Here is the result — downloadable, free of charge! I hope you will enjoy it …and do contact me if you have writing or editing tasks for me!
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Monday, 17 December 2012
The Erasmus Experience — 25 portraits from 25 years of success
Here is the result — downloadable, free of charge! I hope you will enjoy it …and do contact me if you have writing or editing tasks for me!
Monday, 3 December 2012
Erasmus As A Gateway To The World
Georges Lemmer, one of the 25 interviewees for the book I was contracted to write — ‘The Erasmus Experience’, presented ten days ago — has put the resulting portrait of himself on his blog and spiced it up with some really nice and artistic photos from his personal Erasmus experience. Have a look!
Thursday, 24 May 2012
French Guyana
And with that
I shall return
Or rather get going
Or actually
Start
Exploring
French Guyana
(You know what I mean)
The country is out there
Right here
On the Net
On my lap
(On top of it)
Now I just need
To get on top of it
All
©2012 Bjørn Clasen
I shall return
Or rather get going
Or actually
Start
Exploring
French Guyana
(You know what I mean)
The country is out there
Right here
On the Net
On my lap
(On top of it)
Now I just need
To get on top of it
All
©2012 Bjørn Clasen
Thursday, 29 December 2011
Kinder wann? — Kids when?
„Ich will nicht irgendwo angekommen sein, bevor mein Kind auf der Welt ist, ich will es mitnehmen.“
Patrick Bauer
in „Jetzt ein Baby?“ (Neon, Januar-Ausgabe 2012)
‘I do not want to have arrived somewhere before my child is born, I want to take it with me.’
Patrick Bauer
in ‘A Baby Now?’ (Neon, January edition 2012)
Patrick Bauer
in „Jetzt ein Baby?“ (Neon, Januar-Ausgabe 2012)
‘I do not want to have arrived somewhere before my child is born, I want to take it with me.’
Patrick Bauer
in ‘A Baby Now?’ (Neon, January edition 2012)
Monday, 24 October 2011
Hilarious ad
Humour involving stereotyping mostly works — probably because it confirms people’s little prejudices, so they can relate to it. Apparently, Norwegians have slightly different stereotypes of their close and less close neighbours, as this ad shows.
Upper row from left to right: Norway, Sweden, Denmark (what!?! WE are the ones who drink??!!?), Finland, Czech Republic.
Middle row: Poland (love this one!!), Estonia, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria.
Lower row: Hungary, France, Italy, Spain, Slovakia.
Upper row from left to right: Norway, Sweden, Denmark (what!?! WE are the ones who drink??!!?), Finland, Czech Republic.
Middle row: Poland (love this one!!), Estonia, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria.
Lower row: Hungary, France, Italy, Spain, Slovakia.
Saturday, 20 August 2011
From the Mexico Trip archive — Previously Unreleased
I could tell about all I the things I haven’t found time to blog.
About Andres, the Plazuela Bastida market clothes seller. Who liked my worn-out green jeans and asked me for a price. Of course I gave them to him, along with a bunch of T-shirts, a small towel and a pair of shoes, which I all had thought of leaving in the hotel anyway. In return, I got his address and a photo of him and his beautiful 3-year old daughter. Father of five, forty years old. Andres of Oaxaca.
About the book fair, local style. A poster with a reading grasshopper. A simple entrance portal. Stalls with stacks and shelves of books. Cubes for storage and for meeting rooms and relaxation, in straightforward red, yellow, blue and green. Paul Auster and Siri Somethingnordicsounding doing readings at the theatre, for the wannabeseens. Frankfurt go home. Why make it elaborate when you can make it simple. 28th Oaxaca Book Fair.
About the coffee place, called Xiguila, in the lovely neighbourhood Jalatlaco. Not just the organic coffee shop I thought it was but the best eatery I experienced in Oaxaca. Last meal there, best place. Xiguila in Jalatlaco.
About Dionisio, the artist, just next door to the coffee place. Sitting around his sand painting of skulls, a candle in each corner, and surrounded by skulls painted on the wall. Drinking mezcal and beer and eating typical Day Of The Dead food and drinking more mezcal and more beer. And admiring his art, the diversity of his artistic talent. Dionisio Martínez, artist, Jalatlaco.
About Etla. The parades of people in amazingly elaborate costumes, political or otherwise satirical statements, those clad in hundreds of mirrors, dancing on the plaza in front of San Agustín Etla’s church, then parading and dancing in people's gardens. All night. Dancing. Celebrating death. Etla, outside Oaxaca.
About folk metal. A genre mixing heavy metal with, well, folk. Got to know it from my roommate at the Reality Tour. Found out i already knew a group — Closterkeller singing in Polish ― playing that sort of thing, just didn’t know it was called like that. Dalriada, Eluveitie, Arkona. Folk metal.
About icebreaking. ‘Write up your best or worst or most hilarious travel experience in no more than 20 words, and then the others have to guess who wrote it’. And this, before anyone knew each other at the travel writers’ boot camp. My contribution, only one I could fit into twenty words:
About Monte Albán. A pre-Hispanic city. Its pyramids, its sacred places, its enormous squares, its ball games, its museum and souvenir shop. Finally a decent selection of postcards, and Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera as paper dolls. Best of all, an answer to the question why the steps on the pyramids are so high when the inhabitants were so small ― explanation: Because the summit of the pyramids as a religious place had to demand an effort to reach. Whereas we, in our civilisation, try to think practical. I buy that. Monte Albán, and the lesser Mitla, archeological sites outside Oaxaca.
About weaving. Teotitlán del Valle, weavers’ village. A visit to José Buenaventura, weaver using natural dyes for all of his carpets and other works, except for purple and turquoise, which you cannot get from plants or insects like the other colours. Weavers’ village, Teotitlán outside Oaxaca.
New word: casanueces = nutcracker
Quote: ‘Del rayo te escaparás, pero de la raya no.’
(Recopilación de Elodia Miranda Santiago)
©2008/2011 Bjørn Clasen
About Andres, the Plazuela Bastida market clothes seller. Who liked my worn-out green jeans and asked me for a price. Of course I gave them to him, along with a bunch of T-shirts, a small towel and a pair of shoes, which I all had thought of leaving in the hotel anyway. In return, I got his address and a photo of him and his beautiful 3-year old daughter. Father of five, forty years old. Andres of Oaxaca.
About the book fair, local style. A poster with a reading grasshopper. A simple entrance portal. Stalls with stacks and shelves of books. Cubes for storage and for meeting rooms and relaxation, in straightforward red, yellow, blue and green. Paul Auster and Siri Somethingnordicsounding doing readings at the theatre, for the wannabeseens. Frankfurt go home. Why make it elaborate when you can make it simple. 28th Oaxaca Book Fair.
About the coffee place, called Xiguila, in the lovely neighbourhood Jalatlaco. Not just the organic coffee shop I thought it was but the best eatery I experienced in Oaxaca. Last meal there, best place. Xiguila in Jalatlaco.
About Dionisio, the artist, just next door to the coffee place. Sitting around his sand painting of skulls, a candle in each corner, and surrounded by skulls painted on the wall. Drinking mezcal and beer and eating typical Day Of The Dead food and drinking more mezcal and more beer. And admiring his art, the diversity of his artistic talent. Dionisio Martínez, artist, Jalatlaco.
About Etla. The parades of people in amazingly elaborate costumes, political or otherwise satirical statements, those clad in hundreds of mirrors, dancing on the plaza in front of San Agustín Etla’s church, then parading and dancing in people's gardens. All night. Dancing. Celebrating death. Etla, outside Oaxaca.
About folk metal. A genre mixing heavy metal with, well, folk. Got to know it from my roommate at the Reality Tour. Found out i already knew a group — Closterkeller singing in Polish ― playing that sort of thing, just didn’t know it was called like that. Dalriada, Eluveitie, Arkona. Folk metal.
About icebreaking. ‘Write up your best or worst or most hilarious travel experience in no more than 20 words, and then the others have to guess who wrote it’. And this, before anyone knew each other at the travel writers’ boot camp. My contribution, only one I could fit into twenty words:
18 bears catching salmon, grabbing into the water, waiting for them to jump, or stealing other bears’ catch. Katmai, Alaska.Most thought the drinking stories or the Asia ones were me. It did break the ice.
About Monte Albán. A pre-Hispanic city. Its pyramids, its sacred places, its enormous squares, its ball games, its museum and souvenir shop. Finally a decent selection of postcards, and Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera as paper dolls. Best of all, an answer to the question why the steps on the pyramids are so high when the inhabitants were so small ― explanation: Because the summit of the pyramids as a religious place had to demand an effort to reach. Whereas we, in our civilisation, try to think practical. I buy that. Monte Albán, and the lesser Mitla, archeological sites outside Oaxaca.
About weaving. Teotitlán del Valle, weavers’ village. A visit to José Buenaventura, weaver using natural dyes for all of his carpets and other works, except for purple and turquoise, which you cannot get from plants or insects like the other colours. Weavers’ village, Teotitlán outside Oaxaca.
New word: casanueces = nutcracker
Quote: ‘Del rayo te escaparás, pero de la raya no.’
(Recopilación de Elodia Miranda Santiago)
©2008/2011 Bjørn Clasen
Friday, 19 August 2011
Eins meiner Lieblingslogos
Das Logo der Kölner Zoo ist einfach genial. Beim ersten Blick einfach ein Elefant. Dann entdeckt man zwei weitere Tiere, die die Silhouette des Elefanten ausmachen — zusammen mit dem Wahrzeichen der Stadt Köln schlechthin, er Kölner Dom.
So einfach geht das. Genial. Einfach genial.
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
What shall… we use… to fill… the empty… spaces…
That’s what Pink Floyd sang three decades ago on legendary ‘The Wall’.
Three years ago, I attended a statistics trade fair in Lisbon. One stand remained like this:
…kinda ironic when you see the name above. Looks like they really do need to populate Minnesota. Or maybe the representatives were so amazed by the Portuguese weather as opposed to cold Minnesota that they simply found better things to do, out in town.
Another stand, just as unfull, maybe remained like that for almost the opposite reason. Luxembourg is rich, at least in official GNP terms. So why bother manning a stand to study income? I mean, they know how to generate one. Or they didn’t particularly need to increase it, what with being rich and all.
Enough fair. Fair enough.
Three years ago, I attended a statistics trade fair in Lisbon. One stand remained like this:
…kinda ironic when you see the name above. Looks like they really do need to populate Minnesota. Or maybe the representatives were so amazed by the Portuguese weather as opposed to cold Minnesota that they simply found better things to do, out in town.
Another stand, just as unfull, maybe remained like that for almost the opposite reason. Luxembourg is rich, at least in official GNP terms. So why bother manning a stand to study income? I mean, they know how to generate one. Or they didn’t particularly need to increase it, what with being rich and all.
Enough fair. Fair enough.
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
Brief an Nena
Aus Liebe zu deiner Musik, und da wir wissen, wie du Kinder liebst, möchten wir dieses Tolle Foto mit dir teilen.
Seit nunmehr fünf Jahren ist es für uns Tradition mindestens einmal im Jahr zu ein Nena-Konzert zu fahren, am liebsten Open Air. Dabei wohnen wir in unterschiedlichen Ecken außerhalb Deutschlands und machen uns immer die Mühe, eine Stadt zu finden, wozu wir alle recht einfach reisen können ...und wo du auch auftretest. “Wir” sind übrigens Steen aus Jütland in Dänemark, sein Sohn Kristoffer aus Kopenhagen und Bruder bzw. Onkel Bjørn, der in Luxemburg wohnt.
Da Steen schon als Teenie großer Nena-Fan war ist auch Bjørn mit dieser Musik aufgewachsen, und die Begeisterung ist jetzt in der nächsten Generation weitergeführt, indem Kristoffer als heutiger Teenie lieber Nena hört (obwohl er nur wenig Deutsch spricht) als all dem, was seine Gleichaltrigen sonst hören.
Wenn immer es möglich ist sind auch Steens Frau Merian und deren vier kleinen Töchter Mynte (4 Jahre), Merle & Nælde (beide 2) und Cirkel (6 Monate) bei den Konzerten dabei. Da das in diesem Jahr in Bad Segeberg nicht der Fall war, hat Papi aber Nena-Mützen und Nena-T-shirts für alle besorgt. Auf dem Foto sind es von links nach rechts Merle, Mynte, Cirkel und Nælde. Vielleicht schaffen wir es ja im Sommer noch einmal zu ein Konzert zu fahren, alle gemeinsam, damit der Nachwuchs auch Live ihre Begeisterung zeigen kann.
Die allerliebsten Grüße
Familie Clasen
Friday, 7 January 2011
En 8-årig om Afrika
»AFRIKA.
I afrika ligger landene: Madagaskar, Tunesien, Algeriet, Marokko, Libyrien, Ægypten, Mongritanien, Mali, Niger, Tchad, Soud, Ethiopien, Somal, og mange flere. Der gror: kaffe, kakao, tobak, majs, ris, oliven, bananer, rosiner, kokosnødder, citroner, og meget andet. Uden om det ligger søer, have, floder, o.s.v., de hedder: Alanterhavet, Middelhavet, Det Røde Hav, Indiske Hav, og andre. Det grænser til Saudi Arabien og ligger tæt på Europa og Asien, f.eks. Spanien ligger meget tæt på Marokko. Jeg kender kun to hoved-stader, det er: Alger og Tunis, Alger ligger i Algeriet og Tunis ligger i Tunesien.
skrevet af BJØRN CLASEN.«
den 11. februar 1981
I afrika ligger landene: Madagaskar, Tunesien, Algeriet, Marokko, Libyrien, Ægypten, Mongritanien, Mali, Niger, Tchad, Soud, Ethiopien, Somal, og mange flere. Der gror: kaffe, kakao, tobak, majs, ris, oliven, bananer, rosiner, kokosnødder, citroner, og meget andet. Uden om det ligger søer, have, floder, o.s.v., de hedder: Alanterhavet, Middelhavet, Det Røde Hav, Indiske Hav, og andre. Det grænser til Saudi Arabien og ligger tæt på Europa og Asien, f.eks. Spanien ligger meget tæt på Marokko. Jeg kender kun to hoved-stader, det er: Alger og Tunis, Alger ligger i Algeriet og Tunis ligger i Tunesien.
skrevet af BJØRN CLASEN.«
den 11. februar 1981
Monday, 13 December 2010
Ideas for next London trip
Stroll Portobello Market again
Join a guided tour of Wembley Stadium
Go to the theatre, possibly a fringe/off-West End one
…also, watch a play in Shakespeare’s Globe
Join a day trip to Stonehenge, Bath and maybe Windsor (plenty of providers, for example this one or:)
Join a guided tour of Wembley Stadium
Go to the theatre, possibly a fringe/off-West End one
…also, watch a play in Shakespeare’s Globe
Join a day trip to Stonehenge, Bath and maybe Windsor (plenty of providers, for example this one or:)
Thursday, 11 February 2010
The Sin City Brewing Comapany's great logo
This is an example of a great logo. It's fun, it's catchy — notice the devil's tail; the Sin City bar chairs have them too, incorporated in metal as part of the chairs' structure (unfortunately, I don't have any photos of one).More about the brewery here. The stout tastes decent by the way.
Friday, 5 February 2010
We've Got M@il
In Bratislava you don't just get a mailbox.
You get a mailbox and a sculpture!
© 2008 Bjørn Clasen. Use only with explicit permission.
Thursday, 4 February 2010
Animal Magic
In Luxembourg, pharmacies tend to be named after a lion. Which is already weird.
In Bratislava, it becomes surrealistic, as there is a pharmacy named after …a lobster!
Somewhere in between is probably the best choice. They say that dolphins provide the best cure one can imagine.
© 2008 Bjørn Clasen. Use only with explicit permission.
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
A buckle is not just a buckle
Isn't it fascinating how many aspects are considered when designing a buckle to securely fasten a backpack?
And even more so the effort Duraflex goes through to actually inform the buyer about these aspects. More buckle for the buck...
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
A Man with a Ball
I wonder what this sign means…
Maybe that men with hats playing football on the street will be injured and bandaged?
Bratislava
© 2008 Bjørn Clasen. Use only with explicit permission.
Sunday, 31 January 2010
Monday, 25 January 2010
Ny rejseform inden for EU
Hvad er det for et grænse-los, man får, hvis man rejser til flere lande?
fra siden EU i kontakt med borgerne
fra siden EU i kontakt med borgerne
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
Für Lakritzen-Lieber… — For Liquorice Lovers…
…gibt's ein kleines Geschäft in Köln, das dieses „schwarze Gold” aus aller Welt importiert:
(das Logo könnte ich übrigens gut für meine Coach-Praxis gebrauchen…)
änd nöw in English:
…there's a little shop in Cologne that imports this ‘black gold’ from all around the World.
(actually, I could use that logo for my coaching business…)
(das Logo könnte ich übrigens gut für meine Coach-Praxis gebrauchen…)
änd nöw in English:
…there's a little shop in Cologne that imports this ‘black gold’ from all around the World.
(actually, I could use that logo for my coaching business…)
Monday, 18 January 2010
Just a precaution
An entrance ticket for the Eiffel Tower. The one in Las Vegas, that is. Notice what's marked in red.
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