Travel Tips

I am an avid cyclist, mostly for exercise. At my age, and with an office job, I need to keep in shape and keep my weight down. In peak season (summer) I manage to stradle some 200-250km (120-150mi) per week, main roads mostly: 2 short trips of 50km and one long (weekend) trip of 100-150km. Once I find the time, I'll start making pages with pictures and tips from my trips around Molde...unless I keep forgetting to bring my camera...

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter...And Spring is my favourite movie, a powerful moving account of a life story...but I wish I had more insight into Buddhism to really appreciate it. I 'm drawn to Art House Movies, the ones you'd see at Film Festivals, not at the Box Office Top Ten list (Ok, occasionally I'll watch those too). I like to watch Asian, particularly Chinese, Korean or Japanese movies, even though I don't speak or understand a single word. Don't ask me why. I think there's a depth in these movies that I can't find anywhere else. Or maybe, since I don't understand the language, I really have to ponder the scene, trying to sense all subtle messages, not just absorb it. The same penchant I have for Chinese novels, especially semi-biographical ones, set in the tumultuous 19th and 20th century, really thick books, like "Wild Swans" or such. Good thrillers are always welcome. I read the DaVinciCode in one long stretch...I simply couldn't put it down. Religious themes fascinate me. On the lighter side, Tintin, Calvin and Hobbes, Donald Duck and the Norwegian Pondus are my favorites, along with The Simpsons and Garfield.
My first introduction to Tintin was when I was about 8, I couldn' read a single word of french, but I loved looking at the pictures. I still do, and my french has improved since then, not much though. Give me a book with maps or a historical journey, and you won't see me for the next couple of days...

I like eating good food, hence the weight issue. Asian is just one of the favorites, hot and spicy or mild and sumptuous, if it's good, it's good. You'll notice that my penchant for Indonesian, Chinese, Korean and Japanese is very well reflected in my restaurant tips. Homemade Chinese stir fry and Chap Chai ranks top on my list together with Indonesian Curry Ayam, besides Singapore Laksa and Hainan Chicken. Nevertheless, there's so much else out there that I haven't even tried nor heard about. Though often eager to try new foods, there are things I simply cannot stand, like shiitake mushroom. Too bad, because it's very much used in Japanese and Chinese cooking. Other things are more of an acquired taste, say, durian juice or chendol, so is tofu, albeit I do enjoy it fried.

Growing up in 2 worlds, Germany and Norway, I'm grateful for listening all kinds of music, and there are very few musical genres I cannot appreciate. My taste ranges from classics to contemporary jazz. But most of all, I grew up in the 70s and 80s, when people still had to be able to sing and to play instruments to make a record, and where looks and marketing value mattered less. I'm weak for big orchestral arrangements, blending powerful strings and percussion into an ear delight, such as ELO/Jeff Lynne, Chicago/Peter Cetera, Mike Batt, to mention a select few, Not that I don't like today's music, or aything else than the three menitioned, I do, but going into a full list will definitely exceed my 4096 character limit.
I once had a fairly huge collection of good old vinyl, which I had to get rid of in one of my many moves across the country, but thanks to filesharing, iTunes and such I have been able to recapture most of my favorites.
Despite the language barrier, I like listening to Mandarin songs, and for a reason unknown to me I really like the Mandarin version of Lemon Tree, by Tarcy Su. I never liked the English (European) version, though. Or her Cantonese version, for that matter.
Other favorites include Anggun (Indonesia), Umberto Tozzi and Eros Ramazzotti (Italy), BAP (Germany)...again, to mention but a select few.

So much more: The list of likes and dislikes could be made endless, and the reason for why I'm sharing this little bit of myself with you is very simple: VT is not a dating site, but if you want to find good tips, you're more likely to find them with someone who shares your interests and likes the same things as you do. And in any case, wouldn't you want to know a little bit about the person who is actually writing these pages?

Many people have asked me why I put up so many personal thoughts and photos on VT. The reason is very simple indeed. I have met VTers for real, not just for virtual, and I realised that the only way to get anywhere is to be yourself as much as possible.

My nickname "Knerten" is a fictional character invented by the Norwegian writer Anne-Cath. Vestly, taken from one of her children's book series "Lillebror og Knerten" (Lillebror and Knerten). Originally written in the 60s, the book has since become a classic, becauses the book touches many societal and educational issues of its time, issues still in place today.

I grew up in a small town in Germany, Schmidt in der Eifel, to be precise, which I haven't seen for some 20 years, my goodness how time flies by, and I had some hopes on finding it on VT. It's there, but nobody has written anything about it or taken any photos of it. What a shame! Alright, it's somewhat off the beaten path, but considering that many VTers have visited some surrounding towns, I'm sure they've been there too. Anyway, I guess it's up to me then to make my ex-hometown aka childhood cradle known to the VT world. So I will have to start planning a journey there. 2006 maybe?