Back in the Philippines after 6 Long Years!

 

The last time I was in Manila was six long years ago. I used to go back home every two years until I found fewer and fewer reasons to go home.  My three children have migrated to Canada, the US, and Australia and I began to spend my time visiting them in their homes.

Last July, an announcement from the University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA) gave me one good reason. I was to be honored with a Distinguished Alumnus Award for 2024, specifically for “Leadership in IT Development (Private and Public), and I had to be there in person.  

The local nomination came from a former colleague, Fe Ferriols, and the American nomination came from Liza Reyes, a co-founder of UPAA in Arizona and a fellow Board Member of the UPAA in America for which we drafted a strategic plan.

The Award

During the early days of computers in the Philippines (1970s), I was fortunate to have been selected by multinationals (NCR, IBM, SGV/Andersen Consulting). Their global training prepared me for the impending computer era of the next decades. The following were the assignments for which I was sought to lead. They increased in complexity and impact, defining my contributions to the country:

a. As Marketing Manager of the Institute of Advanced Computer Technology, an offshoot of SGV/Andersen Consulting, I was at the forefront of promoting the introduction of information technology in the country, from kids to CEOs.

b. As Vice-President of the Development Academy of the Philippines, we pioneered IT applications in government agencies, including the Office of the President.

c. As General Manager of MegaLink, I launched the switch that enabled banks to share ATMS, widening the use of electronic banking in the country. 

d.      As Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, I helped launch its automation, changing how it interfaced with taxpayers, thereby reducing opportunities for graft and corruption.

e.       As Managing Director of SAP Philippines, I led the introduction of enterprise-wide end-to-end applications to the largest corporations in the Philippines, making them globally competitive.

f. As President/CEO of BayanTrade, a consortium of the six largest conglomerates in the country, I led the introduction of eProcurement in the Philippines.

g. As pro-bono en banc consultant to the Commission on Elections, I helped define how electoral processes could be automated and proceeded with the first phase, voter registration.

On August 14, UP President Angelo Jimenez hosted a Dinner for the awardees. He gave us journal mementos of the university. Three days later, on August 17, the Awards were formally conferred in a ceremony held at the Ang Bahay ng Alumni at the University of the Philippines’ hallowed grounds.

 My youngest eight-year-old grandchild came from Melbourne, Australia with his Mom, my youngest daughter. As he escorted me on stage to receive the award, friends said it was a heartwarming little man's statement. His light blue Barong Tagalog matched my darker blue Diwata gown. All three outfits, including my daughter’s short black modern dress, were from Filipiniana Australia. Two siblings and a brother-in-law also attended to wish me congratulations.

Eight former colleagues completed my guest list. Although I was somewhat disappointed that I was the only awardee for information technology, I was proud that Secretary Ivan Uy of the Department of Information and Communication Technology, who endorsed my nomination, was there to personally congratulate me. 

The Appreciation Parties

The day after, I hosted two Appreciation Parties at Ral’s in the UP Ayala Techno Hub on Commonwealth Avenue near UP. In the morning, I had a family breakfast for my siblings’ families including their children, spouses, and grandchildren. At lunch, there was a gathering of all the colleagues who worked with me on the seven projects mentioned above. Also included were members of the Philippine computer industry, the Philippine Toastmasters District, and the Vanguards/Corps of Sponsors from where I derived much support and leadership training. I expressed my gratitude to my former colleagues who worked alongside me, welcomed my leadership style, and supported me every step of the way.

It felt good to have returned to my home country to receive this Award. At 75 years old, I had completed a full circle of my time in the Philippines, from birth, education, family building, career advancement, and final recognition. It was too bad my husband Bill could not be with me on this visit like he had done three other times.

The timing of the events gave me opportunities to enjoy two bonus prizes! Watch our for the next two posts on my nostalgic visit to Baguio and a staycation at the historic Manila Hotel with a tour of what’s new in Malacanang.

 

 

 

Remarkable Photos: Reliving the Story More than Just Words Can Ever Weave

Somebody said, "Once you learn to care, you can record images in your mind and film. There is no difference." When I married Bill on a private cruise ship in Seattle in 2008, I was thrust into a never-ending honeymoon. After the ceremony, we cruised North America in an RV full-time. On this third try at marriage, I learned how to be a wife and an American. I was also encouraged to maintain a blog about our adventures. Since Bill also had the foresight to add a Nikon DSLR to our bag of essential tools, photos began to populate my posts (plus Facebook and Twitter).

The Wheel at Brighton, England

In 2015, after completing forty-nine continental US states, nine Canadian provinces, and six Mexican states, I published a book with some fifty photos about our love story: Carolina: Cruising to an American Dream. Later, we ended up snowbirding in Phoenix’s Viewpoint Golf Resort during the winters. But the honeymoon continued in faraway lands outside of North America. As a matter of fact, our itchy feet have already reached 30 countries.

The Close at Salisbury, England

Fish Soup at Enderun Colleges in Manila, Philippines

In the middle of all this, however, the inevitable happened. Our bodies gave us unmistakable hints. We needed to slow down and take more rests between trips. We sold our RV and bought a home base at Viewpoint’s resort living community with more than enough amenities to fill the time. Part of the draw was some 50 clubs. One of them, the Viewpoint Photography Club, became my favorite.

The club showed me how one picture could be “worth more than a thousand words.”. I was lucky the senior members took pains to teach me how to capture remarkable photos. I look at my earlier attempts and regret how I was not able to capture those scenes as well. Sadly, they are lost forever. Today, I have become increasingly proud. My photos can now relive our adventures more than just my words can ever weave.

Pelican at the Healdsburg Sanctuary in Melbourne, Australia

For example, I have this photo of blue doors that could very well have not seen the light of day. In 2015, I was advised not to proceed to Tunisia because a massacre of tourists had just been orchestrated by the terrorists in Tunis, the capital. But my friend and I had already bought nonrefundable tickets. So we did not listen to anybody’s advice. We still went.

My granddaughter Krishna at the Buckingham Palace, England

my friend the Kangaroo at the Grampians National Park, Australia

Luckily, another friend happens to be the wife of the former Italian ambassador to Tunisia. She told us to book at a little hotel, a former residence of a Tunisian leader, and to use a driver they know for going around. It was really a bed and breakfast tucked away in the suburb of Dar Said, considered safe by those who know. Would you believe that a few weeks after we left, another massacre was perpetrated by the terrorists? It was a miracle that we happened to be there during the few days of peace, at that little spot of quiet, in a strife-ridden country. My photo of the blue doors that led to our room won Best of Show in the first Photo Show I ever entered.

a hibiscus in Cozumel, Mexico

Today, we are “Cruising Past 70” in a slower, more relaxed pace, staying six months in our home base during spring and fall when the desert is beautiful. We go to Mexico, our vacation home during winter. And we take a road trip to visit our children in Colorado, Calgary, Idaho, and California, sometimes to Alaska and Australia, too. This gives me more time to learn more about photography. As I polish my travel essays, I hope my photos will also tell deeper stories.

In the steady march of time, as the photography guru Ansell Adams once said: "When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence." That may be near impossible, according to Bill, but these words of wisdom will keep me grounded during our last phase when we will simply be cruising from a rocking chair. There my words, photos, and memories will keep me traveling in the landscapes of my mind.

PHOTOS ARE FIRST PLACE WINNERS at Viewpoint Photo Shows (2016-18)

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Happy to Be a Sunshine Blogger!

It's almost Easter Sunday and it feels like the sun will shine more. I have been nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award. It is nice to be recognized by a fellow blogger, the owner of Wendy's Blog. It is an extraordinary read about her rural hikes and urban walks around the country with a focus on gardens. Thank you, Wendy, for spotting my blog. Now I can splash yellow representing sunshine all over my post.

beautiful lily, given to me by my hubby

The Sunshine Blogger Award is an award given by bloggers to bloggers. Essentially a peer to peer award, it is given to bloggers who are creative, positive, and inspiring. One of the requirements is that the nominee has to answer eleven questions posed to her. Here's my turn: 

1.   What is one piece of advice you would give your younger self? I have learned that a happy life is filled with experiences, not material things. I can only advise her to start as early as possible. Coming from a very poor family, I was drawn to material goals at first. 

2.    How did you get started with blogging? After twenty years of being a career-minded single parent, I found my life partner. He led me to RVing North America and then traveling the world. Once we started, I wanted to document our experiences well. I turned to blogging.

3.    What is one small thing that makes you truly happy? I believe it is having a deep conversation, be it with another person or a gem of nature.

the wattle tree, Australia's national tree
 in full bloom, 2017

   4.    What is your favorite place in the sunshine? Anywhere where the sun shines or where her brightness is trapped: a flower, a tree, or a field. I guess that is why I love the color yellow!

   5.    What do you do to relax? I watch a a movie that entertains and doesn’t tax the brain too much.

   6.    If you could spend a day with anyone in the world, living or dead, who would it be and why? Any of my grandchildren. They light up my life.

   7.    What is your favorite dessert? decadent chocolate cake or Chocolate Therapy.

   8.    What is the meaning behind your logo? Would you believe I do not have a logo? I have a byline though. "Carolina: Cruising Past 70. It's not only about the obvious journey. It's also about the inner one. It's about the lessons of earlier cruising lifestyles applied to travels past 70."

   9.    What is your favorite season and why? New England Fall or Desert Spring because they wear lots of yellows.

  10. What are some of your favorite hobbies? photography, writing, reading, and later, hopefully painting.    
 11. What is your favorite book? The book I wrote and published: Carolina: Cruising to an American Dream.

desert cacti in full bloom in Phoenix this spring

NEXT STEPS

Here are the eleven questions I would like to ask the bloggers who have inspired and encouraged me:

1-2.  What was the most inspiring place you have ever visited? Why?

3-4. Who in your personal circle inspires you most about travel? Why?

 5.   What is the major reason you travel?

6-7.  Who would you rather travel with: your partner, your friends, your family, or no one? Why?

8-9. Which of the following types of travel do you prefer: budget, luxury, adventure, history, culture? Why?

10-11.During what season do you like to travel: spring, summer, fall or winter? Why?

giant sunflowers in Kansas

And these are the bloggers whose insights I would like to know and share with others. They have inspired and encouraged me in my writing journey. They will inspire and encourage many more.

Mapping Megan by Meg Jerrard
Beer and Croissants by Kerri McConnell
Boomeresque by Suzanne Fluhr
No Particular Place to Go by Anita Oliver

Destinations, Detours and Dreams

Buddy, the Traveling Monkey by Vicky Sosa

Wherever I May Roam by Melody Pittman

Adventurous Retirement by Wendy Blumenstein-Elliott
Travel and Write by Jackie Humphries Smith

Olives, Pines, and Rocks by Jeanne Jacob

Life, Food, and Travel by Yogi Dominguez Zaragoza

Finally, here are the rules:

Thank the person who nominated you and provide a link back to their blog so others can find it.

Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you.

Nominate 11 other bloggers and ask them 11 new questions.

Notify the nominees about it by commenting on one of their blog posts.

List the rules and (optional) display a Sunshine Blogger Award logo on your post and/or your blog site.

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4 Major Parks and Gardens of Melbourne: Our 3rd Deeper Look into the City

an oasis in the middle of the city

Curator's Rock, Garden Ball, and the Garden House

Southeast of Melbourne’s Central Business District is two giant complexes that are reasons for the city’s acclaim as “the most liveable city in the world” six years in a tow. Together, the Royal Botanic Gardens and Kings Domain form a giant oasis in the middle of the city. The Sports and Entertainment Precinct, on the other hand, is site for many Melburnian gatherings and events that contribute to a high quality of life. One lazy afternoon Bill and I roamed the grounds.  

Royal Botanic Garden

Australia's National Tree, a golden wattle, n bloom

The Royal Botanic Gardens of Melbourne is internationally renowned. Located on the south bank of the Yarra River, it consists of 38 hectares of lands cultivated with a mix of the native and exotic vegetation of over 10,000 individual species. A second area in the suburb of Cranbourne, some 45 km southeast of the city, focuses on Australian native plants and has won an award for the section called the Australian Garden which opened in May 2006.

Bill and I luckily chanced upon a free Discovery Tour of 1 ½ hours led by a knowledgeable volunteer. I loved the Herbarium, the Gardener’s House, and many native Australia and New Zealand trees, plants, and flowers that dotted the pathways and the large pond in the middle. I was also in this Garden that I found my first-ever wattle tree, flared with its bright yellow blossoms! It is the national tree of Australia and we would soon find it common on road trips in the countryside.

King’s Domain

Kings Domain surrounds the Gardens. It includes the Government House, the home of the Governors of Victoria. The park was established in 1854 and covers 36 hectares of lawns and gardens strewn “with non-native and native Australian mature trees, a mixture of deciduous and evergreens.  Around the Domain are scattered memorial statues and sculptures, each with their own story.”

Shrine of Remembrance, Sidney Music Bowl, and the Governor's House

On a high hill of the Domain beyond the south end of the Royal Botanic Gardens stands the Shrine of Remembrance. It was originally built as a memorial to the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I.  Now it is a shrine to all Australians who served in a war and is where ANZAC Day on April 25 and Remembrance Day on November 11 are observed. It is one of Australia’s largest war memorials.

On another hill beyond the opposite north end of the Gardens is the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Opened in 1959, it was inspired by businessman/ philanthropist, Sidney Myer. About 3-4 free, open-air concerts are held in a year, including one by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The largest crowd ever was the 1967 Seekers homecoming concert (200,000) listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the greatest attendance in history in the Southern Hemisphere in history. Other artists who have performed at the Bowl include ABBA, AC/DC, Metallica, Wings, The Beach Boys, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Paul McCartney, and most recently Bon Jovi and Kanye West.

Melbourne and Olympic Parks

Australia's heart of sports and entertainment is the Melbourne and Olympic Parks. It is situated east of Melbourne’s CBD, across the Yarra River from the Gardens described above. It hosts around 600 events and attracts more than 2.5 million people a year.

Melbourne Park and Olympic Oval

Most notably, it is the site of the Australian Open, one of the four major tennis grand slams. Other celebrated national and international sports events such as rugby, football, netball, basketball, cycling, and gymnastics. It also stages highest-rated artists and shows like Katy Perry, One Direction, P!NK, Beyoncé, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and Disney on Ice. 

Melbourne Park includes Rod Laver Arena (15,000 seats), Hisense Arena, (10,000 seats), Margaret Court Arena, (7,500 seats), 2 show courts, 35 outdoor tennis courts, and 6 indoor tennis courts. Melbourne & Olympic Parks, which also runs the adjacent Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, also includes the Olympic Park: the AAMI Park (30,050 seats), Holden Centre, Olympic Park Oval, and Gosch's Paddock training fields. A major reconstruction was taking place and we were only able to take pictures from the outside.

Yoyogi Cafe in Chinatown

The afternoon was preceded by lunch at a Japanese café in bustling Chinatown. At the end of our roaming, we found ourselves at the Café L’Incontro just a block away from where we started, enjoying large scones and clotted cream. From there we boarded the tram to my daughter April’s apartment nearby, just about 6-7 stops away. It was a great way to spend a lazy afternoon!

L'Incontro Cafe's scones

Our Lifestyle Adventures: I Was a Nanny in London and Loved It!

Kyrie and me

Kyrie Stephens Pijuan was born to my youngest daughter April and son-in-law Clint at 7:40 pm, September 14, 2015, at the Queen Charlotte Hospital in London.  He came by C-section after April’s heroic attempt of 40 hours in labor and 16 hours of being induced. No wonder, .he was all of 8.4 pounds, such a big baby boy for my 5’2” 120-pound April. I was told Clint was that size when he came into the world, too! In any case, he was the biggest bundle of joy ever to arrive at the couple.

Kyrie when I arrived, when I left, and now!

Bill and I had just been in Kauai for two days when we got the news.Just a day after we got back to Phoenix from trips to Maui and Oahu, I was on board a Norwegian Air flight to London. Clint was at the airport to pick me up. Soon Kyrie, my 7^th apo (grandchild) was in my arms.  He said, “Hi GrandMum!” in that cute British accent! April and Clint had just had an exhausting two weeks. After the hospital, poor Clint had his hands full. April had a fever and Kyrie woke up every 2 hours to be nursed, burped, and changed. 

Clint, April, and Kyrie at Cromer Pier, winner of 2015 Best Pier Prize

It was so good to be able to help, burp him, put him to sleep and talk to him. Just don’t ask me to change his nappies! Alas, I also did not have the means to feed him!  I delighted in my tasks that included making meals for our little family. Local grocer Sainsbury was just below their 2-bedroom flat and for individual cuts of meat, the butcher was just a short block away. Across was the fruits and vegetable co-op. An artisan bread shop completed my needs two doors away. Even a wet market was only four bus stops away with a Filipino store to boot! I loved the local life in this part of London!

April's neighborhood

Peng with a copy of my book

Just eight bus stops away is Westfield Mall, site of the 1906 Summer Olympics. The place used to be part of what is called White City because every edifice was white. That is where I met two of my friends for lunch. The first was Peng, a colleague from the Institute of Advanced Computer Technology. She has made London home with her husband and daughter.

the Notting Hill Bookshop with Sonia

The second was Sonia Tan, a mentor at NCR Corporation Philippines who was visiting London. Rachel, her friend’s daughter, toured us around Notting Hill and Portobello Road. We had our photos taken at the Notting Hill Bookstore where Hugh Grant and Julie Roberts met and the blue door of his apartment. We also had halo-halo at Lakwatsa, a Filipino pub.

with Jane at the Millenium Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral at the back

But the very first friend I met was Maureen Jane Regala-Gibbs. We had been together at the University of the Philippines ROTC Corps of Sponsors some 47 years ago. A member of London’s Royal Academy of the Arts, she took me as her guest to the famed Ai Weiwei art exhibit that was going on at the time (up to December). Oh, what marvelous works this renowned rebel-artist of China produced! The theme of the exhibit is “Everything is art. Everything is politics.” After the tour, we had a brief stop at the British Museum, Jane’s apartment close by, and tea at Covent Garden.

the Ai Weiwei Exhibit

Just before I left London, we met again to view the newest attraction of London, the fabulous Sky Garden on the 35^th-37^th floors. There was an unobstructed view of the Shard Building, the tallest building in London, the London Bridge, the Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London. Then we walked to St. Paul’s Cathedral, where Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married, and turned left to walk the Millenium Bridge. At the end of this bridge was Shakespeare’s Globe Theater on the left and the Tate Modern on the right. We viewed collectors’ displays at Tate and had scones, clotted cream, and tea at the Café.

the Sky Garden

And then Bill had some good news. We had about 5,000 points left in our Diamond Resorts time-share that we had to use before the end of the year! When I looked online, there was a one-bedroom unit available at Cromer Country Club in the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. On Kyrie’s one –month birthday, we took this 3 ½ hour drive for a one-week vacation by the sea. Unfortunately, we were met with wet, cold and windy days. Despite this uncooperative weather, Clint enjoyed the fitness center, indoor heated pool, sauna and steam bath. I went to the gym four times!

Cromer Country Club

On the fifth day, the sun was shining, and we happily brought mother and son to town, to the beautiful stone cathedral and the famous Cromer Pier, the Gem of the Norfolk Coast and Winner of the Pier of the Year 2015 award.  I will just let the pictures do the talking. It was the prettiest beach town and pier we have seen in our travels around the United Kingdom. In fact, we went twice! I hope Kyrie gets to visit it again one day when he can appreciate its beauty.

Cromer from the Pier

On the sixth day, the sun was again shining! This time, we took Kyrie around Cromer Country Club and discovered a hill beyond the country club. Atop the hill were the helipad, the lighthouse, the lighthouse keepers’ cottage, and the best view of the whole town. With the peeking autumnal (somebody pointed out to me that it isn’t called fall in England, but autumn) colors, everything was picture perfect, including our villa (Villa 1), the garden, and the Virginia creepers.  

Virginia creepers

What a great 25 days I had as a Nanny in London. If you noticed, I did not forget the traveler in me! But I will surely miss my Kyrie. It’s a good thing I will be traipsing around seven countries in Europe with my BFFs and then return to a 2-week Mexican vacation with Bill! Perhaps my longing for Kyrie will be somewhat eased until I meet him again as a Nanny in Melbourne!

view of Cromer from atop the hill

Our Lifestyle Adventures: Rating the Best Picture Oscar Nominees

In the past three years, Bill and I watch the Best Picture Oscar Nominees through an Oscar Movie Marathon in two days. There are only eight pictures nominated this year so theater chains devised a 24-hour marathon scheduled for February 14, of all days! There are also two-day marathons, 4 pictures each scheduled for February 21 and 22. We had already seen two of the nominated movies, so there was no value to the marathon discount for us.

We watched each of them individually at the theaters except for Boyhood which had already a Redbox release. We used a different kind of rating system, too. Bill and I rated each one separately and combined our scores on a 50-50 basis. We finished the last movie on Sunday, February 8, two weeks before the Oscar Awards Night we have our fearless forecast. If you are still deciding which ones to spend your movie bucks on, outlines below is the rating that we came up with.

We used the following criteria, weighted according to what we thought was more or less important: Screenplay (30%), Direction (20%), Acting (20%), Cinematography (10%), Editing (10%), and Production (10%). The obvious bias we have is for an excellent story delivered through a well-thought out script. But we know that expert direction, superb acting, scintillating scenes, thorough editing, and a detailed production are part of the right formula. Hopefully, these more detailed ratings will help you decide which ones to see, depending on your biases, especially if you do not have the time to see all of them:

	Screenplay	Direction	Acting	Cinematography	Editing	Production	TOTAL	RANK
Grand Budapest Hotel	7.5	10	10	10	7.5	6.5	51.5	6
Theory of Everything	20.5	18.5	17	7.5	7	6.5	77	2
Imitation Game	23	17.5	18	8	8	7.5	82	1
American Sniper	20	16	15	8	7	7	73	4
Birdman	17	14.5	17	8.5	7.5	7	71.5	5
Boyhood	11	12	12.5	5	4	5	49.5	7
Whiplash	21	16	16	7.5	7	6.5	74	3
Selma	10	7.5	10	6	4.5	4.5	42.5	8

Even if our predictions do not come anywhere close to the Academy picks, the exercise this year helped us learn more about how to evaluate the merits or demerits of a movie. We thought five of the Oscar nominees deserve the kudos but wondered why the other three were included. We hope we have helped one or two of you decide which movie(s) to spend your money or time on. More than that, we hope it helped introduce the value of viewing movies more critically. For us it gives another dimension of fun to the hobby and to watching the Oscars, apart from the gowns. 

Top 10 Reasons for Quality of Life in Scandinavia

Nobel Museum in Stockholm

Scandinavian trolls...in Norway

Bill and I got a taste of life in Scandinavia for almost a month in May and June this year. It is comprised of Norway, Denmark and Sweden and can also include Iceland and Finland. In previous blog posts, I cited the interesting sights of each country. This post is about what I found common, shared, and loved in the region. First are the folkloric trolls, supernatural beings in Norse mythology, which we found everywhere. Second, I went gaga over the rows and tows of tulips in all colors, as well as wild lupines of Iceland that covered the geologic island masterpiece. What a fascinating place!

lovely tulips abound in Scandinavia

At a lecture of the Enrichment Voyage we attended, the professor flashed two comparative lists of country indicators, quality of life, democracy, gender gap, happiness and over all human development, leaving the headings blank. When asked where we would choose to live, majority of us (Americans) raised our hands for the country on the left, only to find out that was Norway! The other, sadly, was the US. It would have been quite revealing had a third country been included, the Philippines!

That the Euro is stronger than the US dollar should have already been a hint to us. And so number three is that, year after year, Scandinavia has continually scored the highest marks in all categories, garnering the top 4 or 5 usually. No wonder the Nobel awards are given by Oslo and Stockholm, two cities who best know how to live well. We had visited both centers.

offshore wind turbines in Copenhagen

light and heavy flushes

Fourth, the region’s success is due in part to its wealth in natural resources. Oil, forest and aquatic resources abound. Wood is used extensively and seafood is a hallmark of Scandinavian cuisine. Wind turbines are quite a sight to see off the coasts of Copenhagen, and the North Sea abounds with oil rigs.  Fifth, efficiency in energy use is a primordial principle. Commodes have two flushes, one for light, another heavy. Bicycles are as common as small (and dreamy like my Mini Cooper!!!) compact cars. And public transport systems are excellent and enviable. We always had a choice of trams, buses, trains, or subway systems to go from one place to another. Thus Scandinavia’s carbon footprint is lower than the US.

third largest restored Viking ship is in Norway

street sign in Helsinki

Sixth, Its success can also be attributed to homogeneity. The vast majority of Scandinavians are descended from Germanic tribes in what is now northern Germany, who spoke a Germanic language that evolved into Old Norse. The Vikings sprang from Norse culture and their influence is seen heavily throughout the region. In fact, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish are related languages, considered mutually intelligible with one another, although Danish is considered much closer to Norwegian. Finnish is entirely unrelated to the Scandinavian languages, yet Swedish is required as a language in Finnish schools. All street signs in Finland have their counterparts in Swedish. And everyone we met spoke English in Sweden; it is required at all school levels.

color in Helsinki International Airport

HTL check-in

Seventh, I was even more impressed that Scandinavian products are imbued with excellence in design and innovation. Arabia, not at all pertaining to the Middle East, is a design district in Helsinki, the Design Capital of the World, where elegant products are tops in both form and function. Almost everyone that is starting a home in America must have come across IKEA, a Swedish icon in home furnishings. Soon that may also be true of HTL. It is the hotel we stayed in Sweden where the nonsense is taken out of hotels. There are no closets, just cute hangers everywhere, self check-in and and other innovations. Whether it is fences and roofs of old, modern minimalist furniture, exquisite tableware, or even airports that come alive with color, I was very impressed with everything Scandinavian.

my favorite shrimp open-faced sandwich
and Bill's salmon sandwich in Oslo

hamburger place in Iceland

Eighth, for people who care that the table is graced with well-designed tableware, it is no wonder that Scandinavian cuisine, built around seafood as already mentioned above, is also excellent. The shrimp open-faced sandwich I had at a Norwegian café was unforgettably so good! So were the many versions of salmon Bill ordered. Swedish meatballs and German sausages are now mainstays of kitchens around the world.  However food there is very expensive. As a result, McDonalds outlets have long lines and many other examples of American fast food are to be found everywhere. But not as common as Middle Eastern pizzas! Yes, they are having a wave of immigration from those countries/

a beach sauna in Helsinki

the Blue Lagoon in Reykjavik

Ninth, the climate was not as cold as I thought it would be, despite being in the high latitudes and many northern places even touching the Arctic Circle. Summers go as high as low 70s Fahrenheit while winters are mild in coastal regions (20-30s) due to the warming effect of the Gulf Stream. In Helsinki and Stockholm beaches are dotted with small sauna cottages that are separated from the main homes. A common practice is to have a sauna, plunge into the cold water, then return to the saunas again! In Iceland, the Blue Lagoon is the prime hot medicinal bath and tourist attraction. But Open Air Museums are top attractions in each of the major cities even though they are unusable for almost half of the year.

Amalienborg in Copenhagen

Oresund Bridge

Tenth, architecture and engineering are fascinating in the region. Except for Iceland, each country has great medieval castles, just like every country in the rest of Europe. The big engineering feat is, of course, the spectacular 5-mile Oresund Bridge which we saw from the deck of MV Explorer. It connects Stockholm to an artificial island after which a 2.5–mile tunnel connects it to Copenhagen, the largest combined road and rail bridge in Europe. It also seems there is a silent competition to have the most prominent, most awe-inspiring Opera House among Scandinavian countries. 

Reykjavik Opera House

Congratulations are certainly in order to all Scandinavians for a great example of good life! But I still would not live there! The United States is friendlier to tropical me!