A lynx looking out

In Sweden you can find 1500 lynx in the wild after a decline for many years to a low of 200 animals30 years ago. It's called "the tiger of the Nordic" and is the largest (and only) wild cat here. The menu is hares and roebucks and even the occasional reindeer. The lynx from Järvzoo looking out from behind a tree is a nice symbol, I think, of this the last day of the year. Hopefully the coming year will not be as aggressive as the lynx jumping at my brother-in-law:-) Happy New Year to you all!

Wolfs in the snow

In Sweden the wolfs are still found in the wild in the northern areas. An estimated 220 lives in small packs but that number varies from day to day as these packs often wanders into Norway and Finland. The wolfs are still stigmatized even in Sweden as they take sheep and lambs from the farmers, but they are protected by law. Only those wolfs that repeatedly follow their nature and raid the local farmers are hunted, sparking heated debate among farmers and environmentalists every time. Many myths still exists here about the big bad wolf, but fact is they only hunt sick and old animals (and the occasional lamb too but most farmers got insurance, so what's the problem?). At Järvzoo, which is a zoo specialized in the wildlife of Sweden, 10-12 wolfs are on display for the visitors. These photos, and the photos in the next couple of days, are from this very nice place.

Typically Sweden

The light and the setting here makes for beautiful photos. This photo with the red wooden house and the firs is very typical for Sweden during winter.

Early sunset

In Sweden the sunset is rather early this time of year. Even though it looks like evening the time is no more than 1.45pm on these photos. Needless to say it's also rather cold; -10C...brrr.

Last bit(e) of Christmas

Today's photos will be the last ones with a Christmas theme at least for the next year or so. These photos are of the before and after kind; the ducks were a certain hit at the dinner! Not much left for the lunch of leftovers the day after. And decorations were fine and not overdone (neither were the ducks btw:-)).

Tomorrow I'll continue the winter theme...and there'll be a twist and some treats in the days to come.

Freezing sunset

When the temperatures drop as the sun sets mist is creeping in among the trees. Like yesterdays photos there were no reason to go outside to take these, as the view from my sister's kitchen is magnificent.

Crystals

With the outside temperatures well below the deep-freezer there's no reason to venture outside. The ice crystals on the windows are perfect motives anyway, back-lit as they are by the sunset.

Christmas Eve

In many countries Christmas is celebrated on December 25th, but not in Denmark. Here it's Christmas Eve on December 24th that is the day for a big dinner and gifts. The dinner is either pork roast or duck roast with caramelized potatoes, red cabbage and a lot of other "accessories" and for dessert risalamande (rice pudding with whipped creme and almonds served with hot cherry sauce). Afterwards it's time to get a visit from Santa (he does come in many variants:-)).

Merry Christmas to you all:-)

LV style Christmas

From time to time the shops go overboard in lights and mirrors so that the items on display disappears. That is the case with this Louis Vitton store in Copenhagen. It was rather eye-catching when passing it, but it took me some time to discover exactly what was sold here.

Glögg, slices of apple and ... chili?!?

Many of the Danish Christmas traditions are food-related. The hot red wine with raisins and almonds called glögg is a nice one in the cold, as is æbleskiver (literally slices of apple), which are small cakes of batter cooked in a special pan, so that they are round. In the old days small pieces of apple was included hence the name. But I must confess that the chili peppers are a new one; I'm pretty sure they don't mix too well with the rest.

Never too old

Santa in Tivoli had a busy day talking with a lot of kids (and their parents). Some people are never too old to talk with Santa, even though this one must have raised the white eyebrows a tad:-)

A matter of taste

I know you can't discuss what good taste is and what isn't, as it's very individual. I know though that figurines like these won't cross my doorstep:-)

Christmas Shopping

In Copenhagen Christmas shopping has been picking up during the last few weeks with the shops going all out to defeat the economic crisis. Actually the first catalogues with Christmas stuff landed in the mailboxes at the end of October. Personally I think that should be banned until December 1st but I'm not exactly a great fan of Christmas either.

A melting polar bear

On Nytorv in Copenhagen this polar bear made of ice have been quickly melting in the mild December weather. Another symbol of the melting glaciers and polar caps this was made by English artist Mark Coreth with the skeleton frozen inside an 11 ton ice cube to begin with. Not much ice left here, and this photo was taken more than a week ago. A similar polar bear have been placed on Trafalgar Square in London.

This is the last day of the climate meeting in Copenhagen. Now we might return to normal again after a week of demonstrations, traffic jams and media hype. Tomorrow the Christmas Holiday starts for many so then my Christmas theme will begin too.

Media frenzy

Media from all over the globe have been trawling the streets of Copenhagen these past few weeks, and discreet they haven't been. On the top two photos you can see the soon-to-be-former lord mayor of Copenhagen Ritt Bjerregaard (with the red scarf) showing a television crew around in the green village on the City House Square. She does like to be the center of attention, but which politician doesn't?

Iceberg on the house

On one of the houses on Holmen in Copenhagen a large banner resembling an iceberg is on display. A warning perhaps that the glaciers are melting.

Drowning

In one of the lakes around the inner city of Copenhagen these figures of drowning children should be a reminder that we might be up to our chin in water if action is not taken on the COP15 meeting. A bit dramatic perhaps but the message gets through.

100 places

The globes on King's New Square in Copenhagen from yesterday's post are not the only things here. For months a photo exhibition of 100 places not to miss before they are gone, have been on display among pigeons and pedestrians. Quite an enjoyable sight for any photographer.

Globes in Hopenhagen

A lot of stuff have been going on in Copenhagen lately; a local election, the beginning of the Christmas month and the climate meeting COP15. A heaven for photographers that have some spare time, which I unfortunately haven't had much of. I have managed a few pics between working and sleeping though.

On the King's New Square (and in other parts of Copenhagen) these globes have been on display for some weeks now. The woman behind is activist and artist Wendy Adams of Chicago. They are meant as a way of giving the by-passers some tips to how we can help the environment.

At the cemetery

The park-like cemetery of Vestre Kirkegård (Western Cemetery) is a great place to get some photos in the box. At autumn there's a special atmosphere there especially in the morning where you'll only meet very few people.

Autumn is gone

With autumn over and grey, dark and wet winter setting in, it's time to show some photos from that colourful season to lighten the day so to speak. Today's photo is from the park Søndermarken (Southern Field) right next to the Zoo. I must admit that this photo is a favourite of mine, especially since it wasn't planned in any way and I only shot it in passing.

Gimme, gimme, gimme

This shot of the baby elephant demanding to get some fruit will be the last post from Copenhagen Zoo for now. I might be back on a later date with more, but it's time to move on. From tomorrow I'll show you some photos taken in the last couple of months in and around Copenhagen.

Playing with water...and in it

When the elephants in Copenhagen Zoo decide to take a bath (it is almost Christmas:-)) you don't want to be too close to them, unless you like being wet. With the fence to the public park of Frederiksberg garden just a couple of meters from the basin an umbrella or all-weather gear is obligatory if you stand to stare at these playing hulks while enjoying a nice stroll there.

A playing sea lion

This sea lion cub had a field day with a couple of sticks. Up he went and down again a number of times until they all were in the water instead of on the rocky ledge. He probably doesn't like the large sign saying:"Do not throw sticks or pine cones to the sea lions".

Keep the window closed, please

No, it's not possible to open these windows, so the children are perfectly safe. Here the public can get really close to the lions without having to be afraid of ending on the menu.

Camels on the run?

Each day the camels get out of their enclosure but fear not; it's not due to a lack of security but because they are taken for a walk by the zoo keepers. And they are domesticated enough to touch if you dare.