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Monday, July 20, 2015

Winter in July: Sydney, Australia


Well, I just got back from a work trip to Australia.  I had some hours here and there while in Sydney that I used to explore.  Going to Australia had always been a dream, and I felt fortunate to be able to see bits of it, even though I was working.


I'll start with some obligatory shots of the iconic Opera House.  The curved, arching architecture was really beautiful, and it helped to be perched out into the harbor for all to see.


Sydney's Opera House was a good target for photographs day or night.



Circular Quay was bustling in some restaurants and bars, but being the winter off season, it was easy to get around.


The Coathanger Bridge


There's a classy restaurant in the Opera House that seemed popular.


This view of the Opera House is from The Rocks on the other side of Circular Quay.  The Rocks had a variety of old time pubs that a friend and I checked out.


The Fortune of War, 1828 - apparently it's Sydney's oldest pub.  The beer was pretty good (a few local pale ales).


The architecture in Australia isn't very old, but The Rocks had a few older establishments to show us.


St Mary's Cathedral, near Hyde Park - a very passable cathedral, especially considering I was in New South Wales and not Great Britain.


And plenty of upscale shopping opportunities...needless to say, I didn't take part.


The Art Gallery of NSW had a number of very interesting pieces of Australian art.


A quintessential billabong on the left, and a 19th century version of Circular Quay on the right.


Ok, so this isn't Australia, but this painting of Milford Sound, New Zealand, was stunning.


Some cool Aboriginal art.


With all of Sydney available to me, I found myself going back to the stunning Royal Botanic Gardens day after day.  Anytime I had a spare hour I'd trek to the 30 acres near the Opera House and discover something I had never seen before.  The above shot is from my favorite place in the gardens - The Fernery.


I could never spend enough time sitting in those cast iron chairs in The Fernery, listening to exotic birds piping and whistling.


Rainbow Lorikeets and Cockatoos chirped and squawked in the gardens by day, and when I walked past at night I saw Australian Possums and giant Flying Foxes patrolling for food.


The obnoxious Cockatoos strolled the yard like pigeons.


Australian Wood Ducks - attractive, but less colorful than our Wood Ducks in North America.


Eels had populated all available ponds, and this Bearded Dragon was chilling in The Fernery while tourists bumbled past unawares.


The Royal Botanic Garden boasts over 140 palm species, and there were many types of trees that I had never dreamt of.


This Moreton Bay Fig Tree, native to Queensland, Australia, is an oddity.  It drops aerial roots from its branches, disguising the main trunk.  The older it gets, the larger the massive tree spreads - there was one specimen discovered in which the one organism covered an entire hectacre, or 10,000m.


I'm not creative enough to think up plants like this...


If you're ever in Sydney, of course go see the Opera House.  But, give yourself a few hours to get to the harbor via the gardens - you'll be glad you did.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Starkbierzeit in Saxony


After wrapping up another stint at Freie Universität Berlin, I had a spare day to check out Saxony's seat - Dresden.  I had heard about Dresden's beauty since German class in high school, and after reading Slaughterhouse-Five a couple years ago, I knew I wanted to see how the city had recovered after the Allied bombings.  Above is a picture of the recently rebuilt Frauenkirche that was destroyed in World War II.



Excavations are ongoing around the city.






The Frauenkirche was rebuilt in 2004.  After walking through the newly-paved cobblestone streets, I noted some advertisements for Starkbierzeit, or Strong Beer Season.  I stopped in at the Augustiner pub for a Maximator.



Starkbierzeit occurs every spring, when Germans shake off the winter doldrums with a doppelbock.



I wandered down the Procession of Princes, a pictorial history of Saxon royalty.

Residenzschloss - Royal Palace


Zwinger gardens

The Zwinger palace...probably more lively in the summer.


I walked across the Elbe and looked back at the Bruehl Terrace and the Frauenkirche.  I was searching for the Watzke Brauerei.


Augustus II the Strong

The Watzke brauerei was a solid microbrewery, but I decided to walk back across the Elbe for a Salvator doppelbock at the mainstay, Paulaner.


I convinced some American undergrads studying abroad to all try Salvator, then I made the trek to the train station to head back to Berlin.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Snorkeling with Manatees



Ok, so we don't live in Europe anymore, but that doesn't mean there aren't adventures to be had.  All winter we'd been talking about driving the ~350 miles to Crystal River, Florida to check out the manatees.  During the winter, hundreds congregate around the warm water in Three Sisters Springs.  With a long weekend available we threw the kayaks in the truck and drove east.


The paddle from our launch to the springs was about a mile, and as we neared the entrance to the springs we started seeing boils on the surface from rising manatees.  The water was slightly stained but we saw some creatures drift by.


The curious animals were interested in our kayaks and traveled in small groups of two to four.




When the canal narrowed and the water clarity increased, we could tell we were approaching the springs.


Near the entrance of Three Sisters Springs, there's a large roped off area where dozens of manatees rest and eat.  Snorkelers and paddlers are not allowed inside the buoys, but there were plenty of animals transiting from the springs to the canal that were willing to check us out.





We rented wetsuits, snorkels (yeah, someone lost them...), and brought our flippers.  We tied the kayaks up at the edge of the canal and snorkeled around before entering the gin-clear springs.








We stayed out there for an hour or so and as the tide rose we watched manatees swarm the entrance of the springs.


People and sea cows crammed into the idyllic swamp.  The water was deep, clear, and lined with mangrove roots that formed a twisted wall around the springs.  Sleeping and cruising manatees were everywhere.











Cover for National Geographic?
We had a lot of fun checking out the springs, but even with the wetsuit Em started feeling cold.  It was time to head back to the kayaks.

I'm not even sure how Em saw anything...

This is the gate out of the springs.  As the tide rose, a strong current pushed water into the swamp and we fought our way out.  It was an amazing trip and we would highly recommend it to outdoorsy folks.  Watching wild manatees up close was a rare treat and it gave us a better appreciation for them and their plight.