05/27/10
Artsi DCThis day was all in the frame of art. Arriving again by public transport in this capital city was smooth, with book reading overridden waiting time.
The walk from the Union Station to the National Art Museum was not that long but incredibly hot and when I arrived there sweat was running down my back.
Upon entering the museum my backpack was searched (as always, fear is present) and I was advised to bring it to the cloakroom, which I did. After a short stop at the restroom, where crowds of about 7 year old kids were streaming in and out with a teacher at the door trying to get a move on, I made my way to the various exhibitions. The building itself had the appearance of being heavy and huge, not so delicate in its details.
Of the art shown I did like the Auguste Rodin sculptures being impressed by all the emotions he was able to bring into being.
Other art did not touch me too much; there were a few Picasso; like an abstract painting of a woman that was fascinating. And I always liked the paintings of the old sail ships by the famous painter whose name just got lost in memory.
Passing through the tunnel to the modern art museum next door, I quickly stopped at the museum shop and got some food into me.
The modern art had two kinds of art, on one side totally abstract, that you stood in front of it and started meditating about the reason for its existence. The other kind was more specified and you saw what the artist might have wanted to say with it. I noticed that I liked it more in this than in the other museum. Also the building was modern and very airy not giving you the impression of being enclosed but of being outside and liberated.
05/25/10
Checking out the harbour of BaltimoreOld wooden ships always fascinated me. Maybe it is in my blood, having some ancestors who owned ships like that in Finnland (e.g. Harbinger). In Baltimore there was one, a partly reconstructed sloop-of-war. Walking inside and smelling the pitch used to seal its hull is always special. It kind of transports you back to the days, days you never experienced before.
05/24/10
Back to DCAn entertaining tour through the Capitol was the first thing on the list of today. It started with a overly heroic but little informative movie about the house of congress. The following walking tour on the other hand was good, especially supported by the radio headsets, relaying every word of the guide clearly despite the surrounding noise.
An underground Tunnel connected the Capitol with the LIbrary of Congress (www.LOC.gov). There again after a short time of waiting (which I covered by reading a book - hmmm...how apropriate ;-) the public tour started again with a heroic with little actual information.
What is it with these movies. Shouldn't they convey any useful information about the subject at hand. Is the human brain that incapable of comprehending information at a higher speed than a few facts a day? I don't get it.
Anyway it does not matter 'cause our tour guide was very capable to captivate the listeners attention during the whole tour by passing on interesting facts about many details of the building and its "inhabitants" (books and other media).
A photo stop north and south of the White House surprised me for I expected a much bigger building having only seen it in the news and in movies. So this was a reality check so to speak
"The laughing Man Tavern" serves a very good crabcake sandwich, for which my stomach thanked me for by turing up the heat (it was freezing in this restaurant). Realizing there once again, that food is best enjoyed in good company and not alone.
One more detail, Public transport works. I took the Metro rail and the MARC train back and forth.
05/23/10
What a crabGoing out for crab is the thing to do in Maryland and "Obrycki's" is the place to go for that.
For me this was the second encounter with these crustacean and this time I was armed with hammer and knife in addition to the bare hands. There we go to deconstruct these steamed now orange colored animals. Cracking open the shell with hammer blows and getting to the meat was quite a feat and required a bit of skill. Skillful we were and the crabs piled on our paper covered table vanished one by one.
It tasted gut, if not a bit too salty, as if these creatures had just crawled out of the sea especially for us... wait, thats exactly what they did!
- Pile of crab
- Ready for battle
- Deconstructed
05/22/10
Air & Space in DCGoing to the Smithsonian Air&Space Museum at the Mall in DC had always been a little boys dream. Expecially if you grow up reading the stats of every plane in the "William Green" airplane books and have always been fascinated by space travel.
Have you ever seen the movie "The right stuff" or read the book? Well that would be a good preparation for the entry hall of the Museum. History on display: Chuck Yeager's first super sonic flight in the orange X-1 showed the world that there was no physical sonic barrier in the air preventing it. The astronauts of Apollo 11, whose command capsule was shown, were the first humans to set foot on an extraterrestrial body. The X-15 was and to my knowledge still is the fastest human piloted rocket plane to date reaching a maximum speed of up to 7274 km/h.
One of the newest additions is definitely the "Space Ship One", the first privately owned passenger space plane to date. On June 21 in 2004 this rocket plane crossed the boundary to space (100km altitude) in an suborbital flight (not enough speed to stay in orbit).
05/18/10
Baltimore by rain
- Seaside area with the reused power plant
- My friend the doctor and the coast guard
- Orange before squares
05/16/10
A visit to MITTo visit my godfather has always been a high priority of my trip to the US. Now I finally after so many years made it there. It has actually been more like 17 years.
It was great to see him again. Talking about this and that - many technical topics making my head steam and sometimes spin. I was just slightly of my normal ground. It was interesting nonetheless to talk about radar, religion and the world economy.
On saturday we went to MIT where he and his wife got married and both had gone to study. They actually got married in the chapel that belongs to MIT. I thought that was mighty cool.
While eating Ice cream and sitting in one of the buildings of the campus, I watched the students. Quite different it seemed from home, because most students live near there, so I observed students going to the in-house Dunkin' Donuts or supermarket wearing clothes that I normally only wear at home or while working in the garden. Just fascinating. It gave the impression of everyone being at home there and the hall we were sitting was like the living room of their extended dormitories/rooms.
While walking through the main building of MIT we came by some of the laboratories of the Materials Science department. A familiar feeling came over me, like looking into the past.
- Materials department
- Ray and Maria Stata Center by Frank Gehry
05/14/10
A second dayWent to look for the bear, but alas he was not there
It was too bad and made me a little bit sad
So there I stand in the woods, noticing the many Mosquitos rising from the moss
They were on a blood-sucking spree and I had to flee
Going to the car - next stop Mount Acadia
- Algea on the shore
- A huge woodpecker slamming
- The Acadia mountain
05/13/10
Hiking in the Acadia National ParkDriving for a long time really makes you feel like a bag of potato being transported from place to place. It leaves you with a need for doing something with your legs propelling you forward. Hiking for example.
A friend recommended the Acadia National Park to be a very nice place to hike and lucky me I arrived at the right time with the sunny weather coming back.
At this time of year the masses of tourists haven't arrived yet, leaving the paths and trails nearly deserted.
A quote comes to mind while walking up the first hill called "Beehive". "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time". I think Annelie and I had read that first near a lighthouse on Trinidad.
The exercise was really good, to feel your muscles ache a little bit when going uphill.
At one time I stumbled upon a sunbathing snake. I noticed something on the path that did not fit but was a bit too slow to process the information in time. Well the snake was fast enough as it made its way into the bushes. Another snake, this time a tiny one, that I noticed only by the noise it made rushing through the dry leaves on the ground. It stopped watching me and so gave me time to take a picture.
05/11/10
A smooth ride
What do you need to have a good trip? No, not drugs. I mean by car. Well first of all a good road to drive on. And then there is the car and fuel for the car. What else? Oh yeah, food for you like Lindt 65% Madagascar chocolate, a bottle of orange Gatorade, a sandwich by Tim Horton (similar sandwich chain as Subway). And finally good music. When all this comes together the driving just goes by itself and you enjoy it while your mind is at ease. And hey guess what, no noteworthy traffic. A smooth ride.
The capital of the territory of Quebec has a beautiful old town that is a world heritage site. Walking around it you got this déja-vue feeling, very european old town I must say. Cobble-stoned streets and alleys and house after house only kept appart by their respective colour or texture.
What is also noteworthy is the scores of art shops all around, about every second store is one. Impossible to know who might be the target audience - tourists or locals?
05/09/10
Brunch and sunA very nice brunch in a in-restaurant (la petite marche) served as a nutrition before we went to see the "Cirque du Soleil" show "Totem".
The crepes, bacon, sausages and fruits as well as salad were well prepared and it was a delight to spend the mothers day morning like this. Seeing many of the child-mother couples sitting on nearby tables reminded me of home a bit. After paying for our meal we made our way towards the exit only to find it blocked by a waiting crowd who wanted to share our delight. Finally we made it out to the street relieved to have arrived at an earlier hours.
The show "Totem" consisted of multiple acts of various kinds like for example a clown act, trapeze acts and juggling acts. No animals were part of the show. This is I think a common ground of all the Cirque du Soleil shows.
Of the acts shown I liked the one trapeze act most where a couple moved on a trapeze in a embracing fashion mimicking attraction and shyness through movements of their bodies while being suspended high above the stage. it was just wonderful to see the fluid motions of the two artists well depicting the scence.
The finale of the day was to go eat good pizza with a friend and talk about god, the world and tv series to see and have seen. A day full of fun and entertainment.
05/08/10
More Impressions
- surfer on the river
- Habitat 67
- Green Thai Curry Home Made
05/07/10
An Olympic Swanby Roger Taillibert
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Old Montréal - Mount Royal
05/06/10
Montreal Canadians won game 4
Hockey time, NHL Time. A pub in downtown Montreal. A lot of Montreal Canadians shirt wearing fans staring intently at big flatscreens. A tension is in the air and with every check in the game there are shouts and with every goal for the home team there is a lot of cheering. It just pulls you in and the game was filled with action and nice moves - barely time to order another round of cider and beer. The final score 3:2 for the Canadians.
Honking and cheering along Saint-Catherine street as if they had already won the Stanley Cup and not "just" a game in the play-offs.
05/06/10
A walk in the cityStaying at a friends place I feel totally relaxed, no stress to do anything at all. It's nice. Staying in one place for a short while. It lets your mind settle down and think about other things than the next place to stay. I even cooked again and went jogging this morning. Just to get the blood pumping and to get awake.
I like the feel this city has as well as the two official languages spoken. International comes to mind even if the french is quite different from the one spoken in Paris. Bicycles everywhere gives the impression of a healthy population.
I like it here.
05/04/10
City picturesWalking around Montréal in the area of little Italy and Mile End
05/01/10
Vappu and other thingsWalking around Boston with my cousin as a guide talking about family and life itself , eating at the "Top of the Hub", listening to a short open air concert in front of Harvard and finally hitting some balls on a driving range. What a day that was. Oh and I again stumbled into the Coop, the all encompassing bookstore at Harvard square, and only got out carrying two more books to read ;-)
And today was not much different and filled with action like a soccer game of real sportspeople, meaning a game of the team of the daughter of my cousin. What action without end. Not too much tactics, no fouls, and generally a lot of fair-play, that what made up this game.
After saying farewell I was off back to other friends and "Vappu" celebration at the place of finnish friends. Good talk, food and mood - Kippis!
04/27/10
After New York there is BostonMy days in New York were really nice. I was fortunate to be able to stay with some friends in the Astoria area of Queens only a few meters away from the next subway station. They made me feel really at home there. Exploring the city I marched for miles an miles without even noticing the distances or the time passed. And the time passed very quickly.
So yesterday I got into the car and drove up to Boston. At the beginning I decided to go off the "beaten" Track or the one recommended by google maps, so I got lost and found a way which was wrong, going back into the city ending up at the Bronx Zoo where I finally turned back towards the north. Despite this little detour of about 1 hour I arrived only 5 minutes after 5 in the afternoon (my guess was 5pm before leaving New York). Meeting friends from Finnland and being welcomed as family was overwhelming. The two kids (Magnus and Melina) where on full throttle being excited about the new arrival, which made me smile not being used to such a welcoming committee.
Doing some sightseeing today, by this I mean that the "Duck Tour", which is a tour around the city in an DUKW (amphibious vehicule from WWII), was on the program and going to the science museum of Boston (which is a really good museum). In the evening after eating a delicious salmon from the grill (the temperature was monitored by radio transmitting thermometer - I thought that was very fancy) the son of Henrik was really eager to play with me so I gave in. There were some boxes of Lego on the floor and so I did that trip on the memory lane back to the time when there was a box of Lego at my home. I always liked Lego a lot. It gives you so many possibilities to create something new out of the different parts you had and it was totally natural to neglect the construction plans. So there I was with the two kids, all of us sitting on the ground. It was a lot of fun and while I played with them they were eager to teach me the Finnish language. They were giggling all the time when I said a word correctly. What a funny world this is :-)
04/25/10
A view from the Brooklyn Bridge04/24/10
Lower East Side and more
04/22/10
A city full of tall buildings
Following the directions I found my way without any wanderings off target. So I met Annelie's cousin and her boyfriend. What a warm welcome! My morning nervousness about finding my way around just dissipated.
The area where the flat is located is dominated by the greek immigrants, so we ended up getting Tzatziki among other things for lunch. I really have to say that the further north you go the better the food gets or the luckier I get with food :-)
Taking the subway into town reminded me a bit of Paris, which had been the last time I rode a subway above ground. After a hot chocolate with Elise, she went off to work and I off to the Central Park to do some wandering and reading in my guidebook.
Tall buildings as can be found around Manhattan always fascinated me. I guess since I got a book about the construction of the Empire State Building when I was, I guess 8 years old. Ending up taking over 300 pictures I made my way back to the flat and dinner and picture sorting.
04/21/10
PhiladelphiaToday I visited Philadelphia. A big city with a homey old town. The typical checkerboard style of the cities layout is remarkable and makes navigating so easy. Many historical locations educate about the formation of the United States. The Liberty Bell and the Independace Hall are just two I have visited. Benjamin Franklin scientific tinkerer, and politician had chosen Philadelphia for his new home after leaving Boston.
Strolling around I noticed a statue of a boxer at the stairs to the Arts Museum. Who might that be? A historic person? A famous sportsman? No, it is Silvester Stallone as Rocky from the first of the "Rocky" Movies. It is funny that this had made such a huge impact on this city to set up a statue.
After a hot chocolate at a Starbucks and talking to a local named Chris I made my way back to the car and out of town listening to Pink Floyds "Shine on your crazy diamond" on the radio, all 13 Minutes of it. A great song.
- Liberty Bell
- Rodin's Thinker
- Putting LOVE on a pedestal
- Independace Hall
- Rocky Statue
- Philadelphia
04/20/10
Smithsonian Air & Space Museum
- Space Shuttle Enterprise
- F-4U Corsair and Pitts Biplane
- SR-71
- "Top Gun" says hello
- Dark history
04/19/10
Thomas Jefferson - the architectMonticello, a place where Thomas Jefferson had made his home near Charlotteville. In the endeavor to bring education to the people he created the University of Virginia. In both cases being the architect. A self-taught architect. A very impressive person despite the fact that he had many slaves.
- Monticello
- Monticello
- University of Virginia
- University of Virginia (Rotunda)
- University of Virginia (Rotunda)
- University of Virginia
04/18/10
Harbour tour in Norfolk
The harbor of Norfolk is the biggest one for the US Navy. They had a tremendous amount of ships there, among them two huge aircraft carriers and so many destroyers, that I lost count. One of them came back from patrolling in front of Somalia to keep the pirates away.
04/17/10
Visiting HistoryHistory of exploration, colonization, independence and the defense of sovereignty are well depicted in the so called historic triangle that is made up by Jamestowne, Williamsburg and Yorktown. The way history was presented impressed me very positively. Being just able to take it all in at your own pace is a nice experience for once. Historic Williamsburg is well maintained and unspoiled by any fast-food chain or alike. I walked the town on foot starting from the visitors center not needing the car for a while.
The historic settlement of Jamestowne and the guided tour by a park ranger was very colorful and witty to make one laugh but still get a clear message.
So far this national park experiences have been a reward for a malnourished mind. Yorktown will be on the program for tomorrow.
04/16/10
Back towards the coastThe coast line of North Carolina was more beautiful than I had thought or expected. Despite the many generic three-storied houses there were miles and miles of deserted beaches left. Beaches where many a ship lay buried, sunken by german submarines or by a devastating storm. To keep the sailors at a good distance from the shores many tall lighthouses were shining their light out to the sea.
Flying has always been mans dream. The story of Icarus wanting to soar towards the sun. The wright brothers with their flight in 1903. They did this first step for mankind in North Carolina in a place called "Kill Devil Hills". A metal rail and four stones depict this achievement. Looking at it from todays perspective it does not seem a lot, these 59 seconds of flight at a bit more than jogging speed. But thinking back to the day where it was not everyday practice to take a plane to cover long distances it was definitely a pioneers accomplishment.
One can diminish that success by saying that the time was ripe for it and if not the wright brothers then someone else would have made this step. This is probably true but it always takes someone to do it to pull the whole world after it.
I was impressed
04/14/10
Driving along the AppalachiansA comfy mountain road, the Blue Ridge Parkway. Just enjoy the breeze, the drive, the curves.
- Farsighted
- Mount Mitchell
- My ride
04/12/10
Atlanta, a modern cityAtlanta, a modern city, has been the host to the summer olympics in 1996. The park in remembrance of 100 years of modern olympic games is nicely situated in the center of downtown. So after parking my car nearby I strolled around on foot. Really, downtown can easily be explored as a pedestrian. A bit of a surprise for a city this size.
The world of Coca-Cola, a exhibition resembling a attempt to brainwash people to think of the brand or a great presentation of excellent marketing. Sadly, it was not really worth the money (yeah, it cost some $). For me it was really overdone, especially the exaggerated friendliness of the guide at the start.
To see fishes, especially one that I had not seen before in real life I went to the next door Georgia Aquarium. Again a disappointment. Really not a good start to see this city. The various aquarium were too small for my taste. The fish I really wanted to see was the whale shark. I did see them, but again had a miserable feeling of pity for these caged animals. The previous aquarium I had visited was the one in Valencia and there I had been impressed.
A burger at the Hard Rock Café brought me back to life and off I went towards the Martin Luther Memorial site. There it was, his grave, buried next to his wife. I realized that I do not really know that much about him. It had never been a big topic in school. So I left the location with a new book in hand ("why we can't wait" - by Martin Luther King Jr.) with the intent to broaden my horizon.
Next stop, the state capitol building. This is the place where the state of Georgia is governed. After x-raying my backpack I was granted access. Interestingly they did not detect my swiss army knife.
If you ever go to Atlanta, you should definitely do this too. Very interesting historically. Many topics are presented in various locations in the house.
A nice encounter with the three guards of the chamber of representatives was just an addition.
The city itself appeared to me to be a bit generic but friendly in an impersonal way.
04/10/10
Heading up to Tallahassee
- Old State Capitol
- New State Capitol
- Mikey and Supreme Court
- "Officer Down"
The trip from Zephyrhills to Tallahassee took me more than 5 hours only stopping for lunch at a diner. Tallahassee is the capital of the state of Florida and houses the government buildings as well as the supreme court where the trial about the Al Gore vs. George W. Bush election was taking place.
Mikey, the cousin of my father with whom I had the luck of staying, showed me around town. A really nice place to live in my opinion. Looking around it gives you the feeling to be standing in a forest or a park. The air has this morning freshness all day long and the temperature is held down by the tree canopy. It definitely does not feel like a city of more than 160k inhabitants.
Being an avid fan of sports she showed me the football stadium where the spring game of the home team was to be this afternoon. The spring game is a training game to present the team line-up to the public as it would be at the beginning of the next season in fall. The Florida State University Seminoles had so many players in the team that they could form two teams to play against each other.
So there we went to watch the game. Us and 50000 others that could tear themselves away from tailgating (hanging out in the parking lot behind the back of the car).
It was very interesting for me to watch, not having seen such a game in real life and not knowing most of the rules. It was a great experience.
04/06/10
Skydiving refresher
- Rental car & my temporary home
- Cooking in the tiny kitchen
- Going up for my 103rd jump
Today I drove over to Zephyrhills to "Skydive City". This is the Dropzone where my skydiving friends go for Christmas.
After having not jumped for quite a while I decided to do a refresher to re-familiarize myself with all the emergency procedures and do one coached jump.
It was great fun stepping off the plane and tumble towards the earth. Tumbling though is not the correct word, since I was quite stable and in control. So Blue Skies and Safe Landings :-) for tomorrow.
Staying now in a mobile home trailer and cooking my own meals feels good. Well an now I am going out to do some jogging, get the pulse up :-)
04/05/10
Gone to the moviesA few days ago I went to see "Clash of the titans", which is a movie set in greek mythology about the battle between man and the gods of the Olympus (not the camera ;-). It was well made with good special effects. The story and the acting of the main character did not convince though. The whole plot was totally foreseeable which made it kind of boring.
Today then another 10 minutes drive took me to the "Cinemark" Movietheaters located at the "Festival Bay" Mall. This shopping location was nearly deserted on this monday evening. It even felt a bit spooky with half the shop locations abandoned. Either the mall is new or it is slowly going out of business. There are so many malls around here, I really see no purpose for another one, especially such a small one (compared to the others). Anyway, I went to see another movie. This time it was "Green Zone" starring Matt Damon as Marine Miller searching unhappily for non-existent WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction - for all who have forgotten) in Iraq. Again the movie was quite well made. But if you have seen "Black Hawk Down" and compare the two "Green Zone" really is not that much. It lacks substance and suspense (in a way).
Slowly the feeling arises that movies as such are no longer in my area of interest.
Tomorrow I am off to Skydive City in Zephyrhills, about an hours drive away. My plan is to do at least 3 jumps to finally get to 100.
Blue skies and safe landings to you all.
04/05/10
The Shuttle departs
10...9...8...7...6...5...an orange glow emits from the Shuttle and lights up its surroundings...4...3...2...1...Lift-off of the Space Shuttle "Discovery" on its way to bring the multi-purpose logistics module filled with science racks to the International Space Station (ISS).
The Shuttle rises up into the Sky with a flame as bright as a welding torch racing after the ISS that had passed overhead 15 minutes before.
The rumbling of the engines reaches my ears 17 seconds after Lift-off.
What a magnificent show and what an endeavor to soar into space.
04/04/10
A visit to the Kennedy Space Center
04/03/10
Shopping frency
Having arrived in Miami I made my way up to Orlando, since Orlando is near the Kennedy Space Center and therefore to the shuttle launch.
First thing after traveling so long very light I decided to go shopping. I was missing new reading material and I wanted to upgrade my photo editing software to the next level. This was a good excuse to make a short stop at the Apple Store and have a look at the new iPad. A nice little (or not so little) gadget but not for me for the moment.
It was a saturday and I had the feeling that everybody in the whole state of Florida had decided to go the the same shopping mall as I did. It was packed! The food court had the feel of my university canteen, people hunting everywhere for tables to become vacant.
Crowds are really not so much my comfort zone.
What I really noticed was the change in average body weight from french Guyana to Florida. It went up about 100%. I was quite shocked (though I had been here before) but not really surprise by it. The abundant supply of unhealthy fast food and the lack of personal exercise can only result in this. I did not see many possibilities for healthy nourishment or anybody doing anything to bring his body into shape. What might be the impact (financial and otherwise) of this situation on the health care that Obama wants to establish.
04/02/10
Island hopping to MiamiIt is not easy to get from french Guyana to the USA. You always have to do many stops. I decided to do the one carrier version and went with Air France/KLM. This took me by the way of island hopping through the caribbean. I was quite exhausted after all the take-offs and landings and was glad to have reached my destination with my luggage in hand. The car rental was just a shuttle bus ride away.
Florida here I am!
- Martinique by rain
- On the way to Guadelupe
- Landing in Haiti
"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool." - William Shakespeare