On the road to snow-where!

This spectacular snowy route marks the border between Sweden and Norway - and is perfect challenge for adventure-loving snowmobilers.

But this group are quite literally treading on a thin line - because to their right is Norway where riding a snowmobile for fun is illegal while to their left is Sweden where it is allowed.

Strict laws in Norway mean unless it is work related, riding snowmobiles is against the law. 

But photographer Havard Dalgrav, 25, and his friends were undeterred by the risk of ending up on the wrong side of the law and travelled four hours to the border to capture these stunning shots.

The snow motorway: Snowmobilers ride down the cleared border between Sweden, pictured on the left where riding snowmobiles for fun is legal, and Norway on the right where it is not 

A bumpy ride: The snowy route is more than 1000 miles long - making it the longest border for either country

The incredible snowy terrain, home to wolves and brown bears, is more than 1000 miles long and is the longest border along either country.

Mr Dalgrav, from Oslo, Norway, discovered the route while travelling to Sweden for a snowmobile trip earlier this year.

 

He said: 'It's a really breath-taking sight - the track seems to go on forever and as much as I'd love to get to the end of it I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to.

'It looks natural but I'm sure the trees must have been removed to mark the border, maybe left from WWII or something when this was much stricter.

'When you zoom in on the internet using Google Maps you can actually see the gap on the border and follow it all the way along from top to bottom.'

A winter wonderland: A man walks through the freshly-fallen snow in Chemnitz, eastern Germany, yesterday

Going nowhere fast: Bikes are covered in heavy snow in Munich, southern Germany, today as temperatures in the Bavarian capital fell below freezing

Vineyards were left covered in snow near Durbach, southern Germany, today

A quick dip: Ducks make the most of a river that has remained unfrozen after more snowfall in the Belarusian capital Minsk

But while the pictures may make the route appear to be as smooth as motorway, Mr Dalgrav revealed it was actually a rather bumpy ride. 

He continued: 'It's about 10-15 metres wide and what you can't tell from the pictures is that it's really quite bumpy so you can't get the sort of speed you crave looking at the long straight line.

'The laws are quite unusual so a lot of us from university travel over to Sweden together. Just a few meters to the right and we would have been breaking the law.

'We discovered it in February this year and we decided to make it an annual trip. It was about -15c so when driving at 100kmh with the wind in your face it's pretty cold.

'Unfortunately due to the temperature my camera stopped working - thankfully it was after I got this shot of the route snaking along the border for miles into the distance.
'It was so much fun and it's not every day you see something this beautiful.'

Clearing the way: Snowplows clean the A20 highway in eastern Germany after heavy snowfall

A long journey ahead: A man on cross-country skis attempts to make his way across a field in front of a church of Weyarn, Bavaria, Germany

Weather around the world: Snow falls in the suburbs of Beijing, China, bringing traffic problems and delayed flights for the first time 

Hard at work: A worker clears the tracks of the Chur-Arosa line at the train station in Litzirueti, Switzerland, yesterday

Beautiful photographs of horse loggers

It was a picturesque scene that could easily grace the cover of a Christmas card, as a full-time commercial horse logger was photographed removing Scots Pine trees from in the snow.

Simon Lenihan was pictured removing the trees in Crathie, Aberdeenshire, from the Balmoral Estate yesterday with Belgian Ardennes horses Sultan De Le Campagne, 15, and Salome Du Pre Renier, 4.

The beautiful horses working at the royal residence of Balmoral at this time of year were being used in place of large timber machines to minimise any damage to vegetation, soils and water-tables.  

Traditional values: Simon Lenihan, a full time commercial horse logger, removes a Scots Pine tree from the Balmoral Estate with Sultan De Le Campagne, a 15-year-old Belgian Aldennes horse

Beautiful scene: Simon Lenihan uses Salome Du Pre Renier, a 4-year-old Belgian Ardennes horse, to remove another Scots Pine tree from the estate

Tough work: Simon Lenihan removes a Scots Pine tree from the Balmoral Estate with Sultan De Le Campagne, a 15-year-old Belgian Ardennes horse

Traditional trade: The Prince of Wales is the Patron of The British Horse Loggers, an association that works to promote horse logging and support professional horse loggers

The Prince of Wales is the Patron of the British Horse Loggers, an association that works to promote horse logging and support professional horse loggers.

 

Mr Lenihan, who lives in Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, was working in temperatures of -4C (25F) yesterday with his son Ian in front of photographer Jeff Mitchell.

Mr Mitchell, 42, of Balloch, West Dunbartonshire, told MailOnline: ‘They take the horses instead of using heavy machinery which causes quite a lot of damage to the ground.

Teamwork: Simon Lenihan and his son Ian, full time commercial horse loggers, remove a Scots Pine tree

Old-fashioned ways: The horses working at Balmoral are being used in place of large timber machines

Carefully does it: The purpose is to minimise any damage to vegetation, soils and water-tables

Together: Simon Lenihan removes a Scots Pine tree from the Balmoral Estate with Sultan De Le Campagne

‘I think those guys must have been working in temperatures of -4c. There’s a bit of frost on the ground, but those guys start around 5:30am and go and warm the horses up on a two-mile walk.

‘That gets the muscles and the blood going through the horses. They’re going back to the methods people were using 100 years ago. The neck harness is made by the Amish in the US.’

He added: ‘They've been up there for about 12 weeks. It's gorgeous, that whole area is just beautiful. You can see why the royal family go there. I think it's one of the most beautiful places in the UK.’ 

Going for cold: The team was working on the estate in Crathie, Aberdeenshire, in temperatures of -4C

Horse play: There are successful horse logging contractors working throughout Scotland, England and Wales

The British Horse Loggers offers demonstrations, training, professional development and works to advertise and promote horse logging

The British Horse Loggers's website describes horse logging as 'the extraction of timber using horses as 'base machine' with a wide range of traditional and modern implements'. 

It continues: 'Horse loggers work through the whole range of timber produced in British woodlands; from small coppice poles and firewood, through thinnings in soft and hard woods up to final crop - large saw logs in soft and hard woods.'

The organisation offers demonstrations, training, professional development and works to advertise and promote horse logging.

Sultan De Le Campagne drags along a Scots pine trunk, while Simon Lenihan follows on

The Lenihans were working today in sub-zero temperatures. They first take the horse for a two-mile walk to warm them up

Purchased by Queen Victoria in 1848, the Balmoral Estate has been the Scottish home of the Royal Family ever since.

The estate covers about 20,000 hectares (just over 50,000 acres) of heather-clad hills and ancient Caledonian woodland.

Over the past 150 years, careful stewardship by the Royal Family has preserved its wildlife, scenery and architecture.

The paintings which are full of life: Incredible body art transforms

Artist Gesine Marwedel's paintings are full of life - quite literally.

The German creates her stunning images not on a traditional blank canvas but on the bodies of people, as these breathtaking pictures reveal.

Using her subjects' limbs to create angles for her intricate work, she transforms them into moving masterpieces that represent landscapes and animals.

A model is turned into a human swan in this incredible piece of body art work

A desert scene, complete with camels, is represented on this woman

World cities are merged as Gesine Marwedel tries her hand at a more urban style

In one incredible image, a subject is turned into a human swan, while her other works show desert scenes, a bleak mountain, and a breathtaking cityscape that merges what appears to be Barcelona and Sydney.

Ms Marwedel, from Dortmund, has also turned one person into a flamingo, and ethched eye-catching paintings of an iguana and a tiger.

All her body art is created using eudermic colours, which are natural and based on mineral water and thermal mud.

The 25-year-old, who has attracted a large following in her native country, says she was inspired to paint after working at an Indian orphanage on completion of her university degree.

A bleak mountainscape under a moonlit sky transforms this woman

Both men and women are used by the talented artist, whose highly intricate works reveal an incredible eye for detail. A jigsaw puzzle and eyes are shown here

Half-man, half-tiger: With meticulous attention to detail, a tiger painting merges into the model's natural form

Most people would jump out of their skin if they had an iguana on them but, luckily for this woman, it's just a painting, albeit incredibly lifelike

German Gesine Marwedel has attracted a cult following in her native country with work like this

She describes her style as 'mostly realistic or surrealistic' and also paints on traditional canvas using oil.

Traditionally, body art was, and still is, popular among tribal people.

It still survives in its ancient form among the indigenous people of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

Gesine Marwedel gets to work on one of her subjects, this time painting a tree on a beach

Burger KL Janda-Jandaku Gangster

PATI daging burger bakar diadun dengan rempah ratus istimewa.

MALAM semakin dingin dan jarum jam di tangan sudah melebihi pukul 11 malam. Secara logiknya mengikut putaran alam, waktu begitu kebanyakan daripada kita sepatutnya sedang berkira-kira untuk masuk tidur. Mungkin juga ada yang sudah dibuai mimpi enak.

Namun, senario sebaliknya berlaku apabila anda mengunjungi Restoran Soho Seafood di Sungai Merab, Bangi, Selangor.

Orang ramai masih memenuhi kawasan itu tanpa terdapat tanda-tanda untuk mereka mahu pulang ke rumah.

Tegar melayani kedinginan embun pagi yang mula menitis, penangan hidangan di KL Burger Bakar adalah jawapan kepada segala-galanya. 

Gara-gara burger bakar yang berharga antara RM7 hingga RM20, hidangan Barat di gerai itu telah mendapat sambutan luar biasa dan menimbulkan satu fenomena dalam kalangan pengunjung.

Pemiliknya, Mohammad Fikry Abdullah, 29, berkata, walaupun pada mulanya sesetengah pembeli merasakan bahawa harga burger itu agak mahal, namun selepas menikmatinya, mereka terpesona dengan rasa daging burger yang cukup enak dan empuk.

Tambahnya, selain ketebalan dan berat dagingnya mencecah sehingga 140 gram setiap keping, daging-daging tersebut telah diproses dengan resipi sendiri. 

“Adunannya dibuat sendiri dengan campuran daging kisar, daun sup, bawang dan beberapa ramuan rahsia lain. Burger ini lebih enak jika dinikmati ketika masih panas kerana jus-jus daging yang meleleh,” katanya.

Hari ini, burger bakar semakin mendapat tempat dalam kalangan pelbagai lapisan masyarakat dan hidangan Barat itu sedang mengalami evolusi mendadak.

Lebih istimewa, daging burger tersebut bersaiz agak besar dan tebal berbanding burger konvensional. Ia dibakar menggunakan pemanggang dengan menggunakan arang sebagai bahan api. 

BURGER KL Janda-Jandaku Gangster setinggi tiga tingkat menjadi jawapan kepada selera pengunjung yang berganda.

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Justeru, siapa mampu menepis keenakan hidangan daging burger bakar yang tebal yang panas-panas dan dilimpahi sos cili, sos lada hitam, mayonis, sos Thousand Island dan sos keju. Ia disempurnakan dengan sayur-sayur seperti salad, bawang dan nanas.

Menikmati hidangan berkenaan adalah mengikut cara masing-masing dan seseorang itu tidak perlu segan jika mulut comot sedikit. Itulah nikmatnya burger bakar!

Mohammad Fikry berkata, dia bersama dua kakitangan kini tidak menang tangan melayan pengunjung yang tidak putus-putus datang bermula pukul 6.30 petang hingga 12 tengah malam.

Ditanya cabaran bergelar usahawan burger bakar, dia menjelaskan, tanggapan masyarakat yang mengatakan bahawa makanan Barat itu cepat disiapkan seperti burger konvensional perlu dikikiskan.

Jelasnya, proses membakar daging burger mengambil masa antara 25 hingga 30 minit dan perlu dihidangkan ketika masih panas untuk mengekalkan kualitinya.

“Pada peringkat awal gerai ini dibuka, ramai pembeli yang kadang-kadang tidak faham dan sering merungut kenapa terpaksa menunggu lama. Namun, saya tidak salahkan mereka kerana mungkin tidak faham dengan proses penyediaan daging burger bakar.

“Tapi Alhamdulillah, selepas hampir tiga bulan beroperasi, semakin ramai pembeli tetap yang sudah faham malah ada yang sanggup menunggu giliran tempahan untuk tempoh masa yang lama,” katanya tersenyum.

BURGER KL Menjerit bertambah istimewa dengan sajian udang bakar secara sampingan.

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Berkenaan nama hidangan KL Burger Bakar yang unik, dia memberitahu bahawa dia sengaja menampilkan kelainan menerusi penggunaan tajuk-tajuk filem sebagai daya penarik selain rasa dagingnya yang luar biasa. 

Nama-nama filem dipilih kerana ia mencapai kutipan box-office dan dia percaya, jualan burger yang menggunakan nama tersebut juga mampu mencapai sasaran serupa. 

Antara burger yang paling mendapat perhatian ialah burger KL Drift yang menampilkan daging burger dihias dengan kepingan keju serta daging salai. 

“Burger KL Janda-Jandaku Gangster pula bagi mereka yang gemar menikmati makanan itu dalam kuantiti yang banyak iaitu daging burger yang disusun tiga tingkat dan dijual pada harga RM20,” katanya penuh semangat.

Kepada mereka yang ingin membuat tempahan awal atau majlis katering, anda boleh menelefon KL Burger Bakar, Sungai Merab, Bangi di talian 019-222 4475.

Variasi spesies hidupan akuarium

IKAN pendarfluor antara spesies ikan yang paling menarik perhatian ramai.

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MENYAKSIKAN kawanan angelfish (Pterophyllum) yang bebas berenang di dalam sebuah akuarium mampu membangkitkan ketenangan dalam diri. Ikan berwarna merah jambu yang mampu mengeluarkan cahaya daripada badannya itu turut dikenali sebagai ikan pendarflour.

Ia merupakan hasil penyelidikan bersama antara Akademi Penyelidikan Kebangsaan Taiwan, Academia Sinica, National Taiwan Ocean University dan Jy Lin, sebuah syarikat swasta bioteknologi.

Apa yang pasti, angelfish merupakan sebahagian daripada hidupan yang dipamerkan sempena Ekspo Akuarium Antarabangsa Taiwan yang berlangsung pada 9 hingga 12 November lalu.

Ekspo selama empat hari yang diadakan di Dewan Pameran Nangang, Pusat Dagangan Dunia Taiwan itu merupakan acara tahunan yang berjaya menggamit kehadiran ribuan pengunjung sama ada pelawat tempatan mahu pun pelancong asing.

Kepelbagaian spesies ikan dan terumbu karang boleh dilihat pada pameran tersebut.

Di samping itu, terdapat juga hidupan lain yang dipamerkan termasuklah kuda laut, obor-obor, ikan emas, udang dan banyak lagi. Kesemua hidupan tersebut didatangkan khas dari seluruh dunia melalui 43 pempamer yang mengambil bahagian.

Kawasan pameran itu dibahagikan mengikut tema seperti bahagian ikan pendarflour, ikan hiasan, reka bentuk kreatif dan sebagainya.

Dalam pada itu, sepasang ikan pari mutiara bernilai AS$17,628 (RM54,149) turut menarik perhatian pengunjung. Menurut Setiausaha Agung Persatuan Akuarium Republik China, Chou Hsu-ming, Taiwan membiak 5,000 baka ikan pari air tawar sebulan iaitu paling tinggi di dunia," kata beliau sambil menambah bahawa spesies pari dengan tompok keemasan itu popular dalam kalangan pengumpul ikan kerana digunakan untuk meramal nombor loteri.

Timbalan Ketua Majlis Agrikultur Taiwan, Hu Sing-hwa berkata, acara yang mula dianjurkan sejak tahun 2009 itu dibuka percuma kepada orang awam. Setiap kali pameran itu berlangsung, ia berjaya mencatat kehadiran lebih 100,000 pengunjung.

"Pasaran global untuk ikan akuarium dan produk periferal adalah sangat lumayan dan ia dianggarkan bernilai AS$6 bilion (RM18.4 bilion)," katanya.

Gecko has its washing routine licked

 
Gecko tongue Tongue-believable ... gecko licks the water off its face 

 THIS cute critter’s washing routine is off the scale. The crested gecko used its tongue like a windscreen wiper to clear droplets of water from its eyes and nose. Snapper Ian Schofield, 34, watched as it then whipped its inch-longue tongue back and forth across its scaley face at Knowsley Safari Park in Liverpool. 

 
Gecko using it's tongue to wipe eye Geck-ing clean ... the critter wipes its eyes with its tongue

Ian, from Croydon, south London, said: “The gecko’s spiky skin gives it a menacing look but it didn’t look threatening as it licked its face. “It poked out its tongue and moved it across its face to clear the water, starting with its nose and towards its eye.  

Gecko standing on a tree branch Smiling ... the gecko post

 “Its tongue looked like a rasher of bacon and was pretty flexible. I certainly couldn’t get my tongue out that far.” He added: “I got within a few centimetres of the gecko as I took my photos and even thought I may touch it with my lens and some point.”

Beckham in £12m global tug of war

David Beckham In demand ... 

DAVID Beckham is at the centre of a £12million global tug of war that could make him football’s highest paid player. Becks, 37, yesterday began a bidding battle as he confirmed he will leave current team Los Angeles Galaxy in ten days’ time. 

 Big-money clubs in China, Australia, Brazil, South Africa, America and France are now ready to break the bank to get the ex-England skipper. 

 Chinese football giants Shanghai Shenhua are said to be willing to pay Becks more than £350,000 a week to uproot wife Victoria and family from LA. 


 But they face competition from Aussie clubs Melbourne Hearts and Adelaide United, France’s Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil’s Botafogo, South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs and the New York Cosmos. 

 The clubs are less interested in Beckham’s ball skills than his ability to boost their global TV audience. Sources in LA said Becks could easily make at least £12million from the deal.

 One said: “It doesn’t matter he isn’t the greatest player any more. He makes clubs great in terms of sponsorship. A club could pay him £500,000 a week and it would still be worth it.” The biggest earner in football is 31-year-old Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o, who is paid £345,000 a week by Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala.

Is this Harley Davidson’s latest model? Artist creates human motorcycles

Racey ... models make up street bike

NOW that’s what you call a bunch of Hell’s Angels.

From a distance they look like the latest motorbikes off the production line, but closer examination reveals they are models of a different kind. 

The nude human motorbikes are actually the creation of body paint artist Trina Merry whose amazing work blurs the lines of reality. 

Stunning model ... naked girls form Harley Davidson

It takes up to 18 hours for Trina to paint the lifelike bikes and they have now been chosen to front a huge US motor show. 

  Trina, from San Francisco, California, said: “I am a conceptual artist and often I am inspired by the bodies themselves by what they can and can’t do. 

“Everyone has seen the pictures of scantily-clad women next to motorbikes and cars and it can look a bit trashy.

Paint job ... dirt bike looks realistic

 

“I wanted to take the idea of a beautiful woman and the motorbike and turn it on its head by making the bike from the bodies of the models. 

  “Nothing like this has ever been done before.”

Trina’s latest work featuring the three types of motorbikes for the Progressive International Motorbike Shows that will be touring the US this year.

How it's done ... models practice posing as bike

Smashing pumpkins

Spooky sculptures carved out of veg

Halloween horrors ... scary figures carved out of pumpkins

SAY Hallow to these spook-tacular sculptures – all carved out of the humble PUMPKIN.

Artists Ray Villafane and Andy Bergholtz created the Halloween horrors in their workshop.
Former art teacher Ray, 43, began carving without any training and only discovered his talent after offering to shape a pumpkin for one of his pupils. 

Spook-tacular ... pumpkin looks a little like Ghostbusters' Slimer

 

Now he can carve a fully detailed pumpkin in just two hours. 

Scare art ... veg carved in the image of horror doll Chucky

 

Ray, from Bellaire, Michigan, US, said: “Very often I don’t have a preconceived idea of what I’m going to carve, I just start carving and the creative ideas come to me. 

“It doesn’t always turn out the way I wanted and there’s always times when I have to throw away the pumpkin and start again. 

Smashing ... pumpkin gets 'punched'

 

“The pumpkin is the most important element in my work, I’ll pick up around 50 different pumpkins before I even find one which is suitable to carve. 

Pumpkin art ... incredible detail in the sculptures

 

“The best pumpkins are the ones that feels heavy for its size, that tells me it’s going to be a thick pumpkin, you need the pumpkins to be thick so you can carve a 3d face out of it.” 

Pumpk-incredible ... is it King Kong?

 

Ray is now something of a celebrity in the States and designs pumpkins and giant Halloween sculptures for corporate Halloween parties and displays across the US. 

Seeds of terror ... spooky pumpkin carving

 

He said: “It’s particularly busy at this time of year, but I love my job — it’s fun and I feel like I’m creating something almost magical. 

“When you put a cool face on the pumpkin it feels almost animated, like you’ve bought the pumpkin to life.” 

Unzipped ... pumpkin

 

Villafane studios recently created a sculpture of Johnny Depp's character, Barnabas Collins, in new movie Dark Shadows. 

The film - which is released on Blu-ray and DVD today - sees imprisoned vampire Barnabas wake up from a multi-century sleep to discover that his past is back to haunt him. 

Work in progress ... Johnny Depp is carved out

 

Uncanny ... Johnny Depp in spooky flick Dark Shadows

 

Helmet head ... pumpkin

Baumgartner lebih pantas daripada kelajuan bunyi

TERJUNAN yang dibuat Baumgartner.

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WASHINGTON - Pelagak ngeri Austria, Felix Baumgartner menjadi manusia pertama bergerak lebih pantas daripada kelajuan bunyi di luar sebuah kapsul kelmarin.

Dia terjun dari kapsul tersebut yang berada setinggi 39 kilometer (km) dari Bumi.

Kapsul tersebut bergerak ke udara dengan menggunakan belon helium.

Ia mengambil masa lebih dua jam untuk tiba pada ketinggian 39km dari Bumi.

Kelajuannya mencecah 1,342 kilometer sejam (km/j). 

Lelaki itu 265km/j lebih pantas daripada bunyi.

Baumgartner, 43, kemudian mendarat dengan menggunakan payung terjun di sebuah kawasan di sebuah gurun di Roswell, New Mexico, Amerika Syarikat (AS).

Laman web syarikat minuman tenaga Red Bull menyiarkan aksi pelagak ngeri itu yang memakai pakaian seperti angkasawan semasa dia berada di dalam kapsul tersebut.

Baumgartner menanggalkan topi dan menggenggam kedua-dua tangannya selepas dia mendarat dengan selamat.

"Apabila saya berdiri di atas dunia, anda berasa rendah diri. Anda tidak berfikir tentang memecahkan rekod lagi. Anda juga tidak memikirkan untuk memperoleh data saintifik.

"Satu-satunya perkara yang anda fikirkan ialah pulang dengan selamat," katanya selepas dia selamat mendarat kepada wartawan stesen televisyen CBS.

Dia turut memecahkan rekod sebagai manusia pertama membuat terjunan dari altitud tinggi.

Sebelum ini seorang bekas pegawai tentera udara AS, Kolonel Joe Kittinger memegang rekod itu dengan terjun dari sebuah gondola pada ketinggian 31 kilometer dari Bumi dengan kelajuan 988km/j pada tahun 1960.

Baumgartner menyatakan pengalamannya terjun dengan lebih laju daripada bunyi itu sukar untuk digambarkan.

"Anda tidak mengetahui kepantasan anda," katanya. 

Rekod itu kemudian disahkan oleh jurucakap Persekutuan Aeronautik Antarabangsa (FAI) pada sidang akhbar di Roswell, New Mexico.

Presiden Austria, Heinz Fischer mengucapkan tahniah ekoran kejayaannya dalam projek terjunan anjuran Red Bull Stratos.

Baumgartner pernah terjun dengan menggunakan payung terjun dari Bangunan Petronas di Kuala Lumpur pada 1999. - Agensi