Thursday Thoughts – Season’s Greetings

Thank You for keeping me lovely company, sharing and exchanging thoughts and feelings throughout 2018 – Hope to see you in 2019 as well! Let us make it a year of joy and peace, of good hopes and work for a better world. Our way.

Chinese (Cantonese) – 祝聖誕節快樂

Chinese (Mandarin) – 祝圣诞节快乐

Danish – Glædelig Jul og Godt Nytår

Dutch – Prettige feestdagen

Fijian – Bula Vinaka

Finnish – Hyvää Joulua ja Onnellista Uutta Vuotta

French – Joyeuses fêtes

German – Frohe Feiertage!

Hindi – uoo”kZ dh ‘kqÒdkeuk;sa

Icelandic – Gleðilega hátíð

Italian – Buone Feste

Japanese – メリー クリスマス

Korean – 즐거운 연휴 되시길 바랍니다.

Lithuanian – Linksmų švenčių!

Norwegian – God Jul og Godt Nytt År

Persian (Farsi) تبریکات فصلی

Portuguese – Boas Festas

Romanian – Crăciun fericit

Spanish – Felices fiestas

Swati – Tilokotfo taKhisimisi

…and the same message in the 6787 other languages in the world!

 

Thursday Thoughts – The Forest is Down

Today was going to be a lovely hiking day – sun promised and no wind. I decided for the Bockeboda forest – looking forward to a bright winter’s day. I told Totti and Milo where we were heading, and they knew what to expect already in the early morning.

10 minutes into our walk, we found these tracks…and soon, the sound of forest machines reached our ears. Then we heard a huge tree falling. Some minutes later, I realized the forest ahead was gone.

We had great difficulties in finding the track – if you ever have walked in familiar forests, you follow the paths and know exactly what trees will be standing where. I guess it is the same in cities – if they tear down your familiar buildings and streets, you are lost.

This photo was taken some weeks ago – who would have guessed it was to be the last one from this beautiful forest?

Milo is standing in exactly the same place as in the previous photo – maybe thinking…Where did my forest go? My playground, my hiking favorite? Well, today every tree was down, piled up, waiting to be transported away from where they were raised for as long as I have lived – around 60-65 years.

The path back home again seemed a bit bleak, or maybe it was because of my tears.

Thursday Thoughts – We Must Make it Work!

My post from November 30, 2017, a year ago – I thought a reminder to us all would not hurt. What do you want to give your children and grand children for the future?

 

Every December I remember our month in New Zealand some years ago. Never have I been to a country where I found so much and so many to admire and love.

This is where our antipodes live, this is where I had one of my first penfriends, this is the country whose nature I believe to be the most diverse and beautiful in the world. And this is where Rainbow Warrior went down, sending many people around the world into an unbelievable state of shock.

We are constantly reminded of how much we contaminate our world, and the focus here in Swedish media, right now,  is the sea, the oceans.

Just like in Wellington, we can still bathe, swim and fish in Stockholm – but for how long?

I am a member of many organizations trying their best to help preserving our planet for generations to come. But right now, we receive news every day about all the plastic and micro plastic in the oceans – a terrible threat to all organisms-

So, I think again, with my heart wide open, about how much I respect and love NZ, its people and its genuine efforts to help the world stay healthy. Down to every detail… for example the artwork made for making us humans see and do the right things.

And these are only two, small,  brilliant examples out of many, many…we saw new examples every day.

Hopefully it is not too late for the world – but You and I, and all of us, have to do our bit, our part, every day – to save our enigmatic and fantastic planet. Start with the little things…don’t use plastic bags, bring your own when you go shopping. Don’t throw old medicine in the toilet, in Sweden we leave them at the pharmacy for destruction.

Can you say you try to do everything you can to help? I know I try – but I also know I can do so much more.

Thursday Thoughts – A Frosty Walk in November

These last weeks before the light returns, we were lucky to have a couple of cold days.

Frost is a phenomenon of great beauty, just look down…

…and you will see the bright stars on the ground – from where have they fallen…?

Some 10-15 cm higher up, everything is covered in compact whiteness.

After a refreshingly crisp walk, by 3 pm the last rays of sun touch ground and we hurry back home again before dark.

Totti and Milo were made for long, cold days. Unfortunately I am not. Some three or four hours is what I need to feel good – not more without some hot drink…Thank you for walking with me!

Thursday Thoughts – Art Nouveau Villas

Wherever I travel, I love to walk among architectural big or small wonders. In Łódź, on our last day, I found a guide about famous houses in the city. Not much time left, but I just had to see their famous Art Nouveau gem.

Villa Gallery, a house built in 1903 for the manufacturer Leopold Kindermann from Łódź, is listed on the prestigious Iconic Houses platform.

The global list of outstanding architecturally-significant houses is created by the Amsterdam-based Iconic Houses Foundation.

The aim of the Iconic Houses organisation is to popularise knowledge about 20th-century great architectural designs, gathering documentation on them and promoting the idea of opening such buildings to the public.

Only the houses that are open as public museums can enter the Iconic Houses list.

Among the list of most beautiful houses of the 20th century, there are icons such as Antonio Gaudí’s Casa Batlló in Barcelona, Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye in Poissy, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West in Arizona, as well as the houses of Alvar Aalto in Helsinki, and Victor Horta in Brussels, Theo van Doesburg in Paris, Arne Jacobsen’s in Copenhagen and many others, all considered milestones in the history of modern architecture.

Just to look at the elaborate details is magical. The iron gates were magical wonders.

The windows, and the visible – or hidden – sculptures really kept your eyes alert.

I met with some great difficulties trying to photograph the house – high gates and impossible angles. But I hope you get a hint of the beauty of the villa. It made me long for Bacelona and Gaudí, again…

 

Thursday Thoughts – Things That Caught My Eye in Łódź

I love things new and things old, architecture and juxtaposition of styles. Things dilapidated, things science fiction, things…Well, maybe we all do. Hope a mix will be enjoyable this Thursday!

 

A walk in contemplation…

– as always…

The old Jewish cemetery

Abandoned places in the middle of the city

In between old and new apartments – he was selling fresh fruit and vegetables

One of the many impressive street art works – this city is considered one of the major cities in the world for graffiti artists

View from the new railway station

Thursday Thoughts – What Eyes Can Tell

At the Light Move Festival in September, there were astonishing light shows in the evenings. But daytime, we walked all over the city, enjoying the people and the festive feeling in every corner of the main streets.

I met many lovely people, and talked to some…when I suddenly came across a couple sitting on a colourful bench. At their feet, a gorgeous dog with fantastic fur – both colours and structure. About the size of a Labrador, but with a slender and agile appearance.

I asked if I could talk to her and feel her lovely coat.

I was allowed to do so…and bent down to touch her. Her name was Annie, only 2 years old, completely calm and harmonious.

And then – she raised her head and looked at me –

– Have you ever seen anything like those eyes? My cheek fell and I just gasped.

I tried to find out what breed she was, but as I guessed, she must have been a mix. It turned out she was from Romania, and on my question about her parents and siblings, they said they did not know…Or rather, I think they could not understand or speak enough English to answer my questions.

Again I told them what an amazing dog they had – so calm too at this young age. A precious gem. It was not easy to leave her there – and I so regret I never found out their names and address. It would have been great to follow her life further on.

Those eyes –

Unforgettable

 

Thursday Thoughts – What Really Matters

These last few days of autumn, I have found out what really matters… besides food, mum, running free and playing in the forest…

You know…

Sharing all this with someone…

maybe is the most important thing…

Someone who understands exactly how things work – how I work…

Being an invincible team…

 

Love from me, Milo, and Totti ♥♥

Thursday Thoughts – A Double Farewell

These foggy mornings – forebodings of November grey – still have their own beauty.

My father just turned 85, and our daughter flew home for the celebration last weekend – despite having a big exam three days later. Love ♥

Driving her to the airport – she wanted a walk in our forest once more. So brother and sister walked ahead of us, chatting and laughing, but also talking about serious things.

Forests are good listeners. Up north, where she is heading, there are no autumn colours, only firs and pine trees.

So, when she left, this autumn’s last colours were mirrored in the little lake in the early morning light. I hope Emma will picture them in her mind during the long winter darkness in Umeå.

Thursday Thoughts – Following a Country Road

I knew this would be the last day of the Indian summer this year. So, I decided to drive through the colourful October landscape over to a neighbouring hiking area.

I did not take the fastest road, but followed the old country roads through the rural landscape in its late evening glory.

Piled trunks, waiting to be chipped, creates another kind of rural harmony in the landscape. Just like the animals, they are essential for the farmers to make a living.

Then the hard road surface softly turns into gravel…

…and just around the corner, new views are awaiting.

Cattle silently munching, not knowing that soon they will have to return to the stable – or…maybe not…

Number 1!

The evening is warm and hazy, colourful and still. I stand in the middle of the road, just to hear the silence and feel the sunshine. There is a certain sadness…coming over me.

Soon we will be there. Ready for the evening walk. Milo and me.