The D&O Diary’s Asian assignment continued last week with a stop in Seoul, South Korea’s capital city. This was my first visit to Seoul. Turns out, Seoul is a big, amazing city. It is larger than either New York or London and full of interesting and unexpected things.
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Tokyo
The D&O Diary is on assignment in Asia this week, with the first stop for meetings in Tokyo, Japan’s capital city. Tokyo is such an amazing place. With a population of 13.8 million in the city itself and a total of 37.8 million in the Tokyo prefecture, it is by some measures the most populous city in the world. It is also a fascinating place. It is such a study in contrast, between the traditional and the modern, and between incredible organization and the disorder of its massive crowds.
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Bulletin from Boston
The D&O Diary was on assignment in Boston last week, to attend and participate in the PLUS Boston Chapter event and to participate in some other meetings as well – including a memorable event at Fenway Park (pictured left). I was fortunate to enjoy some beautiful weather while I was in Beantown. I realized shortly after my arrival that it has been a while since I have been to Boston. It is remarkable what has happened to the city in the interim – it really has been transformed.
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Late Summer in Zurich
The D&O Diary’s European mission concluded this week with a final stop in Zurich, for meetings and an educational session. I already knew from prior visits that Zurich is a beautiful and charming city nestled in a spectacular setting at the northern end of Lake Zurich, surrounded by mountains, with a spectacular view of the Alps to the south. What I learned on this trip is that as reliably beautiful as Zurich is at any time, it is particularly stunning in late summer.
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A Visit to Warsaw
The D&O Diary’s European assignment continued last week with a stop for meetings in Warsaw, Poland, a city that absolutely confounded expectations. As befits a national capital of a country with a growing economy, Warsaw (in Polish, var-SHAW-vah) is a dynamic, energetic city, and full of history and interesting architecture. It also a surprisingly green city, with a huge, beautiful river, and vast parklands.
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A Berlin Diary
The D&O Diary is on assignment in Europe this week, with the first stop in Berlin, for a series of business meetings. My schedule while in Berlin was full, but I did have some time both days during my two-day visit to the city for a look around.
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Tallinn, Estonia
The D&O Diary completed its European assignment with a final stop late last week in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital city. With a population of around 440,000, Tallinn is relatively compact. In fact, the population of the entire country of Estonia (with a total land area roughly equal to that of the states of Vermont and New Hampshire, combined) is only about 1.2 million, making it one of the smaller countries in the EU. Though Tallinn is relatively small, it is full of charm and history.
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Finlandia
The D&O Diary’s current European assignment continued this past weekend with a visit to Finland’s capital city, Helsinki. With a urban area population of about 1.4 million, Helsinki is a little larger than Oslo, and at about 61 degrees northern latitude, it is a bit further north as well – which means that the sun sets even later this time of year in Helsinki than in Oslo. Also, Helsinki was a bit cooler than Oslo, as much as ten to fifteen degrees cooler each day.
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May in Norway
The D&O Diary is on assignment in Europe this week, with a first stop in Oslo, Norway’s capital city, located at the northern end of Oslofjord (as shown in the accompanying picture). Oslo is a city in transformation; its urban area population has grown by over one-third since 2000, to over 1 million. At times during our visit, the city seems like a gigantic construction site. Its location at about 60 degrees northern latitude means that in late May, the sun rises just after 4 am, and the sun doesn’t set until nearly 10:30. The evening twilight lingered until well after midnight.
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London Update
The D&O Diary finished up its European stint with a brief stop in London earlier this week before heading home. Because it was only a brief visit with numerous commitments, I had only a little bit of a chance to look around while in London. Just the same, it was still a pleasure to be there. London is such a great place.
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