Sörmlandsleden 5 & Paradiset

25 November 2017

Today's 16km walk in 2 degrees brought me to Paradiset and to Sörmlandsleden 5. We took the commuter to Handen and then bus 865 towards Skärholmen where we alighted at Lissma skola. It had rained the day before and the path was very muddy and slippery. 

I wore 5 layers - thermal top, dry fit t-shirt, fleece jacket, down jacket and hard shell jacket. Plus ski pants with fleece lining and thermal linings. I don't want to take any chances to freeze in the cold. Others wore 3 layers. One of the group members suggested I have a thyroid problem. That annoyed me. It was my first winter and I need to acclimatise too. Sometimes, people talk without processing their words. 

This is the first building we saw when we alighted at Lissma skola. Well, skola means school. So, I guess this must be Lissma School.

Christmas Market at Rosendal's Garden

23 November 2017

As Christmas is approaching, one can find Christmas markets popping up here and there every weekend till Christmas. They said that it usually starts on the first weekend of December. 

This is my first Christmas market. It was in Rosendals Trädgård - Rosendal's Garden which is located on Djurgarden Island. This place sells lots of plants and has a number of greenhouses. I was excited, as usual (the first year in Sweden is usually exciting for me because I am experiencing everything new) to go to my first Christmas market. 

Each greenhouse sold something different. There is a greenhouse for souvenirs and Christmas decoration, greenhouse for potted plants i.e. flowers, greenhouse for food and a greenhouse for performance. I thought of buying something to eat because all the food look so tempting (and cold weather makes one hungry) but I look at the price and I changed my mind. Haha!

This first photo was taken at 4.20pm! It feels a bit awkward initially to have darkness set in so early. 

Jams for sample in the souvenir shop.

Flea Market in Kista Galleria Car Park

19 November 2017

I remembered this day clearly as the day I saw my first snowdrop while taking a short walk around Kista after the visit to the flea market. I saw my first iced puddle and I got so excited by it. Winter is officially here.

Despite the cold weather, flea markets are still carried out. In the car park. Or in a small hall. For Kista, it was held in the shopping centre's car park. We took the train to Kista Station. I did not buy anything here but it was fun to see what was being sold. 

Järvafältet

12 November 2017

Today's hike was cold as there was no sun at all, although it was forecasted to be sunny. Even the horses were draped too. It was cold at 1 degrees. Brr..

We took the train to Akalla station and we walked through Järva Nature Reserve (pronounced as 'yar-va') towards Kallhäll (pronounced as 'kall-hell') station where we took the commuter back to Stockholm. Distance 13km. I enjoyed this walk because I got to see horses (there was a horse school) and the Scottish cattle (they are really hairy cows) and also a Viking rune!

Sörmlandsleden 1

11 November 2017

Whenever I see a hike to any Sörmlandsleden route, I will be sure to sign myself up. Today, I am going to where it begins - Section 1. It starts at Björkhagen (pronounced as 'be-york-ha-gen') and ends at Skogshyddan where Section 2 starts. We met at Björkhagen train station. The trail goes through Nacka Nature Reserve and it is not a difficult walk. Distance about 10.5km. To go back, the group returned to Älta Gård where one can take a bus back home. 

Nothing much to write except for enjoy the photos!

Alla Helgons Dag (All Souls' Day) 2017

4 November 2017

I hurried back from Shockholm Festival (Halloween celebration) to see how All Souls' Day is observed in Stockholm. It is called Alla Helgons Dag (pronounced as 'ah-la hell-gones dog') in Swedish. This is a day for the Christians to remember those who left. I am aware of this day because I visit my late aunt on this day (and her death anniversary), light up candles and set flowers for her. But we do it during the day whereas here in Stockholm is done at night.

A week before the actual day, there were lots of mini wreaths being sold. SEK225/RM112.50 - They labelled it as grave decoration. While the larger ones cost SEK295/RM147.50. I thought they were really expensive but people buy them anyway.

My partner and I went to Skogskyrkogården (pronounced as 'skogs-sheer-ko-gor-den'). English name is The Woodland Cemetery. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site in Sweden. One of the UNESCO sites. This is a cemetery, by the way.  A huge one too. The first time I went there in 2015, I got lost finding my way out and thankfully, it was bright daylight. Anyway, the cemetery was brightly lit with so many candles. The skies were bright from all the candles. They are a sight to behold. It was my first time seeing candles stored in bottles or jars to prevent the fires from dying or blown by the wind.

Shockholm Festival 2017

4 November 2017

Halloween is celebrated in Stockholm on a small scale. We have Halloween celebrations in Malaysia and so, I expected something huge in Sweden. But it was unexpectedly different here. Halloween is not a celebration in Stockholm until 4 years ago, when an American decided to hold the first Halloween festival in Kungsträdgården. There were not much visitors then, but today, there was an expected crowd of 5000. 

I guess another reason that it is not a big celebration here is because it is SO cold in November too. There were fires set up around the garden for people to hold their hands against the fire to warm themselves up. 

I came midway during Shockholm Festival and the hosts were talking. I managed to see the nominees for best-dressed award for both kids and adults category. Gosh, some look really scary. They do make a huge effort in dressing themselves up. Unfortunately, I did not stay till the end to see who won the best-dressed.