Year: 2015

the Travellink blog event.

Thursday night I left work early and run for the subway cart. As always a bit crowded in the afternoon.  I get there first, to the sheraton hotel, my colleagues aren´t there yet. They arrive a few minutes later. the Travellink Blog Event The event where held at the Sheraton Hotel in Stockholm and where hosted by travellink and a bunch of tourist boards as Czech Tourism whom I traveled with to the Czech Republic and my trip to East Moravia and Prague. The representative from Latvia got me interested into Riga and RIga rose on my ”most wanted list” or what to call it. Me fellow travel friends I met almost all of my travel friends during the event and managed a portrait of each and one of them. Helena and Peter, Freedom travel. They just got back from their one year trip around Europe. Jeanette and Christian, photo and travel blogger, jeanetteseflin, and a fellow foodblogger matochresebloggen. Helena, Oh Darling and Annika, Resfredag. Annika won the award ”best travel story of the year” …

how to save an overexposed shot – a photo of Norrbro/Riksbron, Stockholm

I have some issues with too strong sun. I admit it. Not everyone love backlight, or light at all. I prefer the soft morning or afternoon light and despise the middle of the day light. For photographic reasons of course. During the weekend my cousin was here visiting with his family and we took a walk from Gamla Stan to Sveavägen. To get there you  have to pass over a bridge and we walked along Vasabron. On Vasabron I shot this horrible shot of Norrbro, the bridge from the castle to the city centre. iso 100, f2.0, 1/1250 sek I´m not sure what I did, but I definitively didn´t get the settings right this time. The house walls are white, the water as well and the people is bathing in white white white. I didn´t think I was ever going to be able to do anything about this shot really. It just felt too white. how to save an overexposed image I was about to throw it away when I decided to edit it and …

dark times.

There has been a shift in climate during recent days here. November arrived and with it frost and darkness. Walking the streets you feel alone, looking over your shoulder, scouting nervously at others as they don´t belong there anymore. The city feel crowded and it is more difficult to breath, to get enough space. November came with fear. The fear so many others in other corners of the world deal with every day. The fear of one man, or ten, the treat of something happening, unexpectedly. 12th of November Mall of Scandinavia opened in Stockholm. We were standing in line with 20 000 people, me, Martin and our friend Daniel when the biggest mall in this corner of the world opened. Patiently we waited to get in, giving up after an hour, laughing and taking photos of the reflections in the ceiling, walking home after almost reaching the door like nothing happened. Happy. 13th of November Paris happens. 19th of November, a week later I am heading home from work, seeing this man with an earphone walking through …

Fotomässan, a tunnel and some ping pong

White, high ceeling and a lot of cameras. That pretty much sum up the photofair held last weekend when my fellow blogger and photographer Helena visited me. We headed with fairly low expectations, since Canon were a no show on the photoside. On the other hand Nordica photography had their own scene. Oh my the wedding mania! Not everyone knows Nordica photography. To be short, it is two guys that are wedding photographers and they have a kick ass style. Check it out here. We checked out the amazing view from our backyard before going. The dull November weather has arrived. At the fair I tried my dream lens, the 20mm Sigma super wide angle lens f1.4 in the art series. Oh my! Such a lovely piece. Let´s do this every week. The food-fair next to the photo-fair was a surprise. So much goodies. Afterwards me and Helena headed for Urban Deli to meet up with my friends and Martin. I tricked her to check out the tunnel Brunkeberg on Tunnelgatan in Stockholm (in the centre). …

Flippin Burger, Urban Deli and a graffiti release party

The cute design of the place is the first thing that my brain registrates. Crowded, American beer, Open kitchen, is the second, third and forth. To get here Martin and I have taken the subway from Mörby and then changed to bus to Odenplan. From Odenplan it is walking distance. On the way, we see a chef sitting in front of a restaurant smoking and Martin comments, ”isn´t there a backyard the guy can sit at?” It is Saturday and we are on the way to meet Oskar and Sara, two work colleagues of Martin and have a burger at Flippin Burger. I´ve heard of the place before, it has gotten tons of recommendations, so when arriving my expectations are sky high. So how ´Flippin´ was Flippin Burgers really? And for a veggie like me? FLIPPIN BURGER I am sad to say that I was a bit disappointed. The burger was great (bean – burger – love), but I, the queen of the side order, just ordered a burger and though that some kind of side …

Hotel Octarna in Kromeriz in the Czech republic

Second night in the Czech Republic we stayed in a small red beautiful Parisian style hotel in Kromeriz. The atmosphere reeked of love and was my favorite hotel during the whole trip just because of the style. To get a good view of the romantic atmosphere, take the virtual tour here. The hotel of Octarna is built on a former Franciscan convent from the 17th century. The monastery later turned into a military bakery and then a vinegar factory. Except for wonderful decor the hotel also have a restaurant, relax centre, do weddings and more. Daniella and I peaked through the door to shoot the photo of the cute balcony in the photo above, giggling and discussing our blogging and photos. To read more about what to do in the city of Kromeriz check out The colorful hoses in the city of Kromeriz and the castle garden in Kromeriz. Katarina Thanks to Czech tourism for arranging the trip and thanks to Nicoline for shooting the photo of me!

The colorful houses in the small town Kromeriz

The small town of Kromeriz in Moravia I visited during my short trip to the Czech Republic in October. The town, even though small, made a big impression on me, due to all the different colors. The colors of the flowers in the city centre and the color of the houses, a variety of pastell colors as pink, yellow and green. Why all this color me and Daniella (one of my travel mates) asked ourselves? I don´t know if there is a correct answer to the question but the colors are something that makes the area of Moravia in the Czech republic to stand out from the crowd. The town is from the 13th century and have been plundered by Swedes more than once! In Kromeriz we got to spend one day and I have some tips from only one day. Take a walk through the centre and adore the colorful buildings The city is so small that is is possible to walk everywhere in the city. With a camera all small towns can be …

picking rose hip among autumn yellow leaves

Two weeks ago Martin spotted rose hip in the slope behind our house in Stockholm and told me ”during the weekend we should pic some”.  So this weekend we did. Or Martin did and I shot photos, to be correct. The autumn showed it´s best coat and the trees were bathing in sun. Every year you have to pinch your arm when living in the nordic countries, asking yourself if it is for real, when the seasons shift I mean and every year it passes quickly so you better hurry and seize the opportunity. Rose hip- Rosa Dumalis is the red fruit seen on rose bushes and is known for it soothing capacities, curing joint pain and having positive effect on the immune system. Weird facts for one is that you have as much vitamine c in one cup as 35-40 oranges have together! The fruit are also seen as one of the 14 most important wildgrowing plants when in a survival situation. The season for the fruit is long, from August to January and …

a short detour to Lidingö and a bunch of photographers

Last weekend me and Martin slipped on our nice shoes and headed for Lidingö for Jeanette Seflin and her boyfriend Davids birthday party. It is always an opportunity to explore when heading somewhere and we finally got to see some small part of the Lidingö island. Lidingö is a small island of the inner archipelago of Stockholm and the second or third richest municipality in Sweden. According to wikipedia Agnetha Fältskog from ABBA lives here, not sure if that is true. Due to rental apartment projects also a lot middle class Swedes live here. If you want to explore more in Lidingö you have ancient graves and a monument of Raoul Wallenberg (in the centre), the museum Millesgården, a lot of art in public spaces and the archipelago. To get to Lidingö you take the red subway line from the central station towards Ropsten, in Ropsten you switch ride to bus or the tram Lidingö banan. Getting there we drank Sangria, laughed and shot photos with my Instax mini camera until late. One guy wore this …

the best chocolate balls in Stockholm

The Swedish cookie with the weirdest name, huh? Well, the Swedish chocolate ball is a known concept for all Swedish kid and are made in every home when we grow up. It is made from cocoa, butter, cold coffee, oatmeal, sugar and with coconut flakes or pearl sugar on top. It is an unbaked cake and fairly easy to do. You can find a recipe here. The cake is delicious and have always been one of my favourite cakes when growing up. The cake has also had another name in popular speech which today isn´t used due to it´s racist connotations. If you google the name + news, you will find a lot of recent articles and a resurfaced discussion about the phenomena. It is sad that we have to argue over a cake, but anyway, yesterday Martin and me headed to Muggen and had some lunch before going to the Swedish museum of photography – Fotografiska. The coffeeshop Muggen is situated in Götgatsbacken, close to the Subway station of Slussen (exit Götgatsbacken). In this little …

the castle in Kromeriz

And with a castle garden a castle most follow. When in the Czech republic we also took a tour in the castle, of course. The guide in the castle didn´t speak English so our tour guide had to translate, but the part about some parts of Indiana Jones being shot here, I got. How amazing? An odd part might be the stuffed animals I admit. Who even likes stuffed animals nowadays? Afterward me Daniella and Nicoline, the nordic girls, took a stroll to the closest café and had a cappuccino and some great cake. In the evening, it was time for a microbrewery experience. Katarina The castle is also on the world heritage list and are found here. To see photo from the garden connected to the castle – click here.

the castle garden in Kromeriz

Second day in the Czech Republic we headed for Kromeriz. A long busride on a bumpy, next to not rideable, main road from Prague we arrived mid day in the city of Kromeriz. On the schedule was a tour of the archbishops castle of Kromeriz including the castle garden. The arrow takes you there.. Location: City and region of Kromeriz in the Zlin Region. As walking into Versailles and a romantic 17 th century french novel, the garden amazed us all. It has a well deserved spot in the World Heritage Site list as a completely preserved European garden with a mixed style of both renaissance and baroque influences. The main part was designed by the imperial architect Giovanni Pietro in 1665 – 1675. One thing everyone agreed on was that we wanted to stay longer to be able to take it all in. From the castle it is easy to find the garden due to the arrows in the pavement in the city. The arrows quite logically points to the garden from the centre. If …

Having bahn mi at the food court K25

Some weeks ago after work Martin and I were hungry and headed on the usual hunt for food. Since moving to Stockholm we have gone to restaurants a lot of times. Bad for the wallet, but good for the food section of the blog since I most likely have a lot of tips for the future. Close to Martins job in the city centre you have a lot of places to try out but we decided for the food court K25. Scrolling the court, hungry, we decided for bahn mi in the far end at the restaurant Yoi. The result was yummier than expected, not at all expensive and we were full when leaving. An extra plus for the perfect edamame beans. So this is my Sunday food tips for you. Yoi – in the far end of the food court Backpackers Tofu 69 sek (bahn mi) Kimchi 22 sek (enought to share) Edamame Beans for 22 sek (enough to share) Adress: Kungsgatan 25, Stockholm Photos shot when walking over a bridge crossing Kungsgatan. Shot …

East Moravia

After a day in Prague the group of travelers and I headed for East Moravia, the purpose of the trip to the Czech Republic. This is Moravia in all it´s colours, lines, bad weather and happiness. In photos. Katarina Thanks to Czech tourism for arranging the trip and thanks to Nicoline for shooting the photo of me! 🙂

Café Louvre

Walking slowly up some early 20th century stairs, the atmosphere that strikes you is Paris, movies, romance and early 20 th century it-people feeling. At the time modern and hip and today yet again modern and new. It is said that celebreties as Einstein and Kafka were here but this doesn´t need to be said since the feeling is like walking into a movie anyway, making the most humble tourist feel like a star. For the smokers Prague is different. I prefer that people don´t smoke inside, but when walking into Cafe Louvre, I don´t mind that there still is a smoking side in the restaurant. It just adds to the already great atmosphere. The Cafe Louvre is a cafe with waiters. They are dressed properly and quickly serves us the ten minute cava we have time for. Me and my travel mates Daniella and Nicoline is on a schedule. We have to try the cava, and fast. Stefan, the guide we have with us tell us that it is expensive, so a bottle is out …