My first WAXHOLM visit - in the winter!

Image # 1 The Waxholm Fortress, 16th Century, so far never conquered by Russians! 

I might be surprising you by writing this blog in the English language for a change - it is just to make it a more easily "digestive" for dear relatives and friends in other countries and continents... 

The subject for this essay is, as the headline indicates, that in the normally coldest and darkest season there, a spontaneous trip to the well-known seaside resort Waxholm happened to take place on the 16th of January this year 2022.

"Hm...why in the winter?", you probably think.
Well - the immediate answer is of course - "why not"?

I´ve never been there before - it was about time now, and to be guided there by the eminent "ZeroEight" Tommy Lyngborn who is my best photography- and  traveling buddy (in addition to have the chance to meet up there in Waxholm with yet another analogue-photo freak like Tommy and me - who actually lives out there in Waxholm!) was something I hadn’t expected to be that exiting as it actually was! 

Prospects were surprisingly good - although we did not experience the nice weather that we had in the City of Stockholm on the day before. Gray, overcast, a little chilly (almost freezing) and fairly windy, (i.e.  "the 1/50 bl 5,6 milde-Sweden-weather") and the Sunday started out by getting us out there to Waxholm by a steamer, one of the famous shipping vessels (practically a type of "commuter ships", which the Vaxholm ships today are - a classical passenger shipping line with an extensive and interesting history, going back probably a hundred years or more!!)  

Image #2 A modern "Waxholmsbåt" - this is m/s Nämdö, they all have names that directly refer to the this part of the Stockholm archipelage

I started out with the train trip to Stockholm on the early Friday morning in January - the Östersund weather had been stable and fine for a few days, not much snow, so I thought that walking down to our railway station in Östersund would be easy, not having to have a full arctic winter outfit since I was going to travel light this time - pandemic and all. So a light rucksack and the aircraft-cabin bagage-sized wheeled suitcase would be quite enough.

Image # 3 Not yet really awake on the train...

Getting up that morning at 4:00 a.m., I looked through the window and saw that 6-8" of fresh snow had fallen - "no, I won´t rearrange my baggage...it couldn´t be that bad to walk downhill to the station even if it has snowed some".  I actually had to carry all my luggage - the snow was too deep and mushy for the small suitcase with wheels I have, but I got there to the train in time - however not quite effortless!!

Image #4 "We up here in Jämtland are so used to snow, that some snow on walkways are always a "walk-in-the-park..." This is the place where I live...the photo was taken through my living room window.

I arrived in Stockholm C towards noon - a nice trip, very few other travellers most probably because of Covid restrictions...a face mask was recommended, only every other seat was bookable, but no hugging or close contact with strangers etc was allowed. Fine with me! I never was much for hugging strangers anyway!

Image #5   Rödabergsbrinken, the small local street (inserted view) where my aunt lives in a small but comfortable flat, and the bigger picture is a part of the neighborhood "Vasastan" which has always been very attractive to live in...

Rumour has it, that high up in one of the two towers, the famous Zlatan Ibrahimowicz had one of his apartments - the price level for a high class penthouse up there is assumed to be about 70 million SEK! 

As soon as I arrived, I took the Subway to "the Red Mountains", i.e. in the Vasastan quarters, where my aunt Agda has her apartment. A perfect location for this senior citizen´s somewhat suspicious adventures (me), occurring repeatedly in our Capital - "Auntie" Agda has access to a small single bedroom guest flat, at a very attractive price - and that alternative to a hotel room is always very comfortable and practical for me, as well as it is nice for her to now and then have her nephew visiting nearby for a couple of days.

She is in good health, knows that part of Stockholm well, and she is since many years very active and successful with her genealogy research - our ancestry both in Sweden and overseas , and then we can easily "indulge" in some of our common interests. Her baking skills have also really impressed me several times! Not the least to mention, her the delicious "Apfelstrudel",  the Austrian dessert speciality served warm with vanilla sauce as you well know. 

Image #6 My "Landlady" for the weekend - Auntie Agda, who is very dear to me - and a great "Apfelstrudel" baker! This photo was taken with my old artifact camera - "the one I tried to sell to Tristin",  see Image # 16 below!

Image #7 Another famous view over Stockholm, from "Söders höjder" overlooking the water.

My plans for the Friday were, as agreed with Tommy L, who also is the classic car magazine “MG Bulletin” editor, were that he would pick me up with his car and then we would first drop off my recent "acquisition", the TLR Ikoflex camera at Jonas´s workshop in Sumpan for a CLA service. The photo distance adjustment wheel was somewhat jammed, and might need some professional attention. Quickly said and done - Jonas Vikström is a great analogue camera technician to be helped by.

Further north then by car, to Järfälla half an hour away, where I especially looked forward to meet up with a "long lost friend", Per , with whom I haven´t had any contact with for about 40 years. We were close "study buddies" for 3-4  years during the early 70´s at the Umeå University up north - and we both had a particular interest in classic sports cars - his "cup of tea" was the 356 Porsche series, and my favourite car was the magnificent Alfa Romeo.

Image #8  An old analogue photo - taken in Skellefteå early in the spring 1977, when we both had the opportunity to "pose" with our dream cars side by side. The JP wheel rims on my Alfa 2000 GTV 1973 is not that great looking, but the original wheel rims had tyres with spikes for icy and snowy roads on at the time. Per´s Porsche 356 SC 1965 was apparently newly washed and waxed and obviously shines somewhat brighter than my Alfa! Especially the Bertone GTV line - of which I later came to own several models, was the best at that time in my youth.

We both, Tommy and I, were very welcome home to Per that Friday in January - I had managed to reconnect with Per just a few weeks earlier, and it turned out to be a very pleasant reunion. It is some magnificent two-car garage he has now, of course two different 356 series Porsches - adjacent to his house, including a very useful greasing-pit for a serious classic auto enthusiast!

Image #9 Something really out of the ordinary - the Porsche 356 Carrera (1958) type 547/1 engine - now overhauled and ready to be inserted! 

Image #10 Basically the same type 547/1 engine that I photographed 1976, but slightly dismantled or prepared for storage - then it also was a magnificient piece of equipment even for an Bertone italian car freak like me!  

That was about all that day - Tommy dropped me off in the city centre near Auntie´s address, and on entering her cosy flat, dinner was already on the table and the wine bottle opened when I entered! 

Image #11 A refreshing Saturday mid-day walk downtown through Vasaparken - its skating grounds is amazingly popular and pleasant to watch!

A good night´s sleep in the guest flat - in the other building, and then a Saturday with lots of sun and fresh air!
Another old friend from my home town, and also the Umeå University, had the initial "vernissage" of his photo exhibition in the famous Jazz Club "Fasching" in Stockholm´s City centre - he exposed a great collection of his own jazz photography in that club´s premises .

Picture #12 The exhibition "Curator" and "Exhibition General" Kenth together with another admirer visiting  

Over 80 images, most of them black & white, of various jazz musicians that he had portrayed. Lovely! And a glass of champagne on this opening day while I was trying to get a sublime feel if his photography style now is the same as back then 1970 - and his photos were certainly much appreciated. Awesome!

Image #13 The photo exhibition covering one of the walls in the famous jazz club "Fasching"

The exhibitor Kent Wångklev was also, like me, a Canon enthusiast back in the days - at the end of the 60´s he had the Canon FL lens system, I chose the new Canon FD lens system at the beginning of the 70´s. I have blogged about that earlier,  here on Fs. (www.fotosidan.se) if you recall.

Alright, then Tommy and I discussed what to do on the Sunday - and his idea that "why not make a winter expedition out to Waxholm?" OK - fine with me!

Waxholm is a right famous spot in Sweden - my immediate associations when hearing the name Waxholm was, that the fleet of ships covering a large part of the Stockholm archipelage not only for working people but also for leisure and tourism, is quite unique in its own way - the lyrics of the song "Waxholm Ettan" rings a bell in my mind right away. The well built old steamers here, like our own m/s Thomée and s/s Östersund, (built and "inaugurated" the same year 1875) always interest me, since such vessels then were so important for the infrastructure back then in the middle of the 19th century - also up here in Storsjön, and are well known to Jämtar/Norrlänningar... 

We got off early that Sunday morning, I took the Subway out to Slussen, and met up with Tommy there. Tickets were bought, and even a SL card would well be accepted also for the boat fare.

Image # 14 The Stockholm Subway, the "T-Banan" Green Line end station "Slussen"

Off we sailed, and while waiting on the quay at Slussen for the ship to be ready for boarding, the two apparently far travelled girls ahead of us on the quay, had waited longer, and were very nice to talk to.  A mother and her daughter, from Florida,  that were going up to Nordkap to see the Nordic Lights, "Aurora Borealis" and discover more of Sweden as well as Norway. Of course, one can hardly expect to see the Nordic Lights in the summer up there, so it seemed perfectly reasonable to do such a trip in December.

Image #15 Waiting to get on board and the ship´s departure - a dull rainy day with weak photo light...hence the lack of sharpness 

They had a lot of luggage, but seemed to manage that quite well without any help from nearby standing male "porters". Tommy and I didn´t ask - which we probably should have done, but at least I got the immediate impression that they were quite capable of handling their luggage themselves!

What was especially impressive, was that the daughter, who couldn´t be older than in her early twenties, is a professional civil pilot flying passengers all over the North American continent! Awesome!  

We talked during most of the sea voyage out to Waxholm, and I just had to show my recently acquired Zeiss Super Ikonta 531,  note that the image below looks like I am trying to sell them my old artefact camera!

Picture # 16 Tristin (in full awe!) over the features and the provenience of my old camera! (Smart phone photo by Tommy L)

Now, they showed a true interest in what we told the about Stockholm and how to get to Sigtuna by bus/train or similarly. I receommended them, for travelling up to Nordkap, that to use the Norwegian Hurtigrutten´s great possibilities in Norway and travel along the coast instead of inland by train in Norway, but the travel cost on that shipping line might be fairly high.

I myself have in fact done such a cruise, from Harstad (southbound) to Trondheim via Lofoten islands, so I felt I could well recommend them to cruise with Hurtigrutten northbound up there from Bergen on the Norwegian south coast. The present off-season could even mean lower cruise prices, I thought. 

Image #17 Not many people on the quay this morning - in the background the historically important fortress of Waxholm. 

Well arrived in Waxholm after about one and a half hour sailing, the girls headed off to a part out there that I did not know about, a short ferry distance to another nearby island, I believe. We wished them good luck and a safe onward journey - hoping that parts of their huge luggage would be successfully air freighted back to Florida for their travel conveniance.  

Tommy and I walked around the harbor area of Waxholm - we both took a few pictures (analogue!) across the water, of a comparatively small island opposite of the quay, where the famous big fortress of Waxholm rises. In the year 1548 the first part for protection of the  inlet to Stockholm was finished, and successively there were other extensions added. During the year 1833 a total reconstruction was begun, that led to the present shape of the fortress. Since year 1548 it has been situated there intact, and is one of the few Scandinavian castles that the Russian forces never have been capable to conquer or surpass, not ever, during the more than 500 years of history!)  

However, towards noon we were both very thirsty, hungry and somewhat frozen, so we decided then to have lunch somewhere nice - "Hamnkrogen" seemed to suit us fine. A large draft beer to start with, then a Hamburger plate for Tommy and the classical Swedish Meatballs with a cream sauce for me, it all tasted very good indeed.

Image #18 At last - that beer and the food in addition, was exactly what we needed then!

At the same time we also rang our friend Sigvard Eklund (another fotosidan.se member and analogue photo enthusiast) as promised, who lives permanently in such an interesting environment. I had called him on the phone the day before, to hear if it would be possible for him to meet up with us on the Sunday..."Certainly" he said. "Give me a call some time after 12 - then I´ll catch up with you"... he said. This was also the very first time we met, both for Tommy and me, and thanks to the Fotosidan membership we thought the we probably would have the about the same taste for b/w photography! 

Image #19 This was a very good place - "Hamnkrogen" is definitely no "greasy spoon"...delicious food to reasonable prices!

Yes, by the time we got to the coffe after the luncheon meal, Sigvard turned up at the pub and also had a cup of coffee with us. That was actually the very first time him and me met IRL, so that was about time! He is also a photography enthusiast, owning the same type of camera as  Tommy (Yashica 4G) and my Ikoflex - a twin lens mirror reflex, analogue camera for 120-spool sized film.   He and Tommy told me that visiting Waxholm in the summer is an entirely different thing - jammed with people - lots of life, tourists, yacht owners, sailors and much more to see and enjoy. 

Image #20 Me and Sigvard, enjoying our coffee

After lunch it started to rain - and Sigvard drove us around the tiny centre of Waxholm, to give us a glimpse of the idyllic scenery there and the narrow streets with old but well maintained houses. Must be a real treat to live there in the summer!!

Image #21 The Waxholm City Hall, analog (probably the worst picture in this blog!)

The thing is, that I´m not quite comfortable yet with the special viewer of that camera - I have to rely partly on my experience of focal length and lens angle width - which nevertheless was a complete failure for especially this picture. The least you can expect of a photographer who is trying to portray a certain building, is that the whole building is visible on his final picture. Which I sadly did not manage this time!

The camera is old, so is me the owner - the camera (Tessar 7 cm f3.5) lens was manufactured i Germany in April 1936 - many years before I even could hold a camera safely. But I am confident that I will cope with the viewer in due course, an also always remember to tilt the camera vertically for landscape views! Why? The negative size is 4.5 x 6 centimeters, enabling 16 frames on a 120 size spool - standing! 

Later that afternoon, we boarded the ship back to Stockholm City, and I took the Subway back to Auntie and Tommy returned home to his flat in Kärrtorp. I had some shopping to do during the following Monday, and late that afternoon I railed back to Östersund on the evening train. The summary of this "Big City Stockholm" weekend trip was perfect in nearly all aspects - only the poor b/w Street Photography during the dull weather on the Sunday in Waxholm was maybe a disappointment but can always be justified by the old saying "there is no bad weather - only unsuitable clothing (and too low film sensitivity for any artifact camera)" 

I have now developed the negatives taken - fine, good b/w technical quality in some cases but no real surprises - my initial digital photo of the fortress was perhaps one of the best (digital) pictures I took that weekend.

Tips/recommendations/corrections concerning e.g. facts in my blog are gladly received by me - your comments are most welcome as usual!!

Au revoir...!

/B

2022-03-19 21:00   Miniseven

Bra skriven berättelse Börje. Tänk vad du/vi hann med mycket den helgen. Du får väl ta och skicka en länk till norrskensforskarna så de får läsa. Lite fina bilder fick vi också trots regn och halv storm. Kul att få ta en bira med Sigward också.
Tommy

Besvara

Svar från Canalog 2022-03-19 21:08

Tack Tommy! Ja det var en mycket givande och trevlig weekend! Jag har skickat till norrskensforskarna från Florida! Ska skicka en blänkare till Sigvard och Pelle också!
Ha det bra
/B

Svara

2022-03-19 22:01   syntax

Well - it is said that the famous German general Count Moltke laugh loudly at two occasions during his lifetime: The first when he murdered his mother in law, and the second when he first studied the castle of Waxholm.
Maybe the Russians where of the same opinion?

Besvara

2022-03-19 22:27   Khalad

Vilken fin blogg Börje, massor att läsa och massor att titta på! Har aldrig besökt Waxholms fästning, kanske vore värt ett besök? Trevligt med dom amerikanska besökarna du visar :-) Många hälsningar/ Björn

Besvara

Svar från Canalog 2022-03-20 07:13

Tack Björn för dina värmande ord - det är såna trevliga kommentarer som din som verkligen inspirerar och får mig att uppskatta att vara medlem på Fotosidan!

Och inte minst för att jag har fått så många kunniga fotokompisar tack vare sajten, och som berikar mitt fotointresse på alla sätt!
/B

Svara

2022-03-20 05:41   Sierra Stevens

Thank You for sharing this with us! Tristin and I enjoyed meeting the two of you very much!
Yes, we did make the adventures journey of reaching the Most Northern point on the continent, Nordkap, Norway. It was a Fun, Challenging, and Beautiful Adventure to undertake! Those should not shy away from it…even in January!!
Thank you again for all the information you shared with the two of us! We do indeed plan to come back and experience one of those Fabulous cruises along the west of Norway in the future. We will be very excited to do so.

Besvara

Svar från Canalog 2022-03-20 07:26

Thank you very much Sierra! I value your appreciating comment to my blog a lot, I was indeed very lucky to have spent that weekend in Stockholm among so many nice and friendly people!

You and your daughter Tristin were naturally an important part of it, and I hope to see you again here i Scandinavia, if and when you return!

Have a nice day, Sierra!
/B

Svara

2022-03-20 17:53   Mats Axelsson

Really ambitious blog episode! Much to read and many images, but interesting to take part.

/MA

Besvara

Svar från Canalog 2022-03-22 16:17

Thank you Mats! Maybe I thought a while that it’s too long and unnecessary detailed…but readers seem to like it like this, which indeed is inspiring!
/B

Svara