Around Stockholm, May 2024
May was a month of warm sun, chalk drawings on pavements, the smell of grills in the evenings, eager sunbathers, swathes of blossom, closed eyes on faces pointed towards the sun, ice-cream menus appearing on shacks and a renewed sense of oomph throughout the city. A complete contrast to the previous month.
It was also an incredibly busy month for me and Scott, which meant I was less invested in photography than usual. I'm fairly pleased with what I captured but I also felt distracted to the point my heart wasn't really in it. I've been doing this every month for four years though, so a few slow patches are probably inevitable.
These ducks were sleeping on Arstaberg train station platform! Passing footsteps didn't seem to bother them at all.
Warmer days bought everyone out of their homes; the streets were noticeably busier at weekends.
A stonking hot day bought all the sunbathers out onto the rocks. In contrast, we were walking in the shade on our way to buy ice-cream.
Most of Stockholm is a muddle of old and new. The two blend together in inner city areas but the contrast is far more exaggerated once you step into the suburbs. Look one way and you could still be living in the 1930's. Look the other way and you are definitely standing in 2024.
We reached the time of year when the tick buses (fästingbussen) start circulating again. They park up at specific locations on given days and provide an easy way for people to get vaccinated. TBE (from the ticks) is mentioned everywhere during Spring and Summer but these buses usually offer other vaccinations too — the one above included shingles (bältros), tetanus (stelkramp) and hepatit (hepatitis).
And just in case you forget it's tick season...
That's all for May!
