everyday life

sweden

sweden, originally uploaded by catsfalk.

1. Örebro Slott, 2. stillness by water, 3. View Ravlunda Farm, 4. Dalarna Phone, 5. Mölle by the sea, 6. glimmingehus doorway, 7. Brahe Hus, 8. Haga, Göteborg, 9. Autumn car, 10. Västerbotten countryside, 11. Northern Öland |1, 12. Stenshuvud Lighthouse - Kivik Sweden

Sweden, seen through Flickr members!

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shopping

folk socks, originally uploaded by catsfalk.

It has been a busy week, with lot of things to do at work and after work. I actually attend a Sthlm knitters meeting at Gino's on Tuesday, and it was, as usual very nice to meet the girls. And both on Wednesday and Thursday I meet up with friends after work. So after a busy week I stay at home this Saturday night. And I have been knitting, I will show off a pair of finished socks tomorrow!

I have been in the city most of the day with my friend Marika. We started off with a lunch at TGIF (a club sandwich for me with a pint of Kilkenneys) and after that we hit the summer sale! We browsed most of the city stores for bargins. I found 2 skirts (the tweed skirt, see picture left) for 30 SEK /£ 2,13/ € 3,18 US $ 4,27 each. Happy days. I also came home with a couple of t-shirts too.

I have a new pattern book in my shelves. Folk socks by Nancy Bush. Lots of stylish folk socks from all over the world. And with chapers of knitting history. Nancy Bush knows sock making. She is the best!

And the recent events in London and Glasgow makes me angry and sad!

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neko case

neko case, originally uploaded by catsfalk.

Laura introduced me to Neko Case about a year ago. And now I'm completly hooked with her voice! And I want to listen to her music all the time! Neko Case (born September 8, 1970 in Alexandria, Virginia - and so is I =) but a year before and in Stockholm) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her solo career and as a member of The New Pornographers.

I recently bought 2 CDs with her - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood and Blacklisted and these CDs are spinning around 24/7 at the moment!

Her music is frequently labeled alternative country, although Case doesn't describe it in that way. She recorded and toured for several years as Neko Case and Her Boyfriends before switching to her own name. Case primarily writes her own material, but she also performs and has recorded cover versions of songs by artists such as Loretta Lynn, Tom Waits, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Bob Dylan and Hank Williams.

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trevlig midsommar

daisy's, originally uploaded by catsfalk.

No sun here at the moment, just a cloudy sky, but no rain. And so long there is no rain, it's a great midsummer.

I just want to wish you all a HAPPY MIDSUMMER!

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summer solstrice

swedish summer, originally uploaded by catsfalk.

Summer solstrice is here. This night is the shortest of the year. Sunrise this morning was at 3.33 am and sunset is 10.08 pm - but it's cloudy so no sun is shining here.

This weekend is the Midsummer weekend. And it has already started! In modern Sweden, Midsummer's Eve and Midsummer's Day are celebrated from the eve of the Friday between June 19 - 25. It is arguably the most important holiday of the year, and one of the most uniquely Swedish in the way it is celebrated, even if it has been influenced by other countries long ago. The main celebrations take place on the Friday, and the traditional events include raising and dancing around a huge maypole. One typical dance is the frog dance. Before the maypole is raised, greens and flowers are collected and used to cover the entire pole.

Most people has tomorrow off and many only had to work half day today. If you have the chance to leave the city, you leave. To your country house, to your friends country house or to your neighbour's aunts country house. When I was a teenager and in my early 20s, there were big Midsummer partys at Rättvik, in Dalarna, Borgholm, in Öland or Möja, Stockholm. And these parties were often wild with lots of alcohol and fights.

Today these party site's still exist and in the newspapers, the day after, are filled with sad stories about knife fights and other violent stuff.

The adults has (perhaps) more organized party with the neighbours or with their friends, or perhaps with the family. If you are in Stockholm and want so see a typical Swedish Midsummer (without the booze) Skansen is the place to be. There you can join others to dress the maypole and dance around it. With lots of Swedish folk music and traditional folk dresses. My plans for tomorrow? I have a dinner party to go to with my friends Doc, Mr T and the tiny boy.

Because Midsummer is one of the times of the year when magic is believed to be the strongest, it was a good night to perform rituals to look into the future. Traditionally, young people pick bouquets of seven or nine (depending where in the country you hails from)different flowers and put them under their pillow in the hope of dreaming about their future spouse. I remember doing this as a kid and as a teenager, picking flowers at night with no talking, you should pick these flowers in silence - and that was hard when you was in company with other giggleling teenage girls.

But that's tomorrow, today it just is the shortest night of the year, so Have a good sleep!

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holiday plans

gotland, originally uploaded by catsfalk.

On August 18 I am going to the island of Gotland, in the Baltic sea, with Marika and her son Hampus. We have rented a cottage, just outside of Visby, in Brissund. We are staying for a week, before heading back to the main land and the city life. I have some roots on the island, since my fathers family, my grandfather, hails from Slite.

Gotland, Sweden’s largest island, lies right in the middle of the Baltic. Its population is 58.000, a figure that doubles many times over during the summer, as Gotland is a much-loved destination for holidaymakers.

The island’s biggest city, Visby, boasts one of the best preserved medieval ramparts anywhere in the world. Not surprisingly, Visby has been on UNESCO’s world heritage list since 1995.

The countryside, with its woodlands, bleak heaths and flowering meadows, is richly varied and hauntingly beautiful. Here, you’ll also find more than 90 medieval churches, ancient remains from the Viking period and any number of top-quality crafts studios. So I'm hoping to get my hands of some really good wool. Along the almost 800 km coastline, gently shelving sandy beaches alternate with shingle shores and seaside meadows. The climate is mild, with many hours of sunshine and pleasantly warm autumns.

So, do you have any plans for your holiday this summer? I have actually more plans to share - but not today! ;-)

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the old tram

tram set, originally uploaded by catsfalk.

In Stocholm, the trams disappeard from the streets in 1967. They had been running the streets of Stockholm since 1877. In 1991 one tram line, line 7 Norrmalmstorg-Djurgården and back, were back on the street as a rolling museum, run by the Swedish Tramway Society. And since it runs very near my work I have the pleasure to hop on this from time to time.

Line 7 runs most of the year in central Stockholm. The members of Swedish Tramway Society Stockholm chapter keep the line running without pay, except for your appreciation! In one of the sets you have a café, and it's really nice to have a coffee while rolling through the city. Perhaps a thing to do while visiting Stockholm?

The old tramcars from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s run in regular service. Normally you can catch one every 10-12 minutes.

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slow day

poppies, originally uploaded by catsfalk.

I have spent most of my day in bed with a lower back pain and cramps. Not my idea of having fun. From time to time a have really bad cramps and it today was a such day. And it ruins my day. I had plans to meet up with a friend in the city, but I had to cancel. I feel much better now, so I don't think my plans for tomorrow will be ruin. I have a party to attend tomorrow at noon.

I have most of my time in bed been reading and my company has been my hottie aka my hot warm water bottle.. ;-) No knitting today!

Have a great weekend.

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linnaeus garden and museum

view from Linnaeus bedroom, originally uploaded by catsfalk.

Our first stop in Uppsala on Tuesday (well, after the coffee break we had on Cafe Capuccino) was the Linnaeus Garden and the Linnaeus Museum.

The Linnaeus Museum was the home of Linnaeus and his family. In 1937 the house opened to the public as a museum to illustrate the private life of the Linnaeus family as well as Linnaeus' scientific work.

Furniture, household goods, textiles, and paintings once belonging to Linnaeus and his family are on view in the museum. Of particular interest are Linnaeus' medicine chest, his secretaire, writing table, insect cabinet, and herbarium cabinet.

The museum is also showing some letters and books belonging to "my" archive - so the main reason for our visit was to see how they display these letters in the exhibition. And yes, it looks really good!

The Linnaeus Garden is a reconstruction of Uppsala University Botanical Garden the way it looked during Linnaeus´ days.

As I wrote yesterday, Uppsala University Botanical Garden was the first botanical garden in Sweden founded in 1655 by Olof Rudbeck the elder. It is laid out in the French Style and restored following Linnaeus' and Carl Hårleman's design from 1745. Today approximately 1 300 species are grown here. All known to have been cultivated by Linnaeus and arranged according to his own system.

The Linnaeus Garden is located close to the river Fyrisån. In Linnaeus' days the area was swampy and not very well suited for a garden. In addition, by the end of the 17th century the garden had become to small for its purpose. In 1787, Carl Peter Thunberg, Linnaeus' disciple and successor, persuaded King Gustaf III to donate the Uppsala castle garden to the university so that it could be used as a botanical garden. In 1807, all plants and animals had been moved to the new location and the new botanical garden was inaugurated on May 21th, 100 years after the birth of Linnaeus.

The old garden was in a state of neglect for more than 100 years, until 1917, when the Swedish Linnaeus Society began reconstructing Linnaeus' garden. You can visit the garden, stroll around and look on the fantastic flower and herb beds. It's a really nice garden in the middle of the city of Uppsala.

This is my last report on our visit to Uppsala, and there will be no more talk about Linnaeus on this blog! (For now, anyway.)

And I have now sent some photo's to the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh for the exhibition! So if you are in Edinburgh, Scotland, check it out in July! (please tell me if you do)

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uppsala botanical garden

änglatrumpet, originally uploaded by catsfalk.

Our second stop on our Uppsala visit on Tuesday was at the Uppsala Botanical Garden. And it was so lovely just to stroll around and smell all those beautiful flowers. Roses, Peonies and others I don't know the name of. Exotic trees (for us in Scandinavia) all over the place. Cork oaks (picture left), Mandarin orange trees, Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis), Palm Trees and others.

The Uppsala University Botanical Garden is the oldest botanical garden in Sweden.They have successfully combined botany and horticulture for 350 years. It was founded in 1655 by Olof Rudbeck the elder, professor of medicine. Rudbecks´ botanical garden was largely destroyed by a fire in 1702. The university could not afford to restore it, and it was left unattended for a period of 40 years.

In 1741, Carl Linnaeus became professor of medicine at Uppsala University and responsible for the neglected garden. Under his supervision, it turned into one of the foremost gardens of its time. Through contacts with fellow scientists all over the world, Linnaeus was able to gather thousands of foreign plants in cultivation.

By the end of the 18th century the expanding garden needed more space. In 1787, Carl Peter Thunberg, Linnaeus´ disciple and successor, persuaded King Gustaf III to donate the Uppsala castle garden to the university, so that it could be turned into a new botanical garden. The castle garden was a baroque garden designed in 1750 by the architect Carl Hårlemann. The Baroque Garden has been restored according to the plan from the 1750s.

Today, after being enlarged several times, the Botanical Garden extends over 34 acres. Some 11 000 species and cultivars from all over the world are under cultivation.

The big photo is showing a Angel's trumpet (Brugmansia suaveolens) in the botanic garden.

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