I remember Budapest taking me back in time.
Memories: Live and Let Die
I remember the coffee, and the piece of Sacher Cake I ordered with it. I remember hopping from one coffee-house to the next, each different with its special charm, the different varieties of coffee, some with funny names. I remember the feeling that time is a strange place.
Memories: Devils and Details
I remember that in Helsinki the price for a coffee and a piece of cake can be spectacular. I remember things being slightly different.
Memories: Iron Courtesy
I remember crossing the border in the middle of the night at Narva. The border post felt like out of a cold war novel: Barbed wire, dogs, sub machine guns and guards, uniformed in heavy coats, with frozen faces. We followed the only road, drove a couple of extra miles by avoiding the potholes. Then the road widened, added a few lanes and was whole again. In front of us floated St. Petersburg between a vast sky and the sea.
Memories: Into the Light
Memories: Grey Skies of Amber
Memory Lane
I catalog the pictures. It amazes me how many memories and emotions they trigger: people, places, times, all in the past, but still with me. All the pictures on this blog are taken with one digital camera, my first actually. Point, press and save: I deeply appreciate its guidance. This is one of the first pictures it took.
Shoes and Ships
Today I remove the picture that inspired the subtitle of this blog from the header and give it an honorary entry.
I saw this shoe hanging from its string in a side street of Shibuya on my second day ever in Japan. I have no idea why it was there, who put it there and what became of it. All I know is that its design closely resembles the design of a pair of shoes I walked into oblivion, until it could not be repaired another time.
I write this entry in memory of this pair of shoes and all the other ones that brought me faithfully to the places I wanted to go.
I do not know a word that means “all the shoes a person owns” but I would suggest “my fleet of shoes”.
Industrial Light and Magic
The area of Tokyo I live in is famous for its natural display of autumn colors. Some of them seem determined to make it through winter.
Tolling the Bell
At New Years Eve people queued for hours to toll the bell at my local temple. I was one of them.
When my turn came I tolled it with a friend. We had a sweet sake afterwards, close to a cozy gas heater.
Happy New Year, wherever you are.
The Third Planet 