After I got my little Smaug tattoo, I knew it wouldn’t take long for Markus to get some ink too.
“You can’t be the only cool person in this relationship”, he declared, and made an appointment with a tattoo parlour in Piteå.
Piteå (pronounced like p-t-o) is a small town about 1 hour north of where I live. It’s mostly known for its pretty archipelago and beach resort, and for its many forest industries.
I lived there for a couple of years when I was around 20, and I still like the town very much. So when it was time for Markus to get tattooed, I tagged along. Partly for moral support, but also for getting a chance to visit my old home town and take some pictures. :)
No self-respecting north Swedish town goes without viking references. ;) I didn’t have anything to put beside it for comparison, but it’s very small, the dragon head is just below knee height.
These are of the main shopping street and an old hotel.
Despite being a small town there is actually a pretty decent selection of shops and restaurants and such. That old hotel has a very popular bar in the basement, I’ve spent many merry Saturday nights there.
This is one of the cooler places in Piteå. It’s an indoor shopping mall designed to look like an outside street. The walls look like houses, with one shop in each “house”, and there are lampposts and signs lining the “streets”. The roof is made of glass to let the natural light in.
I was there on a Thursday afternoon when most people are working, so there weren’t many people out and about.
Water, water, and more water. Being close to the sea, Piteå is pretty much surrounded by it. These were taken only a short walk from the town centre.
And I can’t believe there were people out on the ice! Maybe it really is thick enough, but it sure looked thin, and there was so much open water around. I wouldn’t have set a single foot on that.
I don’t know anyone in Piteå any more and have very little reason to go there, so it was fun spending a day there!
Oh, and Markus’ tattoo turned out exactly as he wanted. \m/
Piteå looks like a lovely small town. I do have plans to visit Sweden this year (or next), it’s been about 7 years since my last visit (went to Göteborg). May have to add Piteå to my places to see.
How fun! Where will you go this time? :D Piteå is pretty, but there are lots of much cooler places to visit first imo. So don’t skip something else to go there. ;)
That indoor shopping mall looks so similar to the ones we have in Massachusetts, there are a bunch of them scattered around the state, I like the ones we have up in Boston the most because of their size. Piteå looks like such a beautiful little area, I love places surrounded by water, they’re just so peaceful even if there are lots of people around.
That tattoo Markus got is definitely brutal… my jaw is dropping as I’m looking at it! I wish we had artists around here like that! :rock:
I’ve never seen a mall like that, cool! Did Markus get the whole tattoo done in one day? It looks really great, I keep getting amazed by what tattoo artists are able to do! :D
No, he got it done in two sessions. All in all it took about 10 hours. :)
Piteå looks gorgeous! I love the little viking ship. You keep making me want to visit Sweden. :D
Markus’ tattoo is awesome! The artist did a great job!
YIKES!! For his first tattoo, that is huge! Whew, that’s brave. It’s very nice that you went with him for support :D I love the little mall that you went to. I love that it looks like it’s outside. So cute and quaint. There is a restaurant in Disneyland called the Blue Bayou that is inside but it feels like you are dining outside. So cool! Glad you had a good time.