dew drop from my mini grass patch

taken April 2009, from my mini grass patch that i had scavenged from the early spring time in Soumelinna.

but this time around, its a change in my address

25 years, and close to 20 changes in my address, some within a city, some to new cities, and some to new countries.

now i demand change for i am used to this, and without this change the monotonous life seems even more monotonous and ordered.

but for the last few times, the change is not surprising, for its only me who is been changing places, while my family sits in the same place. and i am aware of the impending change coming, because i decide on it.

i miss the feeling of not being able to grieve for what i will miss and for what i am missing. i miss the feeling of knowing about the change only in the last minute and going to a new place without any idea about what to expect. i partially miss the nervousness about meeting new friends and people that i meet in the new places, for now i am in place where social contact is reserved by right

rugged peaks, gorges, lakes and valleys. marooned islands, turquoise blue beaches and white sands. as the sun comes down.

walking on a trail, alone surrounded by the space around and nothing else, nature echoing and answering the questions, throwing trails and tribulation onto the paths to strengthen and steady the wavering mind.

free as in freedom

happiness is only real, when shared.

A broken vessel, an empty shell, what is a man without mind, without memory? A ghost? A body in search of a soul?

With no compass to guide us, how can we know if our destiny is to seek the good, or obey the demons that whisper in our ears?

The blank slate hungers to be written upon. The body thrives when the heart has a mission. – Heroes

zipping them together and sealing all the open ends. entering the first gas chamber, as the temperature takes a dip.

through the shaft, i move down to the lower layers to near the door to the second gas chamber.

clicking and a push, the winds rushes through and i move into the second chamber. this time the temperature plummets. the varied shapes of the inhabitants start to size me up and move closer, as the space closes in.

the breathing becoming more measured and frenzied at the same time, as lips dry up and the face starts to feel the stinging probes of the inhabitants, as they ready for the assault.

in a flash, my hands and palm open up to expose the skin, the inhabitants seize the moment and draw first blood.

So this time the haunts for Christmas for me are : Amsterdam, France and Barcelona.

one fine night after a 10 mins discussion, me and karthick decided Amsterdam. it was the cheapest flight out of Finland that was in the heart of Europe. next day ramanan joins in before noon, and by afternoon kiran and balaji became the able accomplices for this trip. the trip is all about reaching Amsterdam, rent a car have dinner there and then cross through Belgium, Luxembourg, with halts in France heading towards Barcelona.

with only one night of booking for accommodation, i plan to have highway stops as the bed for the remaining days. good food, excellent wine and vineyards, and followed by more food and a pass on the highest bridge on the world. all part of the trip.

i tweeted one photo on day 1 and was suprised at it getting a mention, because it was not the best (according to me)  of photos that i sent. but still.

2 nd edyta, tweeted the mentioned photo. while those i tweeted didnt find a place.

you can find the photos at :

day 1 : landscape

day 2: vehicle

day 3, there was no mention.

The most creative words I know are ” I don’t know” .

If you know, then there is no yearning and no art. Because knowing is finite and false. Not knowing and yearning is infinite and the truth.

Yearning is Art.

out of the planned route, i had to skip the north western fjords and north eastern Iceland because of the road conditions from the snow.

spring, snow, rain, wind, gail storms and warm water. i had a taste of nearly all the weather expect summer in the trip . with the landscape providing an add on variety along with the weather. i am still digesting the varied experiences from the trip. as expected i ended up with close to 15GB of photos of all that i saw and along with edyta’s help we (mostly her alone) took close to 40GB of HD video, and i might put up a short video clip also.

one of the days i took only 20 odd as we where stuck in gail winds from an approaching storm. and during that drive i was weaving the car left and right, putting on a fight with the winds that were pushing the car around. exhilarating!! guess one word that can describe that experience.

i have uploaded the photos from the first 3 days in picasa, and you can see them here :

Iceland day 1 photos

Iceland day 2 photos

Iceland day 3 photos

Iceland day 3 photos

i spent 2 cold nights trying to see the Northern lights and both the attempts were successful, albeit only the toned down and weak ones though. guess it was because the winter had not set in and it was near the full moon day. the second time i saw them, it was bright but the wind did not allow for any steady photos.

more posts about the trip will come as time passes on, and i am sure there will be one about the kindness to/from strangers .

its sunny and cloudy, the sun aligned in an angle that the clouds have a depth to them. The is basically back lighting the clouds, the corners brighter and the middle dark and gloomy. And to compliment this, its the autumn colors in full glory.

so its the blue, white, gray, yellow, orange with shades of red. all next to a river that flows through and cold winds sweep across.

in 5 days time, i will have landed in Iceland. i have gotten a minimum 3000 km route at this moment, all subject to change based on the daily weather conditions.
enough places listed in the map to see, photograph and be part of

and as a starter i am putting the points listed in the Iceland map that i plan to go through.

iceland map points

and on a side note, i have added a canon speedlite 580EX II and wireless transceiver to my camera kit. what results and inquisitiveness in me, it produces are to be seen.