The view from my hotel room window. If only zeppelins were still the fashionable way to transport through the air – then I might see the observatory in its originally designed use: a docking site for zeppelins bringing travelers in and out of Manhattan. Such a courageous space-age dream was built to come true, but never put to good use.
Instead, the Empire State Building is bombarded by dozens of lightning strikes each year. It gets lonely and dangerous on the top of the city. But from down here, from my cozy hotel room in Midtown, I can look at the bright lights and think about those people who dreamed buildings such as this one into being, ninety years ago, when elevators changed the way buildings were planned, and decades before going to the moon was even a realistic aim.
(New York City, USA; April 2019)
I have only seen the coastline surrounding New York City from the air, and each time there is something new to discover. Fire Island looks like a wonderful place to visit for long walks on the beach and adventuring out in the shallows during ebb. Lucky locals.
35,000 feet above the Earth allows a new view, each time. For example how far Keflavik airport really is from Reykjavik city (above). And how icy and cold it still is in New Brunswick, when there are leaves in the trees in Denmark.
And how magnificent Mounts Katahdin and Hamlin look from the stratosphere. This is also the Northern end of the Appalachian trail. While my broken knees may never take me up on top of Katahdin, the Appalachian trail sure is on my bucket list – with a cheat start at the foot of the mountain.
(Above Iceland and North America; April 2019)
(Loviisa, Finland; April 2019)
Weird experience today: spending the night in a hotel in my home town, just 5 kms away from my own apartment.
There are hills in Denmark. Really. It is not all flat. Only, the hills are hiding here on Jutland, far away from Copenhagen and Odense and where most visitors go.
(Silkeborg, Denmark; March 2019)
At least one poor devil became famous in Antwerp. Even his house was (and still is) known as the “house of the poor devil”. Wonder who he (she?) was?
Snowdrops are champions of spring. Although in most of Europe they flower in winter, before spring equinox. Apparently they are not supposed to be native of Denmark but that has not stopped them from taking over this little town.
Hetvägg (”hot wall”). With marzipan. Just like it used to be for hundreds of years. While most people in Finland prefer their bun dry in hand, mine definitely likes hot milk better.
Poor Edward II. He just wanted to love and play king, while his ”allies” ran the country into the ground.
This blue marble 