Archive for ‘Travel’

Lipstick

Lipstick

Statue of the Swedish national poet Evert Taube with the ship Viking and the building called the Lipstick in the background. I let your own imagination figure out why it is called that. This 86 meter building stand in the clay on piles that had to be driven over 90 meters down.

You cannot call yourself Swedish if you can’t sing at least one of Evert Taube’s song. He wanted to be seen as a poet and writer but is know by most as singer-songwriter. He was born 1890 in Göteborg and he grew up at Vinga lighthouse outside the port of Göteborg. As a young man he sailed the seven seas and spent time in Argentina. A theme he often returned to in his writing. Many of his works has been translated into English. There are some links available on Wikipedia.

While the boat still sails on, ha de Gött!

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The Barque Viking

The Barque Viking

This old sail ship has been a symbol and landmark in Göteborg since 1951. It has been moored basically in the same place since then. It was originally built 1906 in Copenhagen, Denmark as school ship for the Danish merchant fleet. It is the largest sail ship ever built in Scandinavia. She served in Denmark until 1928 and after that the four-masted beauty was sold to Åland. There she served as merchant and passenger ship before finally arriving to Göteborg in 1951. This time to once again serve as a school but without ever to set sail again. Today it is a hotel and restaurant.

Sail, sail away on the winds of hope. Ha de Gött!

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Bridge opening

Bridge opening

The new bridge over Göta Älv in Göteborg, Sweden is one of the things I’ve wanted to photograph for a long time but never got around to do. But yesterday all the pieces fell together. The light was good and to top it all, they opened the bridge to let a ship loaded with timber to pass. One of those hallelujah moments for a photographer.

The new Hisingsbron was inaugurated in 2021 to replace the old Götaälvbron from 1939 that was in poor condition. Götaälvbron in turn replaced the original Hisingsbron from 1874 that was in operation until 1968. The new bridge is lower to make it easier to ride your bike across. The downfall is that the sail free hight is lower and the ships passing underneath must run on a schedule to avoid openings during the rush hours.

Be like a bridge, open to all connections. Ha de Gött!

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Travel

Travel

Finally the Covid restrictions been lifted and we are allowed to travel again. Feels good but not without conflicting emotions, because what excessive travel does to the climate. I’m trying to move to train travel rather than flying but for some strange reason it is much more difficult to book a ticket to Berlin by train than by airplane!

This year took me to Trollhättan, Göteborg and Halmstad in Sweden. To Cologne, Siegburg and Berlin in Germany. To Helsingör in Denmark. Some travel for holiday and some for work but the camera must always be in the luggage.

The traveller gets to read the whole book, the one who stays home only get to read the first page. Ha de Gött!

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Narrow

Narrow

Narrow gate in the Skansen Kronan fortification in Göteborg. The half inscription should read Carl XII stig, Carl XII path.

Don’t be narrow minded, keep your mind wide open. Ha de Gött!

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Skansen Kronan

Skansen Kronan

The Crown redoubt was built between 1687 and 1700 as part of Göteborg’s defence system. It is built on a steep mountain Risåsberget above Haga city district. Takes your breath away in more ways than one. The stone building is 33 meters high and reaches 87 meters above the sea level. The sconce has a twin Skansen Lejonet (Lion redoubt). Today the fortification has a better use for conferences and parties.

Take a deep breath, ha de Gött!

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Haga Göteborg

Haga Göteborg

Autumn grey Sunday morning street. Mellangatan Haga Göteborg.

The Haga city district is the first suburb to Göteborg. It was mentioned in print already 1637 and in 1647 it was made official by order of the Queen Kristina as a home for the working class. Today the renovated district is a popular place to live and a vibrant tourist area with many cafes and small shops.

It’s never loo late or too early for a cup of coffee, ha de Gött!

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By night

By night

Night photo from Göteborg, Sweden.

I’ve been married to my wife for 25 years. In Sweden that is called silver wedding for some strange reason. To celebrate we took to a weekend with candle light dinner and then went to the movies. After some dealing, shopping hours as currency, we decided to see Oppenheimer instead of the other unmentionable film. Outside the hotel there is an IMAX cinema. If you haven’t seen Oppenheimer yet, or if you want to see it again, I recommend IMAX. It’s a full body experience that make those three hours fly by. The shopping hours? They felt like another 25 years!

Good footwear saves the day, ha de Gött!

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