Youngster leading...

Flower detail

I dug up another photo... this time, a macro shot of a flower:

Purple

I'm still digging through older photos mostly because work/other activities overload prevented me from spending time walking around the city, but also because of the unrelenting cold (it's been below freezing for what seems like forever). This one was taken some time during spring or summer 2009 in the Botanical garden in Zagreb:

No ice cream nor gelato nor sladoled

Ice cream "booth" is all closed up and waiting for spring:



"Ledo" (led = ice) is Croatian company that produces ice cream and similar products.

Hungry

Does anyone know what exactly ducks and swans do when then "probe" the water like this? It seems to me they are feeding, but the surface on the lake and lake itself is very clean/clear so I'm not sure what they can get here.

Is it a duck? Is it a dog?

Nope! It's a nutty human swimming merrily in the lake at -9C (15F; the lake was nearing freezing levels, because it was mostly frozen at the time I took the photo)!

A touch of redness

I'm digging up some of the older photos (December):

It's always greener on the other side

Swan lake with a twist

Last night I went to see Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, in production of Russian St. Petersburg State Ice Ballet. Yup, you read it correctly, it's all on ice, it wasn't just the usual ballet. Skaters range from previous Russian Olympic gold medal winners to artists who started skating/training at the age of three. As it could have been expected, they were magnificent and costumes were incredibly elaborate (considering the fact they had to skate in them):









On the other hand, I have never seen worse organization of any concert ever, anywhere in the world than the last night. :(

Back to school!

Not really, but close enough.... I'm attending evening classes of Italian, organized by the Italian Institute in Zagreb. I'm (again) following the beginner's course. I've had 4 years of Italian during high school, but 10+ years of not using it will do a lot of memory erasing, especially when it comes to active knowledge of the language.

Take me to the Moon....

A night scene, taken a few minutes ago from my window (w/o a tripod, so focus isn't the best):

Shy introduction

A tear in my eye....

I don't believe the swan was particularly sad, but the water droplet right next to his eye caught my eye :)...

Nothing to see...

Empty stands await warmer weather and rowing to call back fans:

Jarun's islands and peninsulas

Theme day: Best photo of 2009

This was very difficult choice. I always find people photos to be most challenging as well as most rewarding if you get them right. Sanja and her daughter won my favorite vote for this year:



The photo was taken while they were on a small merry-go-round in motion, with almost full zoom on my telephoto lens, without a tripod, and to this day, I have absolutely no clue how I managed to focus the photo....

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Bench detail in the snow

Too heavy

Coca lost its Cola

Not only is Coke known to be strong enough to dissolve everything in people's stomachs, or dissolve rust or what not, but apparently its ads are strong and resistant too - to weather influence. There used to be many ads along this path because of numerous sport events and all were painted roughly at the same time, but they all faded and are not visible any more. Only Coca Cola lives on... go figure... :)



Btw, the photo was taken along the rowing part of the lake Jarun.

Bright color II

Blue this time, but the angle was wrong to get the contrast as I did in the previous post photo...

Bright color I

In gloomy, almost black and white world of snow and mist, it's refreshing to see bright colors, even if it's an ordinary thing we see on streets daily - a speed bump sign:

Not a single piece of information

I can't remember if I had ever seen this info point next to the lake Jarun working, but I might have missed it. I'll pay more attention this summer:

Sticking out

Joggers found!

Remember how I never found a single jogger during nice days? Well, it seems people in Zagreb prefer cold, damp, all covered in snow weather to do their fitness routines... there were dozens of joggers on Wednesday morning (national holiday):

I should swim...

... all other birds are doing it!



After a few steps in the water, the crow decided swimming was for ducks and swans. :)

Let it snow, let it snow,....

It's snowing again! :) Here's a photo from my bedroom window:

Waiting for better days

You can usually find local elderly people playing cards or chess at this bench. Now it's just waiting for warmer and dry weather...

Snow Queen

Two slalom races (part of FIS Alpine Skiing ) are held in Zagreb each year. The event is called Snow Queen Trophy. This is a relatively new event, and quite surprising to most, especially seeing how Zagreb has nothing to do with the Alps :). It all started several years ago, when Janica Kostelić was winning race after race after race... the race now is one of the favorites to all skiers because of the atmosphere and loved by Zagreb people. We cheer all of the skiers, regardless of where they're coming from, it's party party party, the event is phenomenal and the organization is unbelievably good.

This year I started looking for Snow Queen Trophy tickets too late and ended up finding "sold out" signs only :(. However, I have been to the race last year, so here are the photos of the last year's event (at -18C):





Yup, this is a helicopter flying upside-down (!!!):

Ice

Definitely wasn't safe for skating...

To dive or not to dive?