This evening I walked over to the student dormitory area near Stockholm University, about a twenty-minute walk from my home.

There I met my friend Jenni (center) and some of her friends for dinner. Johanna (left) fixed some lovely Polish dumplings stuffed with potato, onion, and cheese. Miho (right) is an education student from Japan.

I also met Xavier from Poitiers and Mike from Philadelphia/Hawaii.

The walk back home was cool and misty.

Excellent bike ride

Today I went for a nice long bike ride with Lotta, Elina, & Petter. As soon as I headed out the door, the sky opened up and slushy hail began to fall on me. I had a lightweight waterproof windbreaker on though, so I managed the hail without difficulty. We biked up North of the city to Häggvik, where we made a little loop through Järvafältet. Storm clouds moved in from the South just as we arrived at a little cafe.

Here's the cafe. I had a brie & salami sandwich and a cup of coffe.

We timed it just right, sheltering in the cafe while the rainclouds passed. Here Petter makes sure it's safe to venture outside again.

Along the way we passed a pasture with a bunch of longhorns!

Hi, Mom!

The sun shone for us most of the afternoon. I managed to convince Petter & Elina to slow down long enough for me to catch this photo.

And here's the gang pausing somewhere in the neighborhood of Akalla & Husby.

Now it's time for dinner — beef with onions, capsicum, red chilis & red curry sauce.

Sunrise

This morning I went for a walk at dawn.

The first rays of sunlight were just reaching the tops of the apartment buildings when I began my walk.

The building on the right is the one where Lotta & I lived the first three years after I moved to Sweden. Our apartment was the top on on the lower part of the building, on the right side.

The morning sunlight can be quite marvelous here.

I walked under the highway to Stocksundstorp, climbed the embankment, and saw the sun peeking over the trees.

Cedergrenska tornet was also visible from up on the rise.

I continued walking, down the hill and toward Bockholmen. I saw two mallards at the water. They apparently are accustomed to being fed by people, because they investigated me when I approached the water.



The sunrise was absolutely gorgeous.

Just blocking the sun was Cedergrenska tornet.

I walked on to the docks by the bridge to Bockholmen. The sunlight was beginning to reach the far side of the water.

I walked over the footbridge to Bockholmen, and walked across the small island and down to the small dock below the restaurant. The light changed from minute to minute and I was lucky to be there at just the right time to catch some amazing moments.

Here is Lilla Värtan. Beyond lies the Baltic Sea.

By the time I left the dock, the sky had become much brighter, and the sunlight forged vivid colors out of everything.

Here is a gasoline station for motorboats.

Bockholmen Restaurant, where Ethan and I had dinner when he visited a few years ago.

Looking back to the North I saw the bridge from Bergshamra (left) to Danderyd (right). Edsviken lies beyond the bridge.

I took one last photo of the tower before leaving the Bockholmen.

There were several men fishing on the dock.

They probably chose this place because it is where water flows through a narrow channel from Brunnsviken into Lilla Värtan. The channel is called Ålkistan and you can see it in this photo. Brunnsviken lies on the other side, upstream.

As I turned to walk back home, I noticed that the sun had risen fully over the trees. It promised to be a beautiful morning.

Freshly squeezed screwdriver

Tonight I made a drink of freshly-squeezed orange & lemon juice, and a dash of Stoli. Yum!

The new wall at Klättercentret, again

Tonight I went for a bike ride in the woods near my home. I brought my climbing gear with me, and at the end of my ride went over to the climbing gym. I managed to climb two routes on the new 13m wall, and took this photo from near the top.

The new wall sticks up through what used to be the roof of the building. The new windows let in sunlight, and provide a view to the climbers (as well as to anyone having lunch on the deck outside!).

I met some nice folks there tonight and climbed a bit with them. They are Lisa, Erik & Isabel. Isabel is a botany postdoc from Spain.

It was a fun and exhausting evening.
Tomorrow is a holiday here in Sweden, but I will have to go to the office anyway to complete some paperwork. I hope to complete it early so that I can go for a longer bike ride in the afternoon

Yesterday evening Lotta and I went biking in Järvafältet. It was relatively dry despite the rainshowers earlier in the day. The trail was quite challenging — very steep at times and often covered with a layer of loose pine needles and dirt. The ride was exhausting and exhilerating!

This morning it was cloudy and rainy, but the sun shone for a while during the afternoon. I saw this rainbow to the East.

I went biking in the woods near Ulriksdals slott.

The sun came out again, but just for a little while.

Because of the thick canopy of pine trees, the sunlight fell only on small patches of the forest floor. I took this photo in one of them. :)

After returning from Ulriksdal, I rode down to the rocks by Brunnsviken and waited for the sun to peek through the clouds again. I took this photo of the Natural History Museum across the lake.

Here's the pink villa in Hagaparken.

And the SAS headquarters.

There was a bank of clouds blocking the sun, but I could see sunbeams coming down In the distance. I waited for the clouds to move ouf of the way.

Almost showtime.

Sunbeams over Järvafältet.

Two geese flew by, squawking the whole way.

I went down closer to the water to catch more of the light on the water.

Finally the sun shone through the clouds.

This is the place where I often picnic in the summer.

Greetings from Brunnsviken!

The sunshine lasted only a few minutes.

Then, as quickly as it has appeared, the sun disappeared again behind the clouds moving in from the West. It was a short but sweet sunset.