Inside Out

Stockholm is just the place for museum and art lovers. There are hordes of fantastic collections to be enjoyed all over the city. A city favorite is the iconic Fotografiska in the Södermalm district of Stockholm, a potent centre for contemporary photography. The building itself is worth a visit. An Art Nouveau style building from the early 1900s, it was once used for the customs control of goods. The original brick facade has been retained while the interior has been renovated to showcase intriguing collections all year round. Some celebrate well known artists while others promote new talent. The restaurant at the top floor offers delicious food, coffee as well as panoramic views of the water and neighboring islands of Djurgården and Skeppsholmen. No wonder that the seats by the windows go the fastest!

Last weekend Mr.A and I went for a visit and spent almost all day there. “Inside Out” is a series of x-ray prints by photographer Nick Veasey wherein he explores what things actually look like deep within. It is an eye-opener for sure. The artist works with both unusual subjects as well as everyday objects. What surprised me most was the scale as seashells and flowers featured in the shots, but there was also a full size bus and an airplane! The artist works in a giant workshop which is isolated & insulated to prevent radiations. For the same reason, skeletons instead of humans are used in Nick’s work. The subjects are x-rayed (is that a verb?) in one or several frames depending on their size. The output reveals their ‘gut’ in splendid ways, enough to make us visitors ponder over them for hours… 📸

 I will soon write about the other major exhibition that I saw that day, quite different from this one, but just as enthralling 🙂 Have you been to Fotografiska? What exhibitions did you enjoy? You haven’t? Well, then you simply must!

Have a happy week ahead!!

Favorite brunch places in Stockholm

Lately Mr.A and I have been on a cafe spree, hunting down the best weekend brunches in Stockholm. We’ve been looking up popular places in town that are known for something special and trying them out one by one. At least three good things come of it – one, this brings us out into the hep parts of the city every weekend; two, we get to try a new place and some of them have quickly made it into our fav-list and three, with all the good food we don’t have to cook until dinner. Win-win, yoohooo! Based on our research, here’s a short must-visit list 😉

#1 Cafe Saturnus

I’ve written about this cafe before, but I was happily reminded about it recently. It’s a cosy place with closely placed seats. If you like eggs, you’ll find it tough to choose from their great list of brunch dishes. Their kannelbullar, traditional Swedish cinnamon buns, are giant in size and taste! Take one to share or to save for a second fika 😉 It’s a very popular cafe, so large groups might have to wait longer to find seating. Strollers have to be left outside. For the two of us, it was relatively easy.

Website: http://www.cafesaturnus.se/

Address: Eriksbergsgatan 6, Stockholm

 

#2 Vete-Katten

This cafe has been around since the 1920’s & has closely maintained its old-world charm. The cakes, pastries & coffee is great. I felt the serving size of the main course (salmon & couscous) was a bit small for the price, but delicious nonetheless. The location is great if you happen to be around the city center. The seating is quite tight and cozy and it might be a tad bit challenging to find a place to sit during the weekends. On the other hand, you could still enjoy a take-away. If not for anything else, I’d say you should check it off your list with at least one visit, being as it is the highest ranked cafe in Stockholm!

Website: http://www.vetekatten.se/

Address: Kungsgatan 55, Stockholm. Psst! They just opened a new takeaway outlet at the Vasagatan entrance at T-Centralen metro station.

 

#3 Greasy Spoon

This one was hard to get into, it’s way too sought after. For all the right reasons, too. They have a scrumptious selection of sandwiches and fancy dishes with egg. Their meals are big in size and extremely gratifying. We tried their croissants which came toasted is butter, in a bed of strawberry compote, sprinkled over with nuts and sugar dust. I think I’ve been having recurrent dreams about that meal ever since 😉 As I said, getting a table is a challenge so you might have to plan to be in early to get your name in the queue, since they do not take reservations on the phone. But once you’re in, you will surely enjoy anything you pick from the menu.

Website : http://www.greasyspoon.se/

Address: Hagagatan 4, Stockholm and Tjärhovsgatan 19, Stockholm

 

#4 Flippin’ Burgers

So who doesn’t like burgers, right? At Flippin’ Burgers, you can find a small selection of perfectly cooked burgers, with optional fries, good beers and even better milkshakes. Guess you don’t need a big menu when you excel at the most popular tastes. Their menu tells you everything that a conscious diner needs to know – the small farms in Sweden where the meat is sourced from, the organic & freshly baked buns, fair-trade ice cream for their milkshakes and their organic  wine suppliers. What they do feels very well thought through.

Website : http://flippinburgers.se/

Address : Observatoriegatan 8, Stockholm

 

All Saints’ Day at Skogskyrkogården

Skogskyrkogården, Stockholm’s Woodland Cemetery is a serene patch of green in the heart of the city. It is a place of remembrance, a place to take a pause, and think back upon loved ones. Graves and tombstones line up by the thousands under the soft shade of pine trees. The landscape is peaceful in itself. The architecture of the five unique chapels align completely with the tranquil environment. Everyone is welcome to visit this UNESCO World Heritage Site and take in the placid surroundings at their own time and in a respectful manner. This place is beautiful any time of the year, but if it were possible to say so, a few degrees even higher on the evening of All Saint’s Day or Allhelgonadag on the 4th of September. This evening, following a time-honored tradition, hundreds come to the cemetery and light a candle in memory of a dear departed soul. You hear meditative music from organs of one of the chapels. Many people leave behind souvenirs, flowers and letters, all made with love and remembrance. Even if you personally don’t have a loved one resting in peace at Skogskyrkogården, a visit on this evening can be quite a humbling experience.

 

Rounded

Round and round goes the ride, the crazier, the better!

Ayia Napa, Cyprus

Stockholm, Sweden

Melbourne, Australia

In response to this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge prompt : Rounded

Check out more of my previous entries!

Sunny District meets Andy & Litle :)

One of the things I enjoy most about blogging is that the world begins to feels a smaller, more connected place, a bit warmer & cosier. I read about others’ experiences and get inspired by new ideas. I get to e-meet fun people and sometimes, when I strike gold, I get to meet them in real life.

Enter, Palesa & Andrew from South Africa! Here’s a couple of bold, adventurous & fun people who have taken off on a year-long trip around the world, whoa! I think it takes a lot of courage “taking everyday as it comes” as they say on their blog. Follow their journey across Asia, Europe and now U.S.A at https://our380.wordpress.com That’s where I found them & left a comment asking to meet when they were in Stockholm. And guess what, they did stop by. And remembered to reach out. How nice of you 🙂 They had only a couple of days in the city but going by this post on their blog, it sounds like it went pretty good 😉 I am so happy we got the chance to spend a lovely evening sharing stories over drinks. I was warmed by their spirit and wish them loads of great experiences along the way. Good luck, you two, wish you many adventures!