Off Season Saturday in Collioure South of France

Few visitors to see at the weekdays now in the off season periode in popular Collioure. But in the weekends the place starts to live as many visitors enter this small Catalan village and take their time in the sun to enjoy some drink or lunch by the seaside. This version a stitch of 2 photos.

Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway. Blue hour with iphone 6+

The last blue hour version from this fine afternoon a Friday in March 2017 along the main street of Oslo: Karl Johans Gate. The stately Grand Hotel with the very famous and popular Grand Cafe at the corner vis a vis the Parliament building of Norway.

From the net:
Grand Hotel was founded in 1874 by the pastry chef Julius Fritzner. When it first opened, the block on Karl Johans gate consisted of three buildings: the Bardoe, the Fuhr and the Heiberg buildings.

The latter, a three-story building at the corner of Rosenkrantz gate, was equipped as a hotel. Nicolay Fritzner bought the building, but his brother Julius ran the hotel.

The Grand Café opened first. Architect Jacob Nordan was in charge of refurbishing the local, and Fritzner's good friend, Wilhelm Krogh, a specialist in theater and set decoration at Kristiania Theater, painted the interior. Originally, the café was above street level, with access from stairs on the outside of the building, but in the latter part of the 1870s, the floor was lowered and the entire venue was redecorated. From that moment on, the Grand Café became the meeting place for all of Kristiania’s citizens.

Professor Christen Heiberg's three-story building on the corner of Karl Johans gate 31 was one of a number of distinguished houses built around 1840 along the "New Palace Road", as Karl Johan was called in those days.

Today it seems logical to open a hotel in this newly fashionable district, but that was not the case at the time. Many of Fritzner's contemporaries tried to discourage him from opening a hotel so far away from what was then the center of Kristiania.

Blue hour in the mainstreet of Oslo, Norway

"Karl Johans Gate" the main street of Oslo used to be filled by pedestrians, cars and trams. The last years it have developed to more like a pedestrians street while cars and trams are no longer to be seen as before.  This is around 5 o'clock PM a cold afternoon in March 2017 in the blue hour.

From the net:
Karl Johans Gate stretches from the central railway station to the Royal Palace.
The street was laid at the Swedish-Norwegian King Charles Fourteenth Juhani, after whom later was named.

It is famous for a lot of small shops and stalls of street vendors, art galleries open-air performances of musicians and actors directly on the pavement.
Almost all the buildings on this street were built in the twenties and fifties of the nineteenth century by the court architect of the Norwegian Linstow, whose goal was to make the street, Karl Johans Gate in the "Champs Elysees" of Oslo.

The most notable building in the street - the central building of the University of Oslo, built in the classical style by the renowned Berlin architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel.

Blue hour by the Stortinget - The Parliament Building, Oslo, Norway

A Friday afternoon by the Parliament Building in Oslo. Some few pedestrians is passing and the compulsory begger is sitting there - "business as usual" . Another iphone 6+ photo.

Under a photo with the old university main building to the left.

From the net: 
The Storting is the Norwegian Parliament. It is the supreme arena for political debate and decision-making in the Kingdom of Norway.
The Storting represents the ultimate expression of the sovereignty of the Norwegian people. Through the Storting, it is the people who govern the country, introduce legislation, authorize public spending, impose taxes and control the work of the Government.

There are 169 elected Members of the Storting. Parliamentary elections take place every four years. There are no by-elections, nor is there any constitutional provision to dissolve the Storting between elections.

The system of parliamentary rule means that it is the Storting that determines the composition of the Norwegian Government. It is also the decision of the Storting to decide whether or not to initiate a referendum on a particular issue.

Following the tracks of the white wild hare. Valdres, Norway

They are easy to spot the tracks of the hare in the snow. These tracks are app. 24hrs old as they have started to be a bit wider and "lifted up" as compared to new tracks in the snow.

This time the hare has been alone - otherwise they are often followed by some tracks of their hunter - the fox.

Beside of that an interesting almost Black and White result of this photo taken in the afternoon and by that includes some details of the snow and some fine shadows effect.

Cross country skier in backlight. Valdres in Norway

The last days we have had winter Holidays here in Norway. And as so often in the winter we like to spend some days up in the mountains for ski activities: Alpine or Cross-Country. The latter absolute relaxing as you can ski, as here, under a fair sun and enjoy the peace in the nature while using the well prepared ski tracks in the terrain.

Winter holiday in Valdres, Norway

A fine morning with some fresh snow up in the winter mountains in central Norway.

This week most of the schools have their winter holidays and many families are up here in the mountain only some 3hrs drive out of Oslo.

Flashback: Surfer in storm. Collioure, South of France

A flashback with a return to a very special February day in 2007 in Collioure, south of France. In spite of 300 days with sun in the year - this was a day where heavy waves from a passing storm was coming in right to the beaches in the village of Collioure. And of course where there is this kind of waves there is also surfers.  See if you can spot the surfer in the middle of this photo taken 10 years ago.

Another flashback to this heavy weather some years ago in Collioure

No demand for deck chairs at Alby Manor at Jeloya, Norway

Alby Manor with a history going back almost to the time of the Vikings is today an art Museum that also have a fine Cafe to stop by for people out at this Island in the Oslofjord for a walk.
In front of the Manor it is popular in the summer to relax on the fine green grass - while in the winter there is a more modest demand for the deck chairs ment for a good time in the sun.

While the Noblesse was ruling the big farmland belonging to the Alby Manor the tenant farmer was offered a more modest place to live. Scattered around the Manor you will still find some small houses ment for the people working the land in the former times - as seen here:

Cold wind from Russia sweeping over Valdres, Norway

We are just back from some days up in the mountain. In a winter with a general mild climate we had some days with -20C as cold wind from Siberia was sweeping in.  In the same days a warm wind was going North from Spain to Svalbard where they had +4C What a world 🤓

The photo, of our cottage, is from my iphone6+ with a mounted so called fisheye lens - delivered in a kit with also a wide angle lens and a tele x9 lens.  All for funny €10 incl. freight from China (says something of the quality) LOL.

Crossing the plain "Stølsvidda" in one of the cold days this week in the mountain

Time for some cross country skiing in Valdres, Norway

Finally there is some snow and also fair weather here in the low mountains in the South of Norway.
The skitrack is all set for some cross country going and be sure we will use the opportunity within the next days. Going from Oslo with no snow and up to this winter adventure 😎

Oslo Town Hall in the winter. Norway

Oslo Town Hall seen from Aker Brygge - the former ship yard in the center of Oslo.
In front a selection of boats very popular for  people living here the whole winter.
As you can see the water is still open while some years ago there should have been ice in this part of the harbor. Typical for the mild climate of our days.

December afternoon in the harbor of Oslo. Norway. II

An afternoon mood in Oslo Harbor - in fact one of the last photos I did in 2016.

A happy new year to all visitors

December afternoon in the harbor of Oslo. Norway

Low light and a low sun already at 1PM in Oslo this day late in December

The Royal Castle Oslo. Norway

The Royal Castle is situated at a small hill top right in the center of Oslo in fact it is ending the main street Karl Johans gate.  You can (maybe) spot a small red flag on top of the castle. This flag tells us that the King is home. When he is away no red flag....

Some more from the net:

The Royal Palace (Norwegian: Slottet or formally Norwegian: Det kongelige slott) in Oslo was built in the first half of the 19th century as the Norwegian residence of the French-born King Charles III of Norway, who reigned as king of Norway and Sweden.
The palace is the official residence of the present Norwegian monarch. The crown prince resides at Skaugum in Asker west of Oslo. The palace has 173 rooms. (WIKI)

The little house decorated for Christmas. Oslo. Norway

This time of the year some have a kind off Christmas decorating take off.

The entrance to Alby Manor. Oslofjord. Norway

December morning with some night frost still hanging in.

From my last visit to the stately Alby Manor out at the Jeloya Island in the Oslofjord.

Alby Manor is the oldest farm at the Jeloya Island and have it's roots back to the Viking age (800 AD)

Beach in December. Oslofjord. Norway. 4 photos stitched

From a fine December day along the shores of Oslofjord at Jeloya right outside the town Moss.

Under a  frosty beach detail:

A fine December day by the Oslofjord. Norway

Photo taken in the small park at Alby Manor outside of Moss in the Oslofjord, Norway.
In the back we can see one of the 4 carferries that cross the fjord every 10th minute going between Moss and Horten.

Kind of a sunset in Altitude 11km. Speed 880km/hrs. Boeing 737. Above Scandinavia

We went back from South of France a few days ago with a Norwegian plane from Barcelona to Oslo.
Over the most of Europe it was a perfect chance to look down to places we passed on this cloud free day.
I opened my app FLIGHTRADAR24 and had the pleasure to see exactly our position through the flight. (Sitting by the window and with wifi at the plane no problem being connected)

When we left the Continent and entered the Scandinavian territorium at 4pm the clouds was there and as we was facing east in the plane we had this strange sunset facing away from the sun  - like a cloud dream.