Milano - first impression

I was looking forward to this trip since I booked the tickets a few days ago. Did some reading on the plane about the history of Milan, it seems it has been ruled by Gaules, Lombardis, Romans, Barbarians, Spanish and Austrians among a few others, quite intriguing really. As it boasts as the Economic centre of Italy, before I came to Milan, I had in my mind a rather industrial city featured by shiny high rise buildings and wide roads packed with cars. But it is also completely opposite. During the taxi ride to the hotel from Cadorna, I noticed most old buildings we passed by and narrow streets in between traditional Italian style buildings with wooden shutters and small balconies with delicate iron fences. It was 6:30 in the afternoon and it was very sunny and warm, I came out of the hotel, the first thing I noticed is that the famous cathedral Duomo is just five minutes away. Following the big spire at the top of the cathedral, I came to a nice square with fountains in the middle, and there are roses blooming lovely in the sun. The season for roses are apparently a bit early in Italy than UK.
The Duomo cathedral is magnificent, just as you would expect for a historical place like this. The stones have been cleaned up on the front but they are still doing some work in the back. I had a stroll in the wide square in front of it, enjoying the scenary in the late afternoon sun, it definitely feels warmer than UK. There is a Galleria of posh shops and cafes on the side.
When my colleague from Sweden arrived, we came out to have dinner in a restaurant near the cathedral. This must be one of the most touristy places in Milan, as this is certainly reflected in the prices for wine. A glass of wine costs between 10 to 15 EUR, that is nearly twice as much for a restaurant like this in London. The food was average, but weather and atmosphere makes up for it.
Our office is located in central Milan where the financial district is. Nice location with stock exchange in the back, this must be where the money is. A good meeting, started a big difficult, but we overcame our differences and reached good conclusions on the way forward. Looks like I will be here for a few more times this summer.

Life in Scandinavian style

I am back in Sweden this week, after a quiet time with no travel at all for four months, I found myself looking forward to this trip. OK, I know it is only a work related short trip, but I felt there is a voice yelling from deep down - let me go and see the world again. So against all the odds and right after heathrow was reopened on Monday morning, I got on a flight to Copenhagen.

And I have to say, so far I have enjoyed every minute of the time I have spent here since I arrived. Yesterday, on the train crossing the north sea from Denmark to Sweden, I gazed at the big white wind turbines line up like proud wedding brides across the shimmering dark blue water, it was quite beautiful. The late spring in Scandinavia is an understated beauty, wild yellow flowers dotted on the green grass across the countryside with humble farm style houses. There is nothing flashy, yet it is so peaceful and pleasant for the eyes that you can't help admiring it.

By four O'clcok, the office was nearl empty except a few hard working managers still churning out emails and talking on the phone. I got back in the hotel at 6:30 and decide to talk a walk in the little village behind the hotel. It is a lovely neighbourhood, featured by houses with quite large gardens (seem very large to me compared with my two metre wide garden in London). I noticed there are bicyles and kids toys lying around outside the house, apparently a very low crime area. The smells of the cherry blossoms and fresh grass is truly invigorating, I feel refreshed and happy. In the little playground, I got on one of the swings and enjoyed a little childhood fun. I start to think the scandinavian value is quite a good one, it is a welfare state, people are fairly relaxed and there is a very good work life balance. Ok, maybe they don't produce as much as the Koreans and Chinese, but they enjoy a better and happier life (except the weather) in a lot of ways. Overworking is a big problem in our modern society, we certainly work much harder than our parents generation and we might have more gadgets and things, but this does not make us happier. Then I thought of the company I work for, what is a strange culture mixture, the Japanese and Swedish, they are almost like completely different species. It is almost a mirachle we still work togther.

Then I had a nice dinner in the hotel, pork belly for main course, it was very well cooked probably one of the best pork belly I ever had. I enjoyed a glass of white wine while looking out of the window, still very light even it is nearly eight O'clock. There are a few cherry trees in the back yard, the thick blossoms make the branches look a bit overloaded, swaying gently in the evening wind, while the sun casting a shadow on the grass.

Life in a Scandinavian spring is good.