douglas.stebila.ca » Blog

Visiting Zürich

Douglas — Thu, 09 May 2013 22:56:09 +0000

In the alps I’ve been in Europe for research for the last three weeks, and last weekend I made a trip down to Zürich to meet some colleagues at ETH Zurich on Friday and spend the weekend exploring Zürich and the surrounding area of Switzerland with friends. Though I’ve been to Switzerland previously, I’d never been to Zürich.

Grossmünster, Zürich On Saturday, my former Waterloo roommates Heather and Chris, who know live in Lausanne, came to Zürich for the weekend. Heather and spent Saturday wandering around the city. We made a particularly special discovery in the evening at a chocolate shop near the train station. Sprüngli Swiss chocolates — the caramel fleur de sel are the best! Of course we had to try a few chocolates. We didn’t try them all, but one of the truffles we had, the caramel fleur de sel, was sooooo good that it must have been the best. While waiting at the airport for my flight the next day, I may or may not have used all my remaining Swiss francs purchasing more of these.

With Heather Heather and I headed out for a drive in the country on Sunday. Switzerland has an excellent car sharing scheme of which Heather is a member, so we were able to take a train out of the city and then pick up a car at the train station. Alpine valley with dandelions Heather kept apologizing that the weather was so bad, as you can plainly see.

More photos are available in my photo gallery.

Flooding in Brisbane

Douglas — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 11:44:12 +0000

Brisbane River at peak I was out of the country in 2011 when Brisbane flooded, but I’m here now. Thankfully the flooding is not nearly as bad as it was then. We had two solid days of rain on the weekend, then near-gale-force winds. Brisbane Riverwalk almost inundated Flooding peaked yesterday and today in the city with the river about 2m above normal. My university was closed as a precaution, but will re-open tomorrow without problems. I went down to Brisbane’s Eagle St Pier / Riverside area and the water level of the river was just a hair below the walkways. My home, being in a suburb whose name ends in the word “Hill”, was unaffected.

World Tour: New York, New York

Douglas — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 12:33:16 +0000

Times Square plays host to one of the largest, and most watched, New Year's Eve parties in the world. Only a fraction of the people attending squeeze into the 2 block radius around Times Square; the rest fill in up Broadway and 7th Avenue for blocks.

World Tour: Uluru, Australia

Douglas — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 08:00:58 +0000

Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, is one of Australia's geographic icons. It is a standstone rock formation, some 350m tall and 9.4km in circumference. It plays a major role in the traditions of the A?angu people, the local aboriginal people.

World Tour: Waterloo Region, Ontario

Douglas — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 08:00:36 +0000

The West Montrose covered bridge near Waterloo is the last historical covered bridge in Ontario and dates from 1881. According to Wikipedia, covered bridges were also known as a 'kissing bridges', since couples would be out of sight as they passed through the bridge and could?horror of horrors?kiss.

World Tour: Cairo, Egypt

Douglas — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 08:00:58 +0000

The Khufu ship, also called the solar boat, was buried just outside the Great Pyramid of Giza around 2500 BC. It was a ceremonial boat?probably not seaworthy?designed to carry king and the sun god Ra across the sky in the afterlife.

World Tour: Milford Sound, New Zealand

Douglas — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 08:00:27 +0000

Milford Sound, which Rudyard Kipling once called the eight wonder of the world, is the rainiest place in New Zealand and one of the rainiest in the world. It rains on average 182 out of 365 days, totalling nearly 7m of rain a year and sometimes 25cm in a day. Sunny days for tourists are rare, but cloudy days are still spectacular.

World Tour: Sydney, Australia

Douglas — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 08:00:50 +0000

The Sydney Opera House's design may be iconic, but like many great works of art its creation was embroiled in controversy. The architect, Jørn Utzon, resigned (forced out due to political interference) before the building was completed, and it was finished nearly 10 years late and at 14 times the original budget. Only in the late 1990s, some 30 years later, did the project reconcile with the architect, though he never saw the building in person before passing away.

World Tour: North Korea

Douglas — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 08:00:27 +0000

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea is between 1 and 4 km wide, and just a few dozen kilometres from the southern capital, Seoul. Tours of the south's part of the DMZ are common, stopping at this overlook with North Korea in the background. Photos from the edge of the overlook are prohibited to avoid annoying the north, but are allowed from a few steps back.

World Tour: Himeji, Japan

Douglas — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 08:00:54 +0000

Himeji-jo Castle, near Osaka, is one of the finest castles in japan. The site dates from the 1300s, while the current castle was built in the 1600s.