Djurgarden

I had a five hour walk around Djurgarden today. This island, near the centre of Stockholm was once a royal hunting park. It now has just 800 homes in an area of, I would estimate, about 6 square miles. The houses are mostly highly individual, set in large gardens with mature trees.

I was told by a Swedish tour guide yesterday that the Swedish flag is the second oldest national flag in the world (after Denmark.) The yellow cross on a blue background does not just symbolise the country's Christian heritage. He said the blue represents the sea and the yellow the sunshine, which the Swedes love. Research today suggests that was wrong and that Yellow = Generosity whilst Blue = Vigilance, Truth, Loyalty, Perseverance and Justice.

Whatever the truth, today was a very Swedish day with bright warm Spring sunshine and a deep blue sky, reflected in the calm Baltic sea (at least, the bits that were not still frozen.)

So, from over 750 photographs today, my blip had to be a typical yellow Djurgaden house against a deep blue sky - with no enhancements at all - straight out of the camera. I nearly blipped this one, as a possibly better photograph but not the colours I wanted today.