28 July 2013 ~ Flying to Vancouver

Listening to: Maxi Priest ~ Watching the World Go By


From Calgary I had a connection through Vancouver.

The Rocky Mountains somewhere over Canada.

Landing in Vancouver.

My flight was delayed leaving Calgary so I missed my connection. The airline put me up in a hotel but my rebooked flight was early the next day so I didn't have time to take the train into the city of Vancouver. And then my rebooked flight was also delayed, so I spent a lot of time staring at the airport lounge carpet.

26 July 2013~ Calgary ~ Part II

Listening to: Jesse McReynolds ~ Black Muddy River, Rex Benefit, Fillmore, SF, 12/4/2010

(Jesse McReynolds has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1964. I was fortunate to see him play in this performance at the Fillmore.)


In the distance you can see the Olympic Stadium from 1988.



 From the 35th floor of the customer building, one gets a good perspective of the city layout.

 

I ate dinner outside, at the Bow River Barley Mill, which is right across the street from the hotel. I enjoyed reading a book and waiting for my co-worker while sampling the fare.

 

 



To quench my thirst I could not pass up a beer called "Grizzly Paw Rutting Elk Red Ale".

Nor the soup of Guinness, Crab and Asparagus. Yummy...and I'm not a big crab fan. A spicy chicken sandwich was an added bonus.

It was a lovely afternoon.

21 July 2013 ~ Calgary ~ Part I

Listening to: Phil Lesh & Friends ~ A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall ~ Red Rocks, Morrison, CO


I had the opportunity to go Calgary last week for work. Arrived on Sunday afternoon early enough to walk around a bit.

I stayed at the Sheraton Suites - Eau Claire.

The event "Stampede" had just ended its two-week run. So the hotel lobby was still decorated.

Stampede is a big rodeo event. The show almost didn't go on because Calgary was completely flooded just prior. The theme of the event became "Come Hell or High Water" - and t-shirts abound with this message. Some of my customer's team members had their houses destroyed in the flooding. Amazingly the downtown recovered, but some hotels still were closed due to flooding repairs. They flew in 450 Americans to help with the Stampede grounds clean up.

I came across this windmill in a nearby park overlooking a children's swimming wading pool. The weather was quite nice, high 70s.

The 1886 Buffalo Café finds its home in an over 100 years old building, and was the home of the Eau Claire and Bow River Lumber Company, which was founded by Peter A. Prince - a famous Calgary architect who built Calgary's first sky scraper . Prince's Island is named after him.

It's only open for breakfast and lunch, so I missed it the change to eat there.

 

13 July 2013 ~ Flasks

Listening to: Gina Sicilia ~ Addicted


I bought these 2 flasks as my souvenirs from Finland from the Central Market (which I posted pictures of earlier with those turtle statues in the parking lot).

Although this one is small, I liked the make and it came with these hand carved cups.

And this one is just classic.

They both came in a small wooden box with straw-like material. So it made the perfect gift for Skye! She really enjoyed trying it out.

http://youtu.be/GMLpBu52hM0

6 July 2013 ~ Clouds

Listening to: Toubab Krewe ~ Fire

My flight leaving Finland was at 6am, so I had to wake up at 3am and get to the airport. This is how light it was already looking out the hotel window.

Getting ready to board the plane.

I rarely have a window seat (by design, I prefer the aisles so I don't get "stuck"), so it was a nice treat to see the scenery. Finland is about 50% forest and 20% lakes.

Here's a video leaving Finland.

http://youtu.be/S6bB8BmHjKw

Got some cool sky and cloud photos.

Just a short 2 hours later, we are landing in Frankfort.

Here's a video on the descent.

http://youtu.be/85cCZ7GKrPw

5 July 2013 ~ Suomenlinna ~ Part II

Listening to: Portugal.The Man ~ Purple, Yellow, Red & Blue


I wish the blog could emit fragrance. There were so many white and purple lilac trees on the island and it brought back so many memories of the lilac tree in my backyard growing up.

Got a close-up look at the fortress.

These ornamented wooden houses belonged to the Russian garrison. Six of the original buildings have survived.

The Alexander Nevsky garrison church was built in 1854. After Finland gained independence the church was consecrated in 1918 on Christmas as a Lutheran church. (Finland is predominately a Lutheran country). The following year the 4 cupolas of the Orthodox style were torn down.

This building was turned into a military museum.

Just a nice view.

A submarine tucked away.

 

2 July 2013 ~ Heat Wave & Geese

Listening to: Phish ~ Golgi Apparatus (Noblesville, IL 8/12/10)


Yes, we are having a Heat Wave. I left my office in Pleasanton today and the temperature was 114F. By the time I reached Berkeley a quick 35 minutes later, the temperature was more bearable at 79F.

Back to the Finland trip. When I arrived at the island I became distracted by the number of geese families.

 

Lining the pathway, so I turned around as to not disturb the sleeping youngsters.

Here are a few cute video clips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkN9afYbziw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCryN8EvuWM


 

1 July 2013 ~ Suomenlinna ~ Part I

Listening to: Churchill ~ Change


I took the ferry to Suomenlinna after shopping in the market.

Situated on a group of islands off Helsinki, Suomenlinna was built during the Swedish era as a maritime fortress and a base for the Archipelago Fleet. Work on the fortress was begun in the mid-18th century. Today, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Finland’s most popular tourist attractions. Suomenlinna is also a district of the city of Helsinki, with a permanent population of more than 800.

Built on a cluster of rocky skerries, the fortress consists of an irregular network of bastions. During the Russian era, the fortress was extended both towards the sea and on the mainland.

Suomenlinna has played a key role in many turning points in Finland’s history. It has been the property of three sovereign states. The majority of its buildings date from the late 18th century, the end of the Swedish era. From the early 19th century to the early 20th century, Suomenlinna – then known as Viapori – was part of Russia along with the rest of Finland. Russian-era Viapori was a lively garrison town. After Finland gained her independence, Suomenlinna became home to a coastal artillery regiment, a submarine base and the Valmet shipyard, where ships were built after the Second World War for Finland’s war reparations.

Not the best picture of me...it's hard to take them of yourself and not have a funny face.