Sweden

CFFC: Leaves or Trees

/ Leya / 25 kommentarer

Leaves or trees – leaves And trees are my kindred spirits. For Cee this Tuesday, I have focused on two of my favorite countries and some of my favorite trees and leaves. In the header, autumn coloured beech by the lake near my home in Sweden.

Tree ferns of New Zealand are plants I would have loved to have in my country. They bring magic and beauty to the world.

The Kauris of NZ, here Tane Mahuta, are both majestic and endemic giants. See the people on the ground below!

When paddling through the thick, mangrove like trees, we admired all the other plants living on the tree branches and tree trunks. This is the east coast of NZ.

The Southern Beech is a very beautiful tree with rather tiny leaves, seen in enchanted forests by the road to Milford Sound. The fallen tree trunks still full of new branches.

 

Sunny City Stroll – Umeå

/ Leya / 11 kommentarer

In the summer, the river banks are lovely to walk – but winter is very interesting as well. And of course it is easier to get to the other side of the city.

Going by car or bus, you have to use the bridges. And there is a bridge for pedestrians as well. We tried both.

There is a shimmering swirl of snow/ice crystals in the air, that we never have in Skane, where I live. I guess it is the crisp cold that does it. Difficult to catch on a photo, but here are two possible ones. I hope you get what I mean!

Some examples of architecture – lovely houses here. Mostly wooden. And a happy guide!

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One of the most beautiful buildings in Umeå is the Town Hall, built in 1892. The Restaurant and Brasserie, Rex, on the corner, had a sale this Saturday. Old porcelain and cutlery, furniture and miscellaneous. Not a chance of getting inside! The queue went around two blocks…in this cold…

The last day we had dinner at Lottas Krog – and we were all very satisfied with our visit – many thanks to our excellent guide. Lottas too, can be recommended!

Lobster soup with Västerbotten soufflé

Thursday’s Special: Pick a Word in March

/ Leya / 8 kommentarer

Paula, at Lost in Translation, challenges us to ”convert” words into pictures. Why don’t you join in the fun!

As usual the first photo challenge in a month is Pick a Word. You have five words to choose from to interpret them in image(s). You can do one word, several words or all five of them.  I hope you will find this eclectic theme challenging enough.

In the header, converted horns from reindeer.

slivered from Halmstad, Sweden

traversed – Puerto Mogán, Gran Canaria

muted – Skane, Sweden

ovine – Skane, Sweden

 

Early Morning Discoveries

/ Leya / 23 kommentarer

Early morning, and our private guide arrived again.

Today we went to see the snow sculptures and some interesting shops and cafés.

There was an outdoors movie, the award winning ”Sameblod”. Luckily we had seen it before, so it seemed unnecessary to sit down for some hours in -20 degrees C…

After some researching, we found there were no snow sculptures this winter – only a playground and a maze. But they seemed much frequented!

Emma guided us to her favorite store, a paper shop with lovely cards, pencils, parcel papers and origami. And more – plus a lovely lady behind the desk.

Some hours later, there was a sudden need for warming up toes, fingers and cheeks…and we ventured up to ”Nya Konditoriet”…

…an old patisserie, opened in 1927 and still looking almost the same.

Very tasty – and their team won the Nordic Pastry Cup in 2017! The old chandeliers and decorated windows totally won my heart. Brought back something of my childhood.

Gammlia – Umeå

/ Leya / 15 kommentarer

A beautiful place for showing Västerbottens cultural history – Gammlia. The word means ”the old hill”, or ”the old mountain hill”.

We spent a lovely hour here, walking through the area, enjoying the old houses and  snowy surroundings. My favorite kind of fences everywhere.

Good walking
Colourful houses in the sunshine
Take a close look at this one…isn’t it Santa Claus over there…?No – a skier!

Who would not fall in love with Helena Elisabeth?

The church has got an interesting story as well.

– 20 degrees C – gives you the opportunity to preserve things just as they are…

…but only as long as the cold stays.

 

CFFC: Letter Z

/ Leya / 22 kommentarer

Letter Z – In the header haze, Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand.

Somewhere in Switzerland

Then, my little boy, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzleeping on the – table…

 

Monday Dreaming

/ Leya / 23 kommentarer

This gloomy Monday I went back to one of my favorite hiking spots –

 

– in pictures only…because this year has not allowed any hiking there due to the extremeweather with heavy rains.

But, as soon as the weather allows it – I will return, and enjoy the serenity here.

The stillness and solitude is tangible-

Going North

/ Leya / 27 kommentarer

In a week or two from now, I will go up north to visit my daughter. Last year we went in February as well, and visited the Sapmi market, Kiruna and the ice hotel too.

This time we will only visit Umeå, where Emma is studying. Umeå is called ”The city of birch trees” and is a very lovely city even when the birches are covered in snow. Looking forward to going there again! Umeå is a city of culture and has hosted many spectacular events. This February we hope to see the famous snow sculptures.