This is the third instalment in my late noughties Nordic tour. Last year I went to Denmark; in late 2006 I went to Iceland; and in April 2009 it was the turn of self-proclaimed capital of Scandinavia, Stockholm.

Stockholm is known with some justification as the Venice of the north. The city is spread out over a number of islands. Logically in the middle is Gamla Stan, the old town. To the south is Södermalm which is described in the guide book as the capitals hippest island. To the east of Gamla Stan is Skeppsholmen — home to a bunch of museums and gardens — and Djurgården — a large park. To the north is the modern part of town, Norrmalm. To the west is Kungsholmen and to the north east is Östermalm, a wealthy residential area with the shops and restaurants you might expect with such locals.

I didn’t have an exact picture in mind for this weeks PhotoFriday, “Costume,” but I did have an event: on the Norwegian Constitution Day there’s a huge parade in most major cities, including the biggest which is in Oslo.

So I fired up iPhoto to see which was the best image to use and… they weren’t there. So I spent much of this afternoon finding my negatives and scanning the whole, missing roll of film in. I’d forgotten why I’d moved to digital!

This weeks PhotoFriday theme is “Cold.” Here is my entry. Having spent nearly ten months working and living in Norway I had a number of good options here, but I think this image of Tromsø is a good indication of the cold, dark winters they get 400km north of the Arctic Circle. This picture was taken at about 3pm.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Fragile.” I’m entry number 222.

“The Good Life” is this weeks PhotoFriday theme but also conjures up an image of an idyllic, simpler life-style. I thought this pastoral scene, actually taken in Oslo‘s Folk Museum in Bygdøy, fitted the bill quite nicely.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Surreal.” I’m entry number 210.

This is not the first time that I’ve had plans to go to Denmark. It was a bright and sunny Saturday morning in June 2002. The previous day had been my last working in the Norwegian capital city and I had a week of sight-seeing planned. First I would head west, to the fjords around Bergen and then I’d head back, through Oslo into Sweden, down the coast and cross the Oresund Bridge into Denmark.