Skating to Sollentuna

_MAL9144, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Coco from Lindy hop dancing (and the party on Friday) joined me for a skate on Edsviken, from Ulriksdal up to Sollentuna and back again. The idea was that we would meet Maria, Susanna & Johan on the ice and skate with them. But somehow we missed one another. So instead, we skated separately and then met up later at the cafe at Ulriksdals Slott.

Skating on Edsviken

PICT0005, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

This afternoon Lotta and I went skating on Edsviken. The ice was quite good, and there was no wind. Although it had been overcast this morning, the sun came out after midday and we had a nice skate around the 18-km track plowed in the snow atop the frozen lake surface.

By coincidence, I ran into Maria on the way. I met her on the bus to Idre last weekend. She lives on the other side of the water from my neighborhood and was out for a walk on the ice. It's a small world!

Lotta had her lovely 7-megapixel Sony camera with her, so I hope to have more photos tomorrow.

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.