciding whether it should give sun or rain and that pretty much resembles what we have now.

One thought crossed my mind when I posted it. No movement and no people in it. Strange.

Stockholms Stadion

2006-09-13T22:48:00.000-07:00

I rarely show black and white photos on this page but I decided to do it on this motive. You´ve seen the background to the lower picture once before when I showed you a shot from a Depeche Mode concert here. But I thought that the Stockholm stadium deserved a few more shots.

Built for the olympic games in 1912 this stadium has been listed as a culturemarked building and therefore can not be demolished or rebuilt. And thank god for that. The stadium is quite striking with it´s brickfacade which was typical for it´s time. The above shot is from the royal box where the swedish royal family sat during the olympic games and other events.

The stadium today is used for concerts and different sporting events and is also the home for the Premier league team djurgårdens if, one of three big Stockholmteams. Below you can see one of the two towers that are a major part of the Stadiums character.

You can see how the stadium slightly over the years by looking at this picture from the opening ceremony: OLYMPIC GAMES 1912

Worth mentioning is that it is the smallest stadium ever to hold the olympic games with a capacity slightly over 20 000 at the time.

Sunset

2006-09-12T12:14:00.000-07:00

Just a casual shot walking down the Klarabergsviaduct with the sunset.
I always love watching the sun going down in a new place. Wherever you are it has a different look to it. Stockholm ones can sometimes be a bit "ordinary". But I thought this one caught quite a bit of the spectacular in it.
You can see it in yesterdays tributepicture to 9/11.

9/11

2006-09-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

Growing up, I always wondered. Would I ever experience something extremly drastic? Something that would probably change the way the world we know works? Something that would alter our views and perception of other people?
Five years ago on this day I did. The attack on the World trade center in New York was´nt the worst thing that had happened in the past decade. Millions of people had died before in wars, of starvation or genocide in the ninties alone. But it was the worst thing you could see with your own eyes, horrendous and unrealistic.

Our world has changed since that day. To the worse I do belive in many aspects. We should always remember 9/11. But we should never forget the people who´s lifes are lost far away from tv-cameras and prime time coverage.

This photo was taken outside Stockholms world trade center as the sun was going down.
To everyone that lost their lifes in 9/11; R.I.P.

A new home

2006-09-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

This photo is not from Stockholm but from Borås on the west coast. I went there yesterday with a few friends to watch the big game in Swedens premier league, called the Allsvenskan, between Elfsborg and my team from Stockholm, AIK.
What made the game special except it being a top of the table clash was that it was the first time I got to see Elfsborgs ultramodern new stadium. There has been a footballboom when it comes to attendances the past ten years in Sweden and several new arenas are being built with Elfsborg leading the pack.

And whether or not you like football you can´t say that the background in this picture is anything but beautiful.

Autumns coming, run!!!

2006-09-09T01:54:00.000-07:00

After quite a hot summer the later half of august has consisted of loads of rain in Stockholm. Enter early september and the first signs of autumn can be seen as these fallen leafes are a evidence of.
All of a sudden you can wear jeans without sweating your ass off, the weather is much cooler and peoples way of dressing drastically changes.
Many people find it hard to belive that Stockholm can be hot as hell during summer but it is, when autumn strikes though the weather shifts quite fast.
It´s a bit depressing, even though I love changes and the different seasons always move us on it´s sad to know that all the green trees and light days soon will be over. Atleast for another six months.

What to chose?

2006-09-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

Electiontimes in Sweden! In eight days the election for a new goverment in Sweden will take place. For the past few weeks it does´nt matter what you do, you cant avoid everything going on. Posters, billboards, tv-commercials, tv-programs and just regular politicians is everywhere to be seen. This is what has met me lately when I exit the subway.

Several different political parties have put up their own little electioncabin to try to get out to people.
This election (which is held every fourth year btw) is a pretty hot potatoe with one of the main subjects benefits. Swedens population is according to statistics one of the most sickprone people in the world, many claim this to frauds and bad governing. The ruling goverment disagrees.

The election will basically be between the left wing (that currently have held power the past four years) and the right wing.
The left wing consists of:
Socialdemokraterna (the social democrates) who currently have 34,2 percent
Vänsterpartiet (Left wing party, ex communist) 7,7 percent
Miljöpartiet (The Enviromental Party) 5,2 percent

The right wing consists of:
Moderaterna (Basically democrate I would think) 25,4 percent
Folkpartiet (Liberals) 9,3 percent
Centern (basically a farmers party from the beginning) 6,8 percent
Kristdemokraterna (the christian democrats) 6,7 percent

In total it´s 48,2 against 47,1 percent with favor to the right wing. The remaining percentage either don´t know what to chose or chose a other kind of political party.

Basically all political partys above have been in the game for ages, The enviromental party and Kristdemokraterna are the latest newcomers, arriving on the political piethrowing scene in the eighties.

Time to hit the sack, I feel tired after typing so much about politics =D

Tracks

2006-09-07T08:51:00.000-07:00

This is a view that I am quite accustomed to and will be even more this year. In my job I have to travel quite a bit, and after a few slow months I´m on the road again going here there and actually more or less everywhere in Sweden.
These plattforms and tracks are at Stockholms centralstation. Unlike many other cities the architecture around the tracks is... well... not so inspiring. The main reason being that the tracks were diverted back in 1925 from this arrival hall, which now is the heart of the central station, to the current position.
Not pretty, I know, but each time I come back I´m always happy to see it =)

Scandinavias Venice

2006-09-04T14:52:00.000-07:00

Central Stockholm means plenty of boats. Called the Venice of Scandinavia it´s bound to have!
This picture is on Söder mälarstrand where a lot of boatplaces can be found here and there. Even though our climate makes usage of a boat restricted to basically 6-7 months (at the very very most) it´s extremly popular and extremly wanted to have a boatplace centrally.

Me and a friend have discussed having a boat ourselves but we concluded that it´s way to much cash for something you use far to little.
Unfortunatly there will be no post until wednesday evening. I´m going to the north of sweden with work and I´m due back late wednesday. Catch you then people!

The Högalid church

2006-09-03T14:08:00.000-07:00

When it comes to beauty I´m quite a firm beliver that the Högalid church on the south side of the town is top candidate in the church category.
Built between 1916 and 1923 it has the typical architecture of the churches built in the early 20th century which means a brick house with a quite simple roof and a decorated tower.
The interior in this church is very decorative and as it´s placed on top of one of the highest points in the Högalidspark the church and it´s twin towers can be seen far across the city.

Which is demonstrated quite well in this bottom picture!

Old town revisited

2006-09-02T03:56:00.000-07:00

Todays post is saved curtosy of my friend Chris, thanks mate =)
As I wrote yesterday I have had some problems with my internetconnection and I am out of town over the weekend. Chris let me post this very nice shot though. Taken in the old town (which you could see photos from back in may) I wanted to do some shots myself of the alleys when it´s darker.

Here´s a excellent one. I am planning to have a "night-life" photo evening in the nearby future and that will mean a few shots from the old town guaranteed. Will be back in Stockholm tomorrow, see you then!

Damn

2006-09-01T03:27:00.000-07:00

Encountered a small problem updating the blog. My internet went down yesterday and I cant mail my pics or transfer new ones from my camera to my computer at work. Going away for the weekend aswell but I´ll try to work something out!

Boy peeing on Lion

2006-08-30T22:29:00.000-07:00

Well, what else can I name it to when I have´nt got a clue to what it is =)
This photograph is taken from outside the restaurant in the cityhouse where the nobel prize dinner among others is served. An expensive place to eat but apparantly well worth it (can´t say if so cause I have´nt had the opportunity myself).

The story behind the statue... I´ve got to get back about that but it looks for me as some sort of statue based on christian religion. Cool though is´nt it? = )

The cityhouse again

2006-08-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

Ah, the city house. This time excellently portraied by my good friend Chris. The tower at the end you could also see back in july, here with the sun in the background and a quite impressive skyline.
Eight million bricks were used to build this quite beautiful building between 1911 and 1923 and except that the city is partially ruled from this building the noble prize awards are held here aswell.

If you visit Stockholm, be sure to take the opportunity to go up in the tower. You´ll get a really great view over Stockholms central parts!

No more paying

2006-08-28T15:10:00.000-07:00

Quite controversial a roadtax was introduced to Stockholm from the first of january until the last day of july. Between 07.30 and 18.29 you had to pay a fee to get into Stockholms inner city. Payment was done at any Seven Eleven after your registrationlicence had been scanned.

This has been quite controversial since Stockholmers voted no to introduce roadtaxes, yet they did. With a new election coming in september (general elections even on national levels here) the roadtaxquestion is of course a very discussed question, but at the same time a lot of people have turned in opinion since it´s been proven that the traffic going through Stockholm has eased up during the period.

The picture? Well, it shows workers taking down signs on the last of july and I took the liberty of copying a picture from the Roadinspectors homepage. The photographer is called Mikael Ullén

Back in business

2006-08-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

First of all I should probably explain the absence of pictures on my blog lately. I have´nt really been up for it quite honestly. And a bit ironically I have´nt had the energy despite having nothing to do at work!
I guess I´ve just been sitting with nothing to do for to long a time. Anyway, going to publish every day again after this little glitch!

The above shot was one that I managed to get from a football game at one of the smaller local stadiums where I live. Was quite cool seeing all of the feet infront of me, and no faces. I did´nt stay for long to as different objects were being thrown from time to time from the stand =)

Arlanda Airport

2006-08-21T07:19:00.000-07:00

Terminal 5 Arlanda Airport. Flights bound to the outside of Scandinavia. Enter lightly dressed swedes going on holiday mixed with your typical businessmen and foreign tourists and voilá; you have yourself a typical airport = )

Based 40 kilometres from Stockholm this airport opened in 1962 replacing the Bromma Airport that was built in 1936. Bromma was the main airport before Arlanda but due to a ever expanding city and a big increase in commercial flights it was deemed not suitable for further expandation.

Cue Arlanda which, being built quite far from Stockholm, was considered a safe bet for further expansions due to the distance. Ironically though it has encountered the same dilemma as Bromma did in the fifties. Suburbs as Upplands-Väsby and Märsta have objected to the airport building a fourth runway.
In any case, now you´ve seen a typical Terminal in Europes 15th largest airport =)

The end of Santorini

2006-08-20T14:40:00.000-07:00

I was climbing this mountain through steep steps. In the middle of the mountain a small little chaple was located. A bit surreal really cause it seemed to be so out of place. Never the less it was a great resting point for me as the walk was pretty exhausting in the heat.

And when I got to the top I got a view that looked something like this =) Not to bad hey?
Going to show Stockholmpics from now on!

Therasia

2006-08-19T15:26:00.000-07:00

I know some want to see pics of Stockholm after a long absence. But as I´ve said, I just have got to share some pics of this beauty of an Island. These pictures are taken from the island of Therasia, one of Santorinis smaller Islands. Here local sailors live in one of Greece most underdeveloped parts living of tourism mainly and some fishing. Got some nice pictures of a very simple Island (although I would like to add that they did have running water, toilets and all that, so it´s not that underdeveloped =)

I just loved these boats in the harbour.

Santorinis volcano

2006-08-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

It´s said that perhaps the myth of Atlantis comes from Santorini. In excavations of the islands old settlements indicate that there may have been twin waterpipes, one for hot and for cold water, as far back as over 1500 years b.c!

However, the civilization that prospered on this beautiful Island was wiped out completly by the eruption of the still active volcano about 3500 years ago. Of course we had to visit the Island and it was´nt dissapointing. Large, with several craters and with a distinct smell of sulphur in our noses we could´nt stop gazing at all the views that we were being given. Very, very nice! =)

Santorini sunset

2006-08-17T06:23:00.000-07:00

Ah! Back from Santorini and back to old boring work! Hoorah! Yup, I know this is a blog about Stockholm but meanwhile I take some new snapping shots of Swedens capital I thought I would show you some nice photos from Santorini.

I´m not one for traditional Greek Islands but I really enjoyed this place and I can see how it´s one of the worlds most popular Islands.
The below picture is taken from the top of the mountain on the south part of this small Island. From there I was able to get cliffsides bathing in the sunset.

...and of course I had to take this photo of the sunset. You can see the volcanic Island closest to the camera. Still active I do of course have a couple of photos of it to show you = )

Bye bye!

2006-08-06T15:43:00.000-07:00

And as you could probably depict from yesterdays post I am pretty fed up and tired right now. So bye bye I say to Sweden, my job and this blog for about nine days. Tomorrow I will be going to the very nice island of Santorini and enjoy the sun, some drinks and hopefully a nice stay.

Blog will be up tuesday the 15th of august. Catch you on the flipside people =)

Stockholm Pride

2006-08-05T12:16:00.000-07:00

First of all I have not taken todays photo. It is curtosy of Stockholm Pridefestivals own homepage and I have taken the liberty of posting a picture taken by a photographer with the byline Silvana D.

The Pridefestival in Stockholm has grown immensly since the start in 1998 to become Scandinavias largest festival for the gay-community. 30 000 participants were said to be in the carnival that as usual take place on the saturday of the festivalweek.

And it´s hard not to laugh at this picture =)
Was going to be there myself but... well, I´ve just felt a bit knackered lately and mondays little break from Sweden, work and everything else comes with quite good timing.

The russian yard

2006-08-04T05:35:00.000-07:00

The Russian yard is located at Slussen, just south of the old town and the beginning of the south side of town. This photo is taken from the Katarinaelevator
The Russian yard name was established in 1967 and came after the history that russian merchants had here. Between 1641 and 1820 russian salesmen came here to sell their goods and at the most there was 74 different stands, a russian sauna and also a small russian church.

Nowadays there are some stands which sells flowers, fruit and other usual market merchandise. But hardly to the same extent as before.

Östermalms saleshall

2006-08-03T04:26:00.000-07:00

Östermalm is as some of you might now the real upper-class part of Stockholm. The Saleshall is a quite obvious example of that. Inside you´ll find several different dishes and foodsorts. Some local, others more exotic. But the prices are in a few cases heavily overpriced.

Can´t say I blame them. Because if you have fools just around the corner more than willing to pay the price you just have to take advantage of it. Never mind, it´s a very interesting and quite beautiful building. Sales have also been done inside this place for over a hundred years.

The Bromma Boys

2006-08-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

This picture might look a bit scruffy. That´s because it´s taken with my cell-phone = )
The advancement of mobile-technology makes it possible for us to take a picture wherever and whenever, and as you see, with reasonable quality aswell!

Todays picture is taken at Grimsta Sportsfield. The small stand that you see does´nt look that particularly special. But the team behind it is.
Brommapojkarna (The Bromma boys) football club (that´s soccer to you americans ;-) is Europes largest football club with countless amounts of boys and girls football teams. Their youth programme is unbelivably serious, some even saying far to much, and their teams are highly succesful.
Many of their youthplayers get contracts with other top teams in Sweden and also abroad. Those who don´t make the cut sometimes end up in the seniorteam. And despite very low crowds and the small stand in frame they´re currently sailing high in the swedish second division.

Sorry for late update btw. Have´nt been up to my usual level lately.

Kungsgatan

2006-08-01T14:23:00.000-07:00

A view of Kungsgatan in Central Stockholm just before the rain started to cause people to run for their lifes from the lethal, lethal rain! =) (why is it that people are so terrified from getting wet?)

Anyway. At the end of this street you have the beginning of Östermalm and fashionable Stureplan where basically everybody who comes from conditions that most of us are unfamiliar to are brought up =D

Kungsgatan is also a classical street in the sense that loads of photographs were taken from this street when people celebrated the end of World War II. You can almost understand why as two cross over bridges and a very broad street make a pretty easy shot if you want to capture loads of people =)

Rain visits Stockholm

2006-07-31T02:13:00.000-07:00

We´ve had quite a great summer this year in Stockholm. Very hot, sunny and humid weather.
But in the weekend, and on the friday in particular, we had a downpour that was massive in swedish terms =)
I tried to get a picture of some thunder and lightning, but the odds of capturing that is just as high as Arnold Schwarznegger speaking english without a trace of any foreign accent.
Instead I got a guy running just as fast as Justin Gatlin (but without illegal substances) to get cover.

Why do people always hide when it´s rain? I think it´s great!

The library park

2006-07-30T04:28:00.000-07:00

At the same time as the city library was built (from 1920 until 1928) a park was arranged next to the area. The surroundings are quite nice as the busy Sveastreet is seen to the right and a nice hillside filled with threes is on the left.
The waterfilled concretepool is just a couple of feet deep and is usually empty in the early spring and late autumn making it a popular place for skateboarders and rollerbladers.

In any case it´s a quite nice place to rest with a new book =)

The public library

2006-07-28T02:28:00.000-07:00

Stockholm has several public libraries and also a royal library which could be seen here. The public libraries together holds well over two million books. The main city library on this picture being the keeper of nearly 800 000.
The architecture style tells a lot of the modernistic thoughts of the late twenties and early thirties. Built in 1928 by the internationally famous architect Gunnar Asplund it´s a little favourite of mine, despite not beeming with beauty.

The Wennergren center

2006-07-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

The main reason to why I choose to take a picture of the Wenner-Gren centre is basically the architecture. Very futuristic for it´s time this building, finalized in 1961 with an adjoining apartmentcomplex around it, was built thanks to Axel Wenner-Gren. As president of Electrolux he wanted a centre where researchers and scientists could live.
The main building today consists of offices and different foundations run by the Wenner-Gren foundation.

The building is constructed as a sunwatch, ergo the triangular form of the house!

The german church

2006-07-26T22:50:00.000-07:00

The german church in the old town has logical reasons for it´s name. Built during the 16th century by German merchants as a sort of societyhouse. Sweden, as the rest of the baltic countries, was strongly influenced by the Hansa merchants under the Hanseatic league . This building was transformed into a church in the 17th century and has had the same design ever since. One of several churchtowers that can be seen in Stockholm, and as with all the other towers, it has it´s own unique design.

A deserved break

2006-07-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

One of the places we rested on during or little canoetour through the lakes. Needless to say, it was very cosy =) We were also harrassed by two charming ducks that after being well fed with some gorgeous bread decided to relax next to my canoe.
Will be back with pics of central Stockholm tomorrow again!

Going down the river...

2006-07-24T15:04:00.000-07:00

Just a couple more shots from the weekend. Thought it would be nice to show the nature that surrounds Stockholm. This is from a stretch we paddled through during our first day. With narrow parts, some much more narrow than this one, we were always close to nature.

And even if me and my girlfriend had fierce arguments about who paddled to much and who paddled to little we enjoyed the views =)

The weekend

2006-07-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

Went canoeing this weekend in some lakes. Starting a bit from Mariefred which basically is a 45 minute drive from Stockholm we paddled through some really nice nature and on the saturday evening we found a great spot to camp.
For what else can you say about the above view, a bootle of beer and good friends?

BrB

2006-07-21T22:27:00.000-07:00

Of paddling in a canoe! Back on sunday!

The Stomatolsign

2006-07-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

When you walk in the area called Slussen an old electricalsign can be seen from the top of one of the buildings. The Stomatol (a swedish toothpaste) advert is Swedens oldest electricalsign. It was placed on top of the Katarinaelevator in 1909 but when the elevator got demolished in 1933 (to be rebuilt) the sign got moved to it´s current position.

Stockholm city later labeled it a culture mark meaning that the Stomatolsign may never be removed. Not a wild guess is that Stomatol, a company that still exists, dont object to =)

The south link

2006-07-19T14:16:00.000-07:00

When the South link was opened in october 2004 it was a great relief for many Stockholmers. For quite some time travelling from the east side of Stockholms suburbs to the south side of the city was often problematic with loads of trafficjams.
The south link was the solution to the problem. Six kilometres long, where 4,6 kilometres is underground, has diverted a lot of cars making trafficjams non existing here.

And if the relief of travelling much more comfortable was´nt enough the South links turnoffs are real artpieces. This one is a bit blurry, but I just managed to throw up my camera =)

Arriving at the dock

2006-07-18T12:44:00.000-07:00

One of many sightseeingboats coming to Nybrokajen to drop some passengers of at the dock. In the background, just to the right of the boat, you can see Gröna Lund, Stockholms amusementpark with roller coasters and other fun stuff =)
Boats are an essential part of the Stockholm scenery as water is such a major part of our city. There are loads of private boats and sometimes you get yachts the size of I dont know what arrive.
If you ever visit, get on one! It´s worth the view!

Need some refuelling?

2006-07-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

Gasstations are´nt that common in central Stockholm and they´ll be extinct in a few years time due to prohibation.
But people on their bicycles will not be affected by the lack of airpumps. I saw this recently installed little airpump at Nybrokajen today. Thought it was quite a nice touch since we who pedal to work have to endure some stressful cycling sometimes! =)

Flat building?

2006-07-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

One of Swedens biggest bookpublishingcompanys is called Norstedts. Located at Riddarholmen next to the old town the headoffice of this near 200 year old firm lies. Depending from what angle you arrive the building kind of looks... flat. Like it only has a facade and nothing else.

You can see it in this picture... kind of! See you tomorrow fellow vacationers (but not me... I´m still struggling at work...)

The cityhouse

2006-07-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

Great weather today and a fantastic view of the sky. Stockholms cityhouse with the characteristic three crowns at the top (the three crowns are in many circumstances a symbol for Sweden). The cityhouse is were the nobelprizedinner is held every year and also a fantastic building. More pictures from this building in the future! We were going to go to the top of the tower today but the queue was faaaar to long. Cant waste time on a great day like this!

Riddarholmskyrkan

2006-07-14T01:24:00.000-07:00

The Riddarholmchurch is one of several churches lying in the old town. This picture, taken from the beginning of Västerlånggatan, shows the over 700 year old churchs impact against the sky quite well. Simply beautiful would´nt you say?

Like many other churches from that era it has been target for several restaurations, especially during the 19th century. And it´s certainly worth a short visit if you are on your way through the old town!

A building =)

2006-07-13T22:07:00.000-07:00

I had written a small text about this building but I now fail to find it and I have just a vague clue of what it is. So until I find it you´ll just have to look at it = )
Location is at the beginning of the Old town coming from drottninggatan.

A recap

2006-07-12T04:38:00.000-07:00

Unfortunatly I dont have any good paintshop programs at work, but I do have loads of time. Exceptional amounts of time with nothing to do.
Yesterday I read a whole book at work. Luckily I´m able to access my photoblog at the office (they´ve blocked virtually every page that is fun, oddly enough I have huge problems accessing other blogs =( )
This little collage of pictures are from a couple of the pics that I´ve taken recently. Thought it would be nice with a small recap. Yes, our subwaysystem is beautiful, but there is one that is completly supreme in beauty.

Have a look at Moscows subway at: http://www.beeflowers.com/Metro/

Saint George

2006-07-11T13:47:00.000-07:00

Saint George and his dragonslaying is an image that we Europeans are quite accustomed to, atleast in the christian countries, as he is a christian hero.
Of course Stockholm has a statue of him, even quite a few of them. This one is located at Österlånggatan in the old town and is a replica of a wooden statue located in the big church also in the old town.
And as most other statues, it depicts old saint George killing a dragon.

The tramway

2006-07-10T13:34:00.000-07:00

Tramways used to be quite an essential part of communiting in Stockholm. Nowadays there is a modern tramway that cuts through Stockholm, although not the central parts.

There is though a old tramway still in existence and it comes alive every summer. Between Norrmalmstorg (torg = square) and the area called Djurgården (where the amusement parks Gröna Lund and Skansen lies) they traffic a couple of kilometres.

They use old tramcars aswell which you can see from this picture just 150 metres from Norrmalmstorg at Nybrokajen. The tramway was a permanent picture in Stockholms citylife until 1967 when it got disbanded, leaving way to the much more efficient undergroundsystem that was being built out.

A different view

2006-07-09T22:03:00.000-07:00

No special story behind todays photo. Only that it sometimes is really worth to raise your head and take a look at what surrounds you. Walking down an alley I looked up and was met by this. Reminded me of how much I´ve seen since I started taking photos on a regular basis. You look at everything in a different way. I think you know what I mean = )

The blue line

2006-07-08T01:37:00.000-07:00

Another subwaystation today. This one is the Centralstations blue line. Located deepest down of the three different subwaylines (which is 26-32 metres below the surface) that traffic Stockholm it is fittingly called the blue line.
Different artistic motives cover walls and the interior which main color is blue.

And on days when it´s 30 degrees celsius in the shadow it´s kind of a cool place to be =)

Reach out, touch FAITH!

2006-07-07T14:55:00.000-07:00

Todays post was taken at Stockholms stadion. A landmark in Stockholm and world history as it is the place where the Olympic games in 1912 took place.
But I´ll reserve a few posts in the future for this fantastic stadium and instead show you what went on there today. Soon legendary Depeche Modes tour reached Stockholm and before a near 30 000 strong crowd the delivered as usual.

And as the sun went down there were one or two who wanted to get a extra glimpse of the action as the balloon going in for landing is evidence of = )

Could´nt resist...

2006-07-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

What can I say? I so enjoyed last days entry that I actually decided to show you another view of Europes first skyscraper. The north tower!

Back in Stockholm now after a more than two week long absence. So some new photos will be up soon!

Europes first skyscrapers!

2006-07-05T02:02:00.000-07:00

It may be hard to belive. But Europes first skyscraperbuildings were not built in Paris, Berlin, Rome, Madrid or London. They were built in Stockholm.
Located at Kungsgatan the north and south "kingstowers" were built in 1924 and 1925. Part of the work in making a business street between Norrmalms and Östermalms cityparts these skyscrapers came into being.

60 metres high the architect Sven Wallander took inspiration from similar buildings from Lower Manhattan in New York. Needless to say, the two buildings caused quite a big rave in those days and the north tower (the one not being refurbished) had a very popular restaurant called "Blue Heaven" at the top floor.

The buildings consisted of stores and officespaces in the beginning but nowadays the consist only of offices.

They are beautiful buildings, I have to post another one when the renovationwork of the south tower has ended!

A narrow staircase

2006-07-03T09:19:00.000-07:00

The Malmskillnadsstaircase at Kungsgatan. No special story behind this one. It just looks really great when you stand at the foot of it and look up where every step gets more and more narrow.

Tomorrow, some nice pictures from Kungsgatan. Back to the sun and my vacation...

A pretty valuable billboard

2006-07-02T12:14:00.000-07:00

This buildingfacade by fashionable Stureplan has been covered by pretty pointless commercials. But this one is one definetly in my taste. Unicef use a simple single childs hand to show that every single minute all around the year a child gets infected with hiv.

A quite terrible fact. And one that needs to be shown more like this if we ever are going to open our eyes to it.

Trophys

2006-07-01T04:15:00.000-07:00

Apologies for lack of posts the past two days. As said before I am on vacation and I currently don´t have a smooth access to the internet. Anyway, here is todays post!

Outside the armymuseum in Stockholm lies several canons that were taken from Swedens enemies during battles in the 17th century. Sweden has´nt been involved in any wars since the napoleonic wars in the early 19th century. But 200 years prior that and during a whole century Sweden were constantly at war. Russia, Denmark-Norway and Poland with some territories today belonging to Germany being our main enemies.
Our borders were far greater than today and a herritage from those days can be seen at the armymuseum. The different canons on this picture have been captured from danish and polish ships. Canons were so valuable that salvaging far beneath the surface was common using divingclocks.

The armymuseum is located at Östermalm near Nybroplan and has free admission like many other museums.

The royal dramatic theatre

2006-06-28T16:11:00.000-07:00

You have to excuse any poor activity from me lately. If it is´nt work it´s a bad internetconnection on my holiday making me basically just being able to make a post = (. Anyhow, here´s todays picture!

The royal dramatic theatre was founded in 1788 and the existing building at Nybroplan was finalized in 1906. Quite a big structure this building has over a 1000 plays in the six different scenes each year. I showed you the culturehouse a few weeks ago which has the "citytheatre". The royal dramatic one though has more classical plays by swedish and foreign writers.

Some great actors and directors have had their way through this place. Two of the most famous ones worldwide is Greta Garbo and Max von Sydow.

Nearly skyscraperfree

2006-06-27T15:46:00.000-07:00

Skyscrapers are´nt that common in Stockholm. The city skyline is dominated by churches and not big tall buildings and that´s something I hope we wont see in the future, because tall does´nt mean beautiful, does it?
This five buildings are´nt any skyscrapers compared to a lot of other cities but compared to the rest of Stockholm they are. At the very end of the fifth building you can see the blue concerthall that I showed you in may at Hötorget. The buildings are often called "Hötorgsskraporna" because of their geographical location. To the left of the first building you have Sergels torg (square) and fountain.

They are ugly, but in a cool way ugly =)

THE BLOODBUS!!! =)

2006-06-26T15:16:00.000-07:00

According to statistics Swedes are very prone to charity. Both from the wallet and physically. So no surprise that you can see buses like this now and again, as I am sure that you can see in most European cities;
The bloodbus is´nt a groovy horrorflick from the seventies but a bus where you can spontaniously give blood. This one travels around Stockholm, stopping at a new place each day and tries to get more people to give blood. If you don´t, then do! =)

Fancy a bath in the city?

2006-06-25T01:37:00.000-07:00

Oooops! I took a three day break! Midsommar is a major tradition in Sweden and Finland but not in the rest of Europe. I took just a few pictures (I was more busy drinking beers and playing outdoor games, sorry, but it is my vacation = ) but I wont be able to show them right now.
I´m down in Kalmar in the southeast of Sweden meeting with my family and so I´ve cheated a bit, e-mailing some pics from Stockholm to myself.

This one was a picture taken in Hellasgården, one of many idyllic bathplaces in Stockholm. You can see my girlfriend Lisa feeling captivated by her own reflection. The older man standing on the bridge had just swum across the lake (which is quite big). In the background two large radiotowers that are visible from pretty much everywhere when you are in Nacka (the part of Stockholm where Hellasgården is).