Stockholm with Leica Monochrom
The ticket was already booked
The ticket had been booked the day before.
A trip to Stockholm, all on my own.
How was I going to manage a whole day in the city by myself, my wife wondered.
Call me if anything comes up, she said.
She meant it.
I know she did.
But how would she be able to help me from there?
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📷 LEICA M11-P · Summilux-M 1:1.4/50 ASPH. · f/2.4 · 1/500s · ISO 800 · 50mm · 2026-08-17
Stockholm with Leica Monochrom
The train ran on time
The train left on schedule and arrived almost to the minute.
That isn’t usually how it goes, and I took it as a good sign.
Outside there was sun and hardly a cloud in the sky.
Before I had even stepped off, I felt something close to intoxication.
A whole day ahead of me, and nobody waiting for me anywhere.
Stockholm with Leica Monochrom
First stop: Hornsgatan 91
Out of Stockholm Central and then straight south, towards Gunnars Foto.
I was there to hand in my Leica M11 Safari because of the trouble with the profiles that keep dropping out.
And a trade-in camera was waiting for me: a Leica M11 Monochrom.
Back out on the street I put in the battery, loaded my memory card and attached my strap.
It took a minute, maybe two.
Then I was ready for the big city.
Stockholm with Leica Monochrom
A rest in Humlegården, a beer at Akkurat
First a little rest in Humlegården.
The bench, the shade, no hurry at all.
After that, down towards Akkurat, the pub with more beer on the list than anyone could get through in a lifetime.
It became the dish of the day and a good beer.
I had to have something in my stomach to manage all the walking waiting for me outside.
📷 iPhone 15 · iPhone 15 back dual wide camera 5.96mm f/1.6 · f/1.6 · 1/270s · ISO 50 · 5.96mm · 2026-08-17
Gamla stan, high and low
Gamla stan, high and low
Then back into Gamla stan, and I wandered around among the tourists.
A great many Asian visitors, high and low.
The little statue of Evert Taube stood surrounded by a group of Chinese tourists.
The statue is small, and the people standing around it were not much taller.
They were all laughing at something on a phone.
Taube himself stayed where he was, squinting out over the water, the way he has done for all these years.
The changing of the guard, for the first time
The changing of the guard, for the first time
From there I walked down towards the palace.
That was where I saw a changing of the guard live for the first time.
I had never seen it before, not for real.
I also had a bit of a chat with the young lad standing guard, and took a picture of him.
Then I stayed on for a while.
A whole group of women marched around the courtyard, while the men went the other way to be posted in the sentry boxes around the palace.
Clack, clack, clack across the stone.
It takes months to learn and a second to see.
Towards Dramaten, in black and white
Towards Dramaten, in black and white
After the palace I carried on, almost all the way to Riddarholmen, but turned off just before to head for Dramaten instead.
The camera that now only takes black and white photographs had to work a little harder.
It took a while to rethink the settings to get the pictures right.
Not just a while, I should add.
It was tricky then and it is still a bit tricky.
I got to test that again yesterday, at the forge in Ramnäs.
I pushed the ISO hard, and only when I got home did I notice the files were just as soft as usual.
A short visit to Kamera Store
A short visit to Kamera Store
On the way back I stopped by the camera shop Kamera Store, in the premises where Wibergs Foto used to be.
I didn’t really get to talk to the guy sitting in there.
An older man came in who felt he was in more of a hurry than I was, and so the visit turned out very short.
The name on the sign is new.
The walls are the same.
Thirteen kilometres later
Thirteen kilometres later
The distance I walked in Stockholm came to just over thirteen kilometres, and my body is still a bit sore.
It was worth every metre.
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Pictures from today’s adventure
