Showing posts with label scandinavia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scandinavia. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Stockholm, Sweden: Retro Maximalism Over Minimal Modernism?

Scenic views of Lake Mälaren from the City Hall

Stockholm may have failed to win me over as a wandering traveler-not that boho, not that edgy, not that picturesque-, but it has certainly managed to capture my creative imagination in the details: Meditative chill-out cafes and delis with coal-coloured liquorice pop-corn. Floating hideaways with beer and beat-laden perks. Vintage corners with famously saltry pin-ups and vinyl retro-treasures. Despite its modern minimalist reputation, it was the luscious traces of decades past that, unwittingly, drew me in the most.

This is Stockholm, not through the eyes of a bedazzled visitor, but a corky collector with a moving camera.

Soundtrack: Carnival by The Cardigans


Gigantic chance to source that bargain T-Rex 7-inch
Heavenly hideaway packed with alcohol
Leafy turn on the way to the trendy cafes of Sodermalm

Glamorous corners @ Borgs Bageri
  
Beyond Retro

Coctail of colours in Sodermalm

Where Batman gets his morning double-shot - and Wonderwoman her morning cakes

Pin-up central


The multi-hued alleys of Gamla stan
Holy cow!

Scandi-cool hostess

Seaside escapes in Stockholm are just a stone's throw away


(Night)butterfly living

The sex, the horror!

The Blue Lotus Cafe - Veggie and other delights in Sodermalm


The voice of a generation drowned
Twilight in the big city
Market under the bridge

Cutie ceramics and the kitchen sink in Gamla Stan

Light shining over the laid-back gardens of the City Hall
Bookworm @ the Public Library

From Stockholm with Looove

Scandi-mamma's sweet sins @ Borgs Bageri
Don't-Really-Know-What-That-Is-But-It's-Got-Style

Buttwise shopping in Gamla stan

Postcards from the Scandi-house

Nineteen Neon

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Oslo, Norway: To Ski or Not to Ski? That Is the Question



A Touch of Oslomania

When you can reach one of the world's most famous ski jumps via T-Bane (see metro), no wonder a couple of skis sport as Oslo's most-worn accessories. The ginormous Holmenkollen proudly awaits at the one end of T-bane's line 1 while, way down by the water, ferry No. 92 can get you across the Oslofjord to serene Hovedøya in just in 8 min. No kidding...

Despite a cityscape of grey-celess industrial buildings sprawling upwards, you can catch quite a bit of sun in this city. And when the sun goes down, bars like Mono stay up nightly until 3 am with soul(ful) djs and agile rock beats, while club Blå moodily awaits by the river for breezy jazz and eclectic dance tunes


Somewhere in between, Grünerløkka plays cool with a line of quirky cafes like swinging Liebling. All you need to do is grab those skis. OK, city bikes...
Soundtrack: I'd Rather Dance With You by Kings of Convenience (for the softies)
My Death by Mayhem (for the devoted metalheads)

Easter rest for the usually spirited Grünerløkka
Mission possible: Island-hopping in the Oslofjord

First stop: Hovedøya

Pier-hopping

Cafe chic

Blå Blå Blå


Spiritual Sagene

...and sporty Sagene

Hausmania: Oslo squatting with style

Grab a wig on your way to the center

Nordik graveyard

One picture, a thousand words

Reflections...

Fancy Opera

She Lies: Monica Bonvincini's glass & steel sculpture nonchalantly floats opposite the Oslo Opera House

Abstract photo-break in between classic treats at the Mona Lisa 

Weird life at the Botanical Gardens

Oslo Domkirke: Pretty pedestrian, other than this (and the mosaics overhead)

We're skiing... or we're skating

Now this is what I call street art

A Doll's Loo: Who else reads Ibsen in the private chambers?

Park nymphs

River for aspiring flaneurs

Modest, fairytale Lindøya a few minutes in the Oslofjord

Akershus Castle & Fortress: Keeping an eye on the Oslofjord
La belle Lindøya

Oslo Rådhus: City Hall by day, spooky torture chamber by night 


Blå, where art thou?

Holmenkollen: The jump of death...
Holmenkollen zipline: Hang like an Olympian

Cafe Liebling:The big chill...