This blue marble

– and yet it spins

Category Archives: Travel


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Dazed and confused in Boston

Boston-1 There was a long flight, jetlagged people lost in a hotel, and a quick dash to Macy’s for proper winter-weight stockings. There was somebody who knew which direction to take, and finally a skyscraper and an elevator upward.

And suddenly there was a cocktail party on the top floor, and Boston at our feet. A gray day turned into a spectacular golden sunset. And after hours our jetlagged brains were exposed to the crazy show of the Blue Man Group. Best viewed when drunk or near-expired by exhaustion.

Boston, city of smart and innovative minds, today my dull mind was no match against the first glimpse you offered. Rematch another time?

Boston-2

(The Charles River, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; October 2015)


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Two faces of London

London-7Sporadic smog and frequent blue skies. This is London today. 50 years ago it was the other way around. As we circled above London in the busy morning air traffic, I thought of the generations of Londoners between the ramp-up of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and 1960s when the Clean Air Act began to take visible effect. These people did not see much of a sun unless they found their way out of the city. In 1952 during the Great Smog, thousands of people died and thousands more were made ill by the toxic filthy pea soup that hung over London for 4 days.

Today there is the chance to see a blue sky over London, even without rising a kilometer into the air. Of course the view from up here is much more stunning.

London-6(London, United Kingdom; October 2015)


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Up in the air

propellerYou may have become fed up with photos from the air, one after the other. It seems as if the moments in the air are the only moments I have for myself this fall. 

A lady asked for a minute of my time at the gate, waiting to return home after another of my weekly 2-day commutes to Stockholm. She was researching and asked how often I come to Bromma airport. Every week, I replied. “Really? Are you a politician?” she asked. Goodness, no, but I work for a multinational company. By now my carbon footprint is so large I weep for it and the generations required to pay our poor planet back.

(Above the Baltic Sea; October 2015)


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Back to reality

malmoBoom, back to reality. Alarm clock set for 4.30 am and a commute to Copenhagen. From there we took the train over to Sweden and Malmö, and locked ourselves up in the hotel for the next 4 days.

I escaped twice: once to a meeting in the modern docklands, and once to a dinner with a friend where we spoke more of sailing and yoga than of science and work.

They say Malmö is troubled with cultural issues, violence, and unemployment. I say Malmö has its beautiful moments – and quite a few of them. You just need to find time for them. Just like a walk in the docklands during a 4-day-after summer-kick-off stunt in a hotel.malmo-2 (Malmö, Sweden; August 2015)


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Departing is the only way to return

departure-2It was a long day of departure. Getting to the dock from the south end of the island took one hour instead of 20 minutes, thanks to road closures and cremation parade. There is only one main road on Lembongan – and lots of sandy wannabe-roads in the boondocks, absolutely not made for a pickup truck.

Getting from Lembongan to mainland Bali took a good while due to the wind. I sat next to the captain who was wearing a huge chunky watch and a carefree smile. “You will come back next year” he said. I just might.

Getting from Sanur beach to the airport took a good while. I had to wait for another boat to arrive. The captain with the chunky watch and smile kept me company. This was his life, every day, and I was one among 365 people in a year he probably kept company in wait of the next boat. “You will come back next year” he repeated.

departure-1I waited for my flight for 4 hours and acquainted with an Australian couple. “We come back every year, for 20 years now” they said.

The last leg from Zurich to Helsinki I flew in business class together with a world-famous rapper, his babe, and his entourage. We deciphered the Scandinavian foods on the menu together. He will probably not come back next year.

But I might just return to Bali next year. And the year after that. Get old, get stuck on one thing, and just go back to Bali because – well, it is Bali.

balideparture(Lembongan, Bali, Indonesia; and above Switzerland; August, 2015)