Year: 2013

  • Kim Dot Com

    My claim to fame for the day … Kim Dot Com is following me on Twitter …

    kim-dot-com

    kim-dot-com-2

  • Paternoster lift

    Steffi and I went to the Duisburg city hall. Apparently time has stood still there, as they have a Paternoster lift still in use in the building! Paternoster lifts consist of a series of open compartments that move without stopping. To get on and off, you need to jump on very quickly to avoid getting squished! I suspect this would not pass health and safety regulations in most countries.

    Ryan Hellyer in a Paternoster lift

    Steffi beside the Paternoster lift

    Duisburg city hall

  • Photos of me

    Apparently I don’t post enough pictures of myself, so here’s a couple of random ones which don’t fit into any other posts 🙂

    Pulling bike from mud

    Ryan Hellyer

    Me on the way back from øyungen. Thanks to Nora for the photo.
    Me on the way back from øyungen.

    Thanks to Nora for the photos 🙂

  • Soviet era apartment block

    Soviet era apartment block

    I’ve always had a fascination with how things worked in the Soviet Union. The massive attempts of economies of scale attempted by the Soviet Union are something rarely seen in the western world. I recently had the privilege of seeing inside an old school stereotypical Soviet era apartment block in Cluj-Napoca. There wasn’t much to see beyond a drab interior stairwell and an equally uninteresting building front. It did made me feel a little like being inside the old Soviet buildings in the Pripyat sections of “Call of Duty 4” though.

    Unlike their western counterparts, the Soviets had less need to impress with their architectural skills and so this style of housing made a lot of sense. Cheap, well built accommodation which will last. Of course, the interior can be as nice as you want to make it,

    Soviet era apartment block

    Soviet era apartment stairwell

    Soviet era apartment stairwell

  • Bush Flying Basics

    I am now famous in the area of “plane landing in dodgy places photography”. The following snapshots are from a DVD called “Bush Flying Basics“, an instructional video for teaching pilots how to land in places where they probably shouldn’t be trying. They used a photo from here on my blog of Poolburn reservoir as an example of smooth ice you can land on. If you happen to have the DVD, you can see it at the 28 mins and 50 second mark 🙂

    Bush Flying Basics

    Bush Flying Basics

    Bush Flying Basics - Poolburn

    Bush Flying Basics

  • Skjærsjøen

    Skjærsjøen

    Some photos of the beautiful Skjærsjøen lake near Oslo, Norway. I took these whilst on a cycling tour with Live, Ingvild and Nora.

    Skjærsjøen

    Skjærsjøen

    Skjærsjøen

    Skjærsjøen

  • Axe throwing

    Axe throwing

    I tried my hand at axe throwing whilst at the Râșnov Citadel. Apparently I can neither aim, nor throw very well. I did manage to at least partially lodge the axe into the wood on my second attempt, but my first one hit the ground in a rather pitiful manner.

    Axe throwing at Râșnov Citadel

    Me (Ryan Hellyer) throwing an axe at Râșnov Citadel

    Axe throwing at Râșnov Citadel

    Axe throwing at Râșnov Citadel

  • AirBNB?

    Why the heck does AirBNB need to manage my contacts or see the meta data in my Google drive for?

    airbnb-request

  • Pics from Trollvann

    Courtesy of Nora 🙂