Here we go! Two weeks behind, so I'm going to mostly post photos here again :)
Another week of beautiful weather, and so I found myself going everywhere I could outdoors in order to enjoy while it lasted.
There's a new group of buskers trying out a mariachi-style performance in the metro. Two guys with guitars and one with an accordion, singing Spanish love songs. But I have to admit, they were actually good. I'm surprised how talented some of these buskers are.
My penguin likes to show up in every blog post :P
It was global week at KTH, and so there were a lot of lectures free to attend if we'd signed up ahead of time (and, of course, they lost my registration, but let me in when I showed them the email confirmation I'd received). Free sandwiches and juice boxes, so there was nothing to lose. I went to one on global entrepreneurship and got to learn how cashews are harvested and processed and then imported to Sweden. Hence the wild cashews in the photo below (yes, that is what they look like).
On Friday was the English language café, and while I'd skipped German to go to the entrepreneurship lecture, I forwent the creativity lecture on Friday in favour of helping out with English. And it was a good thing I went, as neither of the two official volunteers were able to make it, and so I set up and cleaned up this time. (Since then, I've actually taken an official position as well, since one of the volunteers could no longer participate.)
A group of us at the end of the English language café decided to go to a Balkan music concert that night, and so we agreed to meet up at the venue, which offered free admission before 8 pm. It was in Hornstull at a waterside bar with a stage, and it was definitely worth going to.
Below: Hornstull
On Saturday, there was another group walk. I was extraordinarily late, and so I went on my own to meet up with them (and arrived at a meeting point an hour later). They had gone through Lilla Frösunda, whereas I'd plowed straight through the residential district in Solna instead on my way to Hagaparken :P However, I still took a lot of really nice photos.
Below: Solna and Hagaparken (those of you who have me as a friend on Facebook have already seen this album, most likely)
I accidentally ended up in a cul-de-sac of sorts in an apartment complex, so I took a photo of this flower before leaving.
The graveyard nearby the park.
A small children's "palace" area, where the children of the royals once played, but which is now apparently open to the public.
And here, we have the contrast between some really old unfinished palace walls and some modern graffiti :P
Rumour has it that the noises of the palace construction can still be heard to this day, if one dares to stake out a night here.
Overhead view of the dungeons. I find it interesting how one can see the network of how they were built simply by standing above them, as they were never finished and filled in. The history was that the workers who were building them had defected from the Russian army. But since defecting soldiers can still never be trusted (according to the belief at the time), they were "accidentally" all pushed down the steep hillside and plummeted to their deaths. There was no real need for a palace, either, as the king had been beheaded. And that is where the ghost stories originate from, as I recall I was told.
People were having fun feeding the ducks. Our group didn't, but a few other parkgoers had brought bread crumbs with them.
"The Grotto" (Swedish: "Grottan"), a man-made cave full of what seems to be stagnant water.
The "Chinese" Temple, commissioned to be built to resemble a Chinese temple. If, at first, you don't succeed... Well, just leave the structure there. :P
The Turkish Temple... which, incidentally, was actually designed and/or built by a Turk. As such, "Turkish" needn't be in quotes.
The emergency helicopter that landed in the park. In fact, there were several helicopters circling around the area, although it wasn't quite clear what they were all doing.
And this marks the end of the photos from Solna/Hagaparken :)
Sunday was, again, the Hötorget market. Apparently, they set up on Saturdays as well. I've just never gone to see who has booths up on Saturdays, so maybe I'll look next weekend while the weather lasts.
I ended up taking the tunnelbana in the hopes of finding a guitar case (since my guitar still had no external protection whatsoever), and explored the area between S:t Eriksplan and Fridhemsplan because there was one music store still open by the time I had arrived. I managed to find a guitar case and also check out the other things in the shop before it closed.
That night, we had a corridor dinner planned, where everyone cooked food to share. I think it turned out really well, and we got to talk more with one another. "Corridormate bonding", one might call it. Everyone's food was great (although I still don't think I put enough curry in the couscous), and we agreed to schedule another one perhaps this month.
I don't have so much to post for Week 40, so I will likely get it done sooner than how long it took me to post this one!
/The Swedish Fish
Another week of beautiful weather, and so I found myself going everywhere I could outdoors in order to enjoy while it lasted.
There's a new group of buskers trying out a mariachi-style performance in the metro. Two guys with guitars and one with an accordion, singing Spanish love songs. But I have to admit, they were actually good. I'm surprised how talented some of these buskers are.
My penguin likes to show up in every blog post :P
It was global week at KTH, and so there were a lot of lectures free to attend if we'd signed up ahead of time (and, of course, they lost my registration, but let me in when I showed them the email confirmation I'd received). Free sandwiches and juice boxes, so there was nothing to lose. I went to one on global entrepreneurship and got to learn how cashews are harvested and processed and then imported to Sweden. Hence the wild cashews in the photo below (yes, that is what they look like).
On Friday was the English language café, and while I'd skipped German to go to the entrepreneurship lecture, I forwent the creativity lecture on Friday in favour of helping out with English. And it was a good thing I went, as neither of the two official volunteers were able to make it, and so I set up and cleaned up this time. (Since then, I've actually taken an official position as well, since one of the volunteers could no longer participate.)
A group of us at the end of the English language café decided to go to a Balkan music concert that night, and so we agreed to meet up at the venue, which offered free admission before 8 pm. It was in Hornstull at a waterside bar with a stage, and it was definitely worth going to.
Below: Hornstull
The Balkan dance group was very talented. They sang and performed elaborate traditional dances from Serbia, Bulgaria and other Balkan states. However, all of us were startled when the girls screamed like banshees (which is a part of the song, but we were not expecting that at all- especially those of us standing right at the front). Aside from that, it was superb.
Surprisingly, the performing orchestra, Süperstar Orkestar, is actually Swedish. However, they perform Balkan songs (and even "Balkanised" some modern pop songs) and are quite successful, from what I hear. Their performance was well worth seeing and hearing!
The place turned back into a nightclub once Süperstar Orkestar had finished its performance; however, the DJ kept up the Balkan music for the night. I'm honestly surprised how popular the genre is here- a lot of it is very good music, at least in my opinion, but I never expected it to be so popular in Sweden.
On Saturday, there was another group walk. I was extraordinarily late, and so I went on my own to meet up with them (and arrived at a meeting point an hour later). They had gone through Lilla Frösunda, whereas I'd plowed straight through the residential district in Solna instead on my way to Hagaparken :P However, I still took a lot of really nice photos.
Below: Solna and Hagaparken (those of you who have me as a friend on Facebook have already seen this album, most likely)
I accidentally ended up in a cul-de-sac of sorts in an apartment complex, so I took a photo of this flower before leaving.
This was a park where a lot of people seemed to be enjoying the splendid weather.
Entrance to the graveyard.
The graveyard nearby the park.
I crossed the overpass that went above the motorway.
And here is the start to Hagaparken.
I finally met up with the group here!
A small children's "palace" area, where the children of the royals once played, but which is now apparently open to the public.
In a nutshell... don't climb on anything you shouldn't. :P
And here, we have the contrast between some really old unfinished palace walls and some modern graffiti :P
Rumour has it that the noises of the palace construction can still be heard to this day, if one dares to stake out a night here.
And thus we began the descent into the dungeons.
It wasn't nearly as long as it may have seemed.
I switched my camera mode to "Vivid" just to see how bright the colours would get :P
More "modern art". :P
Overhead view of the dungeons. I find it interesting how one can see the network of how they were built simply by standing above them, as they were never finished and filled in. The history was that the workers who were building them had defected from the Russian army. But since defecting soldiers can still never be trusted (according to the belief at the time), they were "accidentally" all pushed down the steep hillside and plummeted to their deaths. There was no real need for a palace, either, as the king had been beheaded. And that is where the ghost stories originate from, as I recall I was told.
A fire pit, which can be used by the brave souls who choose to camp here overnight. ;)
Puffy flower things.
Newlyweds taking a photoshoot in the Temple of Echoes (oops).
Windy days such as this are perfect conditions for flying kites.
Old etchings into one of the posts of the Temple of Echoes.
People were having fun feeding the ducks. Our group didn't, but a few other parkgoers had brought bread crumbs with them.
"The Grotto" (Swedish: "Grottan"), a man-made cave full of what seems to be stagnant water.
The "Chinese" Temple, commissioned to be built to resemble a Chinese temple. If, at first, you don't succeed... Well, just leave the structure there. :P
The Turkish Temple... which, incidentally, was actually designed and/or built by a Turk. As such, "Turkish" needn't be in quotes.
The emergency helicopter that landed in the park. In fact, there were several helicopters circling around the area, although it wasn't quite clear what they were all doing.
On our way out from the park, there was yet another helicopter overhead.
And this marks the end of the photos from Solna/Hagaparken :)
Sunday was, again, the Hötorget market. Apparently, they set up on Saturdays as well. I've just never gone to see who has booths up on Saturdays, so maybe I'll look next weekend while the weather lasts.
I ended up taking the tunnelbana in the hopes of finding a guitar case (since my guitar still had no external protection whatsoever), and explored the area between S:t Eriksplan and Fridhemsplan because there was one music store still open by the time I had arrived. I managed to find a guitar case and also check out the other things in the shop before it closed.
That night, we had a corridor dinner planned, where everyone cooked food to share. I think it turned out really well, and we got to talk more with one another. "Corridormate bonding", one might call it. Everyone's food was great (although I still don't think I put enough curry in the couscous), and we agreed to schedule another one perhaps this month.
I don't have so much to post for Week 40, so I will likely get it done sooner than how long it took me to post this one!
/The Swedish Fish
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