Tina Hirschbuehl

I work as an editor, writer, and translator for the Centre for Development and Environment (University of Bern, Switzerland) and as a consultant for the UN. I'm half-German/half-Danish, grew up in Japan and have lived in the UK, France, Switzerland, and Thailand. I have a BA (Hons) from the University of Sussex, UK (1992) and a MA from Malmö University, Sweden (2014).

I’m very excited that A Bornholm Reader is out! I really hope you like it. I set out to create the kind of book I’d like to read when I’m on holiday in a place that’s new to me, and I want to learn a bit about the place beyond what’s in the guidebooks. And in case you’re wondering why I chose this particular destination:

Every family has a story, and Bornholm figures in ours. I grew up with an image of this tiny island in the Baltic Sea, in my mind a mystical place where the jagged rocks and icy wind require an extra dose of hygge on either side of its short summer. But stories get lost when there’s no one left to tell them, and when my Bornholmer mother turned 80, I decided to find out more about this windswept Baltic island of several generations on my mother’s side of the family. What is this place that has captured the hearts of so many, but is sometimes forgotten on maps of Denmark, and how have identities been formed here? I decided that the best way of finding out would be to let the experts speak. This book is the result of organizing, curating, and translating this content.

Enjoy – and happy travels, whether in person or from your armchair!

Tina