A new tree ring has passed in our lives

Before every new year you think you can foresee what should happen. Afterwards you will always be surprised! This year was no difference. How should we have known one year ago that Sheila should have returned to Gambia after 40 years, when the capital was not called Banjul, but Bathurst. And to come back to Kigali in Rwanda after only 2 years was neither planned nor foreseen. The Temperature and Sun were both favorable in Gambia and Rwanda, but as a sunny country none could beat Ulaan Baator in Mongolia with 365 days of sun in a year.  In November we could still enjoy a reasonable temperature between a few degrees during the day, and not too cold (-20) during the night. Spending summers in Trosa with fruits, berries, mushrooms and discoveries of every forest in the neighbourhood, we always enjoy skiing in the Idre mountains (Städjan/Nipfjället) during New Year´s and Easter weekends. With no snow in August we will also find cloudberries and blueberries around there.

Global travelling from 2008 to 2012

In addition to our visit to Ghana in February 2008, we managed to cover

• Ko Si Chang, Thailand in March 2008
• Santiago and Viña del Mar, Chile in September 2008
• Quebec, Canada in May 2009
• Barbados in October 2009
• Seychelles in Janauary and May 2010
• Mauritius in March 2010
• Manila/Olungapo-Barrio Barretto, Philippines in October 2010
• Uganda in February 2011
• London-Richmond in May 2011
• Barcelona, Spain in June 2011
• Beijing, China in October 2011
• Bali, Indonesia in May 2012
• Kigali, Rwanda in November 2012
• Kampala/Entebbe, Uganda in November 2012

West African reminder of a dark side of the Swedish history

Ghana in West Africa has the single largest collection of medieval forts and castles in the world built by the Europeans who traded initially in gold and later slaves in the gold coast. French, Portuguese, Danes, Dutch, Germans, Swedes and British built approximately 80 trading forts and castles on the shores of Ghana between 1383 and 1870.

Christiansborg Castle in Accra, is unique among the castles and forts as it served as Government House during various periods in the 19th and 20th centuries and continues to play that role today. The building of the first lodge in the 17th century at Ursu or Osu is attributed to the Swedish African Company.



The Swedes, led by Krusenstjerna, built a permanent fort in 1653, and called it Carolusburg Castel after King Charles X of Sweden. In 1657, the Swedish headquarters at Carolusburg, Cape Coast was captured by the Danish Guinea Company.

Laura Busch and we in Petra October 2007

As a last effort before her hip operation, Sheila made several kilometers at the famous Petra in Jordan on her feet, on horses, and on a donkey.

Birthday party on the Caribbean shore in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

In addition to a work period in the capital San José, we spent a week-end at the Caribbean coast, near the boarder to Panama, in the little village Puerto Viejo.

Vienna in April, August and November 2007

Vienna will be on the top of host cities for my traveling 2007. Three visits to the same city the same year are not the usual pattern.

Sydney January 2007

As part of the "flying circus" created by ISO to develop an international guidance standard on Social Responsibility (ISO 26000), a Working Group consisting of nearly 400 participants from 75 countries were having its 4th meeting in Sydney, with Standards Australia as host.