A slow start

It rained all day. Not the best weather for a Christmas market. This was the scene in the old town, at Stortorget in Stockholm. The vendor looked a bit bored and unhappy. No one seemed very interested in spinning the wheel. Clearly a slow start. Theme Day. Slow. More, and happier photos from the market to come!

Banan-kompaniet

Theme Day. Blue. I am an admin in a Flickr group called Blue Yonder. The idea is to take a photo of a clear blue sky, with one object in the picture. This is my latest photo for the group. The logo that sits on the top of a building that used to belong to Banan-kompaniet. A company that imported bananas to Sweden, from Frihamnen ( a free economic zone), in Stockholm. The company is still around, but they are no longer operating from this building that today is used for concerts.

Cemetery Bridge

Theme Day. Bridges. This is a newly renovated bridge at the century old Skogskyrkogården cemetery. A new cremation scattering garden in a natural ravine opened here earlier in the Summer. I walked around it recently and everything looked fine. I will show you more of it in a later post. The renovated bridge is called Lewerentz-bron after one of the original architects who is buried at the cemetery btw. I noticed the guy walking over the bridge, he spotted me while I took a few photos. I am pretty sure that we have met somewhere, at my favorite café, maybe. But I got the feeling that he was not up for a chat, so I didn't approach him.

At the flea market

Theme day. Flea markets. As you probably know, one of my favorite places in Stockholm is a square called Hötorget. Haymarket in English. The market there dates back a very long time. My great-grandparents sold their produce there a century ago, something I am automatically reminded of every time I visit. Six days of the week you can buy flowers, berries, mushrooms, t-shirts and more there. But on Sundays it turns into a flea market. And that is usually when I show up. Because nothing beats photographing people. I took these photos two Sundays ago, but I was back at the market yesterday, so chances are that you will see more flea market scenes in the near future. Oh, and I already have nearly 500 photos in my Haymarket album!

Time for a fika

Fika. Probably the most Swedish word ever. In short, it means a 15-minute break from work, school, well anything really. During that break, everyone sits down together for a cup of coffee and a cake. Or tea. Or whatever you fancy. This happens a couple of times every day, year round. At my first ever job at a small company on Södermalm in Stockholm we had a fika break around 0930. It lasted for 15 minutes, give or take, I usually had a cup of coffee and a sandwich. Then at noon we had lunch two stairs down at a restaurant. During the Summer you could sit outside on the veranda. After eating our lunch, everyone had a cup of coffee. Then in the middle of the afternoon we had another fika break. Another cup of coffee. And maybe a cake. This one could be longer if we felt like it. This is how we roll. You will see this at every work place around Sweden. The same goes for the weekends. Three fika pauses very day. And as you can guess I have many café photos, but I figured ten would to. Taken around Stockholm mostly, except for the third photo, which is from Notholmen in Tyresö.

Bicyclemania

I photographed cyclists at three different locations yesterday. Team Rynkeby is a Nordic charity cycling team that travels from Denmark to Paris by bike. The purpose of this trip is to raise money for the Child Cancer Foundation in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany and Switzerland. I spotted him at The King's Park where I was photographing Cherry Blossom. The rest of the bike photos in this post are from two places in the Old Town. First Skeppsbron and then Munkbroleden cycling to and from work or whatever. It was the warmest day of the year. I cycled 80 km on my bike. Mostly in just pants and a t-shirt, which was nice.

Doctor's orders

I found the old pill box after my mother passed away. These days I carry it with me every day. In my camera bag. I don't follow the doctor's order, though, as it says to take two pills three times every day. Albyl was an aspirin pill and that is what I have in the box, as well as some pills against an upset stomach.

On the corner

Back when I worked at a company on Södermalm in Stockholm I would often walk past this mural at the corner of Östgötagatan and Kocksgatan. Made by the artist that worked there for many years. His name was Bengt Elde. He titled himself tavelmålare. And this is a self-portrait. He also painted colorful Stockholm views. Theme Day at City Daily Photo. Street Corners.

Winter sculpture

A sculpture in the park in Tungelsta. Rörd av blommor. Made by Klara Kristalova. The name of the park is Tungelsta trädgårdspark. The garden park. Named so because of the many greenhouse nurseries that made Tungelsta at least a little famous back in the day. There have been more than 100 family owned and operated greenhouse nurseries here. The first one opened 115 years ago, by my great-grandparents, btw. It was called Bergdalens Handelsträdgård. It is still here today, but under a different name and with a new owner.

Alleyway

Theme day. Favorite place in town. Tricky. But I decided to go with the old town. Gamla stan. Always crowded with tourists. Souvenir shops and expensive cafés everywhere. But just around the corner there is always an alleyway like this one.

Public transportation

By subway, tram, bus, ferry, or commuter train. Stockholm's local transportation network takes you almost anywhere. This is Bus 65. It goes between Fredhäll and Skeppsholmen. It would be fun, (for me), if anyone could try the QR code on the bus. Theme Day. Transportation.