Going Back

I never considered Germany to be home in any way, shape or form. Ever. Unless you count the time before I knew we would move to the US for the first time. We’d gone before, but it always seemed like a vacation. Just another destination among the countless other destination we had been to. In…

The People Watcher Revisits Some Principles on Mourning

It is that time leading up to All Saints and All Souls, which brings with it the customary cemetery visit to honor those passed before us. And like most people with enough freedom to do so (and with a desire to avoid crowds), we decide to go a few days in advance. Because while it…

Summertime Sadness

Much as I liked the summer, I always preferred spring. Spring is my birthday and as a kid that meant strawberries as well as warm nights and flowers blooming. Plus the arrival of summer, which either meant going somewhere nice to swim by the sea or moving back to the US. I’d usually find out…

The Po’Boy Chef Attempts a Burger

Well, not entirely, but the branding – quite literally – is on point. I’m not even sure how to begin this. When I first moved to Helsinki there was a particular place I really liked and would go to a lot. I became a fixture there. It was a great place to hang out with…

The People Watcher Observes Another Couple

Poczatek means beginning, and we ended up there because our original choice of cafe was so full, we backed out quicker than we came in. Definitely noted for another day and time, because it looks like a bomb place in a bomb location. For those who don’t know, when I say that I love the…

A City in Pictures – Helsinki

When I retired my previous blog just before the pandemic, I did it because I needed a break. From the subject matter as much as myself. It became very political and that wasn’t what I wanted for it. Because it had been intended as a personal account of my life in the places I was…

The People Watcher Observes a Couple 

This particular Nero we are at is an island in a not too busy mall. It’s also the northernmost mall, a concept reflected in its name. Most people are there to take a much needed break from shopping (one of the reasons I loved malls as a child was because of the hustle and bustle…

On the Power of Saying Yes – Epiphany Rock

I’m not a big church goer, preferring my own interpretation of things, but there’s a beautiful chapel right behind where I live when I happen to hang out in Poland, and an even more beautiful church, so when I was invited to the carol singing for Epiphany, I decided why not. The original plan was…

NYE in the Village

The village hits different when you come for a visit, and when it’s on your own terms. Or when you jump at the suggestion to just step away and take some quiet time in a village so remote even local Poles tend to mispronounce it. Normally villages aren’t my thing, especially not on big days,…