Work is over. Now I have some quality time with Charlotte and we did all the touristy must-do stuff around Seattle. Well, not all  but a lot and enough to fill the weekend!

Sidewalk above.

Sidewalk below.

Asian cafe in International District.

Shaved ice w/ red beans, lychee, fruit cocktail and fresh strawberries.

Seattle Art Museum.

Guess who’s in town? My best friend Charlotte and I decided to meet in Seattle and hunt down Agent Cooper and the other characters of Twin Peaks, the 90s TV-series she was a big fan of. We had 15 locations on the map and made 9 of them. Here’s a selection. The link under the pictures will take you to a shot from the series at that particular location.

Ronettes bridge.

Sheriff station.

The Packard sawmill.

The Double R Diner.

Backfire Burger.

Cherry Pie and a “damn fine cup of coffee”.

This is what it should look like. March 2008.

This is what is does look like. March 2010.

But I’m not complaining really. Apart from a minor storm going on outside I can work comfortably from my room and then take the shuttle to the mall. And hey. I’m in Vancouver and this is the place I feel the most Japanese I possible can outside of Japan.

A memorable hotel has very little to do with the amount of stars it has earned. The ones I remember the best are never the classic 5* or the sophisticated design hotels. It’s the places that had “it”. Simple.

It’s when you know someone put heart and soul into creating an atmosphere that’s there not to dress and impress but to remind the guests of history. And do so with care, respect and a smile.

This hotel, regardless of nothing being my personal taste, gets all that “it”-credit for being creative, thoughtful and consistent.

More about the hotel.

After some days in the desert basically it was a nice change to from brown to blue, from closed to open. And boy has the winter left Seattle and taken out some spring for us to enjoy. It’s so nice to be back and to see all the world colleagues get together.

Classic Seattle skyline.

Sunset over the Olympic mountains.

It looks as if I’m in Richland, WA. Because I woke up to this view 06.30 today and noticed how still the Columbia River was outside.

We’re here to visit a partner, the company’s technician and I. Get a tour around their facilities with the other international distributors. And tonight my very first all American…wait for it….charity dinner! I suppose I can die comfortably now. Knowing I’ve done it all.

The ever so fascinating thing about Washington state is the transformation of scenery after crossing the Cascade mountains. It’s spectacular to leave the busy city, drive through the snowy top Cascades and suddenly exit in desertlike steppe landscape where wine farms are all around. Less than 2,5 hours from Emerald City.

I did this by myself last summer in an old Volvo 940 Automatic. Hanging out of the window like a happy dog I cruised Yakima valley for the great red gold.

Tomorrow we leave for some days in Seattle and I’m really looking forward to visiting one of my favorite cities again.

Take care.

The Toren Hotel. A place with true character reached after traffic jams, rain and dodging Dutch bicyclers.

If you’re tired of uncharming hotel chains and in need for some really valuable service from the hotel staff this is a true find. And if you appreciate little surprises like in-room espresso machines and iPod docks you’ll be well off here. I’m just happy there’s a bathtub.

Goodnight from Amsterdam and see you soon in Göteborg.

I’m still struggling with the lighting panels in my room. There’s this master panel at the bed that controls all the lights: bedside, wake-up, TV, entrance, reading and on it goes. Not a single one of these switches work the way you’d think. I mean I love the idea of being half asleep and turn off all the lights in the room with one press of the button. But there’s no reading light that works so I have to turn on ALL lights in order to read at all.

After checking in yesterday I was certain that they’d given me the wrong room. I thought I had gotten Dayenne and Yessikas room and felt embarrassed by reading their little, intimate welcome card.

I was about to call the reception when I read a little further. It was a welcome message not to Dayenne and Yessika but from them both, being responsible for the house keeping.

I’m can be such a n00b sometimes.

Tempelhof airport, Berlin. 1923-2008.

The birthplace of Lufthansa in 1926. The main building ordered by Albert Speer in 1934. One of the worlds 20 largest buildings. With the worlds smallest duty free shop.

A huge, deserted airport in the middle of the capital of Germany? I just had to go and feel the time stand still.

The images of the terminal building miss details such as waiting areas, the small duty free shop and other interior but can be seen here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TempelhofInterior.jpg

Terminal building. Missing is the waiting area and duty free shop.


Left: From the roof toop, the hangar area.
Middle: Main entrance.
Right: Unfinished ballroom (if I recall correctly)

Check-in counters, right. Departures, straight ahead. Above, restaurant.

Left to right: Gymnasium built by Americans 1945. Boiling room. Terminal.


Burnt out bunkers for film storage.

I read the above on an outside poster of a supermarket. And no. I never said German was a beautiful and poetic language.

Regardless though Berlin serves me not only great Turkish lamb kebabs and superb chipotle burgers at Room 77 it also provides a brief stop in time at Würgeengel, a classic cocktail bar that instantly takes you back some 60 years. The atmosphere, the interior and the bartender with perfect manners and crisp white shirt serves among the best classic cocktails this side of earth. For 8 Euros.

Apparently according to our personal guides in the capital of Germany the name of the bar derives from a movie which name I have already forgotten. Anyone?

Until then, some visuals of the drinks enjoyed.

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.

Readers discretion is advised. This post might contain a high amount of small-town-attitude.

So I try to leave early to avoid arriving in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, during mid-rush hour. I figure, referring to experience from Göteborg, Swedens second largest village, that arriving around 14.30 would give me plenty of confidence to locate my hotel downtown - a place where I’ve hardly ever driven before.

9:00-14:40 All sunny and dry, singing out loud in the car.

14:45 I hit Söderleden, Stockholm.

14:46 My GPS starts to come alive after being all “in 289 km, keep left.” Yes, noted.

14:48 I enter a tunnel. A LONG tunnel. We all know what happens to GPS signals in a tunnel. I have absolutely no idea what so ever where I’m headed and the tunnel seems to last forever. Traffic is heavy and my mood begins to drop.

14:50 Sweaty and needing my signal I exit and end up in Hammarby Sjöstad.

14:55-15:30 Downhill from there. Not only is the rush hour traffic getting really crowded, I also end up driving in the puddle of the city where my GPS can’t keep up with all the supposed turns and I feel like I’m winning the most-wrong turns-in-30-minutes championship for out-of-towners.

15:33 Parked in garage at hotel. I swear to myself it’s the last time I’ll drive in Stockholm.

Maybe it’s just me? But I’ve driven in Seattle, Vancouver, Orlando and San Francisco during rush hour. Never a problem. But then again, US road system is a bliss.

Image: http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/baybridge.jpg

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/

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.