iPhone photography: city walls Visby

Here’s my letter from my journey to Visby on Gotland, my snapshots, my postcards, some of my thoughts and visual inspirations. A letter from “the island of roses and ruins”.

iPhone photography: blue cottage with roses, Visby, Gotland

This adorable cottage covered in roses is one of many in Klinten, the upper part of old Visby. So picturesque that it’s almost surreal! And yet, Klinten used to be a poor part of town. Today, these properties fetch a high price.

iPhone photography: ruined cathedral, Visby, Gotland

In the old part of Visby there are so many ruined churches from the 11-13th centuries that you can easily lose count. But why are the ruins still there? Why, in all these centuries, didn’t anyone tear them down? These ruins in the middle of a city that played such an important role? Because all ruins start off as derelict buildings, and it isn’t until hundreds of years later that we can appreciate them as ruins and even think of them as romantic.

Some sources claim that after the churches were abandoned, they were used to keep cattle in and that the city by then was so poor that they couldn’t afford to pull down the buildings. It’s intriguing. And to think if there will be any ruins left from our time? To imagine people in hundreds of years, strolling through ruins built in our days, snapping photos and imagining our time…

iPhone photography: poppies

On my way to the beach to gather my thoughts, I came across these poppies and I snapped this shot before wandering along the seashore.

iPhone photography: the baltic sea

I was thinking about cities, and how they grow with time, how the patchwork of different times gets stitched into the weave of the city and how it reminds me of growth and “imperfection”. Memories living on the same doorstep as day-to-day life. That a city evolves much like a human, with bits and pieces from different times, with scars, additions, broken parts, victories, plans, dreams and losses. That all these layers of truths, or identities, each as valid, blend into the identity of the city. Or the person.

iPhone photography: purple poppy

As I cut through the Botanical Gardens, I took a photo of this purple poppy. When I got back home I was struck by the serendipity of it! What happened? Where did the glow come from? I don’t know, but it looks magic.

iPhone photography: flowers on patterned table cloth

At the crêperie in Visby I’m taken aback by the combination of romantic flowers in a vase and a bold, modern, black and white pattern on the table cloth.

iPhone photography: peacock pattern

Café Krönet has the most amazing view of the Baltic Sea as well as the most imaginatively designed restroom with this fabulous peacock pattern on the wallpaper as well as framed as a picture.

And finally, another serendipitous photo, this time of a poppy. Ordinary magic.

iPhone photography: poppy

Tags: identity, imperfection, iPhoneography, layers, patterns, serendipity, travel

iPhone photography: View of Visby, Gotland

Back from three blissful weeks in Visby on Gotland – “the island of roses and ruins”. Waking up each morning to the sounds of birdsong and church bells and having locally grown strawberries for breakfast. Shakespeare’s Macbeth performed in a ruined medieval monastery. Watching the fairytale Swedish Royal wedding (extra exotic for me as I haven’t watched TV at home for six years) on TV. Morning walks along the medieval city wall. Runestones and Viking treasures of gold and silver and Greek, Roman and Byzantine coins dug up to this day all over the island. Walks in the botanical gardens (founded by The Bathing Friends in 1856). The scent of lilacs and roses on the terrace with a marvellous view of the city and the Baltic Sea. A magic Midsummer’s Eve.

The sunset tucked in a hibiscus petal, wrapping it around the horizon. White nights where each sunset faded into a new morning, dusk transitioning into dawn. Swallows, roses, blackbirds, poppies, blueweed, wood pigeons, peonies, pebbles and seaweed on the beech. Daisies and white clover. The salty scent of the sea. I took photos of the view from the terrace (almost) every day, just like I do with the oak tree outside the windows of my home.

As I unpack my lime green suitcase I find a mind map for creative ideas and inspirations, a few watercolours, a heavy stack of books, photos taken with my iPhone, a poem I wrote on the back of a napkin, some sketches I made on my iPad, a bag of saffron and almond rusks, jars of honey and Ramsons (wild garlic) pesto from Gotland and a gigantic pile of dirty laundry.

I feel so grateful and energized from this trip. Relaxed. Determined to find a new way to continue to live a slow life, staying on a Slow Media Diet. I feel inspired. And then I think about how I feel it’s so vital to travel. A change of scenery, however small or big the change may be. It can be something as simple as making the wrong turn when you step off the bus, or opening yourself up to an impulse to take a peek at what’s behind that building you always pass by on your way to something else.

And as I sit here typing this post, just about to write something about how our inner journey is as important as our outer journey, I hear the sound of a massive fireworks display. And I by that, I mean really impressive and orchestral, symphonic and majestic. I go out on the balcony to see if I can catch a glimpse of the fireworks, but I can’t, I can just hear the sounds… I’ll use my creative license to interpret the fireworks as a celebration for travel, for getting off the beaten track, for newfound inspiration, for growth, for rest and for fun and playful creativity.

Tags: carpe diem, celebration, creative process, gratitude, iPhoneography, seize the day, slow life, summer, travel

iPhone photography: The hill with wild flowers

Summertime, and the living is easy. Simple pleasures. Strawberries for breakfast. Picking wild flowers in the meadows. Dining alfresco. Watercolours. Bare feet on the dewy grass. Slow life.

Tags: carpe diem, ease, flowers, iPhoneography, seize the day, simplicity, slow life, summer

iPhone photography: feet by the fountain

You never know what you’ll come across, what you’ll find, or what you’ll SEE when you explore the streets of your own hometown! Here are some iPhone photos I snapped of petals scattered on the ground and swirling in the water of a fountain.

Tags: carpe diem, flowers, fountain, inspiration, iPhone, iPhoneography, seize the day, sensual, serendipity, Stockholm

iPhone photography: the maple tree in the early summer

Seasons. The constant transformation. I find it fascinating to go back and compare photos from the same spot but at different times of the year.

Always in transition. Movement. Gradual change. Through deep sleep and hibernation to abundant spring and summer. Harvest. Like the creative cycle.

iPhone photography: maple tree and red building

The autumn photo above was originally posted with other startlingly yellows in Delight In Yellow and the winter picture is from Sugar Land.

iPhone photography: snowy trees

Tags: autumn, carpe diem, creative cycle, iPhoneography, seize the day, transformation, trees, winter