Train Safety and Non-Existent Country
This caught my attention when walking to my airport express train at Oslo Central Station: a buffer stop manufactured in West Germany. West Germany ceased to exist upon German reunification…
Missing Baggage
Even for short trips with small bags, I prefer checking my bag because 1) I'm lazy and don't want to drag it around the airport until boarding and 2) I…
Hurtigruten Excursion #3: Tromsø
The third excursion selected for our northbound Hurtigruten Coastal Express was Tromsø, Norway. Tromsø is the third-largest city north of the Arctic Circle (behind Murmansk and Norilsk, Russia) and is…
Meandering Thoughts #44
I'm in Norway to attend and speak at NDC Oslo and - typical of tech conferences - plenty of random entertainment for the attendees. What did I find? Pinball! Of…
Devoxx Greece 2025
I submitted multiple talks for this year's Devoxx Greece, and, happily, the reviewers selected Demonolithing The Monolith? Forget It! to be presented. I've given this talk previously (including other Devoxx-branded…
A Hill With A View
At 277m/909 feet, Lycabettus Hill (also known as Mount Lycabettus) is the highest point in Athens, with incredible 360° views of the city below. [Spoiler alert: a lot of rooftops!]…
Random Learnings #54
I recently traveled to Athens, Greece to speak at Devoxx Greece, without question the furthest south and east in Europe I've been. The above is a Greek typewriter, with -…
Random Learnings #53
The Italian city of Fiume (now Rijeka, Croatia) was the center of a controversy between Italy and the nascent state of Yugoslavia about its post-World War I control, called the…
Lofeten Krigsminne Museum
Unlike other late-night ports Hurtigruten's northbound Coastal Express visits, the stop at Lofoten, Norway is lengthy enough to allow passengers to disembark and explore the city. Though the city is…
Cool Photos #9
Hurtigruten's northbound Coastal Express stops at Molde, Norway late during the second night of the cruise from Bergen. The stop is fairly short - thirty minutes - with no excursions…