Çay içer misin? Drinks that carry culture in Istanbul, 2013

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On the Bosphorus ferry carrying you from Europe to Asia, tea, coffee and orange juice
are offered as refreshments amongst hundreds of passengers.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2013

Whether seated on the ferry along the Bosphorus, in a narrow cobblestone paved side passage coffee stall or just standing in a street corner with a cup in hand, the drinking of hot beverages makes up part of the vibrant daily fabric and colourful streetfood lifestyle of old Istanbul.

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Istanbul’s street foods and the Karaköy fish market

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Cheryl Marie Cordeiro, Karaköy, Istanbul.

One of the more refreshing of drinks available in the city of Istanbul, is freshly squeezed orange juice you can easily find along the streets.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2013

The days in Istanbul found me drawn to the various available street foods the city had to offer, despite being warned by some local friends to not eat street food:

“And what is that? Roasted chestnuts?” I asked in enthusiasm.
“Yes. But that – you do not want to eat that.”
“And how about those breads? They look good.”
“That – is something you can buy also in the cafés. Go there instead. Not the street vendors. They are completely not healthy!”

Still, when alone, I couldn’t help but exchange coin for bread or coin for boiled corn whilst roaming the cobbled streets of this historically rich city.
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Jenga off Taksim Square, Istanbul

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Cheryl Marie Cordeiro at Uçanev, İstiklal Cad

Round of Jenga with Ozi.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2013

İstiklal Cad is a lively street located in one of the most modern areas of Istanbul. This evening, it was a matter of whether it was crowded, or very crowded. Weekends are almost impossible to navigate with so many people wanting to take in the sights and sounds of one of the city’s most elegant walkways, filled with shops, cafés, bars and clubs from old to new.

I found myself in the company of a group of engineering students from the ERASMUS program of Istanbul University. Being an international group, we communicated across languages with some hand gestures. They navigated the crowded street in determined steps, as easy as fish in water that knew the streams of movement well. I had no clue where I was headed, except that it was according to them, a popular university student hang-out with cheap food, cheap beer and good music, all elements tailored for their purposes. I tried to keep up with the stream best I could.

“Do you play?”

“Play? Play what?” I shot back.

But there was no time for answer because I was immediately thereafter swept into a narrow blue wooden door that looked in desperate need of repair, up a winding staircase to land first at the third floor of this narrow shophouse, then back to the second floor where more students seemed to have nestled themselves.
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Seven flowers from seven fields – Midsummer’s Eve along the Swedish west coast 2013

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“Seven flowers from seven fields”.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2013

Even as I write this, I can hear the laughter and music coming from several neighbouring parties, the sounds of people chatting from near and far made possible only because the islands to the southern Swedish west coast archipelago allows no vehicles save bicycles, mopeds and electric golf carts.

Swedish Midsummer’s Eve celebrations run like clockwork, come rain or shine. This year’s rain was intermittent, giving just enough sunshine and time to the children to have their dance around the Midsummer pole.
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Antonio Gaudí: Casa Batlló and Casa Milà

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Barcelona is a city that can truly inspire and touch the soul of a visitor. Not in the least because of its education institutions, of which I especially was taken in by IESE, but rather by looking at what is silently said through its culture, art and architecture.

Antonio Gaudí is one of the many geniuses of Catalonian descent that have left their unforgettable imprint on the city. His art speaks loudly, but only to those who can listen with their eyes and peek into each wrought iron entanglement and crack of a mosaic, rearranged to a new meaning.

In this post, a walk-through of Casa Batlló and Casa Milà.

Casa Batlló

There’s a constant stream of people to visit these buidlings, so having some quiet time whilst walking around the conserved apartments is not quite possible. Still something fun to do and worth discovering.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2011-2013

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Straw hat weather in Sweden

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In weather that calls for a straw hat and a pareu,
by the dandelions, along the Swedish west coast.
Text © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2013

Summer and straw hat weather in Sweden arrived with express speed – if you blinked you missed the spring – and it is already time for outdoor activities such as a visit to the beach front, coupled with gardening and grass cutting.

One of my personal favourite sights in the garden is the slightly obnoxious and always seemingly happy dandelions. Considered weeds, however threatened they are to become one head shorter in the process of clipping and pruning, they continue to beam like small suns in the grass.
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