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Svalbard diary: Hello darkness my old friend!

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Flying into the Arctic in January is both a wonderful and terrifying experience. I’m literally flying into darkness, a night that lasts for four months. Looking out the window from my seat on the twenty first row, I see no familiar horizon ahead, only a dusty blue hue going from light to dark. No clear line between the sky and earth. This is the polar night . It’s like looking at an abstract aquarelle painting without wearing your glasses, when you need to be wearing glasses. There is literally nothing to focus on. It’s a very strange feeling, a mix between fear and curiosity. I step outside a red nosed air plane, and in one single gust the polar winds blow straight through my body, chilling me down to my ovaries. I can feel my cheeks blushing bright and turn rosy red, like I’ve been slapped in the face with a frozen mitten. My nostrils clamp shut simultaneously in shock. It’s -14 degrees Celsius. Welcome to Svalbard , the gateway to the North Pole. I meet up with my friends S
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London diary: Leadenhall Market

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The main reason I visited  Leadenhall Market the first time round was my friend Sam . I won’t disclose too much information about her, but lets just say she’s a fan of a certain wizard.. I've now learned that bits and pieces of J.K Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was filmed using Leadenhall Market as a backdrop in 2001. This location was used to represent the area surrounding Diagon Alley and The Leaky Cauldron wizarding pub. It has also been the backdrop to many other movies, like for example «Lara Croft: Tomb Raider» and «The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus», but both Sam and my wife taught me that Harry Potter is all that matters in the world. Ish. But enough about that. Dating back all the way to the 14th century,  Leadenhall Market sure has gone through a couple of make-overs since it's humble beginning in what used to be the centre of Roman Londinium. Today, it's almost impossible to imagine this ornate cluster of vibrant Victorian
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London diary: The British Library

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Art and literature has been a passion of mine my entire life. I was never a scholar, but I've always been eager to learn new things, to expand my horizon. It just has to happen in my own time. Now, it was time to discover the British Library. Up until quite recently, I didn't know the extent of the British Library, but as soon as I discovered it, I just knew I had to go. It is the largest national library in the world, and is said to contain over 200 million items. If this was a real life conversation, I would go something like this: "I can't even!" And since I'm just getting back to writing, I will just stick with that, because it's accurate. I can’t even being to fathom the amount of history and knowledge that’s gathered within these walls. Just the basement itself is buried almost 25 meters below the ground, and the reading room sees 16 000 different faces every day. It just goes on and on and on with different levels and spaces and desks
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London diary: Sky garden

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No matter where I am in the world, I'm always looking for a peaceful and quiet place to just sit down and enjoy the moment. This is particularly true when it comes to London. I used to hate it. My first time in the city was a mid week stay in the fall of 2012, and I honestly thought I would never return to the city in this life time. It was raining all the time, I got lost, my hotel was complete crap, I couldn't sleep and I didn't feel safe. Somehow, seven years later, I have learned to love it here, despite all it's flaws; it's busy, it's loud and it's usually grey. The traffic is insane, that's just a fact, and visiting the UK from just about anywhere in the world will leave you utterly confused as to which direction the cars are going and coming from. There is a reason «look both ways before crossing» is written in stone on all pedestrian walk-ways. Navigating the city will feel like an impossible task at first. There are so many flickering
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London diary: Old Spitafields Market

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For centuries the East End in London was known as the home for outcasts and immigrants of the city, and as I dug deeper into the area and researched its history , I discovered some very dark and disturbing facts. During the Roman period of London, when it was known as Londinium, Brick Ln was used as a Roman burial ground. It was strategically positioned just outside the former city walls of London, and became a dumping ground for death. It was known as «home of the dead» for centuries. It is also said that the first of Jack the Ripper's victim was last seen in the area in 1888, just adding to the big pile of death. Despite, or maybe because of its complicated history, Brick Ln has thrived and become the heart of the East End. After the 1990's it has become a mecca for artists, hippies, Bohemians, yuppies and everything in-between - and it's now  known as  the place to visit for music, thrifting, street art and vintage everything. And  Old Spitafields Market !
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London diary: Camden Market

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Camden Market is massive! It's a wonderful maze of over 1000 restaurants, shops, food trucks, music, market stalls, art, cafés and pop ups. It's almost too big. I felt lost, several times. And overwhelmed, most of the time. I even forgot to take pictures at some point because I was so busy enjoying myself. That's when you know you're in a good place! I thought their claim to be the biggest market in London might just be another one of those sale tricks to get people to visit, but it really is the biggest market I have ever been to in my life. I guess there is a reason this market has its own app (if you have Google Play) and has been named one of the 7 urban wonders of the world  last year. That's all kinds of impressive, considering it all started out as a small arts and crafts market with 16 stalls in the mid 70's. The most beautiful and picturesque section of the market is definitely the 200 year old Pickford Stables. It's a network consistin
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Adventure time: Snow mobile safari in Sweden

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We wanted to start this new year of with a proper adventure, just doing something different, to make room for all the new things to come. We were hoping that doing something out of the ordinary would help set a new standard for the year, push us out of our comfort zones and motivate us to try different things. To live more, not just (insert your commitments here)! So, come January 1st, our American friends, my wife and I woke up bright and early and drove to Sweden where we met Arjen Singeling who run Snow Scooter Tour Sweden . Arjen and his wife Liesbeth are originally from the Netherlands, but moved to Finnskogen in Värmland permanently in 2015 to start their business of snow mobile safaris and quad adventures. Lucky for us, they are located just across the border from Hedmark in Norway. And to be perfectly honest; nothing motivates me more to get going than having a short ride to my adventure. One of the big advantages I have in life, is having been born in Norway. This
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