Japanese playground equipment, photographed by Kito Fujio. Found by reading Kottke.com.
The title of this weblog post was correct, when I started writing it. It contained about 100 years of films from 1925 to 2025. In its final form it starts at 1900 and ends at 2029.
Then there is kottke.org, founded in 1998, one of the oldest blogs on the web. It is written and produced by Jason Kottke (1973 – ) and covers the essential people, inventions, performances, and ideas that increase the collective adjacent possible of humanity. I begin reading its content, sometimes daily for up to several months. Then one day I forget, and it quickly disappears from view. At some point, I realize that I have not read it for some time, and I search for it again. I have an aversion of remembering its name, but know that it begins with a K.
Much of this post is based on content found at kottke.org when I began re-reading its posts again, on 2025-07-16. No, I cannot remember when I stopped reading it last, but my Firefox browser found it immediately after I typed in k.
One of its posts from 2025-07-08 names the films set during a century from 1925 to 2025, found in a youtube video. I have by no means watched all of these. Because I have an obsession with dates, here they are organized by decade. I have added additional films from 1900 to 1924 and from 2026 to 2029, that are not in the video. Sometimes a film’s setting in terms of time spans several years.
1900 – Call of the Wild (1935); 1901 – The Riddle of the Sands (1979); 1902 – 西洋鏡 = Shadow Magic (2000); 1903 – The Time Machine (2002); 1904 – Our Town (1940); 1905 – Броненосец «Потёмкин» = Battleship Potemkin (1925); 1906 – When the Earth Trembled (1913); 1906 – Madame Butterfly (1995); 1907 – A Room with a View (2007); 1908 – McCabe and Mrs Miller (1971); 1909 – Lady and the Tramp (1955).
1910 – Fanny and Alexander (1982); 1911 – Morte a Venezia = Death in Venice (1971); 1912 – Polyanna (1960); 1913 – The Wild Bunch (1969); 1914 – The 39 Steps (2008); 1915 – Nickelodeon (1976); 1916 – The Color Purple (1985); 1917 – The Time Machine (1960); 1918 – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008); 1919 – It’s a Wonderful Life (1946).
1920 – C’era una volta in America = Once Upon a Time in America (1984); 1921 – Legends of the Fall (1994); 1922 – The Great Gatsby (2013); 1923 – The Natural (1984); 1924 – Chicago (2002); 1925 – Ordet (1955); 1926 – Anastasia (1997); 1927 – Babylon (2022) & The Jazz Singer (1927); 1928 – Walt Before Mickey (2015); 1929 – Porco Rosso (1992).
1930 – Lucky Lady (1975); 1931 – Road to Perdition (2002); 1932 – The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014); 1933 – Mr. Jones (2019); 1934 – L’ultimo imperatore = The Last Emperor (1987); 1935 – The Aviator (2004); 1936 – Race (2016); 1937 – The Hindenburg (1975); 1938 – The Sound of Music (1965); 1939 – The Pianist (2002).
1940 – The Darkest Hour (2017); 1941 – Casablanca (1942); 1942 – The Thin Red Line (1998); 1943 – Come and See (1985); 1944 – Son of Saul (2015); 1945 – Oppenheimer (2023); 1946 – Godzilla Minus One (2023); 1947 – The Brutalist (2024); 1948 – Exodus (1960); 1949 – Trumbo (2015).
1950 – The Master (2012); 1951 – Brooklyn (2015); 1952 – Malcom X (1992); 1953 – The Death of Stalin (2017); 1954 – Blonde (2022); 1955 – The Notorious Bettie Page (2005); 1956 – Ed Wood (1994); 1957 – The Iron Giant (1999); 1958 – The Godfather Part II (1974); 1959 – In Cold Blood (1967).
1960 – Bridge of Spies (2015); 1961 – Hidden Figures (2016); 1962 – X-Men First Class (2011); 1963 – Jackie (2016); 1964 – One Night in Miami (2020); 1965 – Good Morning Vietnam (1987); 1966 – Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan (2019); 1967 – Platoon (1986); 1968 – Judas and the Black Messiah (2021); 1969 – First Man (2018).
1970 – Apollo 13 (1995); 1971 – Zodiac (2007); 1972 – Dog Day Afternoon (1975); 1973 – Elvis (2022); 1974 – Velvet Goldmine (1998); 1975 – Saturday Night (2024); 1976 – Dazed and Confused (1993); 1977 – Summer of Sam (1999); 1978 – Milk (2008); 1979 – Argo (2012).
1980 – American Made (2017); 1981 – Hunger (2008); 1982 – Waltz With Bashir (2008); 1983 – Heartbreak Ridge (1986); 1984 – 1984 (1984); 1985 – Bohemian Rhapsody (2018); 1986 – Straight Outta Compton (2015); 1987 – 1987: When the Day Comes (2017); 1988 – No (2012); 1989 – Good Bye Lenin! (2003).
1990 – Jarhead (2005) 1991 – Three Kings (1999) 1992 – 1992 (2022) 1993 – The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) 1994 – Hotel Rwanda (2004) 1995 – Invictus (2009) [World Cup] 1996 – Everest (2015) 1997 – Diana (2013) 1998 – Steve Jobs (2015) [Reveal of the iMac] 1999 – The Matrix (1999)
2000 – Strange Days (1995); 2001 – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); 2002 – Patlabor 2 (1993); 2003 – The Social Network (2010); 2004 – The Hurt Locker (2008); 2005 – Transformers The Movie (1986); 2006 – The Outpost (2019); 2007 – The Big Short (2015); 2008 – Killing Them Softly (2012); 2009 – Sully (2016).
2010 – Absolon (2003); 2011 – The Last Chase (1981); 2012 – I Am Legend (2007); 2013 – The Postman (1997); 2014 – Moon Child (2003); 2015 – End of Evangelion (1997); 2016 – Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011); 2017 – The Running Man (1987); 2018 – Rollerball (1975); 2019 – Blade Runner (1982).
2020 – Reign of Fire (2002); 2021 – Johnny Mnemonic (1995); 2022 – Soylent Green (1973); 2023 – X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014); 2024 – A Boy and His Dog (1975); 2025 – Pacific Rim (2013), 2026 – Metropolis (1927), 2027 – Robotech (1986), 2028 – Robocop (2014), 2029 – Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).
Memories:
I was born on 1948-10-31. My memories start sometime around 1953 – 1955. In fact, I don’t even know if they are real or fake memories. Some time in that period I attended a kindergarten at First Baptist Church on 7th Avenue in New Westminster. I think I have a false memory of wearing a Cowichan sweater there. These sweaters are traditionally knitted by Coast Salish women on Vancouver Island, Canada. They are known for their thick, warm wool, distinctive patterns, and durability. I think this memory comes from seeing a photograph of myself in this sweater.
I attended the original John Robson School, on Queen’s Avenue, almost across the street from the kindergarten, and across the street from where my mother-in-law Margaret Joyce Commins, née Heaps, once lived, starting when she was 6 years old in 1913. I think I have real memories from attending school, but they are often mixed with false memories, such as those involving my short career as a fashion model that happened about that time. My most questionable memory has to do with the construction of Woodward’s store in Uptown, New Westminster, if only because I managed to get paint on my clothes from the fencing. It opened 1954-03-11. Was it a real or a false memory?
Thoughts about a new universal currency began in a dream, on 2025-04-11, when I wondered if the Euro could replace the US$ as the world’s trading/ reserve currency. Then I wondered, if an enlarged Euro could replace it. That enlargement included not just European countries, but those of Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan. This might also encourage other European nations to start using this currency as their national currency. Such countries could include: Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Because many of the countries are outside of Europe, a new name should probably be chosen. I have given it the name Gaia. These countries have a population of about 760 million people, which in round numbers is about twice that of USA.
The Euro is the monetary unit and currency of 20 countries of the European Union. A few additional countries use it without permission. It was introduced as a noncash monetary unit in 1999, and currency notes and coins appeared in 2002. It is represented by the symbol €. Since then, Euro-denominated central bank reserves account for about 20 percent of the total bank reserves, significantly less than the US$. Its use in foreign exchange transactions is about 35 percent, peaking at just below 40 percent in 2010. This puts it slightly smaller than the combined share of the British pound and Japanese yen. About one quarter of the world’s exports originate in the Eurozone.
Several factors have inhibited the euro’s use. There is an inadequate supply of high-quality euro-denominated assets that international investors and central banks can use as a store of value. This contrasts with US government-backed debt, which at about $14 trillion (2018) three times more than the $4 trillion of Euro marketable sovereign debt. In 2025, with the Trump on-again/ off-again tariff wars, it looked as if American debt, along with its approach to foreign trade, were finally having a negative effect. In other words, there is concern that the US no longer has a superior capacity for securitizing assets. Much of the challenge facing the Euro is that companies in the eurozone (80%) rely heavily on bank financing. This contrast with 30 percent In the US. Thus, the stock of outstanding US nonfinancial corporate debt is almost five times as large as outstanding eurozone nonfinancial corporate debt.
Part of the challenge with the Euro is that the Deutsche Bundesbank (DB) has far too much influence on the European Central Bank (ECB). This would have to change if the Euro were to undertake a more international role. The primary ECB policy to 2011 was the same as the DB policy, stabilizing inflation in Germany, but not for the currency area as a whole. However, after the 2008 financial crisis, when the euro’s survival was on the line, the ECB adopted policies that created new uncertainties about the nature and credibility of the Euro. Unfortunately, these discouraged reliance on the currency outside the eurozone. Yet, the EU is now only 14 percent of global GDP. In 2000 it was 34%. In 1990 it was somewhere in the forties. The reason has nothing to do with the United States, but with Asia.
In the course of a few milliseconds, I managed to come up with a name for this expanded currency, the Gaia. In Greek mythology, Gaia means land or earth, the ancestral mother of life, including Uranus (Sky) and Pontus (Sea). In the Roman pantheon the respective gods are Terra, Caelus and Pontus. Note: Pontus is not Poseidon or Neptune. In Norse mythology the respective gods are and
The Gaia hypothesis/ theory/ paradigm/ principle proposes that Earth’s living organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings to form a synergistic and self-regulating complex system that helps to maintain and perpetuate the conditions for life. This hypothesis was formulated by chemist James Lovelock (1919 – 2022) and co-developed by the microbiologist Lynn Margulis (1938 – 2011) in the 1970s. Following a suggestion by novelist William Golding (1911 – 1993), Lovelock named the hypothesis after Gaia, the primordial deity. Fortunately, all of the people involved in naming the thesis are now dead, which means it is probably more acceptable as a name, than if they were living.
European Payment Service Providers
When one purchases something from a seller, in most cases the payment does not proceed directly from the purchaser’s bank account to the seller’s bank account. Instead there is an intermediary, a Payment Service Provider (PSP) that facilitates the transfer. Facilitation includes: an online gateway, security measures, fraud protection, regulation compliance and currency exchange. These PSPs do not just offer cards, they also allow bank transfers and the use of digital wallets.
Yes, it has been at least a decade since I have used any cash. Most Europeans today have Visa and Master Card cards, used to make purchases in stores. However, on my phone I have another service available, Vipps, that allows me to make account-to-account payments. I use this mostly to pay individuals. The last situation was buying an artwork from a friend for NOK 900. Some services, such as buying a car, don’t allow the use of cards but allow use of Vipps for direct transfers.
Currently, the largest PSPs in Europe are Visa and Master Card. These American companies are responsible for about 2/3 of European transactions. There are concerns that USA will weaponize the use of these services. Thus, in the future it could be something more European. The European Payment Initiative (EPI) was initiated in 2023, and currently involves four participants. Bizum in Spain, Bancomt in Italy, AIBS-MB in Portugal, Vipps in Norway (as well as Denmark, Finland and Sweden). In the immediate future this will be increased to include Blek in Poland and Dias in Greece.
In the first half of 2026, these European PSPs have engaged in building a foundation. Soon, in the second half of 2006, they will allow cross-border payments. By 2027 the initiative will also encompass e-commerce and point-of-sale infrastructure, and scale will be increased.
The countries participating will include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. I am uncertain what is happening in other EU countries such as Bulgaria or Romania or those that were once part of Yugoslavia.
In Europe these is increasing demand for European services and technologies to replace those provided by USA. The caviat, is that these services could be disrupted by a digital Euro, that would eliminate the need for European PSPs.
The Digital Euro
Sometimes the best introduction to a topic comes from Wikipedia. Here is what it has to say about the Digital Euro in its first two opening paragraphs.
The digital euro is a project of the European Central Bank (ECB), launched in July 2021, to explore the possible introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The aim is to develop a fast and secure electronic payment instrument that would complement the euro for individuals and businesses in its existing form as cash and in bank accounts, and would be issued by the European System of Central Banks of the Eurozone. The ECB has stated that the digital euro would not be based on blockchain or other distributed ledger technologies.
As of 2025, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to move to the next phase of the digital euro project, following the completion of the preparation phase launched by the Eurosystem in November 2023. The ECB stated that, assuming EU legislation is adopted in 2026, the Eurosystem aims to be ready for a potential first issuance of a digital euro by 2029, with testing beginning from mid-2027.
Many sources make a distinction between public money and private money. Coins and bank notes are examples of public money, issued by nations for the benefit of their residents. Other types of transactional currency involve private money. The best example here is a bank card, which uses the funding of a private bank (or amalgamation of banks) to provide the money when a bank card is being used. With public money, some level of government is paying for the costs of transactions. With private money, the individual user is either paying for this service, or relying on some other party (such as the seller of a good or service) to pay for it.
Earlier in 2026, seventy notable economists argued that a robust public digital euro is the only defence against Europe’s deepening dependence on US-based payment systems and the associated geopolitical risks. They are advocating against the use of a PSP and warned policymakers against shortsighted lobbying by the banking industry intended to scale down the Digital Euro project. The Digital Euro is a public good that is universally accessible, privacy-preserving, and functional offline to ensure monetary sovereignty and resilience.
Thus while the main difference between a Digital Euro and a European PSP is the use of public vs private funds, where the PSPs expect to be paid for their services. Proponents of the Digital Euro have no such expectations.
It is thought here that the Gaia, will be a Euro, expanded beyond the Euro zone. Because of this, participating countries not using the Euro will have to have an exchange rate, and a date for a transition to the new currency set. Initially, it should be possible to pay for goods and services with the original currency in a transition period, receiving money in Gaias, for any amount of the currency that exceeds the price. After a couple of months, the transition period should be over, and all transactions will be in Gaias.
Note: This post was begun the morning after my dream on 2025-04-12 at 12:00. After the first few paragraphs were written it was scheduled for publication on 2025-11-15 at 18:00. That gave it over seven months to be edited before publication. As usual, it has taken me longer to complete it, so it was ultimately scheduled for 2026-03-14. Because of delays writing a blog about a trip to Sardinia, this post was postponed yet another week to 2026-03-21.
This weblog post describes a trip Alasdair and I took to Sardinia.
Logistics
On Friday, 2026-02-20, with 16 hours notice, I was told that my flight from TRD (Trondheim) airport to OSL (Oslo) airport, scheduled at 11:55, the next day, was cancelled. I was rebooked on an earlier flight. This meant that my bus ticket from Verdal to TRD was no longer valid. On 2026-02-21, we woke at 4:00 to shovel snow, ate at 5:00. Left at 6:00. I drove Trish and myself to TRD, and then she drove home. We arrived at TRD at 7:40. I was on the 9:15 flight that landed at OSL at 10:00. I met Alasdair at 11:00 at domestic gate A20. We went to the SAS lounge for nourishment and left OSL for MXP (Milan Malpensa) airport, the largest airport near Milan, at 14:50. We arrived at MXP at 17:30. We ate the day’s last meal at 18:00. We then took a train into Milan at 19:00, arriving at 20:00. We then walked 3.6 km to our hotel. I entered my room at 21:00 after a long day. The hotel was not the highest quality, but this is what happens when one is visiting during the winter Olympic games.
On 2026-02-22, we took the metro to the smaller but closer Milan Linate (LIN) airport for a flight to Cagliari Elmas (CAG) airport. We stayed in Cagliari for two nights at L’Ambasciata Hotel de Charme = The Embassy of Charm Hotel. On 2026-02-24 we travelled by standard-guage train, train-replacement bus, and narrow-guage train to Alghero, towards the north of Sardinia, on the west coast. We stayed there for two nights at the Hotel Alma di Alghero. On 2026-02-26 we retraced some of the route, then continued on to Olbia, in the north-east of Sardinia. Here we stayed at the Cavour Hotel. On 2026-02-27, we also visited the island of La Maddalene for some hours.
The next day, 2026-02-28, we departed by plane from Olbia-Costa Smerald (OLB) airport, landing at LIN. From there we took a metro train to Milan, where we spent the night at the Vivaldi Hotel, one hack better than our first hotel in Milan. The next morning we visited more of the sites of Milan, before walking to the train station, where we took a business class rail journey to MXP. The price difference between second class and business class was minimal. We flew back to OSL. I took another flight to TRD, then a train, train-replacement bus, followed by another train, to Verdal. There I was met by our neighbour Jörg, who drove me home. Thank you, Jörg!
The Great Suitcase Swap
Alasdair bought his suitcase online, about a year ago. The picture in the description made him think it was a tranquil lime green. He was shocked when it arrived. I bought mine at a physical store in Verdal, 30 km from Cliff Cottage, in February 2026. They had only two colors, black and blue, so I chose the least offensive = blue. Both of us agree that it’s good not to have black, like 80% of suitcases. After the swap, I got one in a signal colour, while Alasdair got one that screams a little less. Both are more appropriate for our personalities.
Epic is a Swedish brand with headquarters in Göteborg = Gothenburg. Products are designed in Sweden, but manufactured in China. Phantom small size details: mass = 2.2 kg, height = 55 cm, width= 40 cm, depth = 20 cm, volume = 37 litres. These are acceptable as cabin luggage on the airlines we normally take. For some of us, it is also large enough for clothing that will last a week. Trish and I also have medium size Epic Phantom suitcases in canary yellow with mass = 3.0 kg, height = 66 cm, width = 45 cm, depth = 25 cm, volume = 67 litres. These have to be stored in the hold of an aircraft, but will carry enough clothing for two weeks. We used these on our trip to California, in November 2025.
Milan
Note: The following content about Milan combines places visited both before and after our visit to Sardinia.
From MPX we made our way into Milan itself by train, stopping at the Central Railway Station. We ate a meal at the station. From there we walked to our hotel which, according to an online map, was 3.6 km away. It was actually good to get some exercise, after spending most of the day in assorted conveyances.
Milan is often described as an Alpha city, with an emphasis on its role as a global fashion capital and a major international tourist destination. It is one of the most visited cities in Italy, ranked second after Rome, fifth in Europe and sixteenth in the world.
Outside the station there was an official Olympics store. Yes, a photo was taken of it, but is not included here.
On our way out of Milan, at LIN, we took photos of ourselves in front of the Olympic Rings. There were several locations where this could be done, including train stations and airports. On our way back, the Olympic Rings were replaced by the Paralympic Symbols, see photo below.
At LIN I found an advertisement for Hèvö, based in Martina Franca, Taranto province, Apulia/ Puglia region, the region that forms the heal of the Italian boot. The company website tells us that for over 50 years, it has specialized in outerwear. Then it contradicts itself by saying it was founded in 2010.
Of course I have all sorts of reflections about fashion, including thoughts about the outerwear shown in the above photograph. No, I could never wear white outerwear. I could never go around with just one button fastened. All of my outerwear is equipped with zippers. My winter coat and a spring and autumn jacket both have six pockets, my summer jacket has only five. They are all Swedish. My bespoke shirts come with two pockets: on workshirts they are equipped with flaps and are buttoned, on more casual shirts they are without flaps and buttons. In many photographs in this and other weblog posts, I am wearing my Swedish Haglöfs summer jacket, probably the last clothing item bought in Molde in 2008. I am also wearing chinos. On my feet are Allbird shoes. I have wide feet, and it has been difficult my entire life to find comfortable shoes. At one time I thought I had found a solution with Danish Ecco shoes, but then they changed their lasts. My current preference, Allbirds, stretch.
Some fashionists regard Milan as the centre of their universe. I did notice numerous people, predominantly female, making a display of their clothing, handbags and jewelry. I noticed one woman in particular, with flaming red hair. For some reason she had to bend over close to me, and I could see that the roots of her hair were white. Yes, even older people sometimes want to forget their age. Of course there were also fashionista men. One I observed had shoulder length white hair, worn with a rather conventional suit, without a tie.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, is Italy’s oldest active shopping arcade, featuring luxury boutiques, cafes and 19th century architecture. On our walk through it, we did not stop at any location. As the photo shows, there were just too many people. It connects two major landmarks, the Duomo (the cathedral, where construction began in 1386, and the final details were completed in 1965) and Teatro alla Scala (the opera house, originally opened in 1778).
The Cimitero Monumentale is the second largest cemetery in Milan. It is noted for the abundance of artistic tombs and monuments. Designed by the architect Carlo Maciachini (1818 – 1899), it was planned to consolidate a number of small cemeteries that used to be scattered around the city into a single location. It was opened in 1866. Since then it has been filled with a wide range of contemporary and classical Italian sculptures as well as Greek temples, elaborate obelisks, and other original works such as a scaled-down version of the Trajan’s Column.
It also contains a A columbarium/ cinerarium, for cremated remains. That first term comes from the Latin columba = dove, and originally solely referred to compartmentalized housing for doves and pigeons = dovecote.
Cagliari
With a metropolitan population of about 420 000, Cagliari was the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1324 to 1848, before Turin became the capital. Today the city is a regional cultural, educational, political and artistic centre, known for its diverse Art Nouveau architecture and monuments.
I mention Art Nouveau = Jugendstil (The German and Skandinavian term) not just because I find it attractive. Throughout the city, there were also architectural examples. Our hotel in Cagliari, featured reproductions of famous Art Nouveau works. Yet, not all of the hotel’s artwork reflect this origin. Below are some of the artworks found at the hotel.
When we arrived at our hotel, I spent time appreciating its logo. It also incorporates an Art Nouveau typeface, at the time known as Modern Style, especially popular between 1890 and 1910. These draw inspiration from flowers. The typefaces feature elegant but curvaceous letterforms.
Sassari
We left Cagliari by a train running on standard gauge tracks. It was interesting to see the Sardinian countryside and to compare it with Corsica, a year earlier. The main difference was the flatness of the terrain in Sardinia. At Osieri the train pulled into the station, and passengers were escorted onto a waiting train replacement bus. It used about an hour to transport us to Sassari.
In Sassari, we ate lunch at the Mamma Li Turchi kababeri! I refuse to look up kababeri in any dictionary. It just sounds naturally correct, and invite others to use the term. The kababeri’s name refers to a warning to mothers about Turks! It is also the name of a 1973 Italian comedy film, 85 minutes long, directed by Renato Savino (1926 – 2008), who was born in Antalya, Turkey. He often used Mauro Stefani as a pseudonym.
Photo, courtesy Goo Gull maps.
The owner of the kababeri was Turkish, married to a Sardinian woman. This was one of the most extensive conversations we had during the trip. He said that they, as a couple, had tried to live in Turkey, but his wife had become homesick. So they returned to Sardinia. Decorations inside the kababeri were almost exclusively amulets to protect against an evil eye, a supernatural belief in a curse brought about by a malevolent glare, usually inspired by envy. Before he opened the kababeri, he made and distributed these amulets to support himself.
After lunch we returned to the train station to take a narrow gauge train to Alghero. This train was the noisiest we had taken on our trip. Most of the views from the train were bucolic = related to or typical of rural life. Traditionally, the term evokes peace. However, the noise of the train prevented any feeling of serenity. Thankfully, we both used noise cancelling over-the-ear headsets.
Alghero
The name Alghero comes from mediaeval Latin Aleguerium = stagnation of algae, referring to Posidonia oceanica/ Neptune grass/ Mediterranean tapeweed, a seagrass species endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. It forms large underwater meadows that are an important part of the ecosystem. The fruit is free floating and known in Italy as the olive of the sea.
At several hotels we encountered a boiled egg distribution device that allowed eggs to line up sequentially. In the photo only one egg is using it. I think this reduces the consumption of boiled eggs in shells, and encourages people to consume the eggs to the left of the device.
The medieval origins of Alghero are obvious when visiting the old town. Various weapons of mass destruction were on display. In addition, there were also what I regard as fake pieces of ancient architecture, complete with graffiti, such as that shown below.
At the port, adjacent to the old town, there were numerous boats and even cars, such as a multicolur Fiat Panda shown below. Volkswagen initiated this trend with a 1964 Beetle advertisement, showing a vehicle with multiple colored panels. It was advertising easily interchangeable parts. In 1995, Volkswagen of Europe celebrated the launch of the Polo city car by giving it a mixed paint scheme using the four base colors: Pistachio Green, Ginster Yellow, Tornado Red, and Chagall Blue.
Olbia
The trip to Olbia involved a train journey back to Sassari. Here we once again took a bus that brought us back to the station at Osieri. We once again boarded a train that took us to Olbia. From the station we walked to our hotel.
The most significant meal we ate in Olbia was at Panda Burger. I tried to imply, in assorted family communications, that we would be eating pandas. Unfortunately, a close relative read about the place, and told everyone on our family Signal, that this restaurant offered only vegan food.
The above photo shows the Olbia Archaeological Museum, from behind. We did not visit it.
Olbia is a ferry port, with ships departing for the Italian mainland. For example, there are sailings from Olbia to Genoa with both Moby Lines (6 sailings weekly) & Grandi Navi Veloci (6 sailings weekly). These take about 13 hours. There are sailings from Olbia to Livorno with both Moby Lines (12 sailings weekly) & Grimaldi Lines (12 sailings weekly). These take about 9 hours. Finally, if Rome is one’s destination there are sailings from Olbia to Civitavecchia, located 60 kilometres west-northwest of Rome. Grandi Navi Veloci offers two sailings weekly that take 5h 30m; Grimaldi Lines has 7 weekly sailings that take 6h 30m; Tirrenia has 9 weekly sailings that take 7h 30m.
Visiting the ferry terminal, we bought a Sardinian flag to add to our collection.
La Maddalena
Here is the ferry we used to visit the Island of La Maddalena. The ferry trip from Palau to La Maddalena takes approximately 20 minutes.
Some restaurants have interesting names = Tilacino, in Italian, or thylacine, in English. I hope that they don’t include the meat of those animals on their menu. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger/ wolf, an extinct species of carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. The thylacine died out in New Guinea and mainland Australia around 3 600–3 200 years ago, possibly because of the introduction of the dingo, whose earliest record dates to around the same time.
At La Maddalena, we meet pirates of both genders, close to heat pumps and television antennas, which I presume were common possessions during the Golden Age of Piracy, between the 1650s and the 1730s.
Mining
If I return to Sardinia, it would be to gain a better understand of mining on the island. Sardinia was noted from ancient to almost modern times for mining and smelting. As shown on the map below, while there were some mines to the north of Olbia, the main mining area on the island is in the south-west. Reading about it, I discovered that most of the miners and others associated with the mines were immigrants.
Mining probably started around the 6th millennium BC with the mining of obsidian at the slant of Monte Arci in the central-eastern part of the island (bright green on the map). It was one of the most important Mediterranean centres for mining and processing of this volcanic glass.
About 3 000 BC mining involved metals, where ore was probably exported from the Eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea, to be smelted in Sardinia. Sardinia, was one of the earliest places in Europe to smelt silver.
Mining, smelting and working of metal occured in Sarrabus (brown on the map) in the south-east of Sardinia. It is especially noted for metals and minerals compounded by oxides and iron sulphide, copper and lead.
Coal became an important product to produce in the 1930s, at Carbonia (yellow on the map). Today, there is a museum of coal mining located there.
Conclusions
In general, I enjoyed visiting Sardinia. However, Sardinia contains too much flat land. I am a hillbilly, rather than a flatlander. In a comparison of Sardinia with Corsica, Corsica wins. It has a smaller area, and a lower population density. Statistics: Corsica: area = 8 722 km2 , population in 2024 = 355 528; density = 40.76/km2. Sardinia: area = 24 100 km2, population in 2025 = 1 562 381; density = 64.83/km2. Other population densities: World = 54.7/km², Norway 15.3/km², Inderøy is just slightly above this at 19/km², but the area where we live is considerably lower, perhaps 6/km² or less; British Columbia = 6/km²; Greater Vancouver = 917/km². There is no point in putting in a value for Canada, as so much of the country is uninhabited.
If I limit myself to Italy, there are places there I have enjoyed. Genoa probably tops the list. However, there other places in Italy I would like to visit. These include Verona (with the city being a World Heritage Site), Carpacco, Udine and Tirano, all in the north, but east of Milan. At Tirano, the Rhaetian Railway operates the Bernina line. The regional Bernina Red Train and the Bernina Express both travel along the Albula and Bernina railway lines. This route was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2008.
To the west of Milan there is Ivrea, especially the Industrial City of the 20th Century World Heritage Site. It is world famous for its Olivetti factory, and the Arduino microprocessor. Yes, from there I might even take a side trip into Turin, itself.
