Sunday morning I met up with my friend Jenni for a walk on Norra Djurgården. We met some equestrians, some sheep, a few geese, and a couple of cows along the way. It was a part of the city I had never visited, and it's quite lovely.
By the way, the story of how Jenni and I met is interesting and it involves my brother Ethan. Three years ago, when Ethan visited me here in Stockholm, we took a walk on Södermalm to see the lovely views of Kungsholmen and Gamla Stan from the cliffs overlooking Södermalarstrand. At one of the scenic overlooks, I asked a couple of girls there to take a picture of us. We chatted a bit with the girls and I exchanged contact info with them. I have kept in touch with both of them, and one of them is Jenni.
Jenni is busy writing her senior thesis for college, so she doesn't often have much time for socializing. So I was glad to get a chance to visit with her. Here are all the photos from our walk.
2007-05-20
A walk on Norra Djurgården
2007-05-19
Party girls at Gamla Stan
On the way back home Saturday night, I snapped this shot of a bunch of cute girls on their way to a party. By coincidence the party was in my very own neighborhood, so we chatted a bit on the subway. Well girls, how was the party?
Dinner with Lotta
Saturday evening I took the cats to Lotta's place and joined her for a bit of dinner. Alex and Sahsa will stay with “mommie” for a while, because I'll be going to the U.S. for a friend's wedding next month.
2007-05-18
Friday night at Gröna Lund
Friday night I went to Gröna Lund with friends. Daniel, Jenny, Maria and Johan joined me for a few beers, a few roller coaster rides, and some midway games. Here are all of my photos from the evening.
And for a trip down memory lane, take a look at this photo of my brother Ethan on the freefall tower at Gröna Lund three years ago.
Dancing is fun
Thursday evening after the climb I went to the salsa social at Chicago on Södermalm. My old rueda friend Linda was there, and we danced a lot. She's such a good dancer, and always has a smile on her face. Hi, Linda!
Obviously I was having fun too. I don't remember what I was laughing about, but dancing sometimes does that to ya. Here are the rest of the photos from Thursday night!
A quick climb or two at Häggsta
Thursday was a holiday here in Sweden (Ascension Day), so I went to the cliffs and Häggsta and did some ascending of my own. Lisa, Matt, Christer and Marie joined me. It was cool and windy, but we made the best of it. I climbed a 50-m cliff, probably the tallest cliff I've ever climbed. It wasn't such a lovely day, so I took only this one photo.
2007-05-17
Dancing with Mia at La Isla
On Wednesday I went to La Isla for a bit of salsa dancing. I danced with lots of great dancers, including Mia, a girl I've known through the Stockholm salsa community for a few years, and whom I've recently got to know a bit better. Sacuye dancer Rafael took this fun photo of the two of us dancing. Wednesday also marked the return to Stockholm of Alexandra, a good friend who has been away for several months traveling in Central America. Welcome back, Alexandra!
Here are all 28 photos from the night.
2007-05-16
Another first
Last night I finally conquered this fun bouldering problem on the downstairs wall at Klättercenret. I had tried to do it on my past three visits to KC, but had not succeeded until last night. The problem consists of just crimpy grips so it requires a lot of hand strength. It's the first white-graded bouldering problem I've done. There are four basic grades of bouldering problem at most of the climbing gyms in Stockholm:
blue — easy
red — intemediate
black — difficult
white — very difficult
Of course there are still some red- and black-graded problems that I have trouble with. It just depends on the problem.
I saw several friendly faces at KC, including Anna, Zindy, Marie, and Lisa. An English fellow named Ian was also there. I had him met there before once or twice, and we climbed together for a while — he's really good.
Here are the 54 photos from the evening.
2007-05-14
Sofia Ullman at Mosebacke
Sunday night I went down to Södermalm to listen to Sofia Ullman and her band, who played a concert at Mosebacke.
I met Sofia while salsa dancing at Container back in January. Actually, I think I had danced with her even years ago, but sometimes I dance with someone five or six times and on several different occasions before I learn her name. Now that I think about it, I believe that's what happened with Sofia too. She and I had danced together many times but had not really talked until that evening in January.
Sometimes that's how it goes. If the music is loud and the place is crowded, one may dance with lots of people, but it may not be easy to have a conversation with any of them. Also, I usually have to choose between doing fancy dance moves and having a conversation. Or sometimes, I'll alternate between the two, doing a few complicated (and exhausting) moves, and then catching my breath and chatting a bit, while doing a few simpler moves.
Sofia's concert was a lot of fun, with a good mix of different musical styles. I especially liked her ballad It Matters Now, on which Sofia sang and played piano — creative and musical. You can listen to some of Sofia's music at her web site. I have posted eight photos from the concert.
Cherry blossoms at sunset
On the way (coming or going — I don't remember), I snapped this photo of the cherry blossoms on the tree outside the front door of my apartment building. The sun was just about to set in the West, and the blossoms were illuminated from behind. Lovely!
Back from Uppsala
Sunday afternoon I caught the train back from Uppsala. It's a quick 40-minute trip, but I was so tired from the hike (and the champagne!) that I actually slept a bit on the train.
I met a nice girl on the subway. I asked her about her earphones (they looked like the Shure earphones I've read about and my iPod's earphones are in need of replacements). Then we started talking about photography, and I showed her some of the pictures I had taken in Uppsala.
I believe her name was Lovisa. Hej, Lovisa!
2007-05-13
Hiking in the woods near Uppsala
This morning, I caught the 9:10 train to Uppsala and met up with my friend Rebecca. We bought a picnic lunch and then joined two of ther friends, Markus and Lina, at the square in the middle of the town.
We caught a bus from there to the outskirts of the city, and began a 13 kilometer hike through the woods. We stopped at a log cabin for lunch, and then stopped again to enjoy the bottle of champagne that I'd concealed in my backpack. Actually, we had champagne and mimosas, ’cause I had some fresh-squeezed orange juice in my backpack too. I didn't endure years of boy-scouting for nothing: I come prepared, baby!
I took a bunch of photos on the hike, and naturally posted the one here that shows me with two cute girls. All 23 photos from today's hike are online for your viewing pleasure.
2007-05-12
Dowhill biking at Ekerö Bike Park
Today I joined Patric for a bit of downhill biking on the lovely island of Ekerö, just West of Drottningholm. We had a blast and I posted 64 great photos from the day.
We biked at Ekerö Bike Park, using the ski lift to ride to the top, and then riding down on a narrow trail that snaked through the woods. I was really impressed by the number of talented riders on the trail. A girl named Lina was there too, and she was faster than many of the guys! You go, girl!
The trail was a bit steep in a few places, and I noticed that I had a tendency to tilt forward over the handlebars. I lowered my bike seat as far as it would go, but it was still to high and I wasn't able to get my body low enough to ride the steep sections safely. The design of my bike makes it impossible to lower the seat beyond a certain point, because the rear shock absorber is in the way.
After a few frustrating runs, I ended up sawing off a few inches from my seat post. There was a little workshop at the bottom of the slope, and I was able to use their hacksaw and metal file to shorten the seat post. After lowering the saddle a bit, I had a lot more control on the hill.
Next time I'll take a few more inches off the seat post. I think I'll also try with regular flat pedals instead of SPD pedals. SPD pedals are great for uphill and cross-country riding, but they're a bit too confining for fast downhill runs. It's nice to be able to put one's foot down when sliding around a steep turn, and clip-in pedals make that difficult. Finally, I need to get some pads! I dared not go fast, because I wasn't wearing any protection aside from my helmet.
Oh, that reminds me — I need to chat with the folks at Specialized and see what can be done about my “Deviant” full-face helmet. After just a few rides with the new helmet, the inside part came unglued from the shell. Very odd.
Today's ride was a lot of fun, and I look forward to going back to Ekerö soon! For discussion about today's ride (in Swedish), visit happymtb.org.
2007-05-11
Flower photos from last summer
DSCN0421 Hosted on ZooomrI'm trying out Zooomr again. Here are some photos I took of flowers last summer using my old Nikon CoolPix 4500.
Fun bouldering Thursday night
I did my usual Thursday climbing at Klättercentret last night and took 27 photos. Here, Jessica attempts a fun & tricky problem on the downstairs bouldering wall. This is the first white-graded bouldering problem I've attempted. It's crimpy (it consists mostly small grips that are held with just the fingertips) and pumpy (it requires lots of arm strength, in part because it's an overhang). I think I just might be able to tackle this one when I return to KC tonight.
2007-05-09
Matt & Lisa back from Pembroke
2007-05-07
Solid! @ GMC
Monday night, climbing buddy Daniela joined me for a couple of beers at Glenn Miller Café downtown. There, the Norwegian jazz band Solid! played their own brand of improvisational jazz. They played riffs that weren't quite in sync, but came back together after a few bars. Interesting stuff, but it takes concentration to listen to. Here are the 8 photos from the evening.
2007-05-06
Climbing with Åsa at Häggsta
On Sunday I joined Åsa and friends at Häggsta for a bit of climbing. It was cool and windy, but the sun was shining. We had a great time, and climbed a new route that involves a little overhang. Fun!
Check out the 47 photos from the day!
2007-05-05
A bit of climbing.
I have been doing a lot of climbing lately. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I climbed indoors at Klättercentret. Friday evening, Linda H. and I climbed some tricky routes at KC. We both managed to make our way up a very challenging 7a-graded route on the left side of the tall climbing wall. That was the first time I had attempted a 7a. A bit later, I struggled up a 7b too. Yay!
Anna F. took this great photo of me tackling a red-graded bouldering problem on Saturday afternoon. After Anna left for work, I tried the tricky 7a from the day before. With Kjell's help and encouragement, I did it again, even more smoothly and quickly than the first time.
We took 50 photos in all on Saturday. Take a look!
2007-05-03
Salsa social at Chicago on Thursday
Thursday I went to Chicago for a bit of salsa dancing. I danced with lots of great dancers, incuding Mona Lisa, pictured above. She's returning to dancing after having her first child. Way to go, Mona Lisa!
Check out the 26 photos from the evening.