Since Christmas is just around the corner, I wanted to post this wonderful winter view. It's a few years old, though... I don't think we have had so much snow ever since. This year we have some kind of rainy, foggy, greyish weather. Very Sherlock Holmes-ish(!) and definitely suggestive.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Autumn colors
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Blå Porten (The Blue Gate)
We recently took a long walk in the lovely Djurgården (an island and a district in the central parts of Stockholm). And there it was... magic and majestic... and beautiful as always: the Blå Porten (the blue gate).
I sent the picture to a friend who turned fifty the other day. He said it was "the gateway to the new flourishing era he is now entering..." – I just love the metaphor!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Drottningholm Palace and Park
Pictures from Drottningholm Palace and Park: The Guards Tent, The Chinese Pavillion, The Drottningholm Palace, The Drottningholm Theatre (backside), A view from the English Park at Drottningholm.
I live in the close vicinity of the Drottningholm Palace, which is part of the World Heritage, with the famous Drottningholm Theatre and the Chinese Pavillion among the attractions. The palace is also the home of the Swedish royalties. The Palace Park is a wonderful place to go for a walk or have picnic, which a lot of people often do. It is also one of the most visited tourist attractions in Sweden.
I took the boys there a few days ago, so that they could play in one of the mazes in the park. It was so quiet and the Park was almost empty. One part of the Park is called the English Park with lakes and small islands (as the "opposite" to the formal Baroque Park which is in front of the Palace). There are always hundreds and hundreds of geese and quite a lot of swans there, and this time we also saw a crane. I have never seen one before and it was very fascinating.
After the maze fun we went to the Chinese Pavillion and had some ice-cream in the little café. The other visitors were mainly old ladies, which gave the whole visit a certain kind of peacefulness and serenity.
It was definitely a peaceful day with an air of timelessness. The sky was so blue, the sun was shining and it was so warm. ...How I do like that!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Swedish Midsummer

Today is Midsummer's Eve (Midsommarafton): Raising and dancing around a huge maypole. Eating the year's first potatoes with pickled herring and sour cream. Fresh strawberries as dessert. Girls picking seven (different) flowers to put under the pillow, and then dream about the person to-be...
Midsummer is the most important holiday of the year here in Sweden. What I like most is that the sun is above the horisont for almost 19 hours (Stockholm, Sweden 59° 21' N 18° 4' E). It never gets really dark. Not even when it's raining, which it is right now.
We didn't raise or dance around any maypole. The boys wanted to "transform" one of the little outings to a head-quarter (they play detectives). So that's what we have been doing today: Throwing out old furniture and stuff, cleaning windows, walls and floor. They are all three so excited about having a little house of their own!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Birds and Mozart

I heard about a lovely story on the radio today. There had been an outdoor concert at the Chinese Pavillion in the Drottningholm Palace Park Stockholm, Sweden. Mozart's Clarinet Quintet was on the program and the audience was enjoying the music in the early summer evening.
High up, on the top of a large spruce, sat a blackbird (Turdus merula, the national bird of Sweden). When the clarinet started playing he must have thought it was another blackbird trying to poach on his preserves. He started twittering and chirping more and more, louder and louder to make his voice heard above this "intruder".
The audience had a musical experience in the "double sense"!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
...before I go to bed...
Hedgehogs
This year we have six hedgehogs coming every day – and night. They eat and quarrel, eat and quarrel and sometimes they are courting. I recognize three of them from last years: Ivar, who is my number one favourite. He behaves like a pet and eats like a horse. And dark, anxious Isabella and beautiful Iris. The boys and I name them all and the names tend to start with an "I" as the Swedish word for hedgehog is "igelkott", except for the little cutie on the picture. We just had to call her Rose-Mary because of her rose coloured – in this case that means very pink – nose (and No, it's not the cat-food she is eating, it is her nose!). She reminds me of some of artist Amy Goodrich's wonderful (mostly teddy bear) creations (Portobello Bear Co. *)
These lovely little animals always show up here in late April/early May and then they waddle around the house night and day until late July, when they usually all of a sudden just disappear. I wonder where they wander...
* The link goes to Amy's own Etsy shop, although her work of art is also available at some exclusive retailers around the world.
Blogging
I've never really read any blogs until some months ago when I, for some reason (well I was actually searching for an Alphonse Mucha picture on the web) found Susanna's Sketchbook. I was so happy because reading that blog gave me so much inspiration and a deep feeling of joy. I realized that all these lovely contributions being published on the internet is a great way of giving and maybe generating some goodness. Thank you Susanna!
And now... when finally having decided to start writing about the things I love and care for – nothing pretentious, just sharing little reflections – I hope this blog will be a source of inspiration too.
Just a few words about the reason to why I write in English... I mean, I am Swedish and I do live in Sweden. Well, that's just because I want this blog to be possible to read and follow for my non-Swedish speaking family and friends as well as my Swedish ones.
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