Prose

Narrative writings: essays, reviews, polemics, short stories, etc

Quantum of Solace at World´s End
Although it is not really that spectacular, Kirkenes has been called the end of the world on several occasions. Of course, during the Cold War, it was obvious. It´s on the edge of Europe, often not on the map (I have to tilt my google maps all the time). That is why the cinema complex ...
Kirkenes. Writing and a Do-it-yourself Crashcourse Russian.
I started to realize that getting to Russia from here was too easy to let the opportunity pass, and I got the necessary documents. The travel agency provided an "invitation". So I was invited without knowing anybody in Russia. Well, they knew me, or they knew all they wanted to know about me, and that ...
Tromsø #3. On the Big Truck.
Monday passed, I wrote. A friend dropped in and we played the oldest Super Mario game. I was very bad at it. At night, I went to a bar where they had a Blue Monday, which meant beer for just 39 Kr. That was just cheap enough for me to have one beer, no gulping ...
Tromsø #2
On Sunday we woke up with strong coffee, and went to explore the Fjord of Tromsø. It was really beautiful, and we left the car several times to take pictures of it. [ picture of the Tromsø Fjord, thanks again to Tasos ]

I got a bit sad about the fact we'd split ...
Tromsø #1. All the way up.
Saturday. We woke up early, had some breakfast with Piita, scrubbed our car window, took in some groceries and gas, and headed north-west. We had a long drive ahead of us, through beautiful unspoiled land, first on the Finnish side, and then in Norway. Still on the Finnish side, we stopped over in a roadside ...
The Arktikum and the Aurea Borealis
The next morning I went up early enough to walk my way to the Arktikum Museum and enjoy some time looking at the great exhibitions there (it won a prize for the best museum in Europe in 1994). I learned about the Sami people of Lapland, their clothing and how important it is for them ...
Visiting Santa Claus on the Polar Circle
The next day I decided to revive the tourist in me that had almost died, and went to Santa's village. One of our considerations in the bar the other night had been about the answer to the question why Santa lives in Finland. Since my companions studied law, I suggested there must be something like ...
Finally: Lapland
The next day I said goodbye to Tuomo and tried to hitchhike to Rovaniemi. This turned out to be very difficult. I remember walking along a highway, and decided I had had enough, so I got back to Oulu, where I waited in a "cafe de Provence" for my train to Rovaniemi, writing, of course. ...
Oulu. With John Lennon and Che Guevara.
Monday morning I left, and my friends dropped me off at a bus stop on the road to Ylkaviesa, a town 28 kilometers away, where I waited with my cardboard sign and my thumb. After a while, I decided to walk and began to sing, inspired by the many car that passed by, ignoring my ...