This is how humans take over the planet, and mold it to their liking. Qatar is a strange place from above. 
This is the land where it never rains. Possibly Southern Iran or Pakistan. The last resort for humans to mold, when everything else is utilized.
This is how we build vertically when we have no horizontal space. We cram hills and mountains with rice paddies and grazing areas for goats.
(Landing on Kathmandu airport is an art in itself, with or without rice paddies and goats)
(Above South Asia; November 2016)
One would think that, like in Helsinki, snowfall in Stockholm would equal much shoveling and careful driving. But snowfall in Stockholm always equals chaos. Roads close, schools close, trains won’t run, and even this time the subway (?!) did not run properly.
(Stockholm, Sweden; November 2016)
Cold. Windy. White. Dark. Imagine if the sun were just a stone’s throw further away from us. Then this is what all of us would live in, all the time. Thank goodness our planet is just leaning out to take the curve properly, before zooming closer to the light again.
One dark, cold Sunday night it was bright and beautiful inside. Lots of delicacies, lots of laughter. Some wine, too. And talks about pigeons’ quantum physics compasses, refugee policy, and age-old toys in the attic.
Still a few long, dark months ahead. With climate change there is no consistent winter in Helsinki region anymore, has not been for quite some years. So one day I can go to the office in rain, wearing my rubber wellies, and walk back home in snow. Thank goodness I had the mind to slip on boot liner fleece socks or I’d have no toes left.
Here again. Of course. The only department store I know of with creaky wooden stairs and ancient elevators instead of modern escalators. Such a lovely place, filled with beautiful things one absolutely does not need, and that one rarely finds elsewhere. Thankfully it is usually sufficient to simply breathe in the atmosphere of days gone by.
Want to know a secret? Last night as you were sleeping, Santa was having fun in the ski slope with a crazy parasail-skier, rocking some beats. And all the babies of his reindeer followed him, rocking the same beats through their super stylish headphones.
Antwerp, Italian food, and a meeting of minds. Last time it was in Kenya, 3 years ago. This time there was no sun, no dolphins, nor turquoise water. But there was soul food, creaky wooden beer house floors, and lots of laughter.
London City airport at rush hour. There is no fast track and no lounge, because everybody here is a frequent flyer entitled to a fast track and lounge access. To get food it is elbow technique that counts. Even if you are a City slicker banker. Or just a random business traveler, like me.
This blue marble 