Bridge the World

After months of planning and waiting I finally arrived in St. Petersburg, Russia in the beginning of April. I usually live and work in Oslo, but I will spend 3 months at the Russian Opera Software office this spring as part of our "Bridge The World" program and here's my first post, half-way through my stay.

Global warming hasn't reached Russia yet, so there was quite a bit of snow and ice around in early April, with that happy end-of-winter brown-grey color. One month later and the city is again as green and colorful as the postcards, preparing itself for the famous White Nights season and festival from late May to July.

My colleagues take good care of me here and have placed me in a modern apartment a short walk from the Opera office.
Evening view in April from apartment on 20th floor

Spb used to have the largest tram network in the World, now apparently overtaken by another of my favorite cities, Melbourne, and to get to the city center I need to take first a tram, then the very efficient metro. The first tram in Spb was presented in 1880 and the current trams don't feel much newer, but they get you there In contrast to the slow trams, St Petersburg is connected to Moscow by a modern and comfortable high speed train, the Sapsan, which took me to the capital in just 4 hours.
Nice weather on May 9, a day filled with parades, concerts and ending with fireworks

Time flies in this city, there is so much to see and so much to visit. Last weekend I went to see the palaces and gardens at Tsarskoye Selo, only one of the many gorgeous sites around the city. I've participated in university tours with Opera before, but this time I didn't even have to travel, we did one on Vasilyevsky Island, just across the river.

Expect another update around July 1. Until then I may upload some more photos with a short explanation in the Bridge the World Russia album.
Picture from another sunny spring day outside the city

一转眼，三个月就过去了…… How time flies...

This isn't the first time I've said goodbye to Beijing. Last time I'd been here for 1.5 years, while this time was only 3 months. Ever since I left last I always wanted to come back, so when I finally got the chance to come here on Opera's Bridge the World program, I jumped on it without hesitation. How delightful it has been to once again walk these streets, speak this language and eat this food. I haven't missed Sweden the slightest bit. This is far from paradise on earth, but this city is alive! This is what I wrote last time I said my farewell, and it still captures quite well how I feel:

一般说起北京的优点都会提长城、故宫、京剧、烤鸭等传统的象征。长城是很长，颐和园是很伟大，可是给我印象更深的却是最小的事。在路边买烤栗子、在教室里分析“而”的语法、在五道口吃石锅拌饭、劳动节和女朋友在后海无计划地逛逛、在电影院看姜文的作品、在KTV厅唱周杰伦——这是我的北京。

English:

Usually when listing Beijing's good qualities, one would mention the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Beijing Opera, Beijing Duck and other traditional symbols. The Great Wall sure is Great and the summer palace is magnificent, but the things that leave the biggest impression on me are the small things. Buying roasted chestnuts on the street, analyzing Chinese grammar in the classroom, eating Korean food in Wudaokou, strolling around at Houhai with my girlfriend (now wife), watching Jiang Wen's newest film at the cinema, singing Jay Chou at karaoke – this is my Beijing.

For the benefit of future visitors to Beijing, I present my Best of Beijing. First things first. Everyone must eat, and in Beijing it's a pure pleasure:

• Xiangguo (香锅) is ingredients of your own choosing fried in a big pot together with plenty of red peppers, Sichuan pepper (花椒), garlic and some other magic ingredients. This is without a doubt my favorite food on the planet. I recommend the chain Chuanchengyuan (川成元), particularly the restaurant in Shuangjing (双井). Best served with a glass of Suanmeitang (酸梅汤).
• Hot pot (火锅) is a bit similar to Xiangguo in that you pick the ingredients yourself, but this time you boil it yourself in a soup base of your choosing (麻辣 or 酸辣 is best) and then dip it in a thick sesame sauce (麻酱). Among my favorite ingredients are fried tofu-skin (炸豆皮), gluten balls (面筋), potatoes, mushrooms (particularly 金针菇) and corn.
• Shredded potato (土豆丝) is great, particularly the deep-fried kind (香辣土豆丝) which I have unfortunately never found outside of Wudaokou (五道口) for some reason.
• Congee (粥) is a kind of rice porridge that comes in many flavors. If you're Korean, watch out for the Coriander (香菜).
• Dumplings (饺子) is kind of everyday food, but it's really great. Best served with Chinese vinegar (老醋). The fried kind are great too!
• Hong Kong style deserts, especially various combinations of mango and coconut. I recommend Honeymoon Dessert (满记甜品) or Bellagio (鹿港小镇), both at Shinkong Place (新光天地).

Eating isn't the only thing you can do in Beijing, however:

• If you only visit one old place in Beijing, it should be the Summer Palace (颐和园), not the Forbidden City (where everything looks the same).
• If you go to a park in the morning or evening, you can see people dancing or doing aerobics of some sort. I don't recommend joining in, but just watching it is a bit unreal simply because of how badly some people dance without showing any sign of embarrassment or restraint.
• KTV is what karaoke is usually called. No alcohol is required to have fun, but reading Traditional Chinese is required to sing (because almost all good Chinese music is made in Hong Kong and Taiwan).
• Chinese cinema has a lot to offer. The most awesome cinema I've been to (in the world) is the 当代MOMA Broadway Cinematheque. They show unfamous films by unfamous Chinese directors and is ridiculously artsy-fartsy, with the entrance being a bookstore/cafe.
• The "old goods" market in Panjiayuan (潘家园旧货市场) is full of cheap copies and scammers. Still, it is much more fun than the crowded in-door "market" in Silk Street (秀水) where most tourists go.
• Laoshe's Tea House (老舍茶馆) has a kind of variety performance with the best of various kinds of traditional Chinese art forms. Sitting through a whole performance of Beijing Opera would drive anyone mad, but seeing just a bit of it at Laoshe's is actually quite enjoyable. It's targeted only a foreigners, but it's good anyway. Bian lian (变脸) is some awesome stuff!

I could keep on praising China for quite a bit more without exaggerating, but I can't finish on solely a positive note. Last time I left China I was very optimistic about the future. Beijing is such a modern city and it's not difficult to assume that it and the country as a whole will continue to develop and slowly become more civilized. Unfortunately, some things have gotten much worse in the last two years. Censorship of the net has become considerably more noticeable, something that happened around the 60th anniversary of the PRC and then just didn't go back to normal. Apart from the Great Firewall there is also an army of human operators actively monitoring and filtering any user-generated content. Together with self-censorship (of which I am guilty) it is surprisingly effective. Anything or anyone that is not harmonious (和谐) will be harmonized (被和谐) and will never have existed. Censorship works and I really don't see how significant change will come about anytime soon. I only hope that in my lifetime I will be able to visit a China which has done away with all of this nonsense.

Despite its flaws, I still love Beijing and China. Many thanks to Opera Software and Bridge the World for letting me enjoy Beijing once more! I will be back. 我一定会回来！

P.S. I don't have my pictures on this computer, I will update this post or make a separate post when I have them!

I like to take pictures. I really like it a lot.

But strangely enough, during my first weeks in Japan, I was not really able to take them. I could not. I was sort of scared.
My problem was that I knew that every picture could have been interesting for me, just because there were unusual things to see, but so I probably raised my expectations for the quality of the pictures I wanted to take. And this blocked me.

In particular, I really wanted to take a picture of the crossing near Shibuya station. It took me a lot of time to find the best venue for shooting, and, to make a long story short, of course the picture was a lot worse than expected. Still I like it, because it reminds me of this strange period. :-)
Of course at some points, I just started to take pictures like there was no tomorrow. I crossed the three thousands mark, and I have still some days left.

So, is it nice to take pictures in Japan? No. It is amazing! Really!
There are so many interesting things, towns, people, events and moments, that you should always go around with your camera, and still you would not be able to catch enough.

Also in Tokyo there are a lot of camera shops, also for second hand products, with some very good bargains (if you take the time to visit a lot of places). So I bought a lot of camera stuff here. I've yet to figure out how I will be able to bring them back home... but I will find a way to squeeze them in the luggage...

You can find some of my favorite pictures here:
http://my.opera.com/lucav/albums/show.dml?id=2900661

You still cannot believe it! You applied for Bridge The World to Japan, and Opera accepted!
So you have to do it again: packing your life in two luggages. This time there is some space available. Your life is shrinking. Slightly scaring...

You are at Oslo Gardermoen, security check-in. Something suspicious in your luggage.
The officer checks the item. It's a small piece of ham. He laughs. You are not dangerous.
Then you fly. And you land. You change flight. You fly ten more hours. You land in Tokyo.

You know you are in Tokyo when lazy people stays on the left on the escalators, while impatient ones run on the right.

Immigration Office. You try to explain why you are in Japan, and where you will live.
Customs. You have a restricted item, and you want to declare it. So you cross the same mark of prohibited items, like explosives. Slightly scaring...
Another office, and you show your restricted item. It's the same small piece of ham. It's not welcome in Japan, so its journey ends in a bag. Slightly sad...

You take a bus, and after more than one hour, you arrive in Tokyo station. You don't know where you are or where are supposed to live. You have no idea. Everything is in Japanese, and just a few people speak English. Slightly scaring...

Then the “angel” sent by HR Japan, brings you to the apartment, and gives you some information.
The room is less small than expected. You like it immediately.
You spend the next hours playing with the furniture. Everything is different. You cannot even use basic stuff. You have to learn. Learning is funny.
We used to think that “warm water” it's one of the basic technologies. Yes it is, but understanding how to use it in Japan, can take more time than expected. You have to read the instruction manual. Then you find the switch, and the electronic heater sends you warm water. The same heater that says something when water for your bath is ready.
But there are more instructions to read, new things to learn, like the air conditioning: it's so much more fun in Japanese. And the toilet... everyone should try one of these things!.
But also the mailbox is different than expected, and you need to learn the manual. Surprise: no keys, it has a combination!
Everything looks so high-tech!
The door of the taxi is electronic, you don't have to open it!

One of the reason that drove you to Japan, was the curiosity to see a different country. I mean, really different.
So here it is.
They speak a different language, and eat with chopsticks. Your badge is without pictures, to avoid identification.
It is usually allowed to smoke indoor. It's relatively often forbidden to smoke outdoor...
They have this Suica card. While the world is struggling for micro payments, they have had it since 2001. It stores your monthly pass for the train, but you can use it in the vending machines, in some shops or even to pay on Internet!

While you look around, amazed by these huge skyscrapers, you think that Tokyo, depending on what you call Tokyo, has two to seven times more people than Norway.

You read somewhere that Japan is the last stop before Mars. There is some truth in it.
And you are now ready to start a new journey. Inside Japan, and the Japanese culture.
Slightly scaring... but very exciting!

I was sulking because I missed out on trying a beer spa. There really is a place in Chodovar, near Plzen, where you can soak in a tub full of beer, mineral water and herbs, while drinking a glass of....you guessed it, beer! They call it, rather amusingly, a "beer wellness centre".

I really wanted to try that, so when I complained that I had no time to go before I left Prague, a kind Opera friend, Robert, invited me to a sauna and spa complex in outer Prague. I am so glad he did - what an experience!

Aqua Palace is really two different complexes in one. In the summer, it must be heaven for kids, or big kids, with it's many inside and outside pools, wave pools, water slides, fake river and cocktail bar.

In the winter, it is a haven for those in search of heat and relaxation. There are lots of both Ancient Roman and Finnish style saunas, all of varying temperatures and humidity. Some feature pine, while others feature herbs or salt. To cool down, there are icy plunge pools, hard or soft showers, or even a refreshing, if alarming, bucket shower, full of cold water. Splash! Or, if you have really cooked yourself, you can grab some snow from the snow machine and rub it all over - that was amazing! There is also an outdoor sauna, where you can then roll in snow but we didn't have the right footwear, dammit. Add to this whirlpools (spas or Jacuzzis, whatever you want to call them), foot baths and a Roman swimming pool with a glass roof allowing you to gaze at the stars, and you are in one serious bath heaven!

As if it doesn't get better than this, my friends told me about these sauna "ceremonies" they hold. At certain times, a specific sauna will be set up for a ceremony. We timed it perfectly for the "honey" one. The guy running the ceremony draped sheets over all the sauna seats, and then, as he described the benefits of honey, he splashed honey water on the stones. The steam increased the heat but also created a beautiful, sweet honey aroma. Then, he danced around with a towel, wafting us all with the intense heat and honey. Then he gave us a cupped handful of very syrupy honey, which we gently rubbed all over ourselves. The idea was to let that soak in for 15 minutes and wash it off in a shower, but I couldn't handle the heat so I left the sauna and let the honey soak in while I soaked my feet in a foot bath.

This was full-on luxury. Really. If I were any more relaxed, you could pour me in to a bowl (to quote Black Books). Anyone coming to Prague should seriously consider an afternoon of pure relaxation at Aqua Palace. Be warned though - if you are shy about your body at all, it may not be for you. Once you get into the sauna precinct, it's kit off and towels only. And even those are fairly optional.

No photos were allowed, but to get an idea, see: http://www.aquapalace.cz/saunas