Managed to celebrate my 50th birthday with a trip to Sennan Cove and ride outs to Porthcurno and St Ives, stunning winter weather, more like a spring day than the grip of winter here in the UK. 
Category Archives: City Profiles
Poverty and deprivation
The last ten days have been spent touring some of the most beautiful yet damaged places in south eastern Europe – it is a real dichotomy to me that despite extreme poverty and environmental damage individual personality, hope and passion still shine through in the smiles of children, the café culture and dusty village squares.
Skyscraper Envy
Can a country get Skyscraper envy? Frankfurt has around 30 Skyscrapers… I wonder if this could be inked to Andrew Lawrence’s belief that the “skyscraper index,” is in play. Andrew maintains that, a skyscraper begins construction when the economy is growing, but this is then followed by a sharp downturn. But once a skyscraper is finished, according to the index, the economy is climbing back. By my understanding there around 6 substantive skyscraper building projects under way in Frankfurt today…
Trollstigen
Finally rode the Trollstigen after many recommendations. This twisty mountain road is in the Rauma Municipality, Møre og Romsdal and a continuation of the Atlantic Road 63. Its pretty steep in places and has 11 hairpin bends but the downside is its very busy with motor homes and coaches and is a modest 850m in comparison to some of the Alpine crossings – stunning views and leading to Geirangerfjorden – well worth it.
What makes a successful city center?
Camping on the edge of a Dutch lake this week, a night in Amsterdam and today touring Huskvarna in Sweden, I came to a realisation that city life only works when housing and retail are jointly combined and inter developed. In Amsterdam for example, all the shops and supermarkets are within housing complexes and flats – no real out of town centers and yet the city center thrives, the same has to be said for the beautiful town of Huskvarna… I got chatting tonight with Ingrid from Israel, now settled in Sweden ‘for love’ she tells me, she was fascinated by my shoes (5 Fingers) so much so that she nearly got run over watching my glossy black toes – she said I looked like I should be going for a swim…what could I say, ‘packing light’ loses a lot in translation.
