Explosion in Kvillebäcken: How daily life carries on amidst the unease

There's a strange feeling waking up in Kvillebäcken today. The sky over Hisingen is as grey as usual, the trams are running on schedule at Hjalmar Brantingsplatsen station, but something's just... different. There was a really loud bang last night. An explosion at a terrace house estate has left its mark, both on the buildings and on people's minds. Normally, the biggest worry around here is whether you can make it to Friskis&Svettis before the evening class, or snag an appointment at Capio rehab for that niggling shoulder. But last night, it was something else entirely.

The police cordoned off the area early, and forensics have been working through the morning to secure evidence. For those of us who live here, or move through the area daily, it feels surreal. You think about the kids heading to school, folks going to work at Ica, or hopping on the tram to the city centre. At the same time, it's almost bizarre how quickly everyday life tries to reassert itself. Just a stone's throw from the police tape, Flexmassage Kvillebäcken on Gamla Tuvevägen is open for business as usual. Inside, it still smells of calming essential oils, and in the lounge with comfy armchairs, someone's waiting for their deep tissue massage appointment. Life goes on, even when the ground feels shaky.

Finding comfort in the routine – from rehab to the dentist

The strange thing about an incident like this is how it brings everything into sharp focus. Suddenly, those mundane things you take for granted become markers of normalcy, of safety. Take Folktandvården Kvillebäcken on Borstbindaregatan, for instance. I know they're open till 7pm today, like they are Monday to Thursday. Usually, 25 people work there across nine treatment rooms, handling everything from fillings to testing new digital tech with their development clinic. For patients booked in for a check-up this afternoon, it's probably a relief to step into that bright clinic and focus on something as basic as a scale and clean. Right now, a root canal might feel like a smaller deal than whatever went bang last night.

Same goes for rehab and exercise. Capio rehab and Friskis&Svettis are hubs in so many people's routines. You go there to get stronger, recover from an injury, or just clear your head after work. The need to look after yourself, physically and mentally, becomes even clearer when the world outside feels unsteady. You need to work your body, sweat, or just be taken care of.

What we know now – and how we're getting on with it

Right now, things are calm, from what I can tell. The police are investigating, and those of us here just have to trust they're doing their job. What's important to remember is that Kvillebäcken is so much more than the headlines from one single night. This area is full of people going to work, keeping appointments, looking out for one another.

Here are a few places that are still ticking over, no matter what's happening:

• Friskis&Svettis: For anyone who needs to run off the anxiety or lift their mind off things for a while.
• Flexmassage Kvillebäcken: Perfect if you're carrying tension in your shoulders and neck after a restless night. They always ask "How are you feeling?" when you arrive – a question that probably carries a bit more weight today.
• Folktandvården: A reminder that we keep taking care of our health, even when things get rocky.
• Capio rehab: For everyone in the middle of healing who needs to keep moving forward, regardless.

It's easy to focus on the bang itself, the explosion and the police work. It's news, it's dramatic. But for those of us who actually are here, who have Kvillebäcken as part of our daily lives, it's something else that sticks with you. It's the contrast. Knowing that just a few hundred metres from a crime scene, someone's sitting in an armchair getting a massage, someone else is lifting weights at the gym, and another person's in the dentist's waiting room flipping through a magazine. That's the quiet, everyday strength that helps a community like this bounce back.