Back home

As if a conspiracy was in place, Sweden today is damp and cool (compared the Germany I just left) and the headline in the newspaper screams out 'Swedish youth - depressed egoists'. Luckily, inside there was an amusing interview with the Swedish foreign minister. Plus no amount of headlines can detract from the joy of seeing friends and relatives.

Colombia warm-up

Interestingly, both The Economist and BusinessWeek have visited Colombia recently. Most pleasing to the eye is the web-presentation by BW, but their main article (+ podcast) is also worth a minute of your time. This is of course also true about what the Economist’s correspondent wrote.

They both say that the country has improved enormously, even though rural areas a bit less so.

Update: German

It is the year 2007 and Germany has just finally gotten around to completing its alphabet. When I first heard this I was stunned. Apparently there is no capital version of the letter ß, that is, until now. With both approval from the EU and a new law from the German parliament, order has now been established.

It is tempting to advice Germans to update their numbers as well. For instance, hardly anyone says "zwei" for the number 2. Since it sounds similar to "drei" (3) it is preferred to say "zwo". And don't get me started on the fact that numbers above 20 are said with the last number first, i.e. 45 would be said 5-and-40.

More Kyiv

The week in Kyiv was, as previously said, great. Our schedule gave us access to professors, diplomats, business people, NGO’s and students who were all keen to share their views on Ukraine’s political and economic development. This was a great learning experience, even though we left more confused than we arrived. In addition, for a history junkie like my self, being in a city which has been at the cross-section of Vikings going south, Mongols going west and German tanks going east was most interesting. If you don’t know what the following things are, just click and discover: Poltava, Holodomor, Babi Yar.

The best thing however was our reception and interaction with the locals. A week full of sun and without clouds, and 25-30 degrees was perfect for exploring a city full of nice parks, bustling city centre and a big river (Dnipro) crossing it all, and thanks to Ariadna, Tanya and Dasha it was all the more enjoyable. These sweet ladies (all related to AIESEC in one way or another) were the best guides one could have asked for. Many thanks to you.

Pecherska Lavra is a monastery in Kyiv, so impressive
that it is on the UNESCO list of World Heritages

Monument in remberance of HolodomorMonument of the Red Army recapturing Kyiv.
Massive, in fact quite brutal. As one of my fellow students said: it is funny to think that these structures will probably stand here forever, since nobody will ever contemplate moving them

Kreshchatyk is the main street in Kyiv.

On the Wednesday evening we went on a party-boat, going up and down the Dnipro while at the same time enjoying Ukrainian music and a great party atmosphere.

Thirst for more

Kyiv exceeded my expectations and was much greener, relaxed and hospitable than any other East European Capital that I have visited.

Political temperature

The main business paper put the text 'Constitutional Anarchy' on the front page

Netherlands Weekend

Last week I and three other Swedish interns in Cologne and Düsseldorf took a train to the Netherlands. Primarily because Henrik (the one who is an Architect) promised us a tour of cool buildings in Rotterdam, but also because it was a nice opportunity to see the country next door. After a 2h train ride we arrived in Amsterdam, where we spent 4h sight-seeing (2 of which at the Heineken Experience)
Thereafter we took another train to Rotterdam, which didn't disappoint with its Architecture.
This is a view of the central Erasmus Bridge and some of the high-rise buildings in Rotterdam. It is said that the Dutch are not only very liberal on social issues, but also on experimental designs and daring additions to the urban landscape.
Three of us at the observation deck of the Euromast. Later we enjoyed a dinner watching the sun set over Rotterdam's enormous harbour.
Our accommodation was very central and cheap, but a bit lacking in space. Hostel Boat The Clipper was money well spent and something I recommend to anybody going to Rotterdam on a student budget.Last but not least (although one should see it last, since it is very relaxing) we took a boat trip to the worlds biggest harbour. As luck would have it we saw a Swedish ship unloading paper products just as we went by. It is said that in the old times, when you wanted to grasp the basic concept of en economy you could just visit the market place and watch the buyers and sellers haggle. In the modern global economy I would say that a trip to Rotterdam Harbour would be advisable for anyone who wishes to grasp the amazing forces at work.

PS All of next week I'll be in Kyiv on a study trip.

Sun Trip

Waiting for bad weather in order to blog turned out to be a bad strategy in April. It has been the driest April since 1951 and the warmest on record. As a friend of mine said: Someone has stolen April and May, taking us straight to June. To which one can add: Hope we get them back in October/November.

Köln seen from an observation deck I visited today

Watching German news about the weather, it again became clear to me how deeply history affect things in this country. The forest-keepers interviewed said that most of the fires start because old WWII ammunition self-explode in the heat(!). There are of course other (non-weather) examples, such as the issue of pensions for former DDR-guards vs. pensions for former DDR-prisoners (no prices for guessing who gets more), or just about any funeral will bring up memories of the past. And some signs are clear for all to see, like the fact that almost all of Cologne is made up of new houses. Virtually everything was destroyed during the war, leaving a scar that looks set to remain for a considerable time.

Köln, 1945

But things do change. Last Friday I did quite a tour of the Ruhr Area. Starting with Wuppertal, home to a wonderful monorail and birth place of Friedrich Engels. Then I went to Bochum, which lies smack in the middle and is a town, which no German I’ve met can say a nice word about. Final stop was Dortmund, the largest city in the Ruhr. During the this trip, which I must admit was also done in perfect weather, it was hard to get much of my prejudice against this area confirmed. Much greener and nicer and more modern, than I’d hoped for. Some optimism should therefore be warranted.

Map of the Ruhr Area

P.S. next weekend I'll visit the Netherlands.