As we turned toward Reykjavík, a tangible sense of trepidation filled the car. The thought that we would be able to successfully navigate through an unfamiliar city and its inevitable traffic mayhem, without a detailed street map to assist us, and on to the hotel we had selected from our trusted Lonely Planet book seemed…
One day, I’ll stop going on and on about our visit to Iceland. One day, I’ll finish writing about the trip and will post the account of our final day in that magnificent country. Today is not that day. On a positive note, I do at least recognise the signs of my obsession with the place.…
I’ve had over 17,000 mornings during my lifetime, but I doubt I’ve ever awoken as cautiously as I did in the Hótel Egilsen on 9th November 2014. We had occupied a room at the top of the hotel and, lying in bed, I could reach up and touch the slanting ceiling above me; a ceiling…
With our path to the north blocked by the vast Vatnajökull ice cap, to the south by the Atlantic Ocean and with a single road to choose from, we weren’t exactly embarrassed by our wealth of direction options for our second day in Iceland. It was either east or west. Although we were only 24…
There have probably been more pleasant introductions to a country. As the sliding doors at Iceland’s Keflavík airport parted, and before we had placed a foot outside, gale force winds and driving rain attacked us from out of the darkness and threatened to send us tumbling back to the hire car desk. This wasn’t the…
I didn’t expect a metaphor. A few months earlier, I had been asked if I would lead a fitness class on one of the mornings of an upcoming offsite conference. Although the request was more along the lines of, “we’ve already decided this is what we’re going to do, so you really don’t have a…
A few weeks ago I posted an article about the modern flying experience and its participants. In “The view from seat 23E”, I took a mostly lighthearted look at some of today’s flying rituals and suggested ways in which we might extract some enjoyment from the whole process. But all is not well inside our…
As we drove past the Zagreb Art Pavilion for the fourth time in ten minutes, a small crowd was starting to gather. A couple of minutes later, our fifth circuit was greeted with sarcastic applause. There was barely concealed laughing. Some were pointing. Minstrels were busy composing songs. Having successfully navigated our way from the…
The next time you board a plane, pause for a moment and think about what it is you’re doing. You’re about to fly. Fly. As recently as fifty years ago, flying was still the exclusive domain of the extravagantly wealthy. Fifty years before that, if you were flying you were probably participating in a war.…
For those unfamiliar with the concept, many housing developments in the United States, particularly the newer ones, have Homeowners’ Associations (HOAs). The principal purpose of the HOA is to provide residents with a pleasant and safe living environment. The HOA charges fees to its residents in order to cover the costs associated with the maintenance and repair of shared…
Journeys And 