June has been a month of prolonged heat, ice cream, people wearing socks with sandals, pop-up strawberry stands, pillars of geraniums, screams from football fans in surrounding apartments, airy dresses, vaccinations, green streets and eased restrictions. We are also starting to see early signs of the city emptying for Summer.
As seems to be the case in many countries, the heat has been absolutely stonking this month. People have flocked to the water to cool off, swim, have a picnic or enjoy some drinks.
Summer brings lots of these pop-up fruit stands. They sell mostly strawberries, as well as a few blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and cherries. We’ve also picked up some huge pieces of juicy watermelon (as wide as the fridge) from our local seller.
The next two images contain fake blood. We passed through Sergels Torg as an Extinction Rebellion demonstration was being wrapped up by the police. Someone had covered themselves in fake blood and the police had trouble loading them into the van because they were so slippery!
People have been walking around with ice cream piled high in cones; we did the same in the name of fitting in. Saffron and cardamom have been my favourites of the month — both from StikkiNikki. Not sure I can bring myself to try salt liquorice just yet.
The girl above is wearing a graduation hat — everyone wears these sailor hats embroidered with their names. I love that most people wear smart clothes or nice dresses with trainers or casual boots on their feet.
Other traditions include walking around blowing whilstles and cheering, and those with cars drive around honking their horns. There were also a couple of party boats sailing around blasting ABBA’s Dancing Queen. We saw those the day after the restrictions eased so I can imagine it felt like a double celebration.
It was our turn for Covid-19 vaccinations, hooray! I laughed I translated the area name where the vaccination centre was located (Slakthusområdet)… it means slaughterhouse area. Thankfully it’s no longer an actual slaughter house. Great sign though.
The city is so green; lots of trees and flowers everywhere. Probably the greenest city we’ve experienced other than Berlin.
That’s all for June! The sunny weather is here but I’m still enjoying shooting in black and white. Although it’s also nice to have a few colour photos that capture the warmth and colour of Summer.
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