I'm a Minnesotan by birth. As a result, snow and cold weather play an important part in making the year end holidays seems...official. For the past two years, my family have migrated back to the midwest to spend the holidays with my parents. Last year we were sorely disappointed to find that Iowa had no snow or cold weather. My parents had moved to Coralville, Iowa to be closer to one of my sisters, and to be in a "warmer" environment. I guess when you're moving south from Minneapolis, Coralville, Iowa could qualify as a warmer climate.

Coralville is next to Iowa City, home of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Our trip started off with little snow. All this changed during the two hours spent indoors watching the Iowa Hawkeye women's basketball team play Western Illinois. It was fun to watch a midwestern basketball game...even more fun to come out and realize we were in the middle of a blizzard!! The winter holidays were about to get a right and proper kickstart. I was all of a sudden very happy to have brought our snow bibs!!! A quick visit to a local thrift store outfitted the kids in sorrels. I borrowed some Korean war era "bunny" boots and was ready for some good healthy snow play.

My parents live near the Brown Deer golf course which has some stellar sledding hills.



We woke up in the morning to discover that Iowa City/Coralville had been blanketed in a good 6 inches of snow.

Time to teach the kids how to shovel snow!! It had been years since I "did the walk" for my parents, and being out in the brisk winter weather shoveling snow felt refreshing. Believe it or not, shoveling snow was never something that I loathed. After getting the driveway clear, we bundled up, grabbed our sleds and headed for the hills.

The Wind had blown some of the snow into a nice icy glaze which made sledding nice and fast. Everyone, including my 72 year old Father got into the action. We spent a could couple of hours sledding the first day, and every day thereafter. When you have to drive 3-4 hours to get to snow, having it every day is a novelty.



A great time was had by all, and then it was time to walk home.



We did have one mishap during our sledding fun. There's a river/creek a short ways off the bottom of one of the better hills. My youngest got in luge position, laid down in his little red sled and flew down the hill...straight into the river. I had visions of George Bailey running across the ice to pull his brother out after falling through the ice as I charged down the hill to rescue my son. He was hanging onto the ice and only had, "Daddy, I got wet!" to say. With the kind help of a generous person in the pro shop, we got our son home and into a hot bath in no time. All's well that ends well and it didn't damper his enthusiasm for snow sports. Now they want to head up to Tahoe to learn how to snow board!!! Sounds good go me!! After years of trying to get them out into some sort of snow sport the Iowa winter fun finally succeeded!!!

In my humble opinion, and in the opinion of my sushi loving boss, the best sushi in Copenhagen would have to be the delicacies served up at Selfish. Selfish is primarily a take-out operation, but there is enough space for 6 people...4 at the counter, and two at the window sill. We got the window seats!!

We were tired from the trip and decided the last night would be best spent devouring sushi at Selfish. We call on the Master every time we're in Copenhagen. The food, as expected, was wonderful.

We had a few cups of some very good sake, and a cup of green tea to round it out. All in all, the perfect way to wrap up a successful business trip. When you're in Copenhagen make sure to visit Selfish!!! You do have to call in advance, as there is very little room.

I was 39 when my grandfather died. He lived a life of hard work and taught everyone who knew him the importance of integrity. He left me his wool top coat, which I have had opportunity to wear on my jaunts back to the cold country.

I'm a Minnesotan by birth. Minnesota is a land of harsh extremes; bitter cold in the winter, stifling humidity in the summer. My grandfather's top coat would suit me well were I still living in the North. I'm now a transplant...one of many, who have migrated to California. I still miss the seasons of Minnesota. Believe it or, it's actually possible to enjoy the cold. We used to skate all winter long. When we had a good snow we'd grab our sleds and head to a hill. Fun made the winter something to look forward to.

This week I'm in Northern Europe. I started the trip in Finland. I think this is my fourth or fifth visit. The first time I visited Finland I was struck by how similar it looked to Minnesota. It was February, so I was glad to have brought my grandfather's coat. The thick wool kept me warm and let me enjoy the surroundings without shivering. It's only November, but Finland is already colder than most people get to experience in their lifetime. It's dark until close to 9 a.m., and again at around 4 p.m. As I sit on the plane headed for Copenhagen it's already getting dark outside...it's 3:50 p.m.

I had meetings in Finland, but I did get the chance to go for a long run this morning. I brought some winter running gear and let the streets guide me. I ended up on a trail that skirted a lake near the city's edge. It felt great to just run along the water's edge. There were a few people out walking their dogs, but as far as I could tell, I was the only runner. My travels have worn me down, so I slept early last night. The run, though, was what really brought me back. The air tasted good and clean. It cleared my head and has left me feeling cleansed.

Tampere is littered with red brick buildings. I love the cityscape. The red brick makes me feel like I'm in a different age...one with less technology and technology related distractions. Nokia is based here. A few miles outside of Tampere is the city of Nokia where it all began. Now Nokia employs about 1.5% of the total population, but accounts for a sizeable chunk of the country's wealth generation. Every time I'm at the airport I run into people that are technology focused. It's interesting how a technology hub can still make me feel relaxed and removed from it all.

I didn't get the chance to wander around the city much, as I was only here for little over 48 hours. I'll be back. On one of my next visits I'll have to hit a sauna. I may be back in February. That could be my chance. I'll bring my grandfather's top coat. It will remind me of him and keep me warm. It will help me channel good thoughts. It will make me feel at home thousands of miles away from home in an environment very different from the one in which I now live. I wonder if I have anything that will remind my own kids or grandkids of me when I am gone. I wonder if they will think of me as someone who worked hard and taught them important lessons about life, like integrity. I hope that I will carry on his legacy and give my descendants something to keep them warm when they are far away and removed from the immediate proximity of their loved ones. Maybe I'll even get to pass on my grandfather's top coat.

Monday being Veteran's Day, my kids had time off from school. We decided to go to Castle Rock, in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It's a short drive from where we live, but one you're up there you feel like you're miles away from Silicon Valley. Getting a signal with the GPS unit was a bit tricky in the mountains, but I got lots of shots of my kids scrambling on some fairly substantial boulders. My youngest crawled into a cave and got his leg firmly lodged in between two rocks. It was a bit like getting a sofa stuck in the stair well when you're trying to move. It get's stuck, but you have no idea how. I had to crawl in through the back of the cave entrance and then spend about 5 minutes figuring out how to reposition his leg to get it out of the jam. The poor kid was in tears and I was close to calling the fire department, but we got him un-jammed. No one fell off any big rocks, and the scrapes we walked away with were about what you would expect from a day of scrambling. All in all, a day well spe n t .

Halloween started early with the mailman bringing some treats. Unboxed, software loaded into the PC, and batteries charged I was ready to do some photo trick or treating with the kids. Some of my experiements were...less than perfect, but we had fun anyway. Got the GPS tracking working so I can map some upcoming trail runs and international excursions.

Here are some of the Halloween shots!!