Argh my winter travels this year are at the wrong time for everything — missing Red Dog Green Dog/Wod and Ai Weiwei in the UK, Bafnu in Hamburg, then Solarference again in the UK. On the other hand, family christmas and then Folk Marathon should compensate somewhat.
Just bought my one-way flight out of Iceland. In just under a month I say goodbye to this beautiful island for the near future. I shall be writing more soon about my experiences here, and what I’m getting up to next!
Added the dove and Ecuadorian fragrant wood to my Wood Is Good shrine back home in Iceland:
(The lego figures are of a scientist and pizza delivery person, representing wood science and delicious wood-fired pizza ovens, respectively)
Barely noticed the Turkey-wide power outages this morning as the building I’m staying in has a redundant power supply. Istanbul seems to be mostly back on line now.
“Cleaning staff” just knocked on my door and asked if I wanted any water. At 23:18. This hotel just gets weirder and weirder.
This is the view from our hotel in Istanbul. Apparently it’s also the site for the 2016 world satellite dish counting championships.
Valley near the Midas Monument, Central Anatolia, Turkey
Lesson learned this evening: If a waiter offers you food, and there’s the tiniest, slightest sliver of a chance it might be off menu, ask how much it’s going to cost up front.
Getting ready to leave Eskişehir @ Rixos Hotel. Thanks to everyone at ICWS and to all the wonderful people I met in Eskişehir for making this part of the trip such a great experience! Next stop: Istanbul.
Planet Külliye:
Saying goodbye to the main venue for #wwd 2015:
Some exposed cob+timber frame construction in Odunpazari, Eskişehir:
Spotted this prize magazine specimen in the hotel lobby:
Being around people who speak many languages is so inspiring. Must resist the temptation to learn Spanish and French immediately, refocus energy into getting good at German first…
Hey Stockholm @Arlanda, why do your airport customer surveys have a “What is your gender? (Do not ask the participant, just note down)” question with only “Male/Female” options? I know you want to break results down by background variables, but having your staff just make assumptions about people’s gender, without asking them, providing non-binary options, the option not to say, or even TELLING THEM IT’S BEING COLLECTED is straight-up rude. Not only that, but the results of the survey will reflect your staff’s biases, as you’re requiring them to make assumptions. Doing a better job is easy. Just explicitly ask people, providing Female/Male/Other/Prefer Not To Say options at the very least.
Successfully re-booked! A member of security staff asked to see my hurdy gurdy purely out of curiosity, which is a first for me. Usually they either don’t care or require a swab and search.
Currently stranded at Stockholm airport following a delayed flight causing me to miss the connection to Istanbul. Airport bureaucracy knows no bounds! Talked to 6 (all very friendly and helpful) different people at 4 different desks, accumulated several additional sheets of paper, called people in three different countries, and now I might be able to rebook a later flight (crosses fingers).
Very excited to announce that next week I’ll be travelling to Turkey to play hurdy #gurdy at World Wood Day 2015 in Eskişehir!
Really looking forward to visiting Turkey and meeting everyone else involved.