Tokyo Japan Day 1

So I was invited to give a talk at Rakuten – one of Japan’s leading tech companies. I had worked with Rakuten back in 2011 when Agile Samurai came out. So this wasn’t my first visit to Japan.

But I was looking forward to the trip, as I had recently read a book recommended by Bill Gates on the companies founder and their father.

 

Which basically talks about the challenges Japan has if it is to integrate more successfully into the world economy, along with some structure changes their government needs to take in order for it’s companies to better compete.

I won’t give away the gist of the book, but it’s basically getting the country to:
– embrace english
– liberalize the movement of labor (meaning don’t work your whole life for the same company)
– have the government get out of the way and deregulate more

I took a midnight flight and thought I would just take it easy the first day there but instead changed my mind and found myself wondering the streets of Tokyo before I knew it, just trying to stay awake.

But it quickly came back to me why I had so many found memories of this place. It is is clean.

Everything is literally spotless. No litter. No garbage. I heard one reason it’s so hard to find a garbage can in Japan is because people take their garbage home with them. They are that much into cleanliness.

So I started wandering the streets on a Sunday at 7am. Not much was open. Except a Starbucks where I got a really nice tea.

So I kept walking. Past some really interesting buildings.

And eventually found my self in a beautiful park.

It was really neat seeing all the people give their prayers to the Shinto spirits. Here were some things you could pray for.

I think you can learn a lot about a people by listening to what they pray for. I don’t know how many kids pray for ‘Improved Academic Performance’ or dads wishing for ‘Secure Employment’ but I think it’s a good insight into some Japanese culture.

Sensing it was time to leave I started heading out of the park back onto the streets

And started to get really hungry. That’s when I found this place!

I was just walking by when I saw some locals lining up and I said to myself: “If it’s good enough for the locals it’s good enough for me!”

And I wasn’t disappointed. The way you order food in a lot of these noodle shops if you pick when you want from a vending machine

pay up front, and then they bring it to you.

Now I don’t know if it’s because I was really hungry, or it was just really that good, but this was one of the best bowls of noodle soup I had ever had. I ate drop.

So I keep on walking, but things are starting to open up now

And I come across this massive 7 floor arcade.

This place has everything. Vending machine. Brand new arcade games that were just built and designed last your. And really serious arcade equipment. These guys are pros at arcades and they are still going strong.

And don’t think this is just guys in there playing these things. They are girls too. Lot’s of them.

Good thing I was wearing my Flynn’s arcade shirt. I fit right in.

After that it was back on the street. Another thing these guys are masters at is the display of fake food. It’s looks so real you just want to eat it.

Now things are getting a bit busier.

At that’s when I see them. It’s Mario and crew!

Apparently these guys race around town in go-carts dressed as Nintendo characters.

I turned around and saw a whole bunch of people taking pictures of this cute little guy. Apparently this was a loyal dog how stayed by his masters side even in death till the day he died. Japanese honour loyalty above all things. So it’s no surprise they made a statue to honour the dog.

By this time I was exhausted. I hopped on one of the uber clean trains, where they tell you where to stand when you load.

Checked in to my hotel. I saw this beautiful view of the city.

Well that’s all for now. After a shower it was time for bed at 5pm. And I slept like a baby until 3am. When I got up and started thinking about Disney land. But that’s another story.

 

 

 

 

 

Weekend in San Francisco

Well, it had to happen eventually. While Rasmusson in Sweden started off as a blog solely to track our time in Sweden, I have gotten so used to sharing our travels that it just seemed natural to share the weekend where the family came down and visited me in San Francisco.

Fortunately we had some great weather, got to see a good slice of life in SF, and the kids had a great time. It was wonderful having them in town.

They all like SF, and the favourite part of jumping through the waves.

Final Post

Thank you everybody who’s been following our adventures abroad over the last two years. It has been a wonderful experience.

Sweden is a beautiful country, with some of the nicest, kindest people you will ever meet. And while we are excited to be moving back to North America, we will surely miss all the wonderful friends and family we met while abroad.

So if any of you from Sverige are ever in the neighbourhood, be sure to look us up. We would love to reciprocate and show you the beauty of Canada, and hopefully return some of the wonderful hospitality you showed us.

So don’t view this as a good-bye. See this as more of a till next time.

Hej då! The Rasmussons

Here are some of our favorite memories of Sweden.

Dad

Lucas

Rowan

Rome Italy

Well, this is it. The last destination on mine and Tannis’s 20 year anniversary tour – Rome.

I had mixed feelings coming to Rome. I heard it was unbearably hot in the summer. I heard it was quite dirty. And I heard that there would be lots of people. Two out of three turned out to be true.

After parking our bags, the first thing we did was hop on a HopOnHopOff bus to get a quick tour of the area. And as far as impressive buildings go, Rome’s got them.

The first thing you quickly realize after driving around downtown Rome is that everything is a monument. There are Roman ruins everywhere.

That of course makes construction or building anything new very hard. You can’t just build a new skyscrapper. There are Roman ruins underneath that dirty. This was the heart of the civilized world for over 600 years (much longer than Great Britain, US, or certainly Canada being around). Makes you appreciated how young and transient things in our time really are.

Then of course you bump into magnificent buildings like this. The Roman Colosseum.

This work of art was the NFL of the Romans day. Inside gladiators would duel for the lives, for their freedom. Sometimes against themselves. Sometimes against wild animals from all over the world.

Then there is this beautiful fountain – Trevi.

Described as the most beautiful fountain in the world, Trevi has been wowing people for years.

There’s even a lego set version of it out there. Though it is now where near as impressive as the real thing.

 

Now all this history in itself would be more than enough to keep one busy and entertained for weeks and months on end. Just working through the history of Rome.

It makes it easy to forget that this is also a modern city, and just happens to be the center for the Catholic church. Specifically St. Peter’s Basilica.

One of the largest churches in the world, St. Peter’s is one of the most renowned Renaissance works. Home to the Pope, you don’t have to look far to see the Swiss Guards on display.

Do you remember this memorial a few weeks back in Zurich?

Well these are the same Swiss guards that guarded the French king during the revolution. This was the monument to those guards who died defending the French King. To this day they still guard the Pope!

Recruits to the guards must be Catholic, single males withSwiss citizenship who have completed basic training with the Swiss Armed Forces and can obtain certificates of good conduct. Recruits must have a professional degree or high school diploma and must be between 19 and 30 years of age and at least 174 cm (5 ft 8.5 in) tall.

Once we got inside the basilica Tannis and I were blown away. It was beautiful.

Huge ceilings. Just gigantic inside with beautiful statues, to Popes, depictions of scenes from the Bible, and generally amazing.

There we little places to the side where you could go and pray.

And there were amazing works of art done by this guy – Michaelangelo.

Pretty much everyone has heard of Michaelangelo, but I didn’t really know much about the guy other that that he painted the Sistine Chapel (which we didn’t get to see – lines was too long).

But I had now idea how prolific he was, and unlike other artists during their time, everyone in the world knew who good he was. Which is why he was given names like ‘Il Devino’ for The Devine One. Because that’s how good his art was.

He was responsible for much of what you see at the Basilica. He helped design the church, built tombs, painted the Sistine Chapel (took about four years). And he didn’t just paint. He sculpted. Every see this statue?

It’s called David. Perhaps the greatest, most copied, admired statue of all time. He did that too.

Michaelangelo was was they call the truest Renaissance man. He painted, sculpt, wrote poetry. He could do it all. And amazingly well.

Anyways, the Basilica was amazing. Well worth seeing. Upon leaving we saw the Pope was in. He was giving a sermon for the people.

By this time it was getting pretty hot. Tannis and I decided to head back to the hotel, seek some AC and shade, and do what this guy is doing.

Overall Rome was very nice to see. It was very hot. There were lots of people. But it wasn’t as dirty as we had feared. London wins that award.

But that’s it. Tomorrow it’s on the plane and back home to family and friends. To which Tannis and I are very much looking forward too. See you all soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorrento Italy, Pompeii

This was it. Our last day in paradise. Tannis and I spent our last day on the boat exploring the charming town of Sorrento Italy. Also home of Pompeii.

Pompeii was nice. The surprising thing about it was it’s shear size. It’s huge. Luckily we had a guide how took us through most of the brothels, bath houses, and homes. It’s really incredible what they’ve been able to preserve there.

If one theme comes across, it’s that not much has changed in a thousands years, and it’s pretty amazing how well they lived considering it all happened around 79 AD.

After Pompeii we walked around Sorrento a bit. We were pretty tired, so we didn’t stay long, but it is a charming quite little town.

Where it really shows off nicely through if from back on the boat, where you can see how much of the city is really built into the cliffs.

Then it was time for a really nice dinner on the boat. It was excellent. And overall we had a wonderful time!

 

 

Corfu Greece

Today Tannis and I had the pleasure of taking a whirlwind tour of the Greek island of Corfu.

Corfu comes up a lot in Greek mythology. It is referred to as a stop on the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts. Corfu was also the main cause of the Peloponnesian War and then came under the rule of the Spartans.

We started out by taking a tour of a Greek monastery

After that it was off to a palace that palace built by  Empress Elizabeth of Austria (Sissy) in 1891. It was called Achilleion Palace as in the Greek hero Achilles.

The highlight for me was this beautiful statue of Achilles getting shot in the heel. Great details. Folds and veins in skin. Real work of art.

After that there was this great picture of Achilles after the death of Hector in the Trojan war.

After defeating Hector in battle, to humiliate the enemy further, Archilles rode around Troy x3 dragging Hectors body behind him. Not very hero like if you ask me.

There is also an interesting detail in the upper right hand corner of the painting. A swastika.

We of course know this as the Germany WW2 symbol for Hitler’s 3rd Reich. But in ancient times it was a symbol of fertility.

It was then off to town for a quick 20min shopping tour of Corfu the town.

And then back to the boat for some pool time.

Corfu was nice, but Tannis commented that it wasn’t really the Greece she though most tourists would like to see. It doesn’t have the white wash homes. And while there are nice beaches, it doesn’t have that post card image you get of the steeped hills with white houses and blue water.

For that you need to go to Aegian sea. We are in the Ionian sea which was under Venecian rule. While the Aegian sea was under Byntanizian rule.

Needless to say, we look forward to coming back one day so we can compare.

 

 

Kotor Montenegro

Until yesterday I didn’t even know there was a country called Montenegro, much less that I would be visiting it today.

Montenegro as a nation, goes back to the 7th century. Most of its life it’s been an independent nation, with its own people, and its own ways. Though it has been ruled by the Venetians, and was constantly at war with the Ottoman Turks for over 500 years.

It become a kingdom again in 1910, but was absorbed by Yugoslavia shortly after that.

The 20th century was tough for Montenegro, as it lost its independence. After the disintegration of Yugoslavia it remained in a union with Serbia, thus these two Republics formed the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro.

Then with a referendum in 2006, its citizens voted for independence. And as of July 27, 2006 it finally became its own nation.

Here is what Tannis and I saw and learned today.

Cruising into Kotor

Kotor can only be approached by rolling in through Boca bay, which we did around 7am this morning.

As you can see, it’s very Mediterranean, very blue water, and beautiful Venetian architecture heavily influence its building designs.

Our tour actually started away from the town of Kotor, up in the mountains.

You can see how the town surrounds the bay, and if you look closely you can see our cruise ship way off in the distance (not that big one, but the smaller one behind it).

Now, as we are driving up and back these hair pin switch backs, our tour guide proceeds to give us some history on the area.

For example, for you Canadians out there, Peter Munk was quite an influential and well respected millionare in this part of the world. While Peter is known in Canada for Barrick Gold, in this part of the world he was an investor and developer way before anyone else was over here. He developed the marina, hotels, businesses, and many other things. They really love him over here.

The other thing that is interesting here is how much of the people live up in the mountains and not in the valleys. All the fertile ground is in the valley. But the Montenegrians had to move up into the mountains because they couldn’t fight the Ottoman Turks man-to-man on the ground. They would have been overwhelmed.

So they moved up into the hills, and became known as the ‘Mountain Devils’. 

It was from way up here that they fought the Turks, along with anyone else foolish enough to invade them. And they favored goats over cows (because goats could eat anything and were better and climbing up here and producing milk).

And until this century there was only one trail (not a road) even up here. So access to these hidden towns and villages in the mountains was very tough.

We stopped at one of these villages and were told about the important roll prosciutto plays in the Montenegrin culture.

Prosciutto is the salty pork meat that sustained these people in the mountains through the long cold winters. People from all around the country would bring their pigs up to these mountain villages to be salted and turned into prosciutto.

To this day, the ultimate gesture of welcome a Montenegrin can show for a family, friend, or guest, is to give him or her prosciutto when they come to visit.

And it tastes great. Especially with some white wine and some strong goat cheese.

While we only had an hour, Tannis and I did have time for a quick walk through of theMontenegrin history museum (but I will save that for another post). Lots to talk about there.

And then it was back down into town where we started our tour when guess who we bumped into… the Melkers!

These are our best friends from Stockholm. And by shear coincidence, Noah happened to see me standing on the street corner and we all got to hug and say hi! They didn’t have long to stay (they had a bus to catch). But it was nice to see a familiar face in another part of the world and we look forward to spending more time with them when they come to visit us for some skiing in Calgary.

Once we were back in Kotor, we did a tour of old town. Kotor was a fortified city. These people were constantly at war, and a big part of defending the town were its walls and towers.

Unlike Dubrovnik, which had a relatively small area to defend, Kotor had huge walls going 900m up, with knights and soliders had to climb during the middle ages to defend. Can you imagine?

These walls were long. We didn’t hike them. We didn’t have time. And quite frankly I was OK with that. Really hot, and yet another reason to return one day.

We walked the rest of old town

Took in some of it’s charming streets

And then saw some more of the wall.

Kotor was a beautiful sea side town. Definitely another gem that can be found here nestled in the sparkling Adriatic. It is a UNESCO World heritage sight. And one I know the people of Montenegro are fiercely proud of and enjoy showing the world.

More info 

Montenegro created its own language when it broke away from Serbia. It added three new letters, resurrected some old words, and while still very similar to Serbian language, it is just different enough to be its own.

The same can be said for the Croatian language. It too is very similar to Serbian, and Montegrian. All these people can understand each other, and all the other Slavic languages, including Ukrainian, Russian, and Bulgarian.

The one exception is Albania. That language is completely different and no one understands it.

The other slight outlier is Basnaciain. Which is what the Muslims (who don’t really have a country of their own in this part of the world) speak. They speak their own language, even though they don’t necessarily come from, or live, in Bosnia.

But I found it interesting, that after the Yugoslavian break up, this one common language Serb-Croatian, effectively got split into 4 – Serb, Croat, Montenegro, and Basnacian. And they can all understand each other, even though they are all technically different languages.

The other strange thing about Montenegro is they use both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabet. They use Cyrillic because the language is Slavic, but because of how close they are to the west they use the Latin alphabet for tourists.

I confirmed this with a Bulgarian I met who said in the old days she used to be able to read everything in Kotor, but not anymore as all the signs are Latin english now.

 

 

Dubrovnik Part 2

After coming back and crashing for the afternoon because we were so tired, we then headed back into town to see a live performance from a local cellist.

Here name was Anna, and arriving early Tannis and I were able to get a picture with her before the show.

The event was setup right in the heart of Dubrovnik.

And being the early birds we are we got great seats!

As it filled up the sun started to set and before long Anna came on. She was electric!

More than simply playing the cello, she had some wonderful videos and music accompanying her in her playing. She played traditional croatia music with a modern twist. And the show was excellent.

Here are some videos Tannis and I took.

 

 

After the performance, in no rush to get back to the ship, we walked around Dubrovnik some more. This place just doesn’t quit!

Every restaurant was full! Everyone was still out, and we thought we would avoid some crowds by hanging out late at night. But that’s OK. It really added to the atmosphere and made for a great night walking the town.

Not many people may not this, but the new star wars movie coming out next year was filmed here her.

And of course, for you Game of Thrones fans out there, Dubrovnik is Kings Landing. Much of the series is filmed here. And for any of you how watched last seasons series, you may remember Cerese walk of shame where she walked naked across Kings Landing. Well this is where it was filmed.

So one more incredible night in Dubrovnik. Tomorrow, off to Montenegro.

Dubrovnik Croatia Part 1

Nestled along the southernmost region of the Croatia lies one the Mediterranean’s best kept secrets: Dubrovnik.

Called “the Pearl of the Adriatic” by Lord Byron, this is a city rich in history and beautiful in landscape.

Modern Dubrovnik is a combination of ancient settlements. The name traces back from the Croatian word “Dubrava” which means oak.

In 1929 the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes become and Kingdom of Yogoslavia.

In 1990, the republics achieved independence and the Socialistic Republic of Croatia we renamed the Republic of Croatia.

Dubrovnik was subjected to considerable shelling by Serbs during the war in 1991 – 1992 in a seige that lasted 7 months. The Old Town suffered damage, but was quickly restored.

This is what Tannis and I saw today.

We started out with a quick walk through old town.

Dubrovnik has some beautiful architecture, all dating back hundreds of years.

During it’s war for independence, Croatia was shelled by the Serbs. Much of the city was damaged, but has since been restored.

We then hopped on a bus for a quick tour of how olive oil is created, along with a small lunch of locally grown wine and vegetables. It all felt very Italian.

But just to be clear, Croats are slavs. And they, along with the other Slavic tribe, speak a slavic languages. Closer to Russia.

Spain, Italy, and France are Roman tribes. Hense they speak the Romatic languages.

While Germany, England, and the Nordics (with the exception of Finnish which is more Hungarian) are Germanic languages.

After this tour is was back on the bus for a panoramic view of the city from high.

Here you can see our boat in the middle of the harbour (they tendered us in on smaller boats).

And here is the view of the city. Just gorgeous.

They city is pretty too. After that it was back into the city, but by this time it was getting pretty hot and crowded.

Our tour guide said more and more boats are coming here all the time. And with Turkey being a bit unstable, even more boats are here than normal for this time of year.

We escaped into a church for some shade.

And by that time me (Jon) was boiling. So we found a small beach on the other side of one of the walls and went for a quick dip.

Dubrovnik is used to shoot a lot of Kings landing in the HBO series Game of Thrones. And you can really feel it was you walk around. It’s like you are in the middle ages.

And after that it was back to the boat to enjoy the city from afar while we cooled off, took a nap, and had some lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

The worlds most reputable countries

Saw this interesting article on the BBC this morning. Canada is #2!

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160801-living-in-the-worlds-most-reputable-countries