Month: October 2011

  1. Home
  2. 2011
  3. October
October 23, 2011 astrid

Barcelona in October, Arrivederci!

The taxis were on time. Three little yellow and black SEATs awaited us with their trunks wide open, ready to swallow our bulging suitcases. Our chauffeur was in a good mood, but our effort to strike up a conversation with him, as is our habit, was futile. He was already deep in playful conversation with […]

October 21, 2011 astrid

Barcelona in October 4

Park Güell, like many other ambitious projects of Barcelona, was initiated and financed by one of the many well to do citizens, in this case the industrialist Eusebio Güell. The place was intended as an English garden city, hence the spelling of the word Park, with mansions scattered around an elaborate and unique park, according […]

October 20, 2011 astrid

Barcelona in October 3

Monteserrat, much more than I had bargained for. The peak with an altitude of 1236 meters. The monastery further down, huge, impressive, but leaving me a little flustered; Once a place of recluse, solitude, retreat, peace. Now a full-fledged toursist machine. Or vortex; sucking people in by the grandeur of its site, the buildings. Centrifuging […]

October 19, 2011 astrid

Bareclona in October 2

Montejuïc, 213 m high hill, on the south side of the city. Spangled with buildings and constructions erected to impress, for the 1929 World Exhibit and the 1992 Olympics respectively. With an infrastructure, both elaborate and confusing. For walking somewhat lacking in directions; a maze of small pathways among groves of orange and almond trees, […]

October 18, 2011 astrid

Barcelona in October 1

Sunny, pleasantly warm, still teaming with life. Just enough tourists to keep it «going». Refreshed, young guide, eminent, knowledgeable, and like most Catalanes; for historical and political reasons, hungry for independence, autonomy. Proud, but friendly, open, easygoing, at least towards us, nonspaniards as we definitely are. She takes us around Barro Gotti, old town, with […]

October 14, 2011 astrid

A little time goes a long way

The little guy up on the stage was speaking a beautiful, eloquent and almost totally unintelligeble English.  My whole body was straining to grasp what he was saying, smiling and swaying a little as he was in the dim light. The only thing I could make out, was him saying “is it not?” at the […]

October 12, 2011 astrid

The Blue Screen of Death

Windows NT crashed The Blue Screen of DeathNo one hears your screams My old Pc is past its prime, to put it mildly. I have gotten used to the missing plastic left hand corner of the case, and the long crack on the same side looks  like it’s always been there. But now the functionality […]

October 9, 2011 astrid

India inspiration

It suddenly dawned on me, that what inspired me to write my previous blog was listening to beautiful music on an elaborate and partly self built “music machine” at a friend’s house last night. Closing my eyes, floating on the musical clouds, scenes of the movie Aakarshan that I had watched earlier in the day, […]

October 9, 2011 astrid

Do you speak Hindi?

”Do you speak Hindi?”, the guy next to me in the cinema smilingly asked, with the more often than not impeccable English Indians speak, albeit with a charming, but distinct accent. Having decided to see the movie Aarakshan on the grounds of hopefully learning a tad more about the to me incongruent piece of geography […]

October 3, 2011 astrid

Island Jumping Åfjord, Norway

  You don’t have to go to Greece orThailand to indulge in what is referred to as island jumping. Even though the water may not be as warm, the sand not as fine, the palms non existing, amazing experiences await you many places here inNorway. Last weekend I went with a friend to the municipality […]