My Rønne
Places, Stories, People!
Paris Times Three
They say life happens when you are busy making other plans – well, that may be true, but sometimes life stops when you are busy living. The world keeps spinning along; you are still breathing, but something got in the way of your life.
The Anatomy of A Nightmare
I am not a sociologist or psychiatrist, so I don’t know which is the correct professional term to use about groups such as these – cults, extremists, fanatics, echo chamber lunatics – so I stick to my chosen term: Monsters!
Nine Weeks in Paris
We all want to go home. Rats return to the safety of their sewers; refugees long for bombed-out cities, and Navalnyj returned to Russia, most likely knowing what his fate would be. Life’s hard, and then you die, and troubles and tragedies will find you, no matter where you are, so it is always better to be where you feel at home in your heart. Denmark stopped being my home long ago, so over the years, I created a new one in Paris. And in 2019, I wanted to go home.
My Inner Parisian
You know that feeling when you have lived in a place for years, and it becomes part of your lasting memories, and you give a little extra attention to that place for, I guess, the rest of your life? I feel that way about Paris. I lived and worked in Paris from 2008 to 2014 (excluding an intermezzo). And it was a good life, and I made that iconic city my home. So my soul-big-city-home is still Paris, for better, for worse, until something new comes along to replace it.
5 Great Non-Fiction Books About Paris
There are so many books about Paris in English, and we all have our favorites. These five books are some of my favorites written about Paris. Hemingway may be a bit outdated, but in my world, no list is complete without him. Whether you are an armchair traveler or planning a trip, these books are excellent depictions.
Hemingway, Paris & My Yorkie
Some say that Hemingway has many flaws. But when these people mention his flaws, they mention flaws in his private life, character, and convictions. But as a writer, his flaws are hard to find.
The Marais
Of all the places I have lived in my adult life, the best was the Marais. So I reserve the right to remember and idolize the place, covering up the bad days with the candy floss veil of time. Despite the price level, the lack of greenery, and the almost stale air in the summer, it is a people magnet, and if you have ever been there or been lucky enough to have lived there, you will understand why loved it so much.
Montmartre Faves
Montmartre, also known as La Butte (The Hill), is most often associated with the artists who lived and worked here from the 18th century until the 1920s. But this unique and colorful neighborhood has much more to offer than days gone by.
We Don’t Live in Paradise.
Finding a decent place to live can be and most often is a horrid ordeal in European capitals and big cities, for foreigners and natives alike. And even if you pay sky-high rent, it does not assure that your place is legal or warm in the winter. Some of my former apartments in Paris felt and looked as if they came with the cast of La Bohème and a prescription for tuberculosis!
Paris Is Romance, And That's It!
In the '00s, the French state desperately needed to kick their linguistically behind nation into the 21st century. Hence, the jobs in the Parisian language schools were plenty, and they would hire just about anyone, including me. On a dare, I made a bet that I could get a teaching job in a Parisian language school more or less just by showing up, having a university degree, and being able to spell my name. I won the bet. I got the job, and I got a story.
My Never-Ending Apartment Story Part 4
What is a court ruling worth in France? Nothing, it seems. In France, a court can order you to pay a fine, but nothing happens if you don’t pay. At least, that’s the reality of the French legal system as I have come to know it.
My Never-Ending Apartment Story Part 3
On Wednesday, August 3rd, 2022, after two years and eight months, I got the rest of my deposit back from my Parisian landlord of 2019. The fine the judge ordered the landlord to pay has not been paid yet, more than 4000 €, and the French huissier de justice I hired to deal with this has not returned my latest inquiries.
My Never-Ending Apartment Story Part 2
I thought renting an apartment via a huge and long-established rental agency would be the financially safest when I went to Parisin 2019. I was wrong. It is now two years and seven months since I moved out of an apartment in Paris, and I still don’t have the money the court declared in January 2022 that I was owed. And I haven’t heard back from the last huissier company I hired.
My Never-Ending Apartment Story Part 1
I was delighted when I got the French court's Aye that my former landlord should pay me the rest of my deposit with two years of interest. After two years of paperwork, courts, and significant expenses, it was a happy ending to a awful apartment situation in Paris. Or so I thought.
In Life, You Lose Nonstop
In Life, You Lose Nonstop – youth, looks, money, friends, illusions. But sometimes, you win in court. After two years of paperwork and courtrooms, the French courts sided with me. My former landlord in Paris should pay me back ALL of my deposit from 2019.
Teaching English in Paris
Years ago, a friend and I decided to write a story about working as underpaid and overworked English teachers in Paris based on my experiences as an English teacher in a Parisian language school. I had taken the job on a dare to prove that these schools would hire anybody. They did. They hired me. I won the bet.