Solar eclipse

I seem to have a lucky gene for solar eclipses. Ten years ago there was one in central Europe and I was flying Paris-Stockholm as the eclipse happened. Being the last to check in and board the window seat was long gone. Until this man asked if we could swap places so that he could sit next to his wife. I got a window seat with perfect view of the eclipse!

Today there was one again! They said it rained in Shanghai, but I was with some colleagues in Hangzhou on the way to a factory. We had all forgotten glasses and tin foil, but with the sky being mostly overcast, the clouds made that perfect shield from the rays, still letting the moon shaped sun through!

It is hard to describe, but wow what a cool thing! The driver stopped and we could see the eclipse from the side of the road. It became pitch black and all you could see was a lit up ring around the “black” sun. It also amazes me a lot when everyone – and I mean everyone go out on the street and watch in the same direction and say Oooo and Aaaa at the same time! It makes the experience so much more intense when you know that millions of people, and everyone around me is experiencing the same thing in this very moment. Not even soccer would draw crowds like this in China!