Deep harbour

Wednesday 15 July 2026 Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland Rain and hail has made the decision to remain inside a wise one today. Emotionally I am feeling very similar to how I felt on my first day of travelling in Georgia. The question: So, what do I do now? I have made job applications both in… Continue reading Deep harbour

To Batumi and beyond

Monday 13 July 2026 Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland I am caught between two systems that operate on completely different assumptions about time and responsibility. On one side is my wife. She values clarity, planning and decisions. To her, “I don’t know yet” sounds like something that ought to be solved by asking harder, following up… Continue reading To Batumi and beyond

The dream weaver’s visit

Friday 8 July 2026 Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland Day Three of my exile from Georgia and I am still finding topics for the blog about the journey to Georgia… Above: Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland Sunday 10 May 2026 Rize, Rize Province, Türkiye Mountain Shores, Part Three I wandered down towards the beach. Beach? Sorry, no.… Continue reading The dream weaver’s visit

A cup of tea

Sighnaghi, Signagi Municipality, Kakheti, Georgia Tuesday 7 July 2026 My last full day in Georgia (for now) and here I am writing about my last full day in Türkiye (back then). Better late than never, I suppose. Above: Sighnaghi Town Hall Mountain Slopes, Part One Rize, Rize Province, Türkiye Sunday 10 May 2026 Rize is linked… Continue reading A cup of tea

Mad honey

Sunday 5 July 2026 Sighnaghi, Signagi Municipality, Georgia As my days decrease here in this country, my chronicles come closer to arriving in it. Mad honey has been intoxicating travellers along the Black Sea coast for over 2,000 years…. Sunday 10 May 2026 Trabzon-Rize Shuttle Bus The Difficult Daughter A day that began as a… Continue reading Mad honey

A separate Málaga

Tuesday 2 July 2024 Eskişehir, Türkiye Fair land! of chivalry, the old domain,Land of the vine and olive, lovely Spain!Though not for thee with classic shores to vieIn charms that fix th’ enthusiast’s pensive eye;Yet hast thou scenes of beauty richly fraughtWith all that wakes the glow of lofty thought. Felicia Hemans (1793 – 1835), Abencerrage… Continue reading A separate Málaga

Canada Slim and the Borders

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 11 November 2017 As one travels around the world a person discovers that there are arbitrary lines drawn across landscapes and charts and maps that define what is Here and what is to be considered There, and there are arbitrary lines drawn between classes and positions in our everyday societies. Mankind has done… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Borders

Shakespeare in the original Klingon

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 20 June 2016 “All the world´s a stage and all the men and women merely players.  They have their exits and their entrances and one man in his time plays many parts.” (William Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act 2, Scene 7) “You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the… Continue reading Shakespeare in the original Klingon

Lingua Helvetica: Language(s) in Switzerland

Buy some medicine in Switzerland (if you can afford it). (And considering how generally the Swiss worry about life far more than they actually seem to enjoy living may be a great reason to run (not walk) to the nearest Apotheke!) You will see that the instructions (the message in the bottle, so to speak)… Continue reading Lingua Helvetica: Language(s) in Switzerland

The sounds of silence

First thoughts upon first awakening are sometimes strange and wonderful things…. (After all, there must be something positive about getting up at 0400 in the morning to be ready to do a 0630 shift at Starbucks St. Gallen, an hour’s distance from my home.) I remember snatches of dreams that have somehow drifted over from… Continue reading The sounds of silence