This blue marble

– and yet it spins


Leave a comment

A room of one’s own – part two

langvik-3Sometimes it is nice to share a room with someone. To share tranquility and hot tub bubbles with someone. And other times, well, other times it is nice to simply have a room of one’s own. A book, thoughts wrapped into a travel bag and let free while the hot tub warms cold bones.

And sometimes it is lovely to be the only one breakfasting by herself, with a good book. Especially at those rare moments when the breakfast is accompanied by live piano music.

langvik-4(Långvik spa, Kirkkonummi, Finland; November 2015)


2 Comments

3 good things in 24 hours

copenhagen-1One dark, cold night in Copenhagen there was a spur-of-the-moment reunion. Indian takeaway, memories of days in Cambridge, and touching base after 4 years.

Right afterwards there was another spur-of-the-moment crazy craving resulting in Belgian waffles with hot dripping chocolate fresh from a street stall at Stroget.

copenhagen-2And finally, after a busy day in Lund and an adventurous train ride to the airport, there was a brand-spanking new Finnair Airbus A350 and an upgrade to business class. Champagne all around. I was not the only one taking photos – and some had brought proper equipment, too.

I could choose to remember only the hurry trying to catch the train, or the business meetings and endless powerpoint slides. Or I could choose to remember these 3 good, refreshing things in 24 hours. And the glass of champagne on the way home, under a fancy “Aurora” cabin light show. 

Reality is never objective; it is always what we choose to perceive. And this starry night at 33,000 feet I chose to perceive my bubbly champagne very carefully and let everything else fade away, if just for a moment. 
copenhagen-3(Copenhagen, Denmark; October 2015)


2 Comments

In the Crown Princess’s backyard

hagapark-1This is the front yard of my Stockholm crib. It also happens to be the backyard of the Crown Princess of Sweden and her prince consort and children. Catching the last daylight and some fresh air between office and dinner, it is surprisingly easy to get lost in the park. The English-style landscaping is from the mid-18th century when even a park did ideally not look like any human hand had shaped it – only God’s hand.

Take one wrong turn and you may be faced with a Chinese pagoda. Get lost in the squirming lanes again and you come face to face with a Roman tent -looking pavilion. Or a round royal lunch pavilion. Or the ruins of a castle. Or the royal castle of the Crown Princess and her family.

As I circled around the Chinese pagoda and turned back towards candlelight, tinkling cutlery, and a cozy evening meal, I thought of how lucky I was to have this place as my front yard if only for one day a week.

hagapark-2(Hotel Stallmästaregården in Hagaparken, Stockholm, Sweden; October 2015)


Leave a comment

Takeoff

Helsinkiairport-1Another early morning takeoff. Cannot remember where I was going. Perhaps Stockholm. Helsinki airport bathed in the morning sunlight and mist lay over the fields. I cannot remember what I was thinking. Probably nothing. Probably something. But I probably was not thinking that “this is a beautiful moment and it will never, ever, return again. Because one second later, the world will have shifted, if ever so slightly.”

Live today. I probably wasn’t. My loss.

(Helsinki, Finland; October 2015)


Leave a comment

Afternoon tea with Lady Georgiana Cavendish

afternoontea-2Lazy Sunday afternoon sunlight drizzled through a window and hit gold: her golden hair, golden violin strings, and golden decorations on the grand piano. There was lovely music in the air, and fluttering sleeves and rustling taffeta skirts. Lady Georgiana Cavendish was alive again just for this day – and she had brought her talented friends. And meringues. And tea cakes. And much humor.

Slowly sipping a fresh cup of darjeeling we enjoyed this parenthesis of a Sunday, an afternoon when time stood still. Where music and meringue towers were most important to all those present.afternoontea-1(Helsinki, Finland; October 2015)