Autumn Street Market, Part 2

Another sunny autumn day here; and I decided to challenge my "crowd phobia" by going back to the market (cf yesterday's post) and try to snap some more photos. This time bringing my separate Sony camera - as I found it difficult to take photos with my phone in the crowd yesterday.

It wasn't really much easier today, though. Besides probably even more people today than yesterday, there were such sharp contrasts between the bright sky and the deep shadows down among the market stalls that my camera had serious difficulties handling that. I had to do a lot of editing on most of the photos when I got back home, to get them to show anything but silhouettes! But hopefully they'll give you a somewhat better idea of the market street life - which in itself is very different compared to an "ordinary" day in our city centre...

Photos in the order that I took them: 

 Approaching the city centre - not yet having reached the market area around the square.

Those who had dared drive their cars into the very heart of the city centre on this day probably regretted it ... But once there, they would have no choice but to continue (very slowly...) along the few narrow one-way streets still open for traffic! 

Entering the area arond the square, surrounded by market stalls. I'd say probably at least 1/3 of all the stalls were aimed at children, selling colourful toys, sweets, balloons, caps etc. 

 

I think this stall was selling strawberries, but they can hardly have been Swedish ones, as that season must be over since quite a while back.

 Various food trucks in the square - but I had had lunch before going into town...

 

No child should have had to go home from the market balloon-less! 
... or at least not from lack of balloons for sale ...

No lack of cuddly toys either... As I'm not a grandparent, I haven't got a clue what any of these are, or what's a "must have" or not at the moment!

 

I could happily have bought any one of these baskets, though - if not for for the fact that I already have quite enough baskets of various kinds and sizes around my flat for covenient storing of  this, that and whatever...

 Not part of the market as such, but I loved the sunflower decorations put up in the window of my favourite tea shop by the square.

There were "hats" (??) like these hanging from any number of market stalls, but I did not see any children wearing any... (Nor any grown-ups, for that matter!)

 

 

 

I did not buy anythng today either - except an ice cream to eat on my way home, but that was not from a market stall!

Autumn Street Market

 

It's the last weekend in September, so time for the annual autumn street market. (We have two major market weekends here - spring and autumn.) The autumn weather just now is perfect for it, so I went for a stroll into town to have a look around, even though there was nothing special I wanted.  
 

Basically there are, or used to be, three kinds of market stalls that I tend to feel drawn to at these events: Socks, handbags and postcards. (My camera is also drawn towards balloons! But I never actually buy any of those...)  

There used to be a stall selling cheap postcards (plus some other "paper" stuff), always at the same corner of the square - but they haven't returned after the covid years, when the whole market was very much reduced. I guess the increase in postage has contributed to not many people being all that interested in buying and sending postcards any more. (Even I don't send very many now - and I still have a good supply left from earlier years.) 

There were several stalls selling handbags, but I had sternly reminded myself before going out, that I'm not in need of any new bag at the moment. (On the contrary, I have a bag full of  bags that should be handed in to a charity shop!!!) 

My favourite sock stall was in the same place as usual - but I had also checked my supply of socks before going out, and realised that I also have a good supply of socks bought at previous markets, that should last me at least until next spring...

So I returned home without having spent any money at all. Moreover, when I checked my camera, I realised I had only taken two photos! The market was simply too crowded!

Linking to Weekend Street/Reflections 

PS: Went back the next day, with my other camera. More photos in my next post.

Autumn Street Market

Our traditional Autumn Street Market (last weekend in September) is back to "full size" this year - after having been very much reduced during the corona years. I.e. the main square as well as nearby streets full of market stalls, and with crowds of visitors. In spite of the weather being windy and with a bit of light rain now and then, I went for a walk downtown to have a look... And I was not the only one!

Toy blowing soap bubbles outside shop

I visited two of my favourite returning market stalls:

One selling socks...

... and one selling cheap postcards ...

If you buy at least 10 cards, they're just 1:00 SEK a piece. They've kept that price in that market stall as long as I can remember. Alas, the same can't be said for the cost of stamps... In 1986 (when I moved to this town), postage within Sweden was 2:10. (Had to look that up just now.) In 2023, domestic postage is 15:00 - and double that for abroad. Which means one can buy 30 cards at the market for the cost of just one overseas stamp! (Current exchange rate: 30 SEK = 2,25 GBP - 2,60 EURO - 2,75 USD)  

Because of the quickly rising cost of postage in later years, I don't send as many postcards now as I used to. But they had some new Christmas motifs, and as I still enjoy the tradition of sending Christmas cards, I could not resist buying a bunch of those... :-)

Linking to Weekend Street/Reflections

Christmas Along the Street

Unlike yesterday (which was grey and foggy), today offered a bit of sunshine again. To make the most of the daylight, I went out for a walk around noon. Although I had not really intended to go all the way into town, my camera seemed to have persuaded my feet to take me there anyway. ("I know you don't need anything," the camera said, "but can't we just go and have a peek at the Christmas market anyway?" So we did.)

Besides the few market stalls along the square, this weekend there was an extended Christmas market along one side of a long pedestrian street stretching all the way (several blocks) from the square to the Textile Fashion Center and College. Rather clever really, as that keeps people moving on rather than causing too much crowding. 

 

 

 

 

(Looking back towards where I came from.)

Weekend Street - Autumn Market

 

Next week, on Wednesday the 29th, Sweden intends to lift the last of the corona restrictions, like how many people are allowed at various kinds of events, and in restaurants etc. This weekend, in Borås, felt a bit like a "dress rehearsal", with the autumn market still reduced to around 1/4 of its usual size - and yet definitely feeling crowded compared to anything I've seen in the last 1½ years. For my own part, I decided I'm not yet feeling ready to venture in among market stalls  - so just snapped a couple of street photos from the outskirts. 

Linking to Weekend Street/Reflections # 35

Strawberries and Socks

With all the traditional major celebrations and markets in May and June cancelled, my city is trying some new compromises for July. Usually, Thursdays in July involve the shops in the city centre being open late; followed by free concerts with visiting popular artist(s) in the market square in the evening. (I'm not in the habit of visiting those, though.) This year, as we still have restrictions about big gatherings and keeping distance, there will be no concerts; but they have decided to allow a limited number of food trucks and markets stalls Thursday-Saturday (only a few stalls each weekend, and well spread out all over the square).

I have been buying strawberries a few times since Midsummer :)

The photos above were taken on Thursday around noon, and as you can see it was not exactly crowded.

I also bought some socks from one of the other market stalls - which saved me from having to go into a shop to look for some!

The weekend - Saturday and Sunday - has been rainy, and I've only been out for a short walk each day in between showers. I really welcomed the cooler weather this week though (rain included), as the week before was way too hot for my liking. (Now, the indoors temperature in my flat is more or less back to normal.)

Friday Fun: Spring Market

 

Yesterday was all rainy and windy (and a staying-indoors-day for me); but today offered a clear blue sky, sunshine and around +15°C = rather perfect weather for a walk into town to join the chaos of the annual spring market.

A bit extra chaotic because of all the construction work going on. This building is having more floors added on top - as are a few others around town. I'm not all happy about the houses growing taller in the city - but at least they seem to want to give that tree a chance as well!

Linking to

Don't Lose Your Head

After a couple of days of mixed rain/snow in the air, today was a bit more spring-like, even if still chilly. Wearing a knitted hat on your head is still a good idea... But when my eye spotted this market stall display, I could not quite decide whether to see it as funny or creepy! (...so I took a photo...)

When I got back home, I posted the photo on Facebook - and was asked to 'tag' eight of the heads as friends! Still borderline between funny and creepy! (Why only those eight, they did not explain...)

Going on to read some other FB posts, I had one from a language program on Swedish Radio which I follow. They were asking for suggestions and questions for a future program about expressions including body parts. For some reason (have a guess!) ... what came up first in my mind was (the Swedish equivalent of) "lose your head"... So now I'm wondering why we say that, and how long we've been saying it (if perhaps it goes back to the days when people were literally beheaded?), and if it's a common expression in other languages as well. I do think I've heard "den Kopf verlieren" in German too. As for the other languages I've been digging into, I haven't really dug deep enough yet to find any lost heads... 

And writing that, it suddenly also strikes me that in the book I'm (re-)reading at the moment, there are a lot of heads and skulls as well - and not all of them attached to their bodies. The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths (2nd in the Ruth Galloway series - cf my recent book review of The Stone Circle, 11th in the same series). (Janus was a Roman god,  usually depicted as having two faces, looking to the future and to the past, and the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways etc.)

Now this is getting creepy... I'd better stop while I'm ahead... ;)

Christmas Market & A Church Concert

Today I took the bus into the city centre shortly in the afternoon. There was a sort of scattered Christmas market going on, but I only had a quick look  (and a sniff!) while passing…

My destination was a church concert: Handel’s Messiah, in Mozart’s arrangement, performed by a local choir and orchestra. A friend of mine was in the choir. I’m no musical expert, but to my ears it was a wonderful performance, and both the atmosphere and the acoustics in this beautiful old church are absolutely perfect for this kind of music. (As for the Mozart arrangement, the conductor explained before the concert started that -among other things- this involves more instruments being used than in Handel’s original version. That’s the kind of thing I wouldn’t have been able to tell myself… I enjoy listening, but I’m not good at “analysing” music.)

I resisted from taking any photos during the actual concert – but snapped this shot just afterwards (with my mobile), while the audience was clapping.