PHOTOGRAPHY: TENSTA T-BANA

Tensta is a suburb in the north-west of Stockholm (within the borough of Spånga-Tensta). It is one of the more deprived areas in the city, with high unemployment and dependency on social welfare, a predominantly immigrant population and with a fairly high level of crime.

In view of this seemingly gloomy panorama, it is rather surprising (but uplifting) that it's metro station is one of the prettiest on the T-Bana network. There are caveman-style paintings of typical Swedish and Nordic animals (my favourites are the elk and walrus. see photos below) and ridiculously sweet  penguin/puffin style birds nesting in holes in the walls in connecting the two platforms. There are also inspirational messages written on the walls.

Tensta is the second last stop on the T10 blue line (towards Hjulsta). It takes about 25 minutes to get there from Kungsträdgården or T-Centralen, but it most definitely worthwhile making the effort to visit it.