When we arrived in Stockholm, I embarked on a project to document the city every month, for one year. Plenty of people share the grammable spots but I wanted to show everyday normality and capture how the city changed during the monumental shift between Summer and Winter. Not just that,
February was a month of semlor, grey but longer days, more cold and continued lethargy. I looked back on previous posts for this month because I really couldn't think of much to summarise, and it's the same every year! So please enjoy the impressive number of
January was a month of low sun, sledge travel, wildlife prints in the snow, crunchy pavements, gritter noise, long shadows, sunglasses, lethargic Stockholmers and white snow filled nighttime skies. Stockholm is a very clean city. Demonstrated by the remarkably small amount of litter in this mound containing several weeks of
December was a month of snow, blue "daylight", cosy candles, big boots, wooly hats and darkness. We've handled Winter pretty well since moving here, but struggled much more this time around. I can't even really pinpoint why — our friends also said this Winter seemed
November was a month of saffron buns, Winter sun (more than last year), the first snow (less than last year), colourful sunsets, roe deer, wooly hats, delivery of war and crisis booklets to every household, dry air, poinsettia, julstjärna in windows and hyacinths in supermarkets. Temperatures were also weirdly mild
October was a month of pelts in prams, reflectors on jackets, low sun, pumpkins and gourds, rustling leaves, blue light, piles of apples, misty mornings, the return of candles in cafés, cool air and closed toe shoes. Temperatures dipped at the end of the month and suddenly, my thin cotton
September was a month of the first yellow leaves, fewer tourists, people in jackets followed by a blast of heat (28°c), clattering cutlery in outdoor restaurants, heaps of kantarell and an undertone of lethargy that comes from knowing months of darkness are looming. We woke up on Södermalm to
August was a month of bustling cafés, striped parasols, sticky heat, loppis tucked away in courtyards, lines of cyclists, pots of heather, blazing sunsets and very heavy rain. This isn't the greatest photo but I was lucky to capture the moment. I looked out of the bakery window
We hit that point in the year where we could no longer resist the call of Gotland. I packed two cameras for the trip: my usual digital camera plus a 35mm Agfa Silette Pronto (1958) that belonged to my Grandpa. Paired with Kodak Tri-X 400 because I love it and
July was a month of humidity, socks with sandals, the first kantareller, ghost town suburbs, sommarstängt notes, cheap vegetables in supermarkets, baking hot public transport, pelargoniums, cool rain, stacks of pastel coloured ice cream in cones, and bursts of green all over the city. We felt slightly guilty walking past
June was a month of high temperatures, streets that smelt like strawberries, deep blue skies, floaty clothing, Aperol spritz adverts, white caps on heads, tick vaccination signs, pop-up bars, fashionable cyclists, sun worshipers and sporadic rain. As the temperature rose, so did the number of people flocking to the water.
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
Places
The beginning of April was as cold as it looks in these photos. April bakslag fooled us again, as it does every year. It was month of even more snow, blåstjärnor, påskris, the whir of Winter gravel collection, dogs without coats, lighter evenings and the first cherry blossom flowers. As
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March was a month of thawing ice, påskris, the first daffodils, headlights shining on damp roads, snow flurries, wet gravel under foot and wind that took your breathe away. Don't let the blue sky fool you, it was still cold! I see these post vans and always joke
Places
February has long gone. Between the amount of time that has passed, and the fact I spent a good chunk of the month in Athens, my memory is a little hazy. Two things in particular have stuck in my mind though... snow and semla! And they're probably the
Places
Mid January saw us head to Gotland for a few days. However, I'm only just getting around to writing it about because I'm so behind with photo sorting. We fancied an adventure to a random town on Gotland; something we decided on a whim the day
Greece
Continuing on from part 2 and documenting my final few days in Athens. The man in the hat is Spyros Tarapossos and he sits on Ermou Street with a laterna — an automatic piano on wheels, operated by a hand crank. I was searching for more information about the instrument and
Greece
Continuing on from part 1 and there are surprisingly few photos of feta cheese, given how much I'd eaten by this point. Feta on salads, phyllo wrapped feta, honey feta toast, a sour feta pancake... the list goes on and I loved it all. I enjoyed watching this
Greece
I recently traded Sweden's icy grip for a few days of sunshine in Athens. The timing of this trip was perfect because I'd hit that point in the year where my body had really started craving sun. I'm a Winter lover but even I
Places
January was yet another month of snow and bitterly cold weather. There were large snow piles, kids on sledges, swathes of ice covering waterways, and piles of discarded Christmas. But the return of the sun was the most important event of all! A big snow storm arrived early in the
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December was a month of prolonged snow, short and dark days, people walking with their faces angled towards the ground, ice fog, the whir of gritters, large mittens, the rhythmic clack of ice grippers on footwear, golden string lights on balconies, rosy cheeks and bitter cold. We saw our first
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November was a month of snow (yay!), grey skies, blue light, glögg, frozen waterways, the first julstjärna, hyacinth bulbs, the whir of gritters, heads nestled in hoods, saffron everything, and a warm glow emanating from windows. Dark and grey. Standard November weather until snow arrives. The skating rink was set
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October was a month of black boots with thick soles, blue light, rows of heather, the first snowflakes, reflectors on jackets, creeping darkness, pumpkins, blankets on outdoor seats, bitter wind and cyclists wearing bright safety vests. A combination of rain, darkness and cold made the month feel more like November
Places
September was a month of changing leaves, people wearing jackets, colder wind, the smell of hotdogs, Jubilee celebrations, ice cream shops closing for Winter and lower sun. We actually spent half of the month adventuring elsewhere — a trip to Spain (Xàbia and Granada) and some time unwinding on Gotland. Time
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