This blue marble

– and yet it spins

Tag Archives: Scandinavia


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Parallel worlds; or Saturday afternoon, 2 pm

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One Saturday I found myself walking away from the spring sunlight into a dark maze of living pictures. Room after room offered stories displayed on all walls, voices spiraling down from the ceiling. Fishermen fighting the waves at sea, a woman mourning the loss of her dog, and Death paying a breakfast visit.

So many random thoughts swam in the air, intertwined by voices and moving impressions of our beautiful ruthless wonderful world.

Suddenly I stood in front of a most magnificent spruce growing sideways in the dark, its branches whooshing in the wind. How strange to think of all little lives gone by during the lifetime of a single tree. Which is larger than life, then; our sorrows and loves or the sole existence of an ancient tree?

And I walked back into the sunlight feeling very small.

(Eija-Liisa Ahtila’s collected film works at Kiasma museum of contemporary art; Helsinki, Finland, April 2013)


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Hello sunny Copenhagen!

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After 15 years of layovers at Copenhagen airport, occasional drives through Denmark, and visits to pretty much every other major Danish city, I finally found myself in Copenhagen – with 2 days off.

So what to do? Stroll through the Stroget cobblestone streets; get lost in Illums Bolighus interior design department store; dine at Fiskebaren, an old fish-processing factory-turned trendy hang-out; tour the canals; and squeeze onto the very top of the tapering spiral staircase of the Christianshavn church. That’s hippie freetown Christiania below.

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(Copenhagen, Denmark; April 2013)


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Delight is in the details

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Bring your camera and get lost in the spaces and details of Bella Sky hotel by Copenhagen airport. The extravagant architecture of the building explains the name of this place. And if you’re female, don’t forget to make sure your room is on the ladies-only Bella Donna floor, with services ranging from champagnes and smoothies to larger towels and a wider toiletry collection.

Photo courtesy of http://www.bellaskycomwell.dk.


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Lead like a dog

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A sled dog team is the perfect example of a successful, well-operating team where each individual is irreplaceable. Without strong, unflinching wheel dogs at the rear the sled would hit obstacles, and without the swing dogs behind the lead the team would not lead the sled around turns and find a common pace. The team dogs in the middle form the engine and focus fully on pulling forward. Wouldn’t it be a joy to work in a team that operates as smoothly?

Comparing sled dog teams to teams at our workplaces, isn’t it interesting that a good lead dog is most likely something else than an alpha male, and may well be an introvert? True lead dogs have earned their team mates’ trust by being sure-footed, calm, and finding the trail in bad weather. Dominance is not leadership and does not guarantee followers. Trust does.

(Dog sledding in beautiful Ebbenjarka, Swedish Lapland)