CESRI 2008

Last Week in Europe

2008-07-07T11:01:00.002-06:00

Well, this is it, the final week of my stay Europe. This Friday I will be in Krakow, Poland for a debriefing session for my fellowship, then I'll be back to the US. Instead of putting up with a 17 hour train ride from Tubingen to Krakow, I will instead take the train to Munich on Thursday, then fly to Poland on Friday. Hopefully I can get in a good bike tour of Munich this time while I'm there.

Helsinki

2008-07-07T09:51:00.033-06:00

This last weekend I was charged with presenting a poster for a conference in Helsinki. While it was mostly business, I was able to go out and see the town. Helsinki is, in fact, a very small city, only ~500,000 people. It is very possible to see most of the city in just a day or two.

The Sea Cloud II can be seen here anchored in the harbor. It was an impressive cruise ship that has a cool itinerary, including St. Petersburg.

The center piece of Helsinki is the Helsinki Cathedral. It is a Lutheran church (in fact there is a Martin Luther statue inside) and is very modestly decorated inside. No gold, no silver--just an organ, some pews, and that's about it. A big difference from the central European cathedrals I've seen before.

Another nice church is the Uspenski Cathedral. The lighting was really nice now.

Before I went to bed, i wandered around a bit. Here's a picture of the train station clock tower. Note the time, it's almost 11pm and there is still plenty of light.
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On Saturday, since yesterday was too busy to enjoy my birthday, I decided to go to Suomenlinna, an incredible island fortress near Helsinki that you can get to by a 15-minute ferry ride. When I arrive, I stop by the island grocery store for a sandwich and some beer for the day--I plan on making it all the way around before nightfall.

After getting off the ferry, I turn around and snap a picture of Helsinki. You can see the church in the center.

Starting around the island revealed several beautiful landscapes and views of the Baltic.

This is the tomb of Augustin Ehrensvärd, the original designer of the fortifications of the island. Well I'm getting hungry (not because of the tomb), so I will go off and find a place to enjoy my sandwich and a cold beer.

After lunch, I proceeded down the east side of the island and encountered this very large bunker. I poked around inside but there wasn't much there, just several large empty rooms.

This is the view from atop the previously shown bunker. The clouds were a little heavy here, but they didn't last long. It was a very nice day.

Here's a good view of the man-made bunkers that are all over the island.

These guns point west, into the channel that separates Helsinki from the island.

I finally make it to Kings Point, the southern-most point of the island that protects a small passage way created by another island to the south.

Here you can watch a sailboat navigating this tiny passage. The view from the water must be pretty intimating, with all those cannons pointing at them.

After enjoying the beer, I make way around the point and start making my way back along the other side of the island.

In this picture you can see how many times this building was destroyed and rebuilt. This place has really seen a lot of action.

I found this cool cave entrance and decided I'd check it out. However, this turned out to be more than I bargained for as this particular cave system was immense. The following pictures were taken as I tried navigating the complex system of tunnels.

The caves were pitch black. I needed the flash of my camera to see where I was going every once in a while. Hopefully, I will find an exit soon.

These caves are lined with limestone. Apparently the limestone was actually brought to the island by sea to help make the extensive cave system.

At last I see an exit--finally. So I leave the caves and head up on top of a nearby hill.

This cannon here points to the south-east.

They had plenty of extra barrels in case of mishaps or direct hits.

These guns point east, in the general direction of St Petersburg.

There even was a nice submarine that you could walk through.

There are actually about 950 people who live on the island, I guess a good many of them live in these buildings.

I waited for the ferry back to Helsinki on a nice bench with a great view. Here's a little video to help capture the moment.

Here's the Embraer ERJ that got me back and forth between Stuttgart, Germany and Helsinki. While the jet is small, the Finnair staff were awesome. Serving hot lunches, tea, and wine--even on this 2 hour and 40 minute flight.

Munich

2008-07-07T09:09:00.011-06:00

Chris, my CESRI roommate in Budapest and regular weekend travel, and I decided to meet in Munich for a weekend.

We started off on Saturday with building a good foundation of food for the beer drinking escapades to follow. Our first stop was this nice beer hall next the main square.

Chris was a little concerned on whether or not he could handle all the beer. In all fairness, he was feeling a little sick. He did manage to pull it together and hang out most of the day.

Here's a video on how to handle a liter of beer, note the grip.

The most impressive architecture was the Rathaus in Munich located in Marienplatz.

This church is located very close to the Rathaus. Again, it was way too big to capture all of it with a photograph.

This beer garden was located in a park near the university. In this unusual tower, there was some lovely polka music being played by a live band.

A beer garden is a real German tradition. You grab some beer, some food, and go sit on picnic tables and have a great time.

They go through several kegs in an afternoon

Ahh, the beer, so good. I will be back in Munich one more night to catch my flight to Poland, I certainly look forward to it.

Last Day in Prague

2008-07-07T08:05:00.017-06:00

I decided to stay in Prague until Monday for better train options and also to see more of the city. Alison was again kind enough to accompany me, yet we decided to explore an area she's never seen before. We opted for the Petřín, which is a big hill across from castle area. So we headed off by foot to check it out.

Along the way we encountered the Dancing House (also known as the Drunk House). It sort of looks like two people dancing if you use some imagination. The purpose of this architecture was to let the world know that Prague is a modern city, I'm not sure if it worked or not.

After crossing the bridge we ended up in this interesting park at the base of the hill. We encountered this really dark sculpture on the garden and we spent several minutes trying to figure it out. Regardless, it was powerful.

We took a tram up to the top the hill. It is possible to walk up it, but we really didn't feel like it.

When we got off the tram, we encountered this wonderful garden. The weather was exceptional and the colors of the flowers really stood out. You could literally find any color rose you wished here.

Here are more.

There was also this large maze where you have to try to get to the "heart". Metaphors anyone?

On the top of the hill, there is an observation tower that stands 60m (~200ft) in the air. It looks very similar to the Eiffel Tower, yet just smaller. Alison was interested in going up, however I was slightly reluctant as I have little trust in man-made heights. Nevertheless, I didn't want to wait on the ground in shame while she enjoyed the view, so up I went.

So we made it to the halfway point. We went up several stairs that spiral around the tower along the outside (i.e. the tower is to the inside and the fall of death is to the outside). Behind me in this photo you can see the Charles' Bridge.

Here's Alison pointing to the Charles' Bridge.

Here's a view of the cathedral.

So here's another portrait of myself with the cathedral clearly visible in the castle area behind me. Man, are we high up in the air!

After several hundred more steps, we made it to the top. Again, the height was really starting to bother me a bit. I guess it may be related to the fact that a couple of stairs I stepped on lifted up a bit when I stepped on the edge of them--not something you want when you're two hundred feet up in the air. However, here you can see Alison enjoying the view from the top of the tower. I wasn't enjoying it so much as it was swaying way beyond my comfort zone. But nonetheless, it was a great view. However, I'm looking forward to reducing the distance between my feet and the ground. At the bottom of the tower is a small, yet fantastic, museum of Jára Cimrman, a fictional character whom I would like to know more about.

Here's a picture of the cathedral from on top of the tower. You can see much more than photo of it at the halfway point.

Later that night, I watched the Czech soccer team lose at an English pub and waited awhile until the coast was clear before heading back to my hostel. Along the way, I found some great views of the city at night.

Another angle. Well tomorrow I'm back on the train and heading back to Germany. Prague was great fun, although at times a little crazy, yet the architecture was astounding. Definitely a place I would like to visit again.

Prague (Misc)

2008-07-07T07:47:00.010-06:00

I'm not sure about what this statue symbolizes, but it looks pretty funny from a side angle :)

Yep, Prague also had public viewing areas for the Eurocup

On Saturday, it was the only day of the year that the Prague museums were open for free. We went to the National Museum of Prague (click on the link for cool pictures of it). The place was packed, it was difficult to move around so we were in there only briefly. Here was one of the more interesting features: This foot is actually a doorway to an exhibit.

They had a nice assortment of rocks in the museum. Of course, I couldn't help myself from taking a picture of some dolomite.

This is one of my favorite statues. It stands outside one of the Jewish Synagogues in the northern part of Prague. We had a nice lunch across the street.

Prague has a very rich night life. A popular activity is pub crawling, where a group of thirsty revelers head out to try their limits on all sorts of partying. We opted to venture out on our own. We found this interesting place next to the hostel. The bartenders performed this flame-throwing act for the patrons.

There were many fun clubs with great music and dance floors. Here was one we found on Saturday night. My favorite club was "Central Europe's Largest Dance Club" that had 5 floors, each floor had a different DJ and style of music. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera to capture any of the craziness.

Prague Castle

2008-07-07T06:39:00.022-06:00

We headed up to the castle on our first full day, lead by Alison, a CESRI Fellow who is staying in Prague for the summer. The castle isn't like the Disney castle, but a series of buildings and walls. Here you can see the gate. The guy on the left is stabbing somebody with a dagger and the guy on the right is about to club someone. Life must have been pretty tough back then.

The biggest feature of the castle is the St. Vitus Cathedral.

It was very difficult to get a picture capturing most of the cathedral. Here's my best attempt.

Here are the front doors.

The detail was astonishing. As can be seen with these gargoyles jetting out of the cathedral walls.

Another angle of the gargoyles.

On the outside of the building is painted a brief summary of the Catholic religion: people going to heaven on the left, people praying in the middle, and people going to hell on the right. At least this is what we thought it meant.

This cathedral is massive, and like all I've seen, are decked-out with amazing detail inside.

Here are the organ pipes.

The stained glass inside was magnificent. There were so many of these windows inside, each telling a different story.

More stained glass.

And more.

The windows in the cathedral really add an intense feeling.

I think this is where the Pope sits during his visits.

And here's the altar.

The tomb of John of Nepomuk resides inside. It was pretty creepy as you had to walk around, very close to it, to exit. I always felt it to be a little bizarre to keep bodies around.

Here's another tomb.

The Prague castle

Prague

2008-07-01T11:48:00.009-06:00

Most of the buildings in Prague have detailed artwork, whether statues or paint, like on this pizzeria.

The Charles Bridge, spanning the River Vltava, is very impressive. Along the bridge are several statues lining the edges. During the day it is packed full of vendors and tourists.

Here is one of the statues along the bridge. The black thing in the background is a bird that was flying around when I was taking the picture--what a ham.

The astronomical clock was a big attraction. On every hour, some figures around the clock, such as the skeleton, become animated.

Here is a video of the clock in action. Try to focus on the skeleton on the top right of the frame.

Salzburg

2008-06-26T04:22:00.018-06:00

After 3 1/2 hours on the train from Vienna I made it Salzburg. The next train to take me back to Tubingen leaves in 4 hours, so I start running from the train station into the city center.

Salzburg sits in the middle of several large mountains in the Alps along the Salzach river. There are great bike trails along the river and most of the streets are small and filled with shops and markets. Well my time is ticking, so I must run along.

There is a huge fortess on top of one of the mountains. You can hike up to it or take a cable car. Unfortunately I had time to do neither and was forced to appreciate it from below.

Next to the house where Mozart was born there is this incredible garden.

Of course, there were some flowers.

There were so many statues, fountains, and bridges that you could spend an entire day exploring all the details.

There was even this awesome stage in the garden where some performances are put on during the summer.

I found this really cool cathedral and decided to spend some time there.

The inside was amazing, but the lighting was poor for photographs. Wow, I've been inside 2 churches withing 2 days, this is a record for me!

Since I had limited time and I'm not the best photographer, I took a little video of the inside.

On the backside of the cathedral there was a soccer fanzone setup. Soccer is very important, especially during the Eurocup.

Time was running out. I was very disappointed that I didn't have enough time to up to the fortress, so I found this 7-story hotel with a cafe on top. The views were spectacular and I enjoyed them with a fine cold beer from the local brewery.

A nice view of the river and the surrounding mountains.

There was a great view of the fortress as well.

I decided to take the stairs down from the cafe and encountered this Buddhist display on one of the hotel floors. On the wall are some good words of wisdom.

Last Day in Vienna

2008-06-25T11:14:00.009-06:00

On the last day, we took the metro over to see the Riesenrad, the largest ferris wheel in Vienna. For 8 euros, you can go for a ride once around and it lasts about 20 minutes.

It was a very large ferris wheel with big wooden gondolas. The floors creaked when you walked across them, which added to the suspense.

The ride was pretty smooth and the views were spectacular.

The ferris wheel is located in a big amusement park. Some of these rides looked pretty insane.

Jay, our CESRI fellow who is staying in Vienna for the summer, seems to be enjoying the ride.

Here's a small video for your viewing pleasure.

Well, on the train and heading home, but first, I'll hop off in Salzburg.

Vienna

2008-06-25T09:15:00.010-06:00

So three of us went to Vienna one weekend and had a blast. It was much more modern then Budapest, but some of the buildings had a similar style. The metro was great and we had nice hostel next to the main train station. One of the CESRI fellows who came knew somebody who lives in Vienna and she and her friends took us out to some awesome clubs. We had back-to-back, 5-in-the-morn type of nights. By the end of the visit I was very raw, yet felt well-cultured.

The main attraction in Vienna was St Stephen's Cathedral ( Stephansdom ).

This place is huge. It is impossible to capture it's amazing-ness with a single picture.

I thought it was kind of weird that there was a mass service going on. I guess some people actually go to these churches for their intended purpose, not just for photo opportunities.

Even the back of the cathedral was interesting.

I really liked the national library. It had a lot of detail and a cool shape.

Of course, I thought it looked best at night.

The Euro Cup was going on when were in Vienna, in fact, one of the stadiums that the games actually played in is located in the city. So there were fans everywhere. In fact, they had this "fan zone" set up where you could watch the game outside on one of a dozen or so giant televisions. You can look at a live webcam here.

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This video was taken just down the street from St. Stephen's Cathedral

They had this huge flag that they paraded down the street, again craziness.

The Aftermath
The place was literally trashed after the rally.

One of the museums had the mummy of Tutankhamun (King Tut) on display, but they decided that the statue out front needed to be outfitted with an Austrian soccer jersey.

I decided to take it easy and enjoyed a fine Austrian beer

Folk Music Festival

2008-06-24T08:49:00.004-06:00

On one weekend there was an interesting folk festival held all around the old town area and I came across this interesting dance.

More Tübingen

2008-06-24T08:04:00.009-06:00

I took a hike up to the castle in town one Sunday and found the view to be quite nice. There is a museum inside, but it was closed.

My Apt (click on any picture to make it bigger)

I circled my apartment in the picture. I put my desk between the two windows that you see in the circle and enjoy a nice view.

Cool Tunnel

While making may way around the castle I encountered a few cool tunnels.

This view overlooks the other side of the town. I live on the other side of the mountain you see on the right of the picture. You can see the Neckar river in the middle.

Funny Sign
I took a different way down and encountered this funny sign along the road. Can you guess what it means? (Please drive slow!)

Strawberry wine?
When I got back from my hike I stopped in a pub for a nice cold brew. After I swallowed it down, the bartender recommended her favorite drink as shown in the picture. It is basically strawberries that have been soaking in some liquor and then served with some wine. Two of these will bring a Blitzkrieg of a hangover!

Tübingen

2008-06-24T07:49:00.005-06:00

After a 12 hours on the train, I made it to Tübingen. After settling in, my landlady took me around for a quick tour of the town, which was interesting since she spoke no English and my German is about as good as my looks. But anyway, we somehow managed. The town is located in the Swabian region in Germany and the Swabian people are known for their hospitality and also for being a little stingy, however I have found little truth to the latter.

I stopped by the Neckarmüller beer garden and took this picture while enjoying a fine German wheat beer. The river you see is called the Neckar and on the other side of the bridge is cool island which you walk or bike around.

Last night out in Budapest

2008-06-24T07:41:00.006-06:00

On the last night in Budapest, we went to a crazy bar and played some mature drinking games.

I don't remember all the rules (they change each time) but it always started with placing the hands in the center. They guy you see in the picture is Greg, a fellow computer scientist who is staying in Prague for his research this summer.

Sorry for the delay

2008-06-24T07:38:00.001-06:00

I haven't posted anything in a while due to losing my camera cord in Budapest (probably). But here comes more!

Last Night in Budapest

2008-05-26T06:24:00.000-06:00

On the last night, we were taken to dinner on a boat that cruised along the Danube as we ate good buffet food with wine and champagne, and some live classical music. I managed to get outside after dinner and took some photos.

Onward to Germany.

Old Town Bratislava

2008-05-26T06:10:00.000-06:00

Downtown Bratislava was quite beautiful, in contrast to the university. We had a very robotic tour guide, but we did learn a little of the history.

This is part of the Holocaust memorial. This picture is actually in honor of the synagogue that the Soviets tore down to make way for its "modernization" of the town.

The Danish embassy in Slovakia also serves as a bar.

Here's a popular tourist attraction: A jolly old pervert, as I like to call him. He symbolizes someone who looks up dresses when women walk past.

A close-up view of him.

Bratislava, Slovakia

2008-05-26T05:50:00.000-06:00

We took a day trip to Bratislava, in Slovakia, to tour the Univerzita Komenského. It was fairly run-down on the outside, remnants of the soviet-era architecture and lack of strong academic funding, however, I found the faculty and students quite proud and enthusiastic about their research and it was impressive, given such a modest budget.

As you can see, the outside is quite worn-out.

The inside wasn't that great either.

However, they are able to still perform some fantastic experiments, like this laser lab. Because of their limited funding, Eastern European researchers tend to focus on the hard sciences, where expensive equipment is not too necessary. One of the most interesting observations I made is that these scientists work very closely with their students--I mean shoulder-to-shoulder in the laboratories--all day long, even though many of these scientists teach multiple classes at multiple universities: amazing!

Random Statues

2008-05-26T05:44:00.001-06:00

Nearly everywhere you go, there is some random statue that you can find. This one was found on a wall of some apartment building.

Another cool random statue.

Sedilia

2008-05-26T05:32:00.000-06:00

Many buildings in the castle area have what is known as sedilia, basically meaning that modern renovations of the building has kept something about its previous architecture. If you look next to the door in this photo, you can get an idea of what it means.

Hungarian Academy of Sciences

2008-05-26T05:25:00.000-06:00

The Academy of Sciences is an impressive building containing several rooms of priceless artwork of famous scientists and aristocrats. We were lucky to have a private tour of the building.

It is very impressive-looking at night.

Another Statue

2008-05-26T05:16:00.000-06:00

Here's a statue honoring the overcoming of Muslim control in Hungary. Note the turban on the boys head at the bottom of the horse

Emperor on Horse

2008-05-26T05:10:00.000-06:00

Budapest has a rich history of emperors and sieges. Here's a statue of one.

Here's another angle of it.

Yes I Was There

2008-05-25T14:09:00.000-06:00

Here's the proof. At this point, I was very, very tired. Like damn tired.

Saint Stephen's Basilica

2008-05-25T14:00:00.000-06:00

One of the coolest places was St Stephen's Basilica, located near the office of our hosts. It is a basilica because it contains the only remaining anatomy (a hand) of the martyr.

Another cool view of it.

First Full Day in Budapest

2008-05-25T13:56:00.001-06:00

5/19/08 Early start for some traditional Hungarian breakfast at the hotel. It wasn't too bad. Sat through several lectures over international education. We had a nice walking tour of the Buda side of the river, going to the castle area. It was a pretty cool, at least what remains of it (it was a German hide-out in WWII and most buildings were bombed to rubble. After the tour: more orientations and another dinner at a fancy restaurant with some fantastic, live jazz music.

First City Lights in Budapest

2008-05-25T13:45:00.000-06:00

Budapest is amazing at night. Nearly every cool building is lit up with several hundred bulbs of many colors. Here is a picture of the palace on the Buda side.

Hungarian Food

2008-05-25T13:37:00.000-06:00

Here's my first Hungarian dish, called pork knuckles. It was a lot of food and it tasted great. The potatoes were awesome.

Made It

2008-05-25T13:34:00.000-06:00

5/18/2008 Finally made it to Budapest around 12pm local time after an adventurous landing. I snagged some Forints (Hungarian currency) from the ATM and got a speed-racer cab to the hotel, after managing the language barrier: Hungarian is a hard language to learn! With a nice case of jet-lag, us fellows met in the lobby for a language and city orientation of Budapest, I'm sure I'll forget everything after I sleep finally. We were taken to dinner at a great restaurant, enjoying some national cuisine. I had a pork knuckle, resembling a cave-man style hunk of meat with some pickles and vegetables. The wine was good--of course I thought the “red” was better than the “white”. The Cock Testicles (no joke, it is a food dish) weren't that bad either, just a little chewy. A group of us walked along the Danube after dinner and were amazed at the city lights along the river. The views are fantastic. Well, time for some necessary shut-eye.

Almost there

2008-05-25T13:33:00.001-06:00

5/18/2008 Arrived at Paris airport around 7AM. All I can say is that I'm glad I remembered some French as my seat was given to someone else, so I was put on the waiting list, but assured I would probably make it since they make everyone check-in on connecting flights and they close check-in 30 minutes before the flight, so they always plan on screwing over some passengers. While I was first on the waiting list, the attendant proceeded to give the available seats to French-speaking passengers, knowing that I needed a seat. Realizing this, I spoke a little French and finally got a seat. I guess the US has a long way to fix its international reputation.

The Start

2008-05-25T13:31:00.000-06:00

5/17/2008 Left Denver after only a few hours of sleep. Made it early to JFK where I enjoyed a couple of 10-dollar a pint Stella's and some fish and chips. My flight to Paris left 30 minutes late. The story behind the delay was quite comical. As we were taxiing, I noticed that the personal in-flight entertainment system was rebooting and that it was a version of Linux. I thought that it was pretty cool, thinking that it was good of Delta for using such an open-source approach. However, before take-off the pilot apologized for the delay and indicated that it was due to a problem with the entertainment system. Ha Ha Ha, I guess the Linux community still has some work to be done.

It's Official

2008-04-24T00:06:00.000-06:00

I will be working with Gunnar Raetsch and Koji Tsuda at the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the Max Planck Society in Tübingen, Germany. All I can say is that I'm pretty stoked!

The Countdown Begins

2008-04-22T01:13:00.000-06:00

Well, I've been selected for this program, CESRI, that sponsors US graduate students to perform research in Central Europe for the summer. I will leave for Budapest on May 17 and arrive on the 18th for a week of orientation and sight-seeing. More details when I make my travel arrangements. Now, onwards to some final projects and exams--grad school is so wonderful sometimes.