Happy New Year 2018!

Happy New Year 2018!

"Paradise" plate made by Finnish artist Birger Kaipiainen.

Hittarp tonight

This was the view from the bathing pier tonight: 

Amaryllis

Here is one I like: 

Amaryllis

The sunset tonight

Again tonight we had a nice sunset here in Hittarp:

The best Christmas dessert

Zotter pralines and Bols liqueur is my favourite Christmas dessert ... :-)

My Christmas cherub

This cherub from Austria is one of my favourites, particularly for Christmas: 

Our Christmas ham

Traditional Finnish style Christmas ham:

My favorite Christmas decorations

These hand made Christmas decorations are among my favorites: 

PS

Merry Christmas to all visitors!

Three pictures from From Helsingør

Today I visited the historic town of Helsingør, on the opposite side of Öresund: 

Kronborg castle

Zotter chocolate pralines

Austrian Zotter makes excellent organic chocolate pralines.

 Here is a selection of the most recent ones I ordered: 

Portrait of a Cree Indian

This portrait of a Native American Cree was published in

 the Finnish book "Maapallo" (volume 4) in 1925. 

Coloring by me. 

New York´s Trinity Church by night (1920s)

This picture of New York´s Trinity church by night was published in the book 

"Maapallo - Pohjois-Ameriikka" in 1925. (My colouring.) 

A cold December morning in Hittarp

Here are three shots from my early morning stroll in Hittarp: 

December flowers

Yesterday I found Snapdragons and some other flowers still surviving snow

 and cold spells. The last brave ones here in Hittarp ... :-)

Horse and handler

Horse and handler in Fredriksdal.

Christmas village

In a street corner in Viken you can each year enjoy watching a nice Christmas village. 

Below is a detail of this year´s village: 

Last night it snowed

For the first time this winter, we got quite a lot of snow last night: 

At the Fredriksdal Christmas market

My pictures from the annual Christmas market at the Fredriksdal

open air museum in Helsingborg: 

The "official" Christmas tree in Helsingborg

The city of Helsingborg takes pride in always erecting a beautiful Christmas 

tree on the main square. This year is no exception ... :-)

December afternoon in Helsingborg

This is the dark season in Scandinavia. Fortunately there are nice
 Christmas lights in Helsingborg that brighten up the scenery ... :-)

Our daily bread

Our daily bread, baked in Helsingborg ... :-)

Our neighbour´s Christmas tree

Our neighbour´s Christmas tree got its lights today: 

Two Grey seals

These two Grey seals were resting on a rock yesterday afternoon here in Hittarp:

Portrait of German Emperor Frederick III

This portrait of German Emperor Frederick III, colored by me, was published in the book "Världens Hufvudstäder" in 1892.

"Frederick III (German: Friedrich; 18 October 1831 – 15 June 1888) was German Emperor and King of Prussia for ninety-nine days in 1888."

" Although celebrated as a young man for his leadership and successes during the Second Schleswig, Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian wars,[2][3] he nevertheless professed a hatred of warfare and was praised by friends and enemies alike for his humane conduct. Following the unification of Germany in 1871 his father, then King of Prussia, became the German Emperor. Upon Wilhelm's death at the age of ninety on 9 March 1888, the thrones passed to Frederick, who had by then been German Crown Prince for seventeen years and Crown Prince of Prussia for twenty-seven years. Frederick was suffering from cancer of the larynx when he died on 15 June 1888, aged fifty-six, following unsuccessful medical treatments for his condition." (Wikipedia)