The little kiosk on the next block is still open. They didn’t carry any double cream. I went with condensed milk for my eggnog instead, in my drink app referred to as “healthy”. With half a bottle of bourbon in it? Ah well.

Meatballs, both traditional and those with chili and ginger has been made from scratch. As has mumma. Musically rounded off with some homemade Swedish cumbia music performed live at the dinner table as an alternative to the traditional dram songs.

Now some are playing chess on the floor. The result of an earlier gift exchange. Others are typing on keyboards.

The wooden floor is hard and the night still young in Berlin.

Happy Christmas.

I’m getting childishly exited about these interviews whenever I get the email back with all the answers. This months frequent flyer is a guy I’ve never met but I’ve been reading his eminent blog for years. The digital place where he turns customers services inside out and report with humor and warmth about little daily stuff going on being a father, husband and a world citizen.

Who knows. Some day I might bump into him at one of his favorite airports.

Until then, thanks for sharing K and letting Monologuer get a sneak peak into your world itinerary.

Name: Patrick Stahl aka Konsultpappan
Based out of: Malmö, Sweden
Travel mostly in (Europe/Asia/North America/South America/Africa/Middle East/All of the above)
All of the above
Occupation: Leadership Consultant

1) Favorite destination all times?
Barcelona. Hands down - never get tired of that city.

2) Favorite airline/airport (and why)
KLM has the best Economy Class service. Scandinavian the best Premium Economy service - and Lufthansa really kicks ass in Business Class.

Well - actually I don’t like airports. BUT - I like Schiphol airport, because I know that the Dutch woman selling tulips there speaks Swedish. I like the seafood bar in Brussels, and Bangkok’s international airport for the massages there.

3) Favorite seat location?
Front/Window for long haul - I have a big bladder and a need for sleep.
Front/Aisle for short haul - I want to exit fast when I have only carry-on luggage.

4) Preferred aircraft model?
I actually don’t like flying, but I want the planes to be modern and jets. No turboprop or old wrecks.

5) Worst nightmare flight?
Any number of flights within Russia…. One where my seat didn’t have a back. One where the co-pilot laughed and sounded super drunk over the intercom. One where the guy next to me threw up from the booze. I looooove Aeroflot.

6) 3 things you always bring in your carry-on?
Xinix (if you are not sure about the water/salad/food - it’s your best friend in a drop vial). Actually I always bring a small pharmacy in my carry-on. I don’t want to stand in the middle of a jungle trying to find a place that hawks penicillin ripoffs. I can deal with anything up to a minor bone fracture in the field.

Lots of backup Dollars/Euro in 20:ies bills (a language spoken in ALL countries if you need help fast).

My Doberman mobility alarm. If I have to sleep in a chair at an airport - I activate it. If someone takes my luggage all hell breaks loose. A lovely device - 15 Euros at Schiphol airport.

7) Are you the chatter or chatee with your neighbor?
Actually - I often pretend not to speak the language. I am good at faking accents, so I sometimes say in a really heavy Russian accent that “Sorry - not speak the English. Is Russian. Sorry.” I should be ashamed of this, but it just works so damn well.

8) Easy sleeper on flights, yes/no?
I am like the dogs of Pavlov. When they start pointing out the emergency exits - I go lights out.

9) The flight is delayed. What do you do to ease the wait?
I always bring extra computer batteries and my computer is loaded with 100-150 films/episodes I want to see. I can watch 10-12 hrs of Lost/24/whatever without having to recharge.

10) What do you always order when the pre-meal beverage cart comes?
Short haul - nothing.
Long haul in the evening - a Bloody Mary. Always.

as always. Danish pølse, smørrebrød, great bistro, Tuborg, fantastic cocktails. And with the right sublime company a short weekend feels long, wonderful and relaxing.

Where I don’t go I’m inspired by friends who do. Dahuang Xu, currently residing in Taiwan travels a lot in Asia. These are his colors of Cambodia and his story.

by Dahuang Xu.

Photos by Dahuang Xu.

Learn more about Cambodia here: http://www.mot.gov.kh/

Frequent Flyer 10 questions is a Monologuer initiative to pick frequent travelers brains. Something I always wanted to do. Julianna is first out. I know few people who travel as much as her but since it’s as much routine for her as our first morning coffee she had to think a bit to break her daily routines into answers. Let’s hear it!

Name: Julianna
Based out of: Budapest, Hungary
Travel mostly in: Mostly Europe, but 4-5 times a year other continents
Occupation: rehab engineer, currently doing sales, marketing, education, and giving great insight for product development

1) Favorite destination all times?
No such thing. Love it all. Prefer something new every time.

2) Favorite airline/airport?
Maybe Schipol, Amsterdam. Easy way around, not too much walking, enough shopping, and history with the Cone café – many years of first morning cappuccinos after intercontinental redeyes.

3) Favorite seat location?
Definitely aisle. No exit row, no front row, - hate long legroom. No row immediately before exit, no last row – need to be able to recline. Not the one before the last – people behind you will complain if you recline and they can not. Prefer towards the back – if plane not filled, higher chances of getting 3 seats to lay down. Early loading to put luggage in overhead. But if short connection, sit in front.

4) Preferred aircraft model?
Nothing really. Small planes of 2+1 seat configuration provide the highest, 66.6% chance of getting an aisle seat.

5) Worst nightmare flight?
Orlando to NY, Jetblue. Got on an earlier flight which had mechanical problem. Original went, ours stayed. From 4pm proposed, we took off at 12 midnight. Then emergency landing in North Carolina due to one passenger thinking he had a heart attack. At the end, 5 am at home. Many other times delayed overnight, but in this case we had to stay there during the whole delay.

6) 3 things you always bring in your carry-on?
Cellphone charger. Something to read or keep myself occupied with. Extra pair of shoes.

7) Are you the chatter or chatee with your neighbor?
No way. Please leave me alone. Usually either still asleep, or already tired, or have my head full of work. But polite and friendly if my neighbor is insistent.

8) Easy sleeper on flights, yes/no?
Yes, unless something unusually exciting occupies my mind.

9) The flight is delayed. What do you do to ease the wait?
Short delay – stay by gate and get emails done. 1 hr delay – get a drink at the bar. Over 1 hour – first shopping, then bar combined with emails.

10) What do you always order when the pre-meal beverage cart comes?
Morning and want to sleep – sparkling water. Morning and hungry – tomato juice. After work on way home – definitely some red wine.

Amongst colorful new wheelschairs, pinball games and German wurst und bier I fit in my meetings, browse and catch up with my friends and colleagues from far far away. As always there’s no time for play and after a four hour nights sleep, a three hour flight, a seven hour work day and a two hour mingle I’m pretty much beat.

Tomorrow offers a similar schedule but the upside is something slightly unexpected, taking place tomorrow morning in the hotel restaurant.

I. Will have. Breakfast.

But…wait for it…not a regular breaky mind you. Japanese. Breakfast.

The only breakfast I can eat regardless of sleep quality, mood and hunger. How great is that! Haven’t had it in…years. So yes, it is indeed a treat and something to look forward to.

Goodnight, lights out from Ddorf.

Image from Wikipedia.

I like Düsseldorf. It’s a cute city holding the best international exhibition in our little niche business. http://www.rehacare.de/

This is also the time where I rehearse the details on international greetings. Here my little memorandum.

One hand with most
Kiss twice with FR-IT-ES
Three with the Swiss
Not to mention the Dutch.
Hugs on hugging terms,
Plus one cheek kiss with the Brits.

If the three shows in September didn’t cause H1N1 on me it’s now or never.
I guess. Hope never.

A day at the beach was the perfect way to end the New York experience. We chatted with a local from Brooklyn, Anthony, flying his kite here since he was a kid. Coney Island was also filled with jewish people celebrating their Hoshana Rabbah and a day off. We celebrated with a soft ice and a long walk in the sun and light breeze. Thank you New York for having us. See you soon again, we have a lot of things still to see, do and eat.

And if I’d ever believe in fortune cookies it would be the ones from tonights dinner in Chinatown.

While waiting for the only thing on my shopping list (a 35 mm Nikon lens) to arrive at Cameraland I’m learning to live without a real camera. Also because of the pain of carrying it around for hours. Here’s what I found in the iPhone instead to document today (and one from yesterday).

Just to emphasize. The dog from Williamsburg was…small.

Famous Kat’z Delicatessen became the object of lunch-hunger while in Soho.

Resting at Manhattan bridge.

Wafel poetry in Greenwich Village.

Live entertainment in the subway.

Time to explore the famous neighborhoods of the city. But first things first. Bagels at Wichcraft on 34th street.

Then Williamsburg, upon recommendations from friends. A short ride on the metro brings us to a completely different atmosphere in Brooklyn. We make a spontaneous stop for some manicure and pedicure - Asian style. Fast, efficient and affordable.

Yes, it’s real. And no bigger than a pair of sneakers.

Newly lacquered, we continue to Bedford avenue for some vintage shopping in a really great area. I found this great little cook shop Whisk (one of the few places where I could stay for hours amongst china, wine openers and melamine).

On the way back we try to find one of the worlds largest China town. Not as easy as it sounds actually. We needed to ask several locals before finding the core. Then it became so busy we immediately became tired and went home.

The tastiest pomegranade soda.

Miss K considers laundering.

Back in Jersey Miss K flirted with the reception and washed up five more of their delicious signature chocolate chip cookies. A sweet ending of a long and interesting day.

My shoulders were in pain this morning. I decided to leave my 2 kg camera at the hotel and made sure miss K brought a more compact, pain-free version. A quiet morning walk on the bayside, met some nice Chinese people fishing in the morning mist. All guided by a friend I met in Paris, Saint Jamais. It seems to be our destiny to meet in hotel lobbies. First Paris and now New York.

Miss K did her duties at Bergdorf Goodman where I found ear muffs made out of shaved squirrels (or whatever), for a bargain 190 USD plus tax (8%). They stayed in the store. Then we watched deffed old men on roller skates in Central Park. And to round up another long day, some Korean dinner.

Gosh I’m too tired to write anything today. After 13 hours of jet-laggy sleep we walked for hours and now I’m just ready for another sleeping session after meeting a friend over a juicy hotel burger. Good night and more from the Asians in New York soon!

Our PATH station.

Emmet, 6 months, supposedly half greyhound, half chihuahua.

Miss K and yellow cabs.

Grand Central Terminal.

33rd street, heading back to Jersey City.

The Big Apple is just around the corner. I need to order a taxi. But at the moment I can’t because calculating the pickup time is disturbing. Anything you need to set your alarm to before 6 AM is inhumane. So I stall.

I haven’t packed. I’m not at home until tomorrow evening. I’ve hardly prepped at all. I’m sure my passport is there somewhere.

Sometimes being out of time will eliminate fidgeting and travel nerves. All I can do from here is to make a detailed packing list so that tomorrow night I can check off each item and rest assured that I’ve probably relied too much on it anyway.

It will be awesome, it will be fun and I will make New York my hot, new model.

Stay tuned for live New York updates!

Current location: favorite part of country

I’m not going to twaddle about my special connection to this northern hemisphere - I think I’ve done enough of that before.

Still, passing the Arctic Circle and entering Gällivare as the sun sets cannot be described as anything but special. I somehow love passing the road signs telling you to get off here if heading for Jokkmokk, Karesuando, Arvidsjaur, Koskullskulle, or Nattavaara. Dogding reindeer families slowly crossing the highway.

The vastness is spectacular. So spectacular you really didn’t expect the police sitting in a remote corner, doing…nothing, apparently. Very Laponian though, taking it easy. And not that my extremely tired Volvo V50 would ever know what speeding meant anyway. Volvo safety.