Telescopes at the Top of the World

Because of same strange warp in the space-time continuum, many of us that used to live in the Netherlands now live in California.  We made the trip to LA to visit some of our awesome friends from the Netherlands, in a much warmer, much sunnier local.

Bram and I with Harish, Andrew, and Robyn

During our trip we made the voyage to Mount Wilson, high in the mountains overlooking LA.

Mount Wilson has some amazing and historical telescopes.  Thanks to its location high above the LA smog, the viewing here is still pretty good.   The biggest of the telescopes here is the 100 inch Hooker telescope, which was the largest telescope in the world until 1949.  (And for a point - what telescope surpassed it?)

This is the telescope that Edwin Hubble used made his discoveries that galaxies, then believed to be nebula rather than independent star systems, were actually receding from Earth - leading to observational evidence that the Universe is expanding.

These telescopes are the perfect size to be mounted on my house!  (hint hint!)

Enjoying the brisk clear air.

The solar observatory is also pretty neat.  It's located on the top of an 18 meter tower.  An image of the magnified sun is projected at the bottom of the tower on a table.

Looking over LA, Harish, Andrew, and Bram.

Whale - It's What's for Dinner

The Reykjavik convention center and opera hall stands on the edge of the sea.  People either think of it as monumentally ugly (and hence, a waste of money) or really unique and beautiful. 

I'll just say that it did provide us some unique photos!  

And a unique selfie!

We walked along the shore of the city.  In the backdrop, windswept mountains enrobed in clouds testifies to the potential harshness of winter here.

Along the shore is this unique statue.  A point if you can guess what it symbolizes (no google).  (Hint: Take a look at my husband in this picture!)

The colorful buildings of the harbor, which will probably be much busier in the summertime, when whale and puffin watching tours depart from here.

One of the older boats.  Many fishing boats still depart from here. 

The lake in the center of Reykjavik was partially iced over - notice some of the birds swimming, while others stand on the ice. 

Near the center of the lake, many people ice skate.

An interesting statue...

This street is named Burgerjoint, after the Burger joint that is on it.  Talk about good publicity.

Nearby is a very famous hot dog stand.  Their menu is very simple: hot dogs and soda.  That's it.  We ordered some hotdogs.  They came with crispy french onions on the bottom and two types of sauce - one like a mayo, and one that was brown - and sort of indescribable when it comes to taste.  But the combination of the dog, the onions, and the sauces were truly yummy, and made us understand why this understated hot dog stand could stay in business, even with it's slim menu!

There are some other weird things on the menu in Iceland - namely, whale and puffin.  Most countries actually ban eating whale, and puffins, while not endangered, are not exactly thriving either.  

Bram tries some puffin....

Just kidding!!!  We love puffins!

Neither puffin or whale are a traditional Icelandic dish, and mostly tourists eat these animals just to say that they have eaten something new and weird.  Kind of sad, considering there are lots of other, environmentally conscious choices when it comes to meat.  (Puffin doesn't even taste that good, from what I hear.)  So if you go to Iceland, don't eat the puffin or the whale!  Let them live for another generation! :-)  

New York Round Up

All in all, we really enjoyed our weekend in New York City.

Everybody dance now!

We took a ferry to pass by the Statue of Liberty, which is still closed due to the hurricane.

But we could see it from a distance.

Along with Ellis Island.

On our way back, we saw something a bit frightening.  This ferry, much like ours, was listing wildly to one side.  I was happy it didn't tip over!  A point if you could guess what would cause such a big boat to tip like this.

Approaching the spectacular skyline of New York.

Within the concrete jungle.

Bram, thinking about something deep, I'm sure.

We also walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, afterwards eating pizza in one of the many famous Brooklyn pizzarias directly under the bridge.

The view of Manhattan from Brooklyn.

Who better to spend the weekend with?  He's a special guy for sure.

Mini-New York

Inside New York is a smaller version of New York, made of plastic blocks.

And within Lego-New York is a Lego store with an even smaller New York.

Standing on one of the buildings in Rockefeller Center, Batman keeps watch.

While on the streets, chaos reigns.  A group of construction workers try to free a waiter, buried up to his waist in concrete.  It's still unclear how he ended up in this predicament.

A Lego Atlas, almost as tall as a human being.

Most impressive of all, a Lego dragon winds his way through the store.

Other icons of New York duplicated in block form:

In other words, we visited my husband's version of heaven.

Boats!

So begins my tale of Baltimore, during my visit back to the US.

I have something in common with Sheldon from the Big Bang theory.  He has a passion for one mode of transportation, and I have passion for another.  Mine is boats.*

In Baltimore, the USS Constellation is docked.  This boat is one of the last sailed boats used by the navy. It served in the Civil War and intercepted slave ships.

Boats!

So I paid a visit to this impressive boat.

Sailor.

This bell was rung to let the people on board know how much time had passed.  After a certain number of rings, you knew your shift was over.

The sailors would not eat at tables.  Instead, they were divided into groups.  One member of the group would go and get the food, and they would eat it on a mat on the floor of the ship.

The second floor of the boat had rows of cannons.  During war time, this would be a busy floor.  Some of the cannons had a remarkable range - having powerful guns gave this ship some advantage, especially when some of the boats it was fighting against had engines.

The captain's quarters were much more luxurious.  After all, he did need to entertain as well!

He even had his own private tub/toilet.

Meanwhile, the common sailors slept in hanging cots.  While standing on the boats, watching these cots sway was enough to make me seasick.  I can't imagine sleeping here!

In the very bottom of the boat, you could see the frame.  Back when this boat was in operation, it would fill with some bilge water, and store some of the boat's most necessary, but grimiest, tools.  Not a very pleasant place to work, from what I understand.

Next up was the USS Torsk.  This submarine served in WWII.

I can't imagine working here either!  Since it was a rather cold day, I was one of the few people on this submarine.  But with the 80 or so people on its crew, it would have been much tighter.  As proof of this - there were some beds lodged among the torpedoes. 

The captain's quarters were better though - even with a canopy bed!

Dials on the sub.

It's important to know - this is NOT an exit.

Some of the crew members were quite skilled, and even artistic.  You could see examples of this in the decorations in the tin.

The crowded bunk room.

Hey - it's better than sleeping next to a torpedo!

And the kitchen.

The officers got slightly nicer sleeping arrangements.

The dining room.  Of course, all of the tables had a nice rim so the food wouldn't slide off.

My last stop was a lighthouse.  This lighthouse used to sit out in the harbor, and a family would live here.  They were close to self-sufficient, raising vegetables and chicken on the deck.  Sometimes in the winter they were even frozen in!

A cozy room in the lighthouse.

*For a point, what is Sheldon's?