Odesa, 21 November. 12 hours of air alert. A normal day for all my brave Ukrainian colleagues. I was happy to accompany our partner to the Black Sea. Black, BTW, in Old Slavic languages, means South. And White - North. Hence, Belarus - White Rus - North of the traditional Rus, centred around Kyiv.
November 23, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Odesa, 21 November. 12 hours of air alert. A normal day for all my brave Ukrainian colleagues. I was happy to accompany our partner to the Black Sea. Black, BTW, in Old Slavic languages, means South. And White - North. Hence, Belarus - White Rus - North of the traditional Rus, centred around Kyiv.
The Ukrainian spirit is unbreakable. After 8 hours of constant Shaheed attacks and air alarm, people actually go to the beach for a swim… Слава Україні! 🇺🇦
November 21, 2025 at 5:38 PM
The Ukrainian spirit is unbreakable. After 8 hours of constant Shaheed attacks and air alarm, people actually go to the beach for a swim… Слава Україні! 🇺🇦
Today I attended a magical ballet performance - Bohdan Pavlovsky’s Білосніжка і семеро гномів (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) - at the Odesa Opera and Ballet Theatre. 30 dancers and an orchestra of 45. Pure magic!
November 20, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Today I attended a magical ballet performance - Bohdan Pavlovsky’s Білосніжка і семеро гномів (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) - at the Odesa Opera and Ballet Theatre. 30 dancers and an orchestra of 45. Pure magic!
The view from my Odesa hotel. Allegedly (only anecdotal info) many properties in this area are owned by Russians. Hence, no air attacks in this area… right now, I hope I didn’t jinx it, and that we will have a calm night. But if they can pinpoint the Russian properties, I would not complain!
November 19, 2025 at 6:50 PM
The view from my Odesa hotel. Allegedly (only anecdotal info) many properties in this area are owned by Russians. Hence, no air attacks in this area… right now, I hope I didn’t jinx it, and that we will have a calm night. But if they can pinpoint the Russian properties, I would not complain!
Guests from Ukraine and Germany. Plans for wine tasting this evening - a gift for our wedding in June. Son just hospitalised. Change of plans, and lots of worry…
November 1, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Guests from Ukraine and Germany. Plans for wine tasting this evening - a gift for our wedding in June. Son just hospitalised. Change of plans, and lots of worry…
Favoritcitat från Dmitrij Gluchovskij (tyvärr på tyska, då jag inte har Ola Wallins fantastiska översättning tiklgänglig): Je stränger das Regime, desto geringer der Preis.
October 11, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Favoritcitat från Dmitrij Gluchovskij (tyvärr på tyska, då jag inte har Ola Wallins fantastiska översättning tiklgänglig): Je stränger das Regime, desto geringer der Preis.
🇺🇦 Today, 1 October, Ukraine honours the Day of the Defenders of Ukraine and the holiday of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin. ⠀ We can pray for the brave Ukrainian defenders and also provide them with the means to defend their country!
Слава Україні! Разом, до перемоги!
October 1, 2025 at 10:40 AM
🇺🇦 Today, 1 October, Ukraine honours the Day of the Defenders of Ukraine and the holiday of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin. ⠀ We can pray for the brave Ukrainian defenders and also provide them with the means to defend their country!
My father’s wall clock has been standing for years. It worked for a short time after he passed away in 2011, but then has been standing. Recently, my mother realised, it stopped at the hour he passed away. Not moving since. I missed his passing by 15 minutes… You can see the time on the clock…
September 16, 2025 at 7:39 PM
My father’s wall clock has been standing for years. It worked for a short time after he passed away in 2011, but then has been standing. Recently, my mother realised, it stopped at the hour he passed away. Not moving since. I missed his passing by 15 minutes… You can see the time on the clock…
Happy Independence Day to the brave Ukrainian nation and to all who stand with it. May your independence be eternal and may your nation prosper and grow!
August 24, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Happy Independence Day to the brave Ukrainian nation and to all who stand with it. May your independence be eternal and may your nation prosper and grow!
To all my brave Ukrainian friends (and everyone else working with and for the Ukrainian people) - Happy Flag Day! Proud that Sweden shares its colours with this brave nation!
August 23, 2025 at 3:40 PM
To all my brave Ukrainian friends (and everyone else working with and for the Ukrainian people) - Happy Flag Day! Proud that Sweden shares its colours with this brave nation!
Little T (with Romanian as his first language) suddenly looks at me and says (in Swedish): ”Papa - your Romanian is very good now”. Yes, T, you will get an extra icecream! 😍
August 21, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Little T (with Romanian as his first language) suddenly looks at me and says (in Swedish): ”Papa - your Romanian is very good now”. Yes, T, you will get an extra icecream! 😍
So, 2,500 km later - Chișinău - Uman’ - Poltava - Kharkiv - Poltava - Kyiv - Zhytomyr - Vinnytsia - Chișinău, I am finally back home. A balmy 30 degrees, not like what I experienced on the M21 between Zhytomyr and Vinnytsia. Home, sweet home. And the hugs of a six-year old waiting for me!
August 7, 2025 at 1:58 PM
So, 2,500 km later - Chișinău - Uman’ - Poltava - Kharkiv - Poltava - Kyiv - Zhytomyr - Vinnytsia - Chișinău, I am finally back home. A balmy 30 degrees, not like what I experienced on the M21 between Zhytomyr and Vinnytsia. Home, sweet home. And the hugs of a six-year old waiting for me!
I’ve had my driver’s licence for 42 years. I’ve driven in all conditions - and I am grateful to my father, an Army driver during WWII, having grown up in Northern Sweden, for teaching me how to drive on snow and ice. But today, in Ukraine, was one of my most challenging experiences ever. This:
August 6, 2025 at 6:33 PM
I’ve had my driver’s licence for 42 years. I’ve driven in all conditions - and I am grateful to my father, an Army driver during WWII, having grown up in Northern Sweden, for teaching me how to drive on snow and ice. But today, in Ukraine, was one of my most challenging experiences ever. This:
Fin artikel om en av mina favoritförfattare. Tycker dock att de kunde nämnt Ersatz och Ola Wallin och deras gärning för att översätta från ukrainskan. Och de strålande översättarna Sofia Uggla och David Szybek som gör så mycket för att vi ska kunna tillgodogöra oss ukrainsk litteratur!
Fin artikel om en av mina favoritförfattare. Tycker dock att de kunde nämnt Ersatz och Ola Wallin och deras gärning för att översätta från ukrainskan. Och de strålande översättarna Sofia Uggla och David Szybek som gör så mycket för att vi ska kunna tillgodogöra oss ukrainsk litteratur!
Back in Poltava after a 500 km day trip to our reconstruction programmes in Kharkivska. Always impressive to see how our local partners work hard, but above all how they meet the ”beneficiaries” at Augenhöhe, as we say in German. Our partners are local people, working with local people. This shows!
August 5, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Back in Poltava after a 500 km day trip to our reconstruction programmes in Kharkivska. Always impressive to see how our local partners work hard, but above all how they meet the ”beneficiaries” at Augenhöhe, as we say in German. Our partners are local people, working with local people. This shows!
This is the furthest East I’ve been in Ukraine since Sieverodonetsk in 2018. And tomorrow, the trip continues. Greetings from Poltava to everyone! Слава Україні!
August 4, 2025 at 4:49 PM
This is the furthest East I’ve been in Ukraine since Sieverodonetsk in 2018. And tomorrow, the trip continues. Greetings from Poltava to everyone! Слава Україні!
So… our meeting in Lviv partly took place in shelter. A MiG-31K took off, triggering air alarm in all of Ukraine. This is daily life in Ukraine - us visitors only experience it every now and then. We are praying for a calm night in Western UA - the East is already under attack from Putler’s forces.
July 24, 2025 at 8:04 PM
So… our meeting in Lviv partly took place in shelter. A MiG-31K took off, triggering air alarm in all of Ukraine. This is daily life in Ukraine - us visitors only experience it every now and then. We are praying for a calm night in Western UA - the East is already under attack from Putler’s forces.