The sun is shining, the rain seems to have dried up completely; the road is straight, only one way forward, with trees and small shops by the side, I keep the throttle at a steady 60 km/h. The theme to Smoky and the Bandit keeps playing in the back of my mind as I reflect on my first day of riding in Vietnam: my bag falling off the luggage rack, the rickety wooden bridge, the water buffalo by the road side. So many impressions just in one day…… Read the rest
An observation on human behavior: There are two lifts that take you to the main summit of this ski slope; one is a chairlift that seats six abreast, the other is a dual anchor lift. They are roughly equally fast, the only difference is that one allows you to sit down for a few minutes while in the other you stand up, getting pulled by a plastic hook behind your legs; not so that it is painful, just a bit less lazy than the chair. And yet, with such a small difference between the lifts, there is a massive queue … Read the rest
Doors and windows are slightly rounded, as if seen through a fish eye lens. Straight lines are scewed and the whole world sort of wobbles as I walk, a wave traversing through asphalt, concrete, glass and steel with every movement of my head. It is somewhat like being drunk but not that warm fuzzy state that gets you talking and dancing. No, its more like that cold, nauseous stage of drunkenness when you just want to get home and sleep. Yet I haven’t touched an intoxicating substance for two weeks. Instead it is my glasses that affect me thusly. I … Read the rest
The lateness of the winter sunrise means that even I am able to witness its glory. Where the valley opens up in the east, the dawn has broken through the ash grey clouds overhead with gusto and vibrance. Left is only pale blue sky tinted yellow at the edges of the mountains and a few torn cloud rags, lit from below in a vibrant orange. All this against a backdrop of old, forrest clad mountains sprinkled in snow. Once again i find myself, phone in hand, my fingers tapping out a description, for no other reason then my mind putting … Read the rest
The train is thundering through the kind of landscape that seems typical of the un-forrested parts of northern europe: open plains, groves of trees and small hillocks on the horizon. Everything is covered in a thin layer of snow, the black trunks of trees sticking out against the white. The thin pink streaks against the pale blue sky alert me to setting of the sun and despite the heater being set to Death Valley mode, I lean closer to the window and cringe my neck to look behind me. The western sky is brightly lit in that pinkish orange tone … Read the rest
I just high-fived a wild teenager! I was on my bike, passing one of the trucks full of dancing, shouting high-school graduates when one of them (I didn’t even see his face) stretched out his hand and I just couldn’t leave him hanging there so I put up my hand and let the forward speed of my bike make it a high-five. Yes, it is that time of the year again when the city is filled with white dresses, black suits and happy smiles under white hats. Somehow the graduation weeks happen to coincide with the pride festival so the … Read the rest
The afternoon sky is a clear baby blue and a happy sun shines down on the denizens of the neighbourhood. I am walking with a brisk step in the rather chilly April air. Residential houses and small restaurants flow passed me as I walk. Even though the fine weather is making me cheerful it is all the same as yesterday and the day before and every other day. Only one thing is worthy of note: all the people sitting at tables out on the curb; just because this is one of the first really sunny spring days. It’s a phenomenon … Read the rest
The same familiar airplane surroundings, the screen now tells me I am over Göteborg, my home town. What bothers me is not the effort I spent the last two days to get to Stockholm via my parents house just to be back so suddenly; neither is it the rather soggy excuse of a sandwich they have provided me with. No, what bothers me is why they provided a packet of skimmed milk, some sugar and a small – in lack of a better word – spoon with my sandwich. What also bothers me is why they decided to make a … Read the rest
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