24/12 – Winter Wonderland or Christmas Chaos?

It all depends on if you’re already where you want to be, or if you’re still trying to get to that particular place. And now we’re talking strictly geographically. Europe seems to be in chaos because of the white fluffy stuff I was so missing last year. 13 centimetres of snow in England and the radio stations are running “walk-on-snow” courses for the citizens who have to leave their castles. 

Somehow, I managed to sneak through the European airports and train stations on my way from Copacabana to Uppsala last week without much of a hassle at all. Sure, got an hour delayed from the French capital, but considering the airline’s past record, that can almost be classified as “better than expected” than as a delay. Another hour from Kastrup – easily killed with coffee – and some 20 minutes from Stockholm central station – more coffee. It feels like I’m the only one in Europe being that lucky at the moment though. A bunch of colleagues on their way home to their dear ones, got stuck in Paris a week before me, another bunch in London a few days ago and friends seem to be stuck in various trains, buses and airports all over the place. Only worry in my life at the moment is that it’s still a bit too cold to expose my warm weather spoiled lungs with a cross-country skiing session through the glistering fairy tale land. A month with +35 degrees and sunshine does not really prepare your body for -22 degrees and snow. It’s 1 year, 8 months and 28 days since I last put my well-worn Fishers on, grabbed my favourite poles and had to accept how much I’ve lost in the tracks during the last 10 years. Can’t wait to check if I’ve managed to get some of it back by magic during the last while, or more likely, get totally exhausted, frustrated and extremely sore absolutely everywhere the day after.

Except for my body being way out of place with the cold climate, watching dolphins in the water during the afternoon coffee breaks didn’t really bring on the Christmas spirit. Not even Charles de Gaulle gave any hints of the holidays being around the corner last Wednesday.

To cure this, the last few days have been spent on high efficiency Christmas shopping, daily intake of saffron bread and glögg, peeling potatoes for Janssons frestelse and making sure the herring gets pickled the right way. 

Ginger bread house is now in place, tree decorated with red baubles and candy canes, front porch cleared from snow for Santa, all treats for loved ones wrapped and the first slice of Christmas ham was served last night with a glass of red. Think I’m ready – let’s bring on a real Swedish winter wonderland holiday.

Merry Christmas!

16/12 – Got the A, got the B, now I need the COL.

After the last few months, I’ve realised that I need a new driver’s license, the one with the code COL, one of the international kind. After hitting obstacles once every five minutes and run over some 20 sets of toes, I seriously considered just carrying it. Controlling these carry on luggage suitcases on wheels is not as easy as it seems. If I’m not bothering my surroundings with my driving skills, I get caught on all sorts of things, which makes the bag come to a full stop. Doesn’t look too smart either. Perhaps I can get an L-plate or some orange rotating light to put on?

12/12 – Offshore moments.

Once every now and then I move out to the different world for a few weeks. The world where weekends don’t exist and where your laundry appears on your door handle every morning. The world where it’s never dark, never quiet and most of all – the world where you are never by yourself. Irrespective of if that's what you would want at that particular time or not.

There are moments to remember though and it’s not all about drill bits, pipes, cranes and Bruce Willis kind of guys. You can get some amazing colours when a rainbow decides to appear during sunset and the Jack Sparrow mystery green light when the sun disappears below the horizon, is not only a myth. You can get to see dolphins playing in the bright blue water just below you and in the evening, metallic green Dorados swim past in couples with their yellow fins cutting the surface.

If you’re lucky during cold winter days, the heat from the platform flare might reach all the way to where you are on the cantilever deck. For a second or two you can close your eyes and pretend it’s a cosy bonfire you’re facing. Bananas for breakfast and avocados for lunch will never be as appreciated as after a week with oranges and carrots. And the night, when you get someone to hold the boxing bag for you, is a winner. If you time your visits to the bridge right, and happen to have a pair of binoculars at hand, you might spot the humpback whales jumping and throwing themselves on their backs in the distance. After a long night of work in August, you can sneak off to the forward leg, where it is as quiet as it would ever get in these places, to get a glimpse of a magnificent sunrise. Other summer nights, a romantic EverGreen burner might be on at full speed on the next-door rig…erhm…ok, getting tragic now, I know…

However, my point is, sometimes you take what you can get and try to make the most out of it.

December 2010 photos

 

23/11 – Almost like home or watch where you put your feet.

Running on a treadmill on a moving vessel is almost like running in a Swedish forest. Sometimes it’s uphill and sometimes it’s downhill. Sometimes the track leans to the left and sometimes to the right. Luckily, there are no roots to stumble over or branches to duck for. But on the other hand, the track in the forest wouldn’t make you come to a full stop and hitting your stomach into a bar in front of you, the same millisecond you happen to take a step outside the tracks. It would also be easy to beat the view of the pale yellow wall and the characteristic too-small-gym-with-too-much-old-equipment-and-people scent.

18/11 – Time travel at its best.

Day 1.
Actual time: 2 pm
Assumed time by Caroline: 2 pm
Event: Caroline has just got in the car at the airport in Rio to get to Cabo Frio.
Thoughts going through Caroline’s head: "That went well, quickly through passport control and customs and all bags arrived."

Actual time: 4.30 pm
Assumed time by Caroline: 4.30 pm
Event: Caroline arrives in Cabo Frio, checks in at the hotel and starts swapping sim cards around in her phone – Swedish to Brazilian to Danish to Swedish again and finally back to the Brazilian one.
Thoughts going through Caroline’s head: "Nice to have a whole evening to catch up with things and relax, better start with checking if I’ve got any messages on the sim cards I haven’t used in a while."

Actual time: 6.30 pm
Assumed time by Caroline: 5.30 pm
Event: Caroline walks through the restaurant at the hotel.
Thoughts going through Caroline’s head: "How weird, people are already eating and the buffet seems to be ready. They said dinner was going to start at 6 pm though…hm…"

Actual time: 8.10 pm
Assumed time by Caroline: 7.10 pm
Event: Caroline decides to go for dinner.
Thoughts going through Caroline’s head: "Wow, this evening is really long, seems like it never ends, a bit early to go for dinner in Brazil, but why not."

Actual time: 11.45 pm
Assumed time by Caroline: 10.45 pm
Event: Caroline goes to bed.
Thoughts going through Caroline’s head: "Better go to bed at a decent time, check-in is already at 8 am in the morning so will have to leave at 7.30 am. Alarm clock at 6 am should give me a nice and long morning to have breakfast and pack my bags, no need to do that now."

Day 2.
Actual time: 6.35 am
Assumed time by Caroline: 5.35 am
Event: Caroline is fast asleep. The phone rings and Caroline picks up the phone while checking the time on her phone.
Front desk guy in the phone (in Portuguese): "Bla …….. driver, …..bla bla airport, bla ….. bla 7.30, bla check-in… bla."
What Caroline understands: "Your driver is here waiting for you to go to the airport; you were going to leave at 7.30 for check-in." 
Thoughts going through Caroline’s head: "&#%€%”&;”#€&#@”#"
Caroline tries to ask (in her best Portuguese): "What time is it now? Is it 7.30?"
Front desk guy: "Yes, yes, 7.30."
Caroline tries again: "Is it really 7.30? Not 5.30?"
Front desk guy again: "Yes, yes."
New assumed time by Caroline: 7.36 am
Caroline to front desk guy: "5 minutes."

Actual time: 6.45 am
Assumed time by Caroline: 7.45 am = 15 min to check-in
Event: Caroline rushes down after have panic packed her bags, including collecting hand washed underwear which had been spread around the room, splashed some water on her face and put whatever clothes was next to the bed on.
Thoughts going through Caroline’s head: "This is not happening."

Actual time:6.46 am
Assumed time by Caroline: 7.46 am = 14 minutes to check-in
Event: Caroline cannot find her driver.
Caroline asks the front guy: "Was it you who just phoned me?"
Front desk guy: "Yes."
Caroline: "Have you seen my driver?"
Front desk guy: "No, but I think he left."
Thoughts going through Caroline’s head: "%#@#€#/%X! This is really not happening. Especially not the first day at a new working location with new colleagues and extremely especially not with a colleague, who has been counting down to being relieved today for the last 27 days."

Actual time: 6.50 am
Assumed time by Caroline: 7.50 am
Event: Caroline finally manages to get a hold of the driver after having tried about 34 versions of the amazing Brazilian operator/area code mystery set-up.
Caroline to driver: "Hello, I’m so sorry."
Driver: "Good morning."
Caroline: "Have you left? Where are you?"
Driver: "In my room."
Caroline: (quiet) "I totally overslept. I’ve missed the flight now, right? Or can we still make it?"
Driver: "Yes, yes, we have to leave at 7 am, I will be right down."
Caroline: (quiet again) "What time is it now?"
Driver: "Ten to seven."
Caroline: "So it’s not 7.50 am?"
Driver: "No."
Caroline: "Wow, eh, I’ll have time for breakfast then."

What front desk guy actually said on the phone at 6.35: "Your driver just told me that check-in has been moved to 7.30 am, so you will have to leave a bit earlier."

Despite the wake-up shock of my life, I thus made it on time for check-in. Took a deep breath, put a smile on and pretended I was all ready and set to go. Just another normal morning on my way to work – sure, dream on.

Argentina 2010

San Telmo, Buenos Aires.

El Zanjón

Línea A is worth a trip even though you don't need to go anywhere.

And the escalators at San Juan is yet another time travel.

Buenos Aires must have the coolest buses in the world.

No wonder I had time issues when arriving in Rio. Argentina seems to work with a different system; 25 hrs per day, or even more, would be quite nice though.

 Paradise.

 

 Winery of Familia Di Tommaso in Maipu.

16/11 - Marvellous Mendoza and Home of the Hilux.

Not only have I spent a couple of days in paradise, and been having some of the best wines and meat ever, lately. I’ve also been in Hilux heaven. Everywhere I turned, there was a version of the amazing vehicle. It already started at the airport on Friday, when Juan walked straight towards the dusty, black Hilux with my two bags in his hands. I instantly knew it was going to be a good weekend and we weren’t even out of the parking lot yet.

About an hour and a half later, we opened the gate to the ranch at the bottom of the hill, engaged the 4WD and made the last bit up to Rancho E’Cuero. And what a place – two days of being spoiled with food, wine, hiking, and horseback riding, surrounded by amazing nature. I could easily have stayed up there for a month or five.

The standards were set at the top right away with a proper Asado for Friday lunch, where Pedro was in charge of the bbq, and some beautiful wines in the sun on the back deck. The hours, where a wine glass was not attached to my hand during the following 36 hours, were spent on horse trekking and hiking. From the back of my black beauty Fernet, who definitely knew a lot more about where we were going than I did, I enjoyed walking along on mountain ridges and through gorges with absolutely stunning views. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t classify myself as a confident gaucho enough, to swing my new camera around every time a photo opportunity was in view, but a couple of pictures made it through the lens. While still sober, and before the first glass of Malbec for the day made it into the system, my lungs got to experience the high altitude during a Saturday morning hike. Again, the impressive scenery never ended and while trying to keep a steady breathing and heart rate through valleys and up the hills, we spotted the odd condor in the distance and some red deer being on a close lookout.All in all, it was a weekend in paradise, for all senses, where everything was beautiful, delicious and relaxing. Not to mention the quiet, dark nights with all the stars.

Perhaps Tupungato and Mendoza is the place for me?

10/11 – The rock star experiences Danish hospitality – and lack of same?

 Arrived in a rainy and grey October Copenhagen the day after the triple summer party, with a kinder hangover than I probably deserved. While running on the luggage belt to optimise the baggage delivery system, I managed to pick up my phone and accept a lunch invitation. And trust me, Danish rye bread lunch with pork sausages, salmon and pâté has never tasted so nice. From thereon, the Danish hospitality increased to a very appreciated level with magnificent home made spare ribs in the evening. Might be a bit of a mission to handle two batches of 5 kg, each requiring some 10 hrs in the oven, but man they were good, Henrik.

Once the workweek started, the private hospitality had to be replaced by professional hospitality, which was quickly proved to be very much absent, at various restaurants in the city.

Since I sort of felt like a semi-Dane together with the Danish residents Trinidadian and Canadian colleagues, we thought we should find a nice place to eat together with our fellow work mates on the Wednesday night. First attempt might have been a bit ambitious, too big a crowd for too small a restaurant when not having a table reserved – fair enough to be rejected at the door. Second attempt put Denmark at the very bottom of the scale when it comes to service, even below the extraordinary shop assistants you normally come across in the country. Kind of hard to explain to the foreign visitors, why the owner had to physically shove us out the door of a half empty restaurant, well kind of hard to understand it at all in the first place. After another couple of attempts and loosing half of the party with the words “F**k this, we’re going to _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.” (replace the dashes with random letters making the name of a slightly famous hamburger chain) we gave up the search for getting some sort of special dinner and dived into one of the main stream steak houses. Luckily, there were only four other guests to be spotted in the school canteen so not impossible that they would find us a spot.

However, only after convincing the girl at the door that they wouldn’t have to speak English to us and that we would manage with Danish menus, we got a table - food in sight, finally! Or so we thought. Polite as we were, spite the close to starving status of our stomachs, we sat down and waited to be attended to. And we waited, and waited, and waited a bit more. In a desperate attempt to get some attention, and at least a drink perhaps, the Scotsman yelled out “Hej!” in his very best Danish when the next waitress galloped by. He got an instant reply of “Hej hej.” and she was gone again. Hm…perhaps the hint wasn’t clear enough.

Somehow, I don’t get how the excellent Danish private hospitality can turn into such disasters when applied professionally. The only native Dane of the party on the shocker night was clearly both bothered and embarrassed. After apologizing for someone else for the N’th time he gave up. We agreed in unison at the table that we much rather have three guys playing statues and eavesdropping behind our chairs, like at restaurants in Brazil, than having to bring out signal flags and sirens in attempts to get in contact with any random personnel, as in Scandinavia.

Luckily, the Danish week was finished off at the private hospitality level. After being able to count the home cooked meals during the last five weeks on one hand, chickpea soup with chilli and lentils, served with freshly baked naan bread and enjoyed in nice company, was definitely spot on. Thanks Andreas, it’s always nice to leave with a last positive impression.