This blue marble

– and yet it spins

Tag Archives: sights


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More water and rice fields – and ducks

riceterraces-2  Just like to every other culture on this planet, to the Balinese water is holy. To them rice is holy, too, and a gift of God. Thus perhaps life is best managed by managing rice growth and water supply? This seems to be the worldview of the Balinese, who have cultured rice in terraces for thousands of years. The subak system intertwines collective ownership, agriculture, water systems, and religious worship in water temples.

waterfallAs I looked out at the rice terraces I was reminded of an elementary school lesson where we were taught that circulation of crops keeps the soil fertile: grains, potatoes with stalks, and most importantly, nitrogen-binding peas in a continuous rotation. The Balinese have grown rice – and more rice – year after year, for thousands of years. No potatoes or peas. How could that be?

The answer is ducks. Yes, ducks. Dozens of ducks. Sometimes hundreds of ducks, invading the rice fields, eating insects and weeds, and pooping out the best organic fertilizer.

Organic agriculture rocks. Who needs chemicals when ones has fluffy quacky ducks at one’s disposal?

riceterraces-1(Jatiluwih, Bali, Indonesia; August 2015)


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Home of the Lady of the Lake

laketemple-2Up in the highlands, surrounded by mist, the lake is her home.  Her name is Dewi Danu. And sometimes, just sometimes, she surfaces to sit on the ledge of her temple. Never does she not find a sweet-and-rice offering from her people. Her well-being is of utmost importance to all Balinese because if she is not well there is no clean water. And if there is no clean water there is no rice – and no life on Bali.

The Lady of the Lake is elusive, but those who have seen her say she is more beautiful (and more terrifying) than any other lady.

laketemple-1(Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, Bali, Indonesia; August 2015)


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All the world’s a stage

GlobeFacing up against tube strike, sitting in the cab for 1 h 15 minutes from South Kensington to Southwark, wolfing down a wonderful pre-theater dinner at the Swan in 45 minutes, and we made it to the play at the Shakespeare’s Globe. As You Like It was classy and wonderfully fresh, with Celia and Rosalind cracking the audience up, as two loons living to love and loving to live. Even the airplanes landing at Heathrow were given a part in a 17th century play.

Drinks and barbeque food were served outside and allowed in, to recreate the feel of Elizabethan times. Alluding to the same feel we asked if throwing food at the actors was allowed. It was, with the disclaimer that the actors might well throw some back. Seeing how they tormented some poor selected ones in the crowd we did not doubt the warning. Next time we will certainly bring both roses and rotten tomatoes. 

This time the choice towards roses would have been easy.

(London, United Kingdom; July 2015)


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Eye of the sea

Morskieoko-6After journeying uphill for hours there it was: Morskie Oko, or the Eye of the Sea. According to legend, the lake has so much fish because somewhere in the fathoms lies a hole that takes the brave diver through a tunnel all the way into the Mediterranean sea. I saw schools of baby trout swimming around. Some brave baby trout. The Adriatic is a long way away from the tail of the Carpathian mountains.

Morskieoko-5Morskie oko is emerald green, and even in the shallow shore waters it clashed with cornflower blue toes. Important detail to the esthetic photographer – although who cares when the sun throws sparkles in the water?

Morskieoko-7(Morskie Oko lake, Tatra Mountains National Park, Poland; July 2015)


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The rock salt palace

Wieliczka-5 I thought Wieliczka would be just a salt mine. Kilometers upon kilometers with dark passages. Dirt floors and railways and pickaxes and helmets. Little did I know that there would be chapels underground, with huge statues of kings and religious motifs. Little did I know there would be lakes with bridges over, and boats ferrying guests into underground grottos. I had no idea that royalty held balls underground, 300 years ago. And that you could make crystal chandeliers out of rock salt.Wieliczka-6Wieliczka salt mine is not a salt mine but a crazy work of art, carved by people throughout its 700 years of existence. Some people were bored (and loved to make gnome statues and pigs). Many were afraid, and made chapels with altars and religious reliefs in which to pray. And the royalty wanted to show off, so they arranged excursions and dances and dinners 130 meters underground, on floors that looked like they were tiled but were in fact rock salt carved to look like floor tiles.

Beside the heydays, there were gas leaks. Explosions. Cavings-in. Accidents with heavy lifting. People died. Horses spent 20 years deep down and died without seeing the sunlight again. There is a reason for the chapels and religious statues. But we got out of there in a wink of an eye, with a tiny, unlit, modern mine elevator. So many before us were not that lucky.Wieliczka-3(Wieliczka, Poland; July 2015)


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Wawel castle

Wawel-1How formidable Wawel castle looked like on the outside! Walls after walls, high up on a hill, as if nothing could ever get past it. And yet, when we did find a gate and wandered in, there was splendor and grandeur. It was as if each generation of rulers and architects had wanted to cram in another tower or another cupola just to leave a mark – regardless of whether the style fit or not.

But who cares about architectural pissing contests when there is Chopin’s music in the courtyard? Who cares about the battles and the intrigues, when there is a plastic (?!) piano and sweeping crystal-clear reveries floating among the pillars and porticoes?Wawel-2(Wawel castle, Krakow, Poland; July 2015)


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This is life

Krakow-2 After all that passed, Krakow is still splendid.  There are still gorgeous houses, a formidable castle, and beautifully dressed horses with feathers and tassels, pulling shining, white carriages.Krakow-6A lot of beautiful horses in feathers and tassels. And jazz music at the market square at night.Krakow-1After all that passed, Krakow also has a rough edge to the splendor. So many houses awaiting for their turn to be cared for, many with broken windows and holes in the walls, reminders of grenade shrapnel or gun shots. This edge is not ugliness – it is endurance and battle scars. My home town has them as well, albeit not so prominent anymore.Kazimierz-2After all that passed, people have the time to draw art on house walls again.Kazimierz-3And despite (or because?) of all that passed, people still celebrate love, by attaching padlocks to the bridge over the river Wisla.

And perhaps because of all that passed, people also celebrate separation, in the dead of night, by cutting the mesh open to remove the lock and throwing it into the river. Time will tell whether there will be more padlocks than gaping holes on the bridge.Kazimierz-4(Krakow, Poland; July 2015)


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The Bridge

bridgeThe bridge begins in Sweden, where it stretches a long sparkly spine over the blue strait. Cars flow back and forth like pearls on an abacus. Underneath the car deck, Swedish and Danish trains sweep back and forth, easily switching voltage and sides of traffic as they cross the border.

Suddenly, in the middle of the brightest blue, cars and trains and everything dive into the water and underneath the sea floor. Space must be made for ships and landing jetplanes. In the distance, back on the Swedish side in Malmö city, a tower building slowly revolves around its axis.

No, this is not the imagined future of the 1960s. It is also not our imagined future in 20 years’ time. This is the Öresund strait today. This is a region where languages and cultures are intertwined and mutually understood. This is the Nordics, practically borderless for 60 years and counting. Take that, European Union.

(Öresund Bridge, between Sweden and Denmark; April 2015)


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Oh, who can ever be tired of Bath!

bath-2When I lived in the UK I wandered around the lovely streets of Bath for a weekend. Just like Catherine from Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey I wonder, who can ever be tired of Bath?

“A fine Sunday in Bath empties every house of its inhabitants, and all the world appears on such an occasion to walk”bath-16“they hastened away to the Crescent, to breathe the fresh air of better company”

This lovely piece of green pasture is marked on an old map as “never to be built upon”. The Bath city layout is sprinkled with circles, squares, and crescents, and even contains one circus.

bath-12“They set off in good time for the Pump-room, where the ordinary course of events took place; Mr Allen, after drinking his glass of water, joined some gentlemen to talk over the politics of the day and compare the accounts of their news-papers; and the ladies walked about together, noticing every new face, and almost every new bonnet in the room”

The Pump Room is open for a delicious breakfast, lunch, or afternoon tea. Wander in at breakfast time, after 9.30 am, and the sunny room, with light tunes of violin and piano floating in the air, will be all yours. Try the spa water – it’s not half as ill-tasting as in many other places. These are the “lower rooms” of Jane Austen, where ladies and gentlemen “took the waters”, along with “Oliver bisquits” (delicious but heavy on calories), during the day, and enjoyed conversation and dance during the night.

bath-14bath-1“Edward has been pretty well this last week, and as the waters have never disagreed with him in any respect, we are inclined to hope he will derive advantage from them in the end”

The thermal waters of Bath bubble up from three springs in the Roman Baths, over a million liters per day. The baths are beautifully restored and the excellent audio tour easily keeps your wandering around for 3 hours.

bath-15

bath-5Hoping to dip your toes into the famous thermal water? Finally Bath has a spa again. The Cross Bath, and the all-new Bath Thermae Spa, are located behind the Roman baths. Half a day just flows by in the hot thermal waters, aromatherapy steam rooms, spa treatments, lovely restaurant, and rooftop pool.

““I could not tell whether you would be for some meat, or only a dish of tea, after your journey, or else I would have got something ready… Perhaps you would like some tea, as soon as it can be got.” They both declared they should prefer it to anything”

Afternoon tea in Bath is not to be had without the Bath Bun, or the Sally Lunn Bun. Fluffy and round, split in half, dripping with hot butter and brown sugar syrup with a hearty dash of cinnamon… the secret recipe and the tea room have served thirsty and hungry visitors for over 300 years, which I think Sally Lunn would have been very proud to know.bath-2All quotes by Jane Austen (Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, personal letters)(Bath, United Kingdom; June 2011)