FOLLOW me on my popular Twitter feed. Just click this photo! @hbbtruth - David - Common sense on #Politics #PublicPolicy #Sports #PopCulture in USA, Great Britain, Sweden and France, via my life in #Texas #Memphis #Miami #IU #Chicago #DC #FL 🛫🌍📺📽️🏈. Photo is of Elvis and Joan Blackman in 'Blue Hawaii'

Beautiful Stockholm at night, looking west towards Gamla Stan
Showing posts with label #stockholm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #stockholm. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Trust me, in 2015, unlike 2014, I'll follow this advice. Really! 2015 is going to be completely different. Årets nyhet: du! Ett helt nytt och obrukat år är här. (New this year: you! A brand new and unused year is here.)

Close-up photo of the cute head-turning window display at the Apotek Hjärtat -Sweden's largest independent pharmacy chain- located at Ringvägen 113, near the Skanstull T-bana in Södermalm, Stockholm.
The sign reads, "Årets nyhet: du! Ett helt nytt och obrukat år är här. Just nu känns det lite lättare att välja om, förändra vanor och bryta gamla mönster. Vi hjälper gärna till. Du vill, du kan, du törs!'
(New this year: you! A brand new and unused year is here. Right now it feels a little easier to choose, change habits and break old patterns. We're happy to help. You want to, you can, you dare!) 
Sounds like good advice that I ought to actually follow in 2015, unlike 2014! 

January 12, 2013 photo by South Beach Hoosier.© 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved
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Friday, January 10, 2014

One year ago today, I arrived with my South Florida tan intact to beautiful-but-cold-and-snowy Stockholm; ABBA, Arlanda, Södermalm, Hammarbybacken

Preview



 The welcoming party that greeted me at the luggage carousel at Arlanda Stockholm Airport back in January was... ABBA.  As seen in my May 7, 2013 blog post titled, "A" is for Awesome and ABBA as the new ABBA Museum in Stockholm officially opens this afternoon. Monday night's gala premiere brought Anni-Frid, Benny and Björn together, cheered on by a select group of invitees from across Swedish society and the music industry, who are, in the end, just fans of the band like everyone else, and very excited that this amazing museum is FINALLY a reality; #abba, #AbbaMuseum, #ThankYouForTheMusic, @stockholm, @sweden. 
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-is-for-awesome-and-abba-as-new-abba.html




 Hammarbybacken. Stockholm.December 2012 from AnitaN on Vimeo.
Hammarbybacken. Stockholm.December 2012 from AnitaN on Vimeo.
AnitaN's Vimeo video: Hammarbybacken. Stockholm. December 2012

Originally, when I thought I was going to be in Stockholm right before Christmas 2012, I was going to be staying at the Park Inn Stockholm Hammarby Sjöstad, 
http://www.parkinn.com/hotel-stockholmhammarby a nice new-ish Radisson property
that's not-too-far from the slope seen in the video in nearby Hammarby: 

I only changed my plans when I got the chance to stay in a more centrally-located place that made it much more convenient to meet with some people I hoped to be meeting with and possibly even interviewing.

My some great and fortunate stroke of luck, by coming in January, I was able to stay at what is Stockholm's #1 B&B, in Södermalm, at the wonderful 4Trappor B&B 
As I've previously mentioned, this B&B is the top-rated one in the greater Stockholm area by Trip Advisor -and for very good reason!
And the breakfast -and the views thru the kitchen windows- are amazing!

 I stayed there the first five days of my January trip, before spending my last five days at the very comfortable and affordable Omena Hotel Stockholm on the north side of town, Norrmalm, which is walking distance to the downtown business/retail district, Central Station and Gamla Stan. http://www.omenahotels.com/our-hotels/sweden/stockholm/

 You could hardly find a more central location to rest at in-between exploring the sights of this amazing city, and there's a popular sports bar/restaurant on the ground floor which features a terrific lunch deal for 95 SEK.
I highly recommend the ravioli -and a window seat!

 As you can see below, too much bright sunshine was definitely NOT the problem we had that first full day of mine in Stockholm, both excited and jet-lagged at the same time.
Looking west on Gotlandsgatan from in front of TripAdvisor.com's #1 B&B in Stockholm, B&B4trappor, in Södermalm, with the beautiful Katarina södra skola to the right. January 12, 2013 photos by South Beach Hoosier. © 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.

Above, using my Latitude app on my Samsung cell phone to find out where people I knew were once I checked into the B&B in Södermalm before I tried to reach them by phone or email.  
And now, from my January 1, 2013 blog post titled, Baby, It's Cold Outside! But by sled, ski or snowmobile, everyone who's anyone -yes, even baby princesses- is eager to be part of the scene in chic, sexy, snowy (and Venture Capital-loving) Stockholm, and who can blame them? I'll soon be joining them!; Niklas Zennström, Andreas Ehn and other entrepreneurs on the secrets to their success and why Sweden "punches above its weight" when it comes to producing tech start-ups; #stockholm, #sweden
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/baby-its-cold-outside-but-by-sled-ski.html

 If it snows too much next Sunday to do much walking around and sightseeing, I may go here around Noontime, and then just do some people watching while reading the papers and drinking coffee outside, and do some filming of the whole crazy scene. 
And THEN head to a sports bar to watch the NFL playoff games!
That's when that six-hour time difference finally works to my advantage.

 (More thoughts -and photos- of that crazy NFL football predicament I faced in Stockholm 12 months ago can be seen on the blog over the coming weekend!)



 RetardedVideos2013 YouTube Channel video: Crazy snowmobile ride in Stockholm (SWEDEN). Uploaded on December 6, 2012. http://youtu.be/j7sCpSFRKww 
Dave 
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Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas to all my faithful blog readers around the world, from a place that's Far From the Madding Crowd of Swedish Moose, Reindeer, Fir trees, Snowmen and snowmobiles -South Florida, where it'll be in the '80's today. But you all know where I'd much rather be today!


Above and below, some of my January 2013 photos at Sergels Torg, Stockholm, Sweden. All original photos below by South Beach Hoosier.  © 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.

 Above, ground level, looking northeast towards the obelisk and Sergelfontänen, the fountain, which in the winter becomes the scene of large lighted reindeer, sans red noses.
Behind that is the large SEB building, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB, on Sveavägen, the firm I used for my currency exchange at Arlanda upon arrival and departure. 
Very friendly and professional people, unlike most banks in South Florida.











Below, earlier in the afternoon, looking east towards that same scene but from farther west on the plaza. In the far right, you can see the iconic revolving 22-foot neon, circular Nordiska Kompanaiet Department Store sign not too far away over on Hamngatan, which is green on one side and red on the other at night, with a clock.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tommyajohansson/4948444585/

 It's not only an iconic symbol in the area, but a beacon for those for whom the fashionable life that exists in Stockholm is the only way to go. 

 It's pretty amazing, which is why I have said here on the blog so many times that people who live there REALLY love it in a way that is hard to describe to people who live in South Florida, given the high percentage of people who are from elsewhere.
That's part of what gives it its palpable soul and sense of style.



Above, looking west from ground level near the middle of the Plattan towards the very popular Stadsteatern, the Stockholm City Theatre, http://kulturhusetstadsteatern.se/







The plaza is only one of my favorite places in all of Sweden and anywhere actually.
I literally spent HOURS standing and walking around it and the adjoining areas in January's cold, marveling at it all -the perfect public square. I simply couldn't get enough of it, just like when i first moved to washington, D.C. in 1988, and could spend as much time as i wanted on the steps of the west side of the U.S. Capitol overlooking The Mall, or from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, looking east towards the washington Monument.
A nexus of high-minded culture, social policy, pop culture, amazing retail shopping, very serious people-watching and the ease of well-located public transportation hubs that make everything seem more intimate and possible.

 So unlike South Florida.
[OFFICIAL] Michael Jackson Dance Tribute - STOCKHOLM, July 2009.

 When kids in small towns in Sweden think about what they want to do in Stockholm one day when they are older and have left their bucolic and boring life behind, one of the things they think about is being able to take it for granted that a place like this exists for them, too.
That it belongs to them as much as it belongs to people who have always lived in Stockholm.
There is nothing like this at all in South Florida.
RetardedVideos2013 YouTube Channel video: Crazy snowmobile ride in Stockholm (SWEDEN). Uploaded on December 6, 2012. http://youtu.be/j7sCpSFRKww 
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Saturday, July 6, 2013

Trending -with style!- at Hallandale Beach Blog: Maria Sharapova and her knowing, nuanced and amusing tweets about sports, food, fashion, travel and the unusual under-the-microscope life she leads; @MariaSharapova, #Sugarpova, #Stockholm: ABC News Nightline video of her 2010 trip to Chernobyl







Trending -with style!- at Hallandale Beach Blog: Maria Sharapova and her knowing, nuanced and amusing tweets about sports, food, fashion, travel and the unusual under-the-microscope life she leads; @MariaSharapova, #Sugarpova, #Stockholm: ABC News Nightline video of her 2010 trip to Chernobyl
Here at the blog we love her because she's STILL so remarkably level-headed and thoughtful despite all her great success, on and off the court! 
If @MariaSharapova is NOT playing in the finals of a Women's Grand Slam, like this morning's Wimbledon finals, chances are high that we won't watch it for more than 15-20 minutes at a time.

 The other crazy thing is that for reasons not worth getting fully into here, because of Maria Sharapova's upbringing via her parents, despite her being born in Russia, she's demonstrably more pro-American and down-to-earth -and better informed- than most members of the current U.S. (and European) Mainstream Media that's covering Wimbledon on TV/cable and which you'll be reading online over this Fourth of July weekend, especially the jaded and  blasé under-40 women
Some of us really appreciate that aspect of her winning personality.
My last blog post on Maria Sharapova featured a very good ABC News Nightline segment that originally aired on August 17, 2010.called Out of the Ashes: Maria Sharapova .
It dealt with her visiting the general area near where she might've been born, about 100 miles from Chernobyl -correct, THAT Chernobyl- where her parents lived UNTIL AFTER the 1986 nuclear accident that led them to western SIberia, due to radiation fallout and concern with birth defects.
Maria was born about 51 weeks after the disaster.
The second part of the video focuses on her first yisit there since she was 13 years old.

That November 28th, 2010 blog post was titled, Anna Poslavska, 2010 Miss Ukraine, has a doppelgänger who frequently hits the Panera in Hallandale Beach; Maria Sharapova in The Ukraine
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/anna-poslavska-2010-miss-ukraine-has.html
E:60 Maria Sharapova From Russia With Love Chernobyl, 2010.
Narrated by then-ESPN correspondent Rachel Nichols. 






 which is more interesting when you remember that three months ago, she tweeted about fictional Swedish literary icon, Pippi Longstocking...




































The thought that popped into my head while writing this:
Longest legs, Maria Sharapova vs. Stacey Keibler? 
Hmm-m...
I think we might need a Tale of the Tape to figure that one out for sure.

 http://www.mariasharapova.com/
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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

The blog and I are back from wonderful Stockholm! Bloggen och jag är tillbaka från underbara Stockholm!; #stockholm, #sweden

Stewie Griffin from "The Family Guy," as seen on Channel 6 in Sweden, where they run the show at night in English with Swedish subtitles. Trust me, Stewie is just as droll and spot-on in his observational humor and mockery in svensk as he is in englesk.
The blog and I are back from wonderful Stockholm!  Bloggen och jag är tillbaka från underbara Stockholm!
I will have lots of interesting stories, anecdotes, observations, photos, videos -and some valuable lessons learned- to share with you all over the next two weeks about my trip to Stockholm, "The Capital of Scandinavia," which, while it was cold and snowy while I was there, never getting above 27° F, got noticeably colder just as I was leaving for Arlanda Airport Friday night to return, with me crashing at the airport so I wouldn't miss my SAS flight in the morning. 

 While it's now about 65° F here in Hallandale Beach in the middle of the night, in Stockholm right now, at 10:30 a.m., it's now just under 7° F.

 Below, the weather forecast from Channel 4 today, Tuesday morning, around 6 a.m. Stockholm time.

 V%C3%A4der%2006:10

You'll recall me writing here before my trip about how early sundown is, on those days when there seems like there really is some sun, which was between 3:15 and 3:30 p.m.
But what I may've neglected to mention was how late sunrise comes, too.
That's equally brutal this time of the year, and really, really makes you want to stay in bed.

This is what it looked like outside my hotel room window last Thursday morning around 7:30 am., looking down on Torsgatan in the Norrmalm neighborhood of Stockholm. Really.
Now that I'm back and my jet lag and the six-hour time difference in my head has finally (mostly) disappeared since landing in Ft. Lauderdale Saturday night, I'm busy organizing and cataloging everything from my trip, from my random or considered thoughts to my photos to my copious notes about consumer prices, so that everything will be in sync and I don't forget to mention anything I was planning on sharing here, especially those valuable facts and lessons that might prove instructive to some of you in the future who don't presently know much about Sweden or Stockholm at all. 
There's a lot you don't know -and a lot you think you know that isn't actually true.

 From this perch of mine over the next two weeks or so, I'll try to re-calibrate the scales a bit, and lean them more to the side of fact-based knowledge over tired, old cliches and gross generalizations from 30-40 years ago, so that those of you who are interested and want to be well-informed, can have the benefit of what I know and have learned the past two weeks from first-hand knowledge and observation while seeing as much as I could in one of the world's greatest and most dynamic cities.

 While not perfect, it's a place that honestly does have a visceral positive "buzz" about it, and trust me when I tell you, the area's residents there really DO love living there, esp. the folks fortunate enough to live in Södermalm, where I spent half my trip.

-----
Stockholm Visitors Board, Stockholm Convention Bureau
http://www.stockholm.se/
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Tuesday, January 8, 2013

While Jon Stewart & Wyatt Cenac skewer America's understanding of Sweden for laughs, Reason TV's Ted Balaker adroitly explains how Sweden's embrace of individual choice and competition have created a better economic system for them, even while many in the U.S. remain resistant to many of the same free-market policies; The new 'Stockholm Syndrome' doesn't involve hostages, but well-educated, media-savvy people who visit and become besotted with a dynamic city and the great possibilities present there -and come to realize that they don't want to return home to a place that seems decidedly less-dynamic, innovative and fun; #sweden, #stockholm


 

ReasonTV YouTube video: Sweden: A Supermodel for America? Reason's Ted Balaker adroitly explains how Sweden's embrace of individual choice and competition -and free-market reforms- have created a better economic system for them, even while many in the U.S. remain resistant to many of the same free-market policies. Uploaded June 22, 2010. http://youtu.be/tDAQWJbEl9U

The Stockholm Syndrome, Part I on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart



Above and below, two short but humorous videos that aired on U.S. TV in April of 2009 during the public policy debate over Obamacare, which as most of you regular readers of the blog know, I opposed.

In them, comedian and Daily Show talk show host Jon Stewart and the show's correspondent Wyatt Cenac tweaks the U.S. by toying with 1960's-era cliches about most Americans general understanding of Sweden and its culture, society and political system.
This only serves to prove what most people know -nobody laughs at cliches about American stereotypes as much as other Americans.

The Stockholm Syndrome, Part II on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

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Monday, January 7, 2013

Baby, It's Cold Outside! But by sled, ski or snowmobile, everyone who's anyone -yes, even baby princesses- is eager to be part of the scene in chic, sexy, snowy (and Venture Capital-loving) Stockholm, and who can blame them? I'll soon be joining them!; Niklas Zennström, Andreas Ehn and other entrepreneurs on the secrets to their success and why Sweden "punches above its weight" when it comes to producing tech start-ups; #stockholm, #sweden


SVT video: Estelle åker pulka. Följ med kronprinsessan Victoria och prins Daniel när prinsessan Estelle för första gången åker pulka i Hagaparken. 
Princess Estelle gets the royal treatment and gets taken out for her first bout of sledding in the Winter Wonderland that is Stockholm's Haga Park, pulled by her parents, Prince Daniel and Crown Princess Victoria. Originally aired December 28, 2012. http://www.svtplay.se/klipp/933253/estelle-aker-pulka
The video above is an excerpt from SVT's annual review program below -here's the promo-
of the past year's activities of the Swedish royal court. 
You can see the entire 58-minute TV program -in Swedish- here:
http://www.svt.se/aret-med-kungafamiljen/se-program/
Baby, It's Cold Outside! But by sled, ski or snowmobile, everyone who's  anyone -yes, even baby princesses- is eager to be part of the scene in chic, sexy, snowy (and Venture Capital-loving) Stockholm, and who can blame them? I'll soon be joining them!; Niklas Zennström, Andreas Ehn and other entrepreneurs on the secrets to their success and why Sweden "punches above its weight" when it comes to producing tech start-ups; #stockholm, #sweden
Hammarbybacken. Stockholm.December 2012 from AnitaN on Vimeo.
AnitaN's Vimeo video: Hammarbybacken. Stockholm. December 2012

Originally, when I thought I was going to be in Stockholm right before Christmas, I was going to be staying at the Park Inn Stockholm Hammarby Sjöstad, 
a a nice two-year old Radisson property that's not-too-far from the slope seen in the video in nearby Hammarby: 

I only changed my plans when I got the chance to stay in a more centrally-located place that made it much more convenient to meet with some people I hoped to be meeting with and possibly even interviewing.

If it snows too much next Sunday to do much walking around and sightseeing, I may go here around Noontime, and then just do some people watching while reading the papers and drinking coffee outside, and do some filming of the whole crazy scene. 
And THEN head to a sports bar to watch the NFL playoff games!
That's when that six-hour time difference finally works to my advantage.

Romme27Dec2012 from Peter Törnestam on Vimeo.

 Peter Törnestam Vimeo video: Romme27Dec2012 - Having fun at the Romme Alpin ski resort, which specializes in day trips from Stockholm. http://vimeo.com/56618632



RetardedVideos2013 YouTube Channel video: Crazy snowmobile ride in Stockholm (SWEDEN). Uploaded on December 6, 2012. http://youtu.be/j7sCpSFRKww




StockholmUniversity YouTube Channel Video: Two of the minds behind Skype, Spotify and Wrapp visit Stockholm University. "Niklas Zennström, co-founder of Skype and current CEO and Founding Partner of international venture capital firm Atomico, together with Andreas Ehn, former CTO of Spotify and now co-founder of Wrapp, spoke at Stockholm University on February 15, 2012." Uploaded February 23, 2012. http://youtu.be/8R_E4GYfZK4


 Related article is at
TheLocal.se
Skype founder: 'cold winters' key to Swedish tech success
Oliver Gee
Published: 16 Feb 12 17:26 CET
http://www.thelocal.se/39150/20120216#.UOsNR-TAeSo

WIRED (U.K. version)
Europe's hottest startup capitals: Stockholm
By Tom Cheshire
15 August 2011
http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2011/09/european-startups/stockholm

I'll try my best to post here just about everyday and may even be able to post some YouTube videos, but because I'm going to be so busy on the trip, though, I decided to forego the whole Twitter thing until after I've returned, even though it would make it easier and quicker for you to see some of the photos I've snapped.
After all, I have to retain some mystery about the trip -and have time to edit and burnish things so they look just right.

-----
http://www.visitsweden.com/sweden/Local-pages/USA/Newsletter-2012/December/

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Sunday, January 6, 2013

Have begun preliminary pre-flight checklist for trip to snowy Stockholm, yet am already taking flight in my imagination, even while researching how many NFL playoff games I won't be able to see in Stockholm sports bars because of the six-hour time difference; #stockholm #sweden



CopenhagenAirport1 YouTube Channel video: SAS commercial: Så godt som hjemme (As good as home)  Former Danish Foreign Minister Uffe Ellemann-Jensen is discovering Tokyo, Japan via SAS. Uploaded January 25, 2009. Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto. http://youtu.be/33CQKswrPlg  
Have begun preliminary pre-flight checklist for trip to snowy Stockholm, yet am already taking flight in my imagination, even while researching how many NFL playoff games I won't be able to see in Stockholm sports bars because of the six-hour time difference. 
Like former Danish Foreign Minister Uffe Ellemann-Jensen and his trip to Japan depicted above, I'll soon be the proverbial fish-out-of-water, a tanned Floridian in snowy Sweden in darkest January, riding sweet-looking trains, trying to figure out vending machines, and taking photos of normal, everyday things that cause passersby to wonder why I'm taking photos.

But those with a yen for the Internet will quickly spot my Sony Bloggie videocamera and surmise, "Oh, he must be a blogger! Everything is fascinating to them."

 My first full day there I'm slated to say hallå to a day where sundown comes around 3:15 p.m.
http://www.smhi.se/
More on that in the days to come...
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