Category Archives: Photo

New York City 2016

nyc-panorama315 June

Arrived JFK – Airtrain to Jamaica – MetroCard – Took subway E to Rockefeller, changed to B “express” – Missed to get of at Columbus Sq. and ended up at 112 st. where we changed and returned to 59 st./Columbus Sq. – Walked 5 min. to 63 st. – Checked in at West Side YMCA.

16 June, DAY #1

High Line Park day. Little bit cloudy, warm.

Walked along Broadway to Ellen’s Stardust Diner for breakfast. They have singing staff, fun. – Times Square – M & M’s world, amazing a small chocolate candy can have 4 floors with a chemically smell of candy on Times Square – Hudson River Parkway –  High Line Park, (one of the highlights of the trip and can be recommended) – Visited a cool gallery next to the Whitney MuseumChelsea Market –  Coffee break at FIKA Madison Square GardenNYC Public LibraryBryant Park –  Grand Central Terminal with the Whispering gallery and we were allowed to stand at the doorway to Campbell Apartment Cocktail bar, admission 21!! (and our dress code was “maybe” not totally correct) – Passing Empire State Building (save the visit for later) and Chrysler Building – Dinner at Five Guys and Fries – Evening stroll in Central Park south end – Ice coffee break at Lincoln Center before heading “home”.

Map Day 1

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17 June, DAY # 2

Circle Line Landmark Cruise and Battery Park day. Sunshine and warm.

Walked down to Hudson River, booked the Circle Line – Landmark cruise at 11.00. Had a cup of coffee/water. Learned that one reason for long lines could be the taking of photos against a green screen for “tacky” backgrounds… – Lunch at Landmark Tavern, recommended by the guide on the boat. Nice place – Walked 47 st. with lots of small restaurants – Subway from 42nd str. to World Trade Center Station – One World Observatory – “Ground Zero” – Irish Hunger MemorialBattery Park (Pier A, East Coast Memorial, American Merchant Mariners’ Memorial)  –  Wall StreetCharging Bull – Visit to a local liquor store. Mickey was told “don’t touch!!!” the bottles, the 21 year syndrome!! –  Testing burger at Shake Shack on Murray Street – subway from Chamber st. “home” (59 st.).

Landmarkcruise Map Day 2

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18 June, DAY #3

Central Park day. Sunshine and warm.

Breakfast, smoothie @ Starbucks – visit Best Buy (electronics shop) – Central ParkThe MallBelvedere CastleSwedish Marionette House – The Metropolitan museum and roof top – Lunch at Tom’s Restaurant (famous from Seinfeld) (Jerry’s Big Salad, nice) – Interesting outdoor photo exhibition by Matt Black, The Geography of Poverty @ St John the Divine, 110th. –  Strawberry Fields, Imagine, John Lennon – But where are all the roller skaters in Central Park? 

After Centrapark drink @ the “Y”, Gin & Lemon/Lime juice (no admission and no ID required in the room, don’t tell anyone) – Walked Down 8th Avenue to Thai restaurant, Chai Thai – Times Square by night – Soft ice Dessert @ MacD

Day 3 Centralpark

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19 June, DAY #4

Brooklyn Heights day. Sunshine and warm

Subway to High Street st, Brooklyn – Walk Henry St. to Joralemon St. – Breakfast at Pier 6, a fruit bowl, $11 + coffee, same price as 4 big muffins!! …Burgers and fries cheaper… “It’s more expensive to be healthy…” – Walked along Brooklyn Heights Promenade to Brooklyn Bridge (another highlight of the trip and can be recommended) – Lunch at Pier 1, under the tent. Beer (for me), water (for Mickey, 21!!) and fries, “Alcohol consumed under the tent. ID required” – Manhattan Bridge – DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) – Jane’s Carousel – Sunday Flea MarketBrooklyn Bridge – Supreme Court – Chinatown, Mott st.- Little Italy – Pizza at Lombardi’s, first pizzeria in NYC, 1905 – Spring St. – Subway “home”.

“After walk drink”, nice gin/lemon/lime in the room – 6th,  Avenue of the Americas, to Empire State Building (did you know it was built in 13 months!!) – Museum at 80th floor – Looong line to the elevator to the top at 86th floor. Walked. Clear sky with stars and full moon, TOTALLY MAGIC!!! Did several laps around the deck (another high light of the trip and can be recommended) – Walked back “home” on Broadway.

Day 4 Brooklyn heights  Day 4 Chinatown  Day 4 Empire state

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20 June, DAY #5

South Manhattan day. Sunshine and warm.

Subway to Downtown – Staten Island Ferry (it’s free) with a nice view of Statue of Liberty – Staten Island Boardwalk – Lunch at the River Dock Café, Salmon salad, yummy – Return Manhattan – Stone Street, many bars and pubs, 21!! – Short visit to a performing art show, River to River at Native Americans Museum, “little” weird – Battery Park for a beer break, “Alcohol consumed inside the roped area, ID required” 21!! – “Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog“, 21!! ID required – Dinner at Chipotle – Subway “home”.

day 5 staten island

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21 June, DAY #6 

Check out day.

Luggage label challenge. Label machine no work, WHAT TO DO!!! “Stupid tourist who suggest a solution”… (Mickey overheard conversation between the staff…) – Smoothie at Starbucks (again) – Talked to a girl from Vice magazine about New York music: New York –  by John Lennon and what to spend the last ticket on, suggestion was visit the Intrepid Sea Air & Space Museum – We spent over 3 hours there + at a Navy school ship + in USS Growler submarine. Very interesting visit – Testing burger at Island Burgers and Shakes – Walkabout in Hell’s Kitchen – Coffee break at Bryant Park – Time’s Square, talked to some “bus boys”,  salary 20% commission – 7th st “home”

Collect luggage – Subway “A” to Herman Beach, $2.75 x 2 – Air train to JFK Terminal 1 $5 x 2! “Who said free terminal shuttle?” – Mickey liked to get some special sorts of alcohol, e.g. Tito’s Vodka, St Germain… – For some reason we managed to get “Premium Check In” and “First Class Security Line”  – Flight departure was 2 hours+ late and not with a Norwegian flight but with Hi Fly, Portuguese low budget flight. No safety instructions, no information, no inflight entertainment, “nothing!!!”, they served “food”…it was NOT Norwegian standard…

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PS:

Picasa photo gallery

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Berlin Inline Marathon 2015

Thursday
The trip to Berlin Inline Marathon 2015 started from Malmö at 15.30, Thursday 24 September, with Patrik as driver and Lotta, Stefan, Gisle and myself as passengers. The time of departure involved rush hour on the southern motorway to Gedser. Patrik did a very good job and manage to get “in time” to the ferry. It was probably the tightest timing I’ve tried – 4 minutes before departure at the ticket office. Should mention that Patrik found a Super Duper deal on this specific departure, SEK 130!!, total price, one way for the car and passengers.

We arrived at the Acama hostel, Kreuzberg Berlin, at 22:00. Checked in and went out to an Ethiopian bar/restaurant in the neighbourhood where some tried Banana beer and palm beer served in a calebasse bowl. Finished the evening with a late night photo walk with Stefan to the Sience museum.

Friday
Some of us went “breakfast hunting”. After that Stefan found a green spot on the gps and it turned out to be a nice park called Victoria park. After a photo stroll it was time to head for Tempelhof Airport to pick up start number, chip and check out the different gear.

Lunch at a nice Italian restaurant on Bergman strasse.
Photo walkabout to the hostel with Robert where we passed a super cool shoemaker, totally retro, where it already was after work drinks 🙂

RollaboutThe afternoon was spent with a approx 20 km photo roll about with Stefan. Rollerskates is a great way to go around Berlin. Lot’s of really good bike pathways. Also some that’s not so good 😉 .

 

 

For Friday evening dinner, Ceci recommended a Singaporian restaurant, Mirchi, that was really good. Got a doggy bag with the fantastic lamb in coconut I couldn’t finish. Left in the reception at the hostel. Perfect for breakfast 😀

Saturday
The staff couldn’t find the doggy bag and I didn’t get that fantastic lamb dish for breakfast, øv 🙁

Preparing the gear for the Marathon. Lunch at the traditional Italian “around the corner”.
Some of us rolled to the Marathon start.

Marathon trackThe race this year was a total good feeling and fun trip all the way. No sore back or anything. Finished on 1.40. Impressed by Torkel who joined the pack all the way after just practice inlines 4 x 10 km before!! (bonus info: he’s been practice a lot of ice skating…)

Some of us rolled back to the hostel, with a beautiful “pre sunset”. Feeling “natural high”…

 

The after skate dinner was at the same place as last year, at the steak and burger restaurant The Bird, X-berg. Unfortunately the fuse for the ventilation went and we had to wait quite some time for the food in a very smokey restaurant. The staff was friendly and brought starters and shots as an excuse for keeping us waiting…

Finished the night with After Skate Disco at Kosmos. Returning back to the hostel we all decided to take the U-bahn. It was a “interesting” trip but probably not the best decision, time wise, compared to a taxi 😉

Sunday
Returning home…

Thanks Malmö City Skaters and everybody else for a great weekend 😀

Photo album on Picasa

 

Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt 2014

Benalmádena, Costa del Sol 2014

10 sunny days (26 June – 7 july) of the summer vacation was spent in southern Spain, in and around the town Benalmádena where we (Mickey and me) stayed in a very nice flat overlooking the sea and mountains.

The town is located 12 km west of Malaga, approx. ½ hour drive from the airport. It is divided into three separate parts:

  • Benalmadena Costa – the coastal strip that contains most of the resorts hotels and some apartment blocks.
  • Arroyo de la Miel (Honey stream)- originally a separate village and is where you will find shops, most of the resorts apartment blocks, and many Spanish bars and restaurants. The towns train station is here, it is home to Tivoli World and the cable car.
  • Benalmadena Pueblo – the original village located about 3 km inland and at 200 m. above sea level. The Pueblo is like the many Spanish “white villages” found in southern Spain. Narrow cobbled streets with white painted houses and many beautiful flowers on the walls. You find Copenhagen municipal hospital, Montebello, here and hear quite a lot of danish in the streets. There is a bar called Dansk bar and a restaurant Rottehullet (the rat hole)

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1. Accommodation | 2. Cable car start | 3. Eagle rock | 4. Bil-Bil Castle |
5. Parque de la Paloma | 6. Mini golf | 7. Puerto de la Marina

The accommodation was located next to a golf course. Fantastic view of sea and mountain.
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A 12 min. and 2,6 km long cable car ride start from Arroyo de la Miel. It takes you to the summit of Monte Calamorro, 769 m. Fantastic views over the area. A bird show is included in the ticket. Two falconers showed some tricks with eagles and vultures. After the show we decided to hike down. According to the guide it should take approx. 2,5 hours and “the trail start 100 m. down the road to the right”. After followed the trail for some time it suddenly ended and we looked for something that looked like a trail. Ended up at a VERY steep cliff where we agreed to turn back and try descending somewhere else. Found a not so steep and high spot where we managed to climb down. Mickey tried some “pebble surfing” on the hill side :-). With lunch break and the “detour”, it took us 2 hours and 20 min. to return to the start.

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Road trip sightseeing:
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  • We learned that it’s a good idea to take the train from Arroyo de la Miel to visit Malaga. One objective was to visit the Museo Picasso, it turned out to be closed on Mondays. Instead we semi followed a recommended “Trail-of-sights” from the tourist office (Malaga in 8 hours): Calle Larios – Plaza de la Constitucion – the Cathedral – the Roman Theatre – the Alcazaba – HC Andersen –  Plaza de la Marina – the Lighthouse
  • A nice drive south west along the coast way N-340 a few km. takes you to Fuengirola that is a major tourist resort. We visited the Bioparc, a quite small and different zoo. It’s divided into four exhibition areas built to simulate the animals’ natural surroundings.
    Near the Castillio Sohail one could rent a boat on the beach filled with sand for 5 euro. This is used for bbq and the very popular grilled sardines.

  • Inland, a bit up the mountain, 450 m.above sea level, is the small white village Mijas located. Parked the car at the entrance of the village in a big parking house for 1 euro for a day. You can take a donkey taxi or walk around the narrow, cobbled and some times steep streets. Looked at a flamenco show at the town square. Wednesdays at noon. Don’t know if it’s on every day. Other sights we checked out was the El Compas view point and the chapel with small electric “candels”, Plaza de Toros, Calle San Sebastian and the fun (and little strange) Carromato de Max – a miniature museum with a collection of paintings on pin-heads, rice corns and hair, wood carvings on tooth picks etc. E.g. a picture of Abraham Lincoln painted on a pin-head (no photography was allowed).

  • Further down the coast, after about 2 hour drive from Benalamádena, on the Mediterranean Motorway A-7, is Gibraltar. This 6 km2 piece of land is still Brittish tertitory with about 30.000 inhabitants.  The Rock, made of limestone, raises 426 above sea level.
    After driving around the very narrow streets of La Linea, looking for the border, we finally found a parking place near the frontier. “Quite a few” people preferred to drive across, loooong que. At the frontier we bought tickets to the cable car that included bus transport.
    The cable car is from 1966 and takes you to the top in about 6 min. After looking at the stunning views from the top and the many monkeys we walked down, this time on a proper road.
    Back in the center we walked along Main Street checking prices on electronics that we heard should be tax free and much cheaper. We didn’t think that was the case. At the coffee break, I was surprised that the staff  had limited knowledge of the English language.
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Maps
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Photo album on Google Photos

Art tour in Malmö

An art tour organized by Malmö town started at Bagers place during easter 12.00 and 14.00.

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Konstrunda Malmö katalog

[malmo.se/konstrundan]
[List over public art in Malmö]

  1. Non Violance, 1992, Bagers plats,
    Carl Frederik Reuterswärd
  2. Harbour master house, 1835, Bager plats
    Unknown architect
  3. The gate to the continent, 1975, Bagers plats,
    Sven Carlsson
  4. Bagers bridge, 2012, Suellshamnen
    Esbjörn Nordlund
  5. Fishing lady, 1949, Bastion Älvsborg
    Clarens Blum (1897-1984)
  6. Frans Suell, 1915, Norra Vallgatan 70
    Edvard Trulson (1881-1969)
  7. Madonna, 1525/1967
    Replica, the original is at Malmö Museums
  8. Karl X Gustaf, 1896, Stortorget
    John Börjesson (1835-1910)
  9. Square well, 1964, Stortorget
    Stig Blomberg (1901-1970)
  10. The Optimist orchestra, 1985, Södergatan
    Sture Kelfve (1905-1983)
  11. Clock tower, 1970, Kompanigränd
    Sture Kelfve (1905-1983)
  12. Four leaf clover, 1997, Sant Petri kyrka
    Tom Gruen
  13. Memorial for reverent Claus Mortensen, 1967, Sant Petri kyrka
    Thure Thörn (1918-2005)
  14. Picassos sleeping partner, 1983, Bruksgatan
    Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd
  15. Elsewhere, 2010, Citytunneln
    Tanja Ruiz
  16. Spectral Self Container, 2013, Anna Lindhs plats
    Matti Kallionen

See Photo album on Picasa

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Sestriere 2014

March 15-22 I spent in Sestriere, Italy, together with Patrik, Jesper, Casper, Bo and Martin – Team Holst. Thanks to Casper that arranged the trip through Slopetrotter.

We flew Air Berlin to Torino and SAS home from Milano. 1,5 hours transfer from Torino to Sestriere and 3 hours the other way. A “memorable” moment on Air Berlin was the free “sandwich”…

Sestriere is located at 2035 m. above sea level, 17 km from the French border.  It is  a part of the ski area Via Lattea (milky way) that has around 145 skiable pistes, that adds up to approx. 400 km.

Landmarks in town are the two round hotel towers that was built in the 1930’s by the FIAT family for the employees at the car factory in Torino to spend their winter holidays.  It is still a popular winter resort and the population goes from the 800 inhabitants to approx 20.000 during the winter holidays. In 2006 Sestriere was a part of the winter Olympics.

We had 6 days with sun, blue sky and warm weather. First couple of hours during the day the piste was hard, “wash boardish”. The next couple of hours it was nice and soft, sometimes  a bit of spring snow. Some slopes turned a bit too slushy in the afternoon. 

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Open large piste map 

  1. We stayed at the Palace Residence 2 located a bit uphill on the opposite side of the ski lifts.  There was local bus transport every 20 min. in the morning and afternoon.
  2. Great after ski at GFC, Wednesday (after pic-nic :-O ).
  3. Station/Refuge Alpette was until 1986 a middle station for the cable car to the summit. It has a large sun deck and is a great place for a rest and one or two drinks…
  4. Soleil Boeuf is another great place to rest your legs. Large sun deck with fat boys and sofas.
  5. Piste #duemila (2000), one of the favorite piste with great snow, through the forest and not many people.
  6. “The hidden restaurant” Ciao Pais. Even if it’s “hidden” you need to book for lunch…

Gallery:

Sightseeing in Malmö – 2014

A windy and cold Sunday in Januar, my colleague Carl visited Malmö together with his wife. I used the earlier post with sightseeing in Malmö as “template”. This is an updated version with Sibbarp Beach (9), Ribban Kallbadhus (12) and Malmö Central Station (16). You are welcome to use it for inspiration when visiting Malmö.

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  1. Point Hyllie– a new developed site close to Malmö City and Kastrup Airport. It consists of four main buildings comprising approximately 45,000 square metres. They are allocated for housing, offices and shops. The tallest building is about 95 metres high.
     
  2. Malmö Arena– the latest addition to northern Europe’s growing number of modern multi-purpose concert and event venues. Malmö Arena is a premier venue in the Öresund Region for world-class sporting events, concerts, family shows, full-scale conferences and smaller meetings, wining and dining or a quick snack. It can seat a maximum of 15.000 guests. It measure 22.5 m. up to the inner ceiling.
     
  3. Hyllie water tower is white and has the form as mushroom (at the moment getting some make up due to the Euro vision song contest and coz its need it). The light on the tower changes on different occasions. At Christmas it’s red and when there isn’t a special event the light is blue. It’s 62 m tall and contains 10 200 cubic meter water. It was ready 1973. Architect was Kjessler & Mannerstråle through Karl Ivar Stål. A water park is being built close to the tower.
     
  4. Emporia is one of the biggest shopping center in Scandinavia with a total size of 93 000 mfor shopping, food, culture and pleasure in approx. 200 shops, restaurants and cafés on 3 stories and a unique roof park. The two main entrances are spectacular, one is amber theme that symbolized in the logo type.  The other is water theme.
     
  5. The Glass House– “House of brands for good living”. A shop with exclusive scandinavian interior design.
     
  6. Ikea has built  a 44 000 square meter store at Svågertorp. It’s the second largest in the world and was inaugurated 20 October 2009.
     
  7. Limhamns Kalkbrott is approximately 1.300 meters long, 800 meters wide and 65 meters deep. The walk around the quarry is 4 km.
    The mining of the began in 1866 and lasted until 1994. The last explosion was in the late 1980’s. The explosives have shaped the quarry, so it consists of plateaus, called pallets, about 20 meters high and vertical walls. At every blasting, a ton of dynamite was used. There was a loud bang as many locals felt.
    The lime in Limhamns quarry has been formed in a warm sea of between 65-55 million years ago (during the early Tertiary). It consists mainly of deposits from microscopic cuisine liters (algae), bryozoans (moss animals) and corals. In some limestone layers there are plenty of shark teeth. A remnant from a relative of the great white shark, which for millions of years swimming around here along with other now extinct species. Fossils of two crocodiles have also been found in the quarry.
    There are over 1.400 different animals and plants in the limestone quarry. Several species are rare or special in some way. Most notable is the presence of the endangered green spotted toad and “Kalkkrassingen”.
     
  8. Öresund bridge was inaugurated on 1 July 2000. The link between Denmark and Sweden is 15.4 km long and consists of the world’s longest cable-stayed bridge for both rail and motor vehicle traffic, at nearly 8 km. The main span is suspended from four pylons that measure 204 m above the sea level. The best viewing point over the Öresund Bridge is from Lernacken at the Luftkastellet restaurant.
    The Øresund Bridge offers a 4-lane road carrying more than 60,000 travelers daily, 6 million vehicles per year, and two train tracks (another 8 million people each year) e carries . Building the Øresund bridge included construction of a bridge, a tunnel 4 km and a new island where travelers go from tunnel-level (on the Danish side) to the level of the bridge.
     
  9. Sibbarp beach is popular diverse recreational area with beach, camping with snack bar, mini golf, barbecue stones, open-air swimming bath with sauna. There are also large grassed areas with several jetties from which you can jump in the sea.  Not far from Sibbarp’s beach is a small skatepark. From here you have a brilliant view of the Öresund Bridge.
     
  10. Limhamns Småbåtshamn has room for around 1.000 boats and is the biggest of it’s kind in Malmö.
     
  11. Ön (The Island) is situated in Limhamn-Bunkeflo in the southwestern municipality of Malmö. Today there is a land connection between the island and Limhamn, so technically the island is today a peninsula. It used to a harbour for the ferry connection with Dragør in Denmark.
    While limestone mined for cement production in Limhamn’s Kalkbrott (Limestone quarry) the area was used for  dumping of waste products, and thereby laid the foundation for an artificial island.
    In the first half of the 1900’s, various industrial activities has been carried out here: Shipyard and aircraft production. Two of the office buildings and a factory building still stands today and house the school on the island, a convenience store and an aerobics (Friskis & Svettis).
    The island is divided into a northern and a southern part by Övägen. The northern part of the island began to plot in the early 1990’s, with apartment buildings and construction is still in progress. The southern part was settled in the late 1990’s.
     
  12. Ribbersborg Kallbadhus (“Open-air-bath”) also known as Ribban by the older and Kallis by the younger generation, is an open-air public bath on the Ribersborg beach . The bathhouse is open for a skinny dip all the year around and has separate areas for men and women and each area is equipped with two saunas. There is also one mixed sauna  between the ladies and gentlemen’s area. There is a cafe and a restaurant.
    The bath was inaugurated in June 1898 with initiative by C.A. Richter, who bought the old bathhouse at Nyhamn port, which was being sold because of the port’s expansion. Four years later a storm damaged the new bath during Christmas and it was rebuilt. During the refurbishment a diving tower was added to the men’s department, with a view of the strait and the women’s department. During the 1930s it was modernised with nude bathing and confidentiality was added between the departments. In 1966, the City of Malmö purchased the baths. It was again damaged by a storm in 1988 and in 1995 it was declared a historic building.
     
  13. Västra Hamnen (Western Harbour) is Malmö’s new city district attracts people with its exciting architecture, lovely beach promenades and green spaces and a fabulous view over Öresund. An award-winning ecological housing area finished in 2001 for the major European Housing Expo Bo01 is found here. The buildings were designed by several internationally renowned architects including Gert Wingårdh, Ralph Erskine and Mario Campi.
    The neighbourhood is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. Water is also a vital element of the environment, expressed in canals, ponds, small craft marinas and swimming beaches.
    The Western Harbour was once an industrial area where Kockum’s world-famous shipyard operated, now replaced by Malmö University and companies in the IT and telecommunications industries. The dance company Skånes Dansteater is based in one of the vaulted halls, Båghallarna, and an exciting, specially designed concrete skateboarding arena, Stapelbäddsparken has been constructed around one of the old ship ramps.
     
  14. Turning Torso. Architect Santiago Calatrava’s spectacular apartment building in the Western Harbour. At 190 metres, Turning Torso is the tallest building in Sweden. The building was inspired by a sculpture “Turning Torso” by Calatrava himself. Turning Torso consists of nine cubes with a total of 54 stories, with a 90° twist from base to top. The top two floors boast the exclusive meeting rooms of Turning Torso Meetings.
     
  15. Stapelbäddsparken is one of Europe’s largest outdoor skate parks with a surface of 2.000 m2 and is located at Kockums shipyard’s old factory area in the Western Harbour. The old slipway was transformed in 2006 into a modern and important meeting place open to all skateboarding enthusiasts and everyone else too. Here takes the prestigious international skateboarding competitions like The Quicksilver Bowlriders place periodically.
    The park is open 24/7, 365 days a year and it costs nothing to visit or use it. All activity in and around the skate park is operated by Bryggeriet which is also responsible for the cafe in the park.
     
  16. Malmö Central Station opened in 1876. It serves approximately 17 million passengers per year, making it the third busiest in Sweden behind Stockholm Central Station and Gothenburg Central Station. The opening of the City Tunnel in December 2010 made it possible for passenger trains to travel through the station, which had previously been a terminus, and most traffic shifted to the new lower level. All passenger traffic to Denmark now uses the tunnel, and most local trains continue to the new Triangeln and Hyllie stations even if they are not going beyond Malmö. 
     
  17. Malmö St. Petri Church was founded in the early 1300’s. When the church first mentioned in writing in 1346, it had already been consecrated for worship-service. Tradition says that the high altar was consecrated 1319. The church is dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul.
     
  18. Stortorget (Big square) The equestrian statue of King Karl X Gustav, who took Skåne from the Danes through the Roskilde Treaty of 1658, stands in the midst of the largest square in Malmö. Stortorget was built in 1536 at the initiative of Jörgen Kock, Malmö’s powerful mayor and master of the mint. Stortorget became Malmö’s new marketplace and was the largest city square in Northern Europe for a very long time. The city well was located in Stortorget, with the site now marked by a bronze water sculpture. Jörgen Kock built a new and stately city hall as well as a home for himself, Kockska huset next to Stortorget.
     
  19. Max hamburger restaurant started 1968 and is the oldest and most popular hamburger restaurant in Sweden.
     
  20. Lilla torg (Little Square) Malmö’s most charming square and one of the most popular meeting places in the city was built in 1592 as a market square. There are several interesting buildings dating from the 16th century and later around Lilla Torg. Hedmanska Gården is an enclosed courtyard where the oldest half-timbered house dates from the 16th century and the youngest building, a warehouse, is from the late 19th century and is now home to Form/Design Centre, which mounts exhibitions related to design and architecture. Outdoor concerts are held at Hedmanska Gården in July. From March to October Lilla Torg is filled with outdoor restaurants and cafés and the atmosphere is enchanting.
     
  21. Kungsparken (Kings Park) was created 1869-1870 and is Malmö’s oldest park. It was built on land that was formerly part of Malmöhus Castle fortification and was designed by the Danish landscape architect Ove Høegh Hansen. When it opened 1872 the park was originally called Slotsparken (Castle Park).
    The park has a romantic character with examples from the continent’s parks. Here you can enjoy leisure walks, beautiful artwork and exotic trees. The heart of the the park is a cast iron fountain built in 1882.
     
  22. Stadsbiblioteket (Town Library) Sweden’s largest town library, has over 1 million different media, about 1,500 different journals, approximately 10,000 DVD and 33,500 music CDs and was Sweden’s first library to lend video games.
    It’s one of the most intriguing buildings in Malmö situated in Slottsparken. The library consists of two buildings, one older and one newer, that are linked to each other. The new part, which is called the “Calendar of Light” was designed by the notable Danish architect Henning Larsen and opened in 1997. The older section of the library dates from 1899 and was designed by architects John Smedberg and Fredrik Sundbärg.
     
  23. Slottsparken (Castle Park) This wonderful organic garden is situated just behind Malmöhus Castle adjacent to Kungsparken. Fresh-picked vegetables and flowers and exciting plants are available for purchase – and you may get a bit of wise advice from the head gardener. One of Malmö’s smallest and most charming cafés is also found here. The garden and the café are open year round. Concerts, film evenings and other events are held in the summer.
    A “Dutch Mill” from 1851 – is situated next to Slottsträdgården. The area also features a well-preserved miller’s house and garden. This site is a popular place for outdoor concerts and other summertime events.
     
  24. Malmöhus Castle was originally a minor citadel whose construction was ordered in 1434 by Erik of Pomerania, king of the Kalmar Union which brought Norway, Sweden and Denmark together under a single monarch.
    In the 16th century King Christian III of Denmark and Norway rebuilt the citadel to create a modern defensive fortress, an imposing castle and the home of the Governors of Malmöhus County.
    This is where Denmark´s money was coined in the Middle Ages, where Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark held wild parties in the 16th century and where prisoners were decapitated in the castle courtyard during the 19th century when the castle served as a prison. Today Malmöhus has been restored in the spirit of the 16th century and forms part of Malmö Museer. The castle is part of Sweden´s cultural heritage and is managed by the National Property Board.
    The castle presents historical exhibitions. By Order of the King is an exhibition about the 17th-century wars over Skåne and how Skåne became Swedish in 1658. Power over People depicts the history of Malmöhus Castle over the past 300 years.

 

Images – Project 2014

The 2014 project is to work with images in different medias:

  • photography
  • sort, scan and digitizing old and new photos
  • play and learn more Photoshop
  • take up drawing and painting again…

Follow:

Demon Builder
Street art – London by Nathan Bowen

London 2013

Summer vacation 3-10 July.DSC_3897

Easyjet from Kastrup to Gatwick. Hold luggage only, no check in. One hold luggage really means ONE, no camera or “man purse” on the side. I had booked the tickets with Ingo Johansson and that what it said on the boarding pass. It says Ingvar Johansson in the passport, not smart. It cost normally DKK 720 to change it but the assistant was very nice and changed free of charge, thanks a lot for that!

Took the regular train, Southern, from Gatwick to Victoria Station (when we finally found the right platform and train). Takes little longer than the Express but is half price. Buy a train ticket that include day pass on the tube. Approx £15/pers. Continued with the underground from Victoria to Oxford Circus and then it was only a few minutes walk to the flat at Dufours Place (had problems finding that too, tip: get a proper map from the start ;-).

Booked the flat via airbnb.com. It had two bedroom, two toilets, a large living room area incl. kitchen and a balcony. Prime location:

  • 1 min. walk to Carnaby Street
  • 2 min. walk to Oxford Street
  • 5 min. walk to Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and China Town
  • 10 min. walk to Trafalgar Square and The National Gallery
  • 15 min. walk to Buckingham Palace
  • 20 min. walk to Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye
The sightseeing: 
3 July [Map over the route]

  • China Town
  • Piccadilly Circus
  • M & M’s world at Leicester Square, 4 floors with M&M’s accessories and the scent of the candy!!!
  • Trafalgar Square. Watching young and old climbing the lion statues etc.
  • The Mall
Mickey at Trafalgar Square
4 July [Map over the route]

  • Window shopping along Oxford Street
  • Hyde park with speakers corner and chipmunks
  • Walked along Piccadilly (the street) to find a Burger King. Finally, found one at Leicester Square
  • Covent Garden with shops, restaurants and street artists
Covent Garden
5 July [Map over the route]

  • Tottenham Court Road where we visited CEX, a second hand gaming and mobile phone shop
  • Homemade chicken sandwich lunch at the lake in Regents Park
  • Baker Street, look at that line to Sherlock Holmes Museum!!!
  • In the evening we took tube Piccadilly Circus to Waterloo Station to meet Roma
  • Dinner at OXO Tower restaurant. Fantastic place, service, food and view.
  • Walked back on Southbank and Huntingdon Bridge, heading home
View from OXO Tower Restaurant
6 July [Map over the route]

  • Camden Market
    (Close encounter with black man, he thought I took many photos of his daughters and should publish them on the internet!!. He called the police etc. Puha…I was innocent, he was weird…)
  • Walked along the river to Primrose Hill where we had homemade chicken sandwich lunch (again) with beautiful view over the London skyline
  • Walk through Regent Park with beautiful gardens and large play fields
  • Portland Street and finally Carnaby Street
Camden
7 July [Map over the route]

  • The Mall to Buckingham Palace. Watched the changing of guards, good timing 🙂
  • Westminister with RINGING BELLS!! kept on and on and on…
  • Big Ben
  • Took a River Thames cruise to Tower Bridge and Tower of London
  • Walked the Murder Mystery Trail. Great fun and came around some interesting places
  • Met Sandra and walked back along north bank to Westminister
  • Finished with dinner at an Italian restaurant of Regent Street. Served by nice Swedish waitress called Linn
Buckingham Palace
8 July [Map over the route]

  • Took the buss from Piccadilly Circus to South Kensington
  • Visited V&A museum to see a David Bowie exhibition but far tooo long line…
  • Went to Harrods and looked at all the glitter and fancy electronics
  • Lunch at Serpentine, Hyde Park, (yes, chicken sandwich 😉 and looked at the BST set up
  • Buss to Tottenham Court to pick up the tickets at Dominion Theater
  • Visited a Carphone shop where Mickey found the Nexus 7 for £179
  • After refreshing at the flat we went back to Dominion Theater for We will rock you, AWESOME!! 😀
    (good idea to have picked up the tickets before, another line…)
We Will Rock You - Dominion Theater
9 July [Map over the route]

  • Started by visiting the mega toy store Hemley’s
  • Walked along Regent Street to Piccadilly Circus and then to Leicester square for lunch, Pret a Manger
  • Saw Despicable Me 2, 3D, Empire 1, 1000 seats. Great experience
  • Went for dinner at Five guys, Burgers and fries. Good timing, looong line when we came out
  • Watched Hangover in the flat
Hamleys
10 July

  • Mickey bought the Nexus 7 at the Carphone Shop, Oxford Street. Tried to bargain, 2 for £320, but no 🙁
  • Packed and waited…
  • Tube Oxford Circus – Victoria Station. Got the refund from Oyster cards at Victoria tube station
  • Train, Southern, to Gatwick
  • Plenty of time and the flight delayed approx. 30 min, dep. 17.55
  • The End
London

Tips:

  • Get an Oyster card. Deposit £5. Fill up the card. You get the deposit and the amount not used on the card refunded when you return the card at a tube station.
  • lastminute.com, discount tickets or buy them at Piccadilly Circus

Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, 2012

map
Week #44, 2012, autumn holiday for Swedish schools, Mickey and I went to Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt. The holiday theme was snorkeling in the Red Sea.
The Maritim Golf Resort We traveled with Atlantisrejser and stayed at Jolie Ville Maritim Golf Hotel & Resort. A very nice resort located on the edge to the Red Sea and 15 min bus ride from the airport and approx 7 km north of Naama Bay.
Hotel jetty
The resort doesn’t have a “normal” beach. It has a couple of jetties sticking out over the coral reef and end at the reef wall. A stair leads down to a fantastic underwater world.
The "beach" The “beach” area is built up in levels with beach beds and umbrellas. It’s a rustique, marine like style that I found suited the area well.High heels and other walking obsticales could be a challenge with many stairs, sand and cobble stone.
Underwater world I was surprised that even since the hotel was from ’97 the reef was ok “healthy” with lots of colorful fish and coral. A life guard on each jetty was also efficient to whistle when people didn’t behave and went outside marked area etc.
Mickey snorkeling The actual reef is a approx 8 m deep wall. We saw lots of different fish along the 200 m, incl. Lionfish, Napoleon fish, Bannerfish etc.
Lazy River The pool area was big with a “lazy river”, a 300 m long “river” that was “running” in a circle around the pool area.
Naama Bay We took the hotel shuttle bus to Naama Bay one afternoon and walked around the main street and board walk.Very loud and busy with the different bars competing who could play the worst music as loud as possible. The Egyptian sales men are VERY eager and like glue to you. Learned that you shouldn’t even say “no thank you” insted totally ignore them…Had dinner at restaurant Dannaneer, that was recommended by the guide. Nice and cheap steaks.
Jeep safari Tuesday was Jeep safari. Offroad through the dessert with an exciting driver that preffered the off offroad.First stop was a Bedouin graveyard where the guide, Rasmus, told some stories. For instance how marriage works: From when the daughter is 13 years old, the father puts a green flag on the door. Interested men visit the home. The daughter make and serve tea to the man. If the tea is sweet he is approved, if the tea is bitter and strong it’s a “no go”…
Dahab Second stop was Dahab where we should pick up snorkeling gear to the ones that didn’t had any.These houses the government built for the Bedouins some 4 years ago. Many of the Bedouins prefer to live their own life in tents and home made sheds like they always had. Half of the houses are empty and the area is not finished and looks like some sort of ghost town.
Camel ride
camel scarf
Third stop was a camel ride to the Blue Hole.One of the myths about camels is that the camel stores water in its hump. The truth is the hump is a fatty deposit that provides energy when food is scarce.The camel stores water in its blood stream. It’s capable of losing forty percent of its body’s weight before becoming distressed and is able to go five to seven days before having to drink. The amount it drinks can add up to 80 l. in about 10 minutes.The camel’s mouth is tough and rubbery so that thorns and branches won’t damage it. The thirty-four sharp teeth allow it to bite off tough bites of almost anything, and when forage is short a camel can subsist on meats, skin and bones. Camels have three stomachs. They don’t chew their food but eat by swallowing their food whole and allowing it to be partially digested by the stomachs before being chewed as a cud later.
 The Blue Hole The Blue Hole is a very special place. I thought it was out in the sea but no, it’s just a couple of meters off the beach. A coral reef formed as a circle with a 120 meter hole in the middle.In the middle there is a rope across where free divers train and try to get as deep as possible. Some succed some doesn’t. On the cliff wall there are signs with the names of the ones that didn’t come up again and is still lying on the bottom of the hole. It’s has the nickname “Diver’s Cemetery”.We passed the signs and walked around the cliff on the image. There we started the snorkel tour. Ended with circle the Blue Hole and on the right side there is a underwater plateau that was beautiful.
The 3 Pools Last stop on this adventures day was The 3 Pools just out side Dahab. also here the reef was just of the beach. One of our favorites was the “tower corals”. Highrise coral reef sticking up from the bottom. Lots of activity and fantastic colors.
Gordon Reef Thursday we went on a snorkel/diving boat trip with Colona Divers. Leaving early in the morning to Sharks Bay were we entered the boat that should take us out to 3 different reefs in the Tiran straight.This image is from Gordon reef where this russian ship collided with the reef some 11 years ago coz the captain had too much vodka.We also visited Jackson reef and Raz Gamilla. At the last one we had a drift snorkel tour that  was a fantastic experience. We jumped from the boat at one end of the reef while the boat still was drifting. The current took us floating along the reef for an hour and all we had to do was to “steer” so we didn’t hit the reef. We saw Barracuda, free swimming Moray eel (apparently very unusual), giant Puffer fish and lots of other fish.

View the photo gallery on Picasa Web

Video from the Jeep Safari

Slide show