Thursday’s Special: Wintry

Paula, at Lost in Translation, asks us for Wintry… at least in our photos this week. As I posted my best ones this winter yesterday, I return to Iceland for some Real ”wintries.”

 

Thursday Thoughts – Strong Women

Today I woke up to a wonderland in white – the most beautiful morning this winter.

International Women’s Day

The whole garden soft and soundless – and today was the funeral for Marie.

Somehow it seemed so right that she was given the most beautiful, this magically soft light, her last day.

She was a strong and remarkable woman. Warm, creative and so full of life – she will always be remembered, never forgotten. Thank you, Marie, for being my friend.

WPC: Story

This story is an old one, from 2011, but I know it is my best story ever. Totti is a bon vivant and a lazy dreamer – but he is prepared to fight for his (our) hammock…

I kept the original Swedish text, but added an English one as well. I hope you will enjoy the story, and appreciate Totti’s great effort…Just look at his facial expressions ;-D

 

 

 

CFFC: Leaves or Trees

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

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!

Thursday’s Special: Pick a Word in March

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

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.