As one might expect from an island nation, water is the stuff of which nature and landscape is formed, but in Iceland it tends toward the extreme and dramatic. Massive glaciers blanket the mountain ranges of the inland center. Geothermal mudpots bubble and steaming geysers reach to the sky. Icebergs float in frigid lakes surroundedContinue reading “The silence of Iceland: Nature”
Author Archives: rkrontheroad
The silence of Iceland: City
Stenciled on a sidewalk in Reykjavik: “On the far side of the mountain the silence is more tangible” Infibjörg Haraldsdöttir: from Answer One would think, changing planes at the airport via Icelandic Airlines, on the way to or from European cities, that Iceland is a crowded place. But that’s just the airport. It’s a landContinue reading “The silence of Iceland: City”
Lotus of Ueno Park, Tokyo
The Zen of lotus leaves: graceful, reaching, curling, budding, nurturing, blossoming, caressing, open and welcoming, hiding, labyrinthine, blanketing. Sprawling Ueno Park erupts in an explosion of pastel pink during sakura season, the iconic cherry trees in bloom. People gather in small groups on blue tarps to picnic and photograph. Soon after, a shower of pinkContinue reading “Lotus of Ueno Park, Tokyo”
Yuki the wildcat
The backbeat to my days now is the rhythm of my cat’s heavy breathing. I know her days are numbered, but she still loves to be cuddled in the evening and is fighting to stay with me. When I came home from living abroad, I planned to continue traveling but just taking short trips, inContinue reading “Yuki the wildcat”
Armchair Historians podcast: Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami
I had the pleasure recently of being interviewed on Armchair Historians podcast about my personal account of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Although I wasn’t in one of the disastrously affected areas, I was living twenty-five minutes west of Tokyo at the time and it literally shook my world and impacted the lives ofContinue reading “Armchair Historians podcast: Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami”
New York, New York
After a few days in New Jersey on a recent trip (Inspiration), I spent a week in New York. It had been many years since I was last there and, this time, I had no appointments, no business to attend to, no one to visit, just a time to savor old memories and explore newContinue reading “New York, New York”
A Japanese treasure
I first become interested in Japan in my college days, when, along with a generation of hippie potters, I was inspired by the works of Shoji Hamada. Declared a Living National Treasure, Hamada and his twentieth-century contemporaries created functional stoneware vessels. Sturdier-looking than decorative ceramics, in simple but graceful shapes, but with a strength andContinue reading “A Japanese treasure”
Inspiration
All my life I have had some artistic outlet although the nature of that expression has varied over time. Drawing, pottery, photography, music, writing, and a few other explorations along the way. Much of my writing in recent years has been travel-centered but once you get into the practice of putting down your thoughts, it’sContinue reading “Inspiration”
Women’s March
In support of the Women’s March 2020 that took place last weekend, and anticipating with trepidation the upcoming election in little more than a week, it’s a good time to relive the excitement, camaraderie, and collective purpose of the march in 2017 in Denver. I also joined the 2018 Denver march; more links to photosContinue reading “Women’s March”
Vote. Just Do It!
Voting by mail has been the norm in Colorado for decades and ballots are finally being mailed out. I’m eager to speak my mind and will drop my ballot at the county building dropbox before Election Day. The importance of voting in the presidential election was seeded in my brain when I overhead my parentsContinue reading “Vote. Just Do It!”
Ruth Rosenfeld 