A good start
For once I was home the whole month of January (apart from a quick visit to London). It’s been nice, but the weather was so-so for my taste – very, very cold. Once again I confirmed that I’m not made for Nordic winters.
Being home it’s been quite interesting to follow the changes in the river running past the house. One evening it was just amazing to listen to the crackling ice. I wish I could record it for you all. I haven’t heard anything like it.
February is off to a very good start. Work is busy and interesting. Held a lecture at an event organized by the Embassy of Canada in Oslo on Wednesday and two days later I was at Cambridge University, holding a lecture at Judge Business School. The event in Cambridge was very rewarding. The passion, the interest, the curiosity, the participation, in general the vibe in and surrounding the different colleges is very inspiring and if I win the lottery something I would love to get better acquainted with. £50K is not something I just have laying around… :)
After a nice dinner with friends on Saturday night I enjoyed Oslo from its best winter side, cross-country skiing in Nordmarka with my dad and brother. On days like these I forget all about what I wrote earlier. It’s one of the best places to be. Sparkling white snow, bright sun a clear blue sky.
No pictures this time around, but I’ll make up for it in my next blogpost. In five days I travel again – going back to the more “natural” life of being here and there.
Ping-pong
It’s been two months since my last post – two very hectic months. Now, on what feels like the longest flight ever, I do have plenty of time. So what has the past months been like?
NYC
In the end of September we traveled over the pond with tickets to Springsteen and E-Street band’s final concerts at Giant Stadium. That my birthday fell in the same week didn’t hurt either… :)











I love New York. Every time I visit I wish I could stay longer. Had a great birthday dinner in Brooklyn with friends, strolled the streets of Manhattan and smiled at the sun up on High Line Park. Enjoyed Central Park as ever, and a rainy day at the Met. Ate very well and a few tall drinks. Had the usual stop, well two, at B&H, but managed to stay away from the big purchases. That said, all in all, we did our best to help the US economy with a healthy shopping spree. It was so great to take full week off in the autumn. Not done that since the late eighties. Scary.
The two concerts were great. Amazing atmosphere. It was nice to experience Bruce in his backyard before the old stadium was torn down. I wouldn’t call myself a hardcore fan, liked his music before the shows, but now I catch myself humming his songs more often than not. Curious that.
Seoul
Arrived home from NYC on a Monday evening, had a quick meeting at the office on Tuesday morning before heading back to the airport and the flight to Seoul with my boss. Three continents in two days, not advisable, not surprisingly it turned into a jet lag rollercoaster. Had a great time though. Met with our Korean partners for a few days. Very busy schedule. Didn’t even find the time to take a single picture before we continued on to Beijing.
Beijing
It had been almost six months since I’d visited our team in Beijing. It was great to be back and to spend some time with them. It was the first time in the office not being directly in charge. A bit weird, but I still think of the studio as one of my babies.
It still amazes me how fast the city develops. Even when I visited more frequently I saw changes. With a half-year break it was just amazing. The area around our studio is completely transformed. Only three years ago I drove over an empty, bumpy field (the taxi made a wrong turn and decided to take a short cut over the grass – which turned out to be more rocks and potholes than anything). Now, at least ten skyscrapers were in construction on the same lot. Luckily, the little green oasis we have around our studios is still there, just surrounded by concrete.
The only bummer with this visit was that I didn’t find the time to visit 798. It was my boss’ first visit to the Far East, so we opted for the usual suspects instead. Unfortunately, we arrived at the Forbidden City ten minutes too late. It closed earlier due to the 60-year celebration. Tiananmen Square was packed with, I would guess, at least 200.000 people. Its on days like that you get an idea of the share number of the Chinese. We did get to see the “Egg”, the music hall, which was a first for me as well and I was very happy that we managed to stop by my favorite café in Houhai for a Tsing Tao. The planned trip to the Great Wall went down the drain too, but we did visit the “bird’s nest” and “water cube” at night.











San Francisco
I spent ten days at home, before flying out again. This time I traveled to the West Coast and San Francisco, another favorite city. The weather was perfect, warm, and sunny. Waking up to a cup of tea at Samovar in Yerba Buena Gardens, having a great Sunday brunch at Mama’s and strolling along the Embarcadero was a great way to start ten busy days. I did of course burn my nose…


Los Angeles
After a few days in the Bay Area we turned south to Los Angeles, to more meetings, dinners and more fun. Good drinks and company at Philippe and Roger Room. Gazing out over the Pacific in spare moments in Santa Monica. A pre-Halloween bash at the Hollywood cemetery was OK, didn’t bring any costumes on our trip which made us stand out quite a bit. So when we the following day were invited to Heidi and Seal’s Halloween party at Voyeur, we had to find something good. I ended up as an undead renaissance something…



Seattle and London
The day after we continued up to Seattle. Stayed at the 1000. Brilliant hotel, you should try next time you visit. I’ll book it again for sure. It was a quick stop in the Pacific Northwest before we headed back east the following day, across the Atlantic to London. I must like cities, because this is another favorite.
Home
Coming back to Oslo was nice, even though November is the saddest month of the year. A joyous time of cold, dark, and wet, occasionally white, quickly turning into wet, cold sleet. After two weeks without much sunlight I found myself back on an airplane, and my first visit to Busan in Korea.
Busan
Speaking at ICON/G-Star, meetings, dinners and walking the show floor. A five-day visit. I managed to squeeze in a free day, on Saturday, taking a taxi to unknown destinations. I like it that way. Stepping out of a cab, not knowing what I’ll see or experience. My trusted friend, Nikon and I on yet another adventure.
I found myself in what I believe is a national coastal park area. All signs are in Korean only and all around me were locals. I saw a group of people walking over to a booth buying tickets. I followed their example, and before I knew it I’m on the kiddy-train. Driving 5km/h along the footpath… It was fun for 300 meters, where I jumped off and walked down to a pebble beach. And to my surprise I see someone I’d wanted to meet since I read an article in National Geographic Magazine years ago; the pearl diving grandmothers. Amazing women.
Stumbling along on the large pebbles I was almost blinded by the brilliant, incredible flat, white sunlight. Enjoying the gentle sound of waves until it was suddenly drowned by the weirdest, kitschy, Korean electro pop music I ever heard. As a perfect score in a Wes Anderson flick it blasted out from a tourist boat on the other side of the beach. What happened next is hard to describe. Standing there listening to that music, shielding my eyes I saw silhouettes of a crowd of old, small, Korean seniors rushing – on slow motion – down a hill to catch the boat. Such a surreal experience, and I loved it.
The walk around the peninsula was quite pleasant. After three hours I continued my journey into the unknown city. Stopped at different markets before heading back to the hotel to pack my bags, and an early night sleep before the long flight home the morning after. Or so I thought. Damn you, jet lag. In bed, wide-awake I counted down the hours till I had to get up. At 5:00 I finally submerged into dreamless sleep, giving me a full hour…











In transit
I’m arriving in Frankfurt in a few hours, just one more flight left before I’m home. The journey will take me 23 hours door to door. Knowing that I don’t sleep on airplanes I figured that by the time I’m diving into bed I will have slept only one out of past 47 hours. I’m so looking forward to get to my bed.
Delayed and graced
Posted by NN in Photography, Travels on September 19th, 2009
I was on my way home after a few days in Austin at an industry conference. I always enjoy Austin, especially South Congress, but I was so ready to go home. My itinerary asked for a stopover in Memphis and all went as planned until the obligatory flight check found an error on the machine that forced us, the passengers of NW 58, to spend the night in Tennessee.
A few hours late, in whole in the wall of a hotel, I tried to find my sleep. Airplanes were taxing past my window, so close it felt I could touch them. Not even in my year in the air force, living on a base surrounded by aircrafts, did I hear such a noise – every five minutes – in made for a perfect end to a shitty day.
The only positive with being delayed in Memphis is that it gave me the chance to visit Graceland. I jumped in a cab and drove to the world of Elvis Presley. I’ve wanted to visit for years, and suddenly I was there. Walking through the front door of one of the most famous buildings in the world. All in all I’m glad I got the chance to visit Graceland, even if it only lasted for a few hours.
Long live the King!





























Weekend in the sun
Posted by NN in Photography, Travels on September 14th, 2009
I never learn. Years ago, in my mid-teens, I visited the Algarve coast with my family. My skin wasn’t used to the strength of the Portuguese sun and I received a serious burn on my face. Ever since my nose light up as a signal light every time the sun peak out. I’m usually good using 30 SPF on my face, but this past weekend, in Los Angeles, I forgot – again.
I was walking like I often do in the weekend. Saturday spent along the Pacific coast down to Venice. It’s been a while since I walked all the way down. Strolling with the alternative crowd. Window-shopping on Abbot Kinney, having a nice cup of coffee and enjoying Mew’s new album on my iPod.






Sunday I headed north, on the bluff along Ocean. Up towards Pacific Palisades, an area I hadn’t walked before, just driven through. It’s nice. I enjoyed finding something new to explore. Headed back over to Montana and had a great lunch at R+D Kitchen while watching the Bills – Giants game.






It was a relaxing, quiet weekend in the sun before the hectic week ahead.
Nordmarka
Posted by NN in Personal, Photography on September 7th, 2009
There are many things I love about my hometown Oslo. Nordmarka, the protected forests surrounding the West, North and East of the city, popularly called “Marka” is one of them. It’s a true haven for outdoor activities all year around.
This past weekend the sun was shining and I spent the better part of the day with my family, walking, enjoying the silence the smell of pine and the beautiful landscape. Of course, brought my little compact camera.
















Kölnerdomen
Posted by NN in Photography, Travels, Work on August 18th, 2009
I’m in Germany for the annual European game industry expo, a show with many different names and locations over the years. Today it’s called Gamescom and is held in Cologne. I flew in this afternoon. Knowing the next couple of days will be extremely busy we, a few colleagues and I, went for a stroll in the old part of town. It is quite nice. A few long pedestrian streets with shops, cafés, restaurants, bars etc. In the heart of all you find Cologne’s Cathedral, Kölnerdomen, one of most beautiful cathedrals in Europe. Well worth a visit in itself. I visited the first time, close to 25 years ago with my school band. We played with other local bands on the square outside the church. Memorable experience. I also remember walking up, in circle, the entire stair to the top of one of the towers. Try it when you visit – and see if you manage to walk straight when you reach the end.





At night highflying birds surround the illuminated cathedral, it was quite the sight. I tried to capture it, filming with my mobile camera. The long exposure time created a rather marvelous effect. So here, my first video upload :)
Köln from Nicolay Nickelsen on Vimeo.
On a rock in the Atlantic
Posted by NN in Photography, Travels, Work on August 15th, 2009
Driving from the International airport at Keflavik to Reykjavik you get a taste of the barren, mythical, beautiful landscapes of Iceland. I visited in the late nineties and wanted to return ever since. Now, more than ten years later I finally returned to the saga island.

Being 66 degrees north (6 degrees farther north than Oslo) the air had a chill I’m used to feel in the end of September. We were very lucky with the weather. The sun was out and on the second day the sea was still as a mirror. Looking across the bay into the valley behind I wanted to get one of the big ass arctic trucks and just drive into the wilderness.


But, I was on the island for a few business meetings. My second visit was, as the first, way too short. Had the airline provided a decent time schedule I would have stayed longer. Instead I gave myself a quick, “around Reykjavik in two hours”, speed walk in the afternoon. The economic crisis is very apparent in the city. Unfinished high rises planned in a different time skeleton reminders. Once being one of the expensive cities to visit is turned into a low-price shopping mecca and curse for the local retail margins. After my short urban photo safari we had a very nice dinner, which was followed by crashing the opening party at the annual Jazz festival – learned the day after it was by invitation only, for the artists and benefactors. We had fun!






Everything was in place for a great weekend in Iceland, but we had to leave. I count the third time to be the charm with plenty of time to get to travel around capturing the magic landscapes with my camera.
Bali Lensbaby fun
Posted by NN in Photography, Travels, Vacation on July 31st, 2009
I really like what can be achieved with tilt-shift lenses. Saving up dough for a proper one day, they’re quite pricy… In the meantime, the Lensbaby is a nice tool, tilting the lens and let you play with perspective, and with it I had some fun on the rocky beach near Tanah Lot.







0°4026.69N 23°2822.69E
As a kid at Gimle in Oslo I watched the four-hour long opus “The Right Stuff” and space was never the same. I had, and still do of course as all, looked up in the sky, at the moon and beyond and dream what was there – but it was the story about the seven first astronauts and the Mercury program that sparked my interest and intrigue for real. I still recognize the film as one of my favorites.
“It might have been a small step for Neil…” was the words of Buzz Aldrin as he stepped out, onto the Moon’s surface a decade after Mercury. When the Eagle landed the Apollo 11 mission was thoroughly imprinted in the history books. 40 years ago today. I envy the people alive at the time to see and remember the hours of the moon landing, truly the biggest moment in TV history. Let’s hope we won’t have to wait another 40 for the next landing, somewhere in space.
Fade out to Brian Eno’s sublime “An Ending (Ascent)”

























