Ake Och Emma

Do you think it is funny that Marie biscuits are called the same all over the World? Do you think it is funny that Marie biscuits are called Marie biscuits all over the World? We think that is strange. We have no problem understanding that Colgate, Coca Cola, Microsoft Windows and Gillette can be found all over the World under the same brand name. But for some reason Marie biscuits don't fall in the same category as those. With this blog entry we only wish to point out that the simple, but yet tasty, Marie biscuit can be found not only in a shop near you but also elsewhere. While doing this totally non-scientific research into the brand Marie biscuit we have noticed a few things that might or might not be of interest for you. ... read more

If you don't like cars, go to Venice. If you don't like big crowds, don't go to Venice In 1989 I was scheduled to visit Venice in Italy. However, I got ill and had to cancel the visit. Now during Easter I decided to try again, 24 years after the failure back when I was a teenager. This time things worked better. In one way I am actually happy I couldn’t go the first time I tried. Venice is an amazing city and I am not sure that Ake aged 18 would not have been able to enjoy it as much he did now at the age of 42. As I stated above, Venice is an amazing city. That is especially true if you are either an art buff or a history lover. The art, the ... read more

Rock the kasbah After we left Marrakesh we went to the town Ouarzazate. Our plan was to rent a car there to make it easier for us to explore the surrounding area. When we arrived there we met a French couple, Lucile and Nico, in the hotel lobby. They looked like nice people so we asked them if they were interested in travelling with us for a day or two. They fancied the idea of renting a car with us so we decoded to team up for two days. We arranged for the car rental in the evening and in the morning we took the vehicle and left Ouarzazate. The first place interesting stop we made was the village Skoura. Skoura is an oasis fringed with palm trees. The village’s claim of fame is the well ... read more

Communist Symbols All over Belarus there are Lenin statues, murals of proud workers, nationalist symbols and hammer and sickle symbols. I have a soft spot for these various communist symbols. I am not a communist, but I do like the symbols from an artistic point of view. In the years prior to the fall of the Soviet Union people in the communist world had to be constantly reminded of how great a system communism is. Therefore every town had a Lenin statue, there were always streets in each town named after Lenin and Karl Marx, statues of war heroes dotted the cities and on city walls you could find plaques commemorating communist leaders or perhaps a visit by Lenin a long time ago. There was frequent use of the hammer and sickle symbol and sometimes even ... read more

Imposing buildings, majestic subway stations and various memorials A few years ago I, Ake, and my friend Juha talked about Belarus and realised that we both wanted to go there. It took some time before we finally got there but in July this year we did. It has also taken some time for me to get down to finally updating the blog with photos and stories from this trip. But now, somewhat late, you can read the first of the blog entries from Belarus. For us to get the visa to visit Belarus was not as easy as you might think. We had to in advance book hotel for every night we wanted to stay in the country and we had to include a copy of the booking confirmation in our application. This paperwork made us ... read more