Göteborg

I spent a week in Sweden, more precisely in Gothenburg (Göteborg in Swedish), to visit my old mother and some friends. The weather was rather typical for the end of the autumn; grey, some light rain / fog, temperature a bit over freezing… Gothenburg is on the west coast, rather south in Sweden, and does not so easily get any snow.

The city is not yet four centuries old. Its place on the map at the mouth of the Göta River, squeezed in between what was Norway and Denmark until 1658, and difficult ground conditions led to several unfruitful attempts to build a town here.

The city plan owes a lot to the Dutch. The town used to be full of canals and many of them are still left. Its major importance has been to be a port, the leading Nordic one, and the port used to be part of the city life. Most of the Nordic immigrants to the States left from here.

The port activities are now closer to the open sea and what you still can see close to the centre is now rather like a museum. Gothenburg was also a leading shipbuilding centre until the 60’s.

Today, it’s still the home of e.g. SKF (the world’s largest bearing manufacturer) and of Volvo (which originally was a subsidiary to SKF), but the city is less and less industrial and is now e.g. the biggest Nordic university town. Totally some 500 thousand people live in the city, some 900 thousand with suburbs.

The apartment buildings I show below, close to the city centre, are mostly from the 19th or the very beginning of the 20th century (and my mother still lives in one of them).You can find some of these photos on my photo blog.

Santa Lucia, Santa Claus...

Just back from Sweden and today being December 13, I thought I should again make a post related to the day and the season – also as a special homage to our dear blogger friend Cergie, also known as Marguerite, whose real name is Lucie.

December 13 is the day of Santa Lucia (Sankta Lucia, Saint Lucy, Sainte Lucie…), much celebrated in the Nordic countries (although rather being protestant than catholic). Before the Gregorian calendar was introduced in the 16th century, St. Lucy's Day fell on the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere and was thus the darkest day of the year. Together with advent, it means today really the beginning of the Christmas celebrations.

Originally celebrated privately at home, later at working places, you find since the beginning of the 20th century also nationally or regionally elected “Lucias” visiting shopping malls, old people’s homes.... Santa Lucia is represented by a young girl or lady in white clothes with a crown of candles, ahead of a procession of other women holding a candle each. (Painting by Carl Larsson, via Google.)

This is of course a symbolic illustration (pic via Google) of light overcoming darkness and the candles originally symbolized the fire that refused to take the real St. Lucy's life when she was sentenced to be burned. Santa Lucia and her accompanying girls or ladies are supposed to perform the originally Neapolitan Santa Lucia song - with adapted words. In general some specific cakes and “glögg” – the Nordic version of mulled wine (heated red wine, cinnamon, cloves, sugar, raisins, almonds…) - is served. Santa Lucia is not an official holiday, but work may not be very extremely efficient in Sweden today.

Related to Christmas, this brings me to say something about some decorations (whereof this is a detail) which can be found on a building, close to where my mother lives in my native Gothenburg (Göteborg). This house, built in the late 19th century, used to belong to the editor of the leading local newspaper, a certain Mr. Hedlund. One of his close collaborators was a writer called Viktor Rydberg, who in 1871 wrote a by all Swedes well known poem about the “tomte” (Christmas gnome).

The poem was illustrated by a 17 year old art student, called Jenny Nyström and her “tomte”, which you still can find on Christmas postcards, is clearly the model for the Swedish version of Father Christmas.

It is supposed that Haddon Sundblom, born in Michigan to a Swedish-speaking immigrant family, may have got some inspiration from her when he created the famous Coca Cola version around 1920.

He was of course also inspired by the different already existing American Santa Claus images, more particularly by the one created by the German born Thomas Nast in 1863.

The house decorations we see here below are in any case clearly inspired by the Jenny Nyström “tomte”, but they represent rather the different activities of the family owners - editors, journalists, photographers…

Some more night shots

Before I leave for Sweden (I will hopefully be back and able to post again December 13), here are some more night shots. Two from Place de la Concorde, one of the Champs Elysées and one of the roof of the Grand Palais (along the Champs Elysées). It was raining and I took the photos with my trembling hands… Anyhow.

See you (rather) soon!!

Place Vendôme at night

After taking some photos of the illuminated department stores, I thought I should have a look on the Christmas decorations on the nearby Rue de la Paix and Place Vendôme. This is where you find exclusive jewellery shops like Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpel, Piaget, Chaumet… the Hotel Ritz… and the Ministry of Justice (see yesterday’s map).

A bit less spectacular as decoration, but very classy of course.

Part of the decoration was spotlights on the Napoleon column in the middle of the place. As it was slightly raining and the clouds were low, Napoleon’s shadow could be seen in the sky (see top picture).

Place Vendôme was laid out by Louis XIV in 1702 already. Later John Law, the Scottish banker who invented paper money, took over the project and the square was complete in 1720. Law had just the time to move in to his own apartments before he had to flee, bankrupt. He ended his life as a gambler and died poor in Venice.

The column, erected by Napoleon, is said to have been made out of cannons won during different battles. Both the statue and the column have been taken down a few times, depending on regimes. It stands there as it is today since 1874. The present statue is a copy; the original one was used to provide bronze for the statue of Henry IV on the Pont Neuf.

You can find a few of these photos on my photo blog.

It is (not yet) Christmas!

No ‘still painting” posts any more! The flat is now (almost) ready to receive the furniture. I have finished my part this weekend, but my son and his wife are still busy refreshing the wooden floors…

Late Friday evening I took a walk around the city to check some of the Christmas decorations – just installed.

The two department stores, Au Printemps and Galeries Lafayette, situated very close to each other on the same street, Boulevard Haussmann (8th arrdt.), are of course competitors, including e.g. who has the nicest glass dome (see my post June 26), but of course also right now who has the nicest “Christmas dress” and the most nicely decorated shop windows. The top picture is one of these windows. You can find some of these pictures on my photo blog.

Still painting - day 10

I trust and sincerely hope that this is the last “painting post” – only some fine tuning still needed.

I took the same photo as “day 7”, when I left my son’s flat – this time when I arrived yesterday morning. The tower (or what you could see of it) looked this time less attractive, the sky was grey… and it was without any real regrets that I went to my painting session.

Next week, I hope to be able to make a few real posts again, but December 5 I will leave for about a week in Sweden. My old mother “requires” my presence.

I wish you a very nice weekend! I will grab my camera and will hopefully find something to tell you on Monday!

Still painting - day 9

Still another day of painting. Some of you believe that we are redecorating a huge apartment; quite logical if you consider the time we are spending. Well, it’s not that huge - a three bedroom flat, but a lot of frustrating preparation jobs to be done before we could start with the more colourful phase, involving several layers of paint…. Sorry, but all this takes time. Kitchen, bathroom etc. are also completely transformed, fortunately by professionals.

On the way to my painting session, I could not resist against taking another tree photo; the morning sun on the golden leaves attracted my eyes. There are still a few trees where the leaves have not yet decided to fall.

Still painting - day 8

Yesterday morning, on the way to the metro, walking through « my » park, I thought for a second (or maybe two) that I should find an excuse for not painting; the sky was so blue, the birds were singing… , but of course my sense of duty took over!

I hope that by the end of the week it will all be ready. Everything is going slowly, but according to schedule.

Still painting - day 7

This is what I saw last evening when I left the flat I’m just helping to repaint.

I’m happy we are not repainting the Eiffel Tower: 60 tons of paint are needed = 0,6% of its total weight. It’s done on average every seven years and it takes more than a year for 25 painters. Next campaign starts in 2008. I’m not applying for the job!

Still painting - day 6

Yes, still painting. We have for a couple of days more. It’s surprising the number of paint layers you need before you feel happy with the result. I really start to feel that I would prefer to leave the paint brushes and have some time to work with my blog again and to visit yours, but…

Still painting

Yes, the painting goes on. Far from finished. In the meantime, thanks for all your encouraging comments!

... and, sorry, I forgot to wish you all a nice weekend in the previous message!

Along Rue Réaumur (2)

Here comes the second part of our strolling along Rue Réaumur, leaving the 3rd arrondissement for the 2nd.

The buildings here mostly date from the very last years of the 19th century. The architects seem to have been allowed some more freedom than what you usually find with the pure Haussmannian style. Several of the buildings have partly a metallic structure. You can sometimes find a touch of Art Nouveau.

Several newspapers used to have their headquarters in this area, some on this street. Most newspapers are now in the suburbs.

No. 100 previously housed “France Soir”, which used to have an important circulation of some 2 million, but today has left the premises (now “just offices”) and has become a very insignificant newspaper. Originally, the building was occupied by an other newspaper called ”L’Intransigeant” (still visible on the entrance hall mosaic) and for a few years after WW II by the during the war clandestine “Combat” (with names as JP Sartre, Albert Camus, André Malraux..).

Another important newspaper, Le Parisien (Liberé) occupied no. 124 as from the end of WW II until the 70’s. (This newspaper belongs to the same group which organises Tour de France and also owns the sports newspaper “L’Equipe”.)

Along the street you will also find a different type of metro entrance, Le Sentier, which you access via a building. Even the metro sign is here different from the today used one, which is the one you see here. In the surrounding streets you will find a concentration of textile and clothing manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers.

You also cross the charming Rue Montorgeuil, a pedestrian market street.

Rue Réaumur ends (changes name) when we reach the Paris Stock Exchange (la Bourse), which also goes under the name of Palais Brogniart. It dates from the beginning of the 18th century.

Some small details:

- When I took these photos last week, it was quite cold. You can see how even the pigeons were freezing and searched warm air from the underneath metro.

- There is an obvious lack of decent apartments for the less fortunate Paris population. Just opposite to the Stock Exchange, there was an occupation / demonstration ongoing. … in the meantime I continue painting. Sorry, for still being rather absent as blogger.

You can find most of these photos on my photo blog.

Aujourd'hui... rien!

Aujourd’hui… rien, Today… nothing !

This is what Louis XVI wrote in his journal for the 14th of July 1789, the day of the Bastille.

Actually, what he meant is that nothing had happened during the daily hunt. He learnt about the Bastille only later in the night and then asked “Is this a revolt?”. Rather phlegmatic about it all.

Actually, what I mean is that there will not be any real post today. Still painting… for another week or more.

Along Rue Réaumur (1)

Still painting, but here is something which I more or less prepared end last week:

Rue Réaumur (3rd arrdt.) stretches from the Temple to our Stock Exchange (la Bourse). It was opened in different steps during the 19th century – Haussmann again. Réaumur was an 18th century scientist, today perhaps best known for the temperature scale which was widely used around Europe before being replaced by the centigrades (Celsius).

The street starts thus at the Temple, today just a square, but this is where an old fortress from 1240, later prison, used to stay. It’s particularly known for having hosted the royal family during the Revolution and Louis XVI was taken directly from here to be guillotined at the Place de la Révolution, today Place de la Concorde.

There are some interesting buildings to be seen along the street, most of them from the period 1850-1900. There are actually so many that I prefer to make only half of the street today.

Some specific words about a few of these buildings:

No. 51 used to be the first big Felix Potin shop, opened in 1860 (rebuilt in 1910). Felix Potin may not say very much to a foreigner, but it became an important chain with 1200 grocery shops all over Paris. The last one closed in 1996.

No. 82 hosted a big department store, “A Réaumur”, until 1961. The founder, J-P Gaubert-Martin somehow invented the “prêt-à-porter”, catalogues and post orders.Walking this first half way of Rue Réaumur, you cross some interesting streets, worth a small deviation. To the left you can find Rue Beaubourg and you can distinguish the modern art museum, Centre Pompidou. When you cross Rue St.Martin you can find the 15th century St.Nicolas-in-the-Fields (St.Nicolas-des-Champs) church to the left and the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts (with museum), previously the 12th century abbey and priory of St.Martin-in-the-Fields (St.Martin-des-Champs), to the right with the St.Martin Arch of Triumph in the background. In between you can find the Jean-Paul Gaultier fashion house and a musical theatre, La Gaité Lyrique. Later you will cross Rue St.Denis, also with its Arch of Triumph – to the right - and a number of sex shops to the left.

Some of these photos can be seen on my photo blog.

(A said, I continue painting, so I don’t know when I will post next time. Excuse me also for not visiting your sites regularly.)

No post today...

There will not be any post today, not necessarily by solidarity with the Writers Guild, but my blogging activity has been disturbed by the fact that together with my son, we are just now painting walls and ceilings in his (+ family) new flat.

Maybe tomorrow!

Added later:

To avoid any misunderstanding: I wanted to show the maybe best examples of wall and ceiling paintings. However, what we are doing will probably be better represented by this picture!

Weekend occupations

The weekend was busy, so the post today will be a short and easy one.

One item on the agenda was the baptizing of my grandson Mattias (one year old). You can see the happy parents - my son Patrick and his wife -, Mattias’ sister Paloma and my daughter Stephanie (Patrick’s sister) plus a few friends…

Patrick (+ family) just bought a new flat and for some reason they expect me to help them with the decoration before they move in beginning December. That will give me limited time for preparing new posts, look at your blogs and to comment, but I will do my best. Let’s see!

The last leaves...

The last leaves… There have many pictures of autumn leaves lately – and by qualified photographers, but I could not resist.

So yesterday I took some pictures in what I use to call “my park” (Square des Batignolles, Paris 17th arrdt.), some two minutes walk from my flat. It has been quite cold in Paris the last days, some +5°C (or about 40°F) during the afternoon. Even the birds must have felt a need to warm up. They had all gathered at the same sunny end of the small lake for a nice common siesta.Some of you may remember that I have now and then reported on the growth of what may be a banana tree. The first leaves were visible in the beginning of April. The leaves had grown considerably until they were cut at the beginning of this week … and I never saw any bananas. What remains of the tree has now got some winter clothes.A few of these photos can be seen on my photo blog.

Now, I wish you all a nice weekend! The weekend will be busy, but I plan to be back on Monday!

Mid-month-theme: subway day

I was kindly invited to join a common “mid-month-theme” about subways (or underground, metro, tunnelbana…), previously shared between New York and Stockholm. This month’s subject is "the exterior of a metro (subway…) station by night".

One photo should be chosen to illustrate the subject. I had to fight with myself not to include a few more according to my habits. (As a compromise, you can find a few more photos on my photo blog.)

This one was taken a few days (nights) ago at the metro station Place de Clichy, one of the stations decorated by Hector Guimard around 1900.

You can find today’s posts and some others linked to the metro theme by using the below links.

New York City Daily Photo - stockholm by pixels - PHO (Paris)