Trip to Canada – Vancouver

May 2006, after meeting trip. A very nice old Canadian lady told me to forward this to the Vancouver police chief "Shame on you to tow a tourist’s rental car", story later
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Trip in US – North Cascases

May 2006, after meeting trip. Camping and hiking
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Trip in US – Seattle, WA

May 2006, 14th ISMRM conference
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Trip in US – Mt. Rainier

A combined trip before and after the 15th ISMRM meeting in Seattle, WA.

 

May 3 – 5, 2006 Mt. Rainier, WA

May 6 – 12, 2006 Seattle, WA

May 12 – 13, 2006 North Cascades, WA

May 13 – May 15, 2006 Vancouver, Canada

 

5/3日一大早，在实验室大队人马（包括老板）都还没有启程的情况下，我和mimi就背着大包小包溜上了飞机。说大包小包是有道理的，因为这次的“主题”是camping。mimi从几个月前就开始准备，分别从Amazon和ebay订了登山包，帐篷，睡袋和军用地垫。于是除了托运行李不算，我俩还搞得像很有经验的backpacker似的，背上比人头还高Sierra Mountain backpack。简直就没个要去开会给talk的样子，要是给我老板撞见，估计他当场晕倒。不过老实说，直到走之前那一晚我都在兢兢业业准备talks。倒是对于整个traveld的计划，我懵懵懂懂的没什么概念。所有的网经阅读，路线安排，后勤准备都是mimi的功劳。所以基本上她说什么，我做什么。(Input by JX)

经过大约4小时的空中旅行，降落在了Seattle Intl’ Airport. 与计划中略有差池的是本来以为Enterprise会有免费的pickup服务，但是一个电话打过去，对方说机场太远，这项服务一般不cover 机场这种距离的接送，最关键是当天人手不够。罢了，打听了一下去downtown得公交线路，跳上一部公车就上路了。没有意外哪里有探索的乐趣和未知的惊喜？下车后由downtown看地图步行在车水马龙中，15分钟后到达Enterprise Branch。Seattle虽然是西部的大城市，有些建筑也很有特色，但是整体感觉不能用繁华或者都会这样的字眼形容，不过抬头放眼望去，就能看到Mountain Rainier这座美国最大的火山，还有几乎每张明信片都会出现的标志性的那座很crappy得电视塔，还是起到了“威慑”的作用，私下里和JX感叹乡下人终于来到了大城市，见世面了。上路了，拿着google map, 路上停车补充了补给，备足干粮，七拐八绕，头晕目眩中感觉眼前的雪山越来越大，有种转山朝拜的感觉。由于当时的季节是5月初，雪山山脚下的积雪未化，Mountain Rainier National Park仅有得几个campground都会根据当天的积雪情况和天气状况做出开放或关闭的决定，车刚进山，管理员就说今天山脚下的几个campgound全部关闭，由于不可能上山，只有原路退回一点再走一条岔路，去找那些传说中的不收费的天然campground, 因为已经开始天黑，路很窄，两边都是积雪，开了大约20分钟都没有找到可以露营的地方，所以我开始犹豫，怕人怕鬼又怕动物，想象身上没抢没刀没电棍，心虚的很，我当时提出原路返回，因为知道大约返回45分钟左右有很多B&B,可以落脚。但是JX得探险精神驱使他继续开，看看前面有什么，一路上都没有看到别的车，同方向的或者反方向的，总之我就是感觉不对劲。最后总算看到路肩上停了一辆SUV,没有人但是有很多Camping得器具，停车找主人，看到一对很年轻的庞克夫妇，看样子是local得，很热情的跟我们介绍这就是我们要找的地方，环顾周围，上一个土坡就是公路，隔开公路就是密林，紧靠平地的是一条湍急的溪流，而且这个地方好像除了这对夫妇没有别人，隐蔽性很好，水流声是自然的背景音乐，要说浪漫还真浪漫，要说恐怖还真恐怖，渐黑的天色已容不得选择，为了不打扰别人，问了下基本情况就自觉地绕到另一面的大约2分钟路程的地方去了。临别，我问了个我很担心的问题彻底流露了农村姑娘的傻气“My biggest concern is if there’s any wolf or bear in the area? What should I do if attacked?" 话一出口，那女的就看了那男的一眼，一阵爆笑"Oh, she’s so cute""Right, well, you dont have to worry about it. As far as I know, there’s no wolf in Washington state." 匆忙道谢，窘迫离开，抓紧时间去建立自己的小家园。（Input by Mimi)

（to be continued…)

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Emory, Georgia and Smoky Mountain

Nov 4 – 6, 2005 Siemens IDEA User’s Meeting, Atlanta, GA

 

Although three days away, my head is still spinning after driving 12 hours back from Atlanta. Nevertheless, it’s a great meeting and Emory University is a very nice private school, sitting on the historical Druid Hills, just as the Washington Univ. Hilltop Campus. Perfect deep fall weather in Atlanta for outdoor activities.

 

On my way back from Atlanta, I drove up north-east and took a detour to the Great Smoky Mountains. It’s the perfect season for a splendid view of different layers of colors. The one hour driving experience inside the mountain area more than compensates the hassle. Westbound On Intersate 40 from Knoxville to Nashville is another big enjoyment: 200 miles chasing the Sun! I had to stop at Nashville, not only because of my empty gas tank but also my empty stomach. The bar on the Commerce Rd  under the big BellSouth building has great live country music going on. Portraits of those legendary country singers (like Billy Bob) hung on the wall. Three guys were on the studio stage performing. Although their turkey sandwich tasted like hell, I still left a handsome tip for the waitress just for her nice and cute smiles. Two bucks in the bucket for those singers on my way out of the door. Man, I was refreshed. Nashville, the country music city! Maybe I should consider an offer at Vanderbilt Univ.?

 

后记:Emory

Emory Univ.的建筑用磨光大理石夹杂青褚色自然纹理，大概是因袭罗马风格加上现代元素(reminds me the buildings in the game Caesar III)。不象WUSTL的哥特式建筑墙面用浮雕砖并且有意仿古做旧。Emory校园中间的博物馆令人印象深刻，收藏规模虽然不能和国家极博物馆相提并论，但藏品颇精（俱真品）且广，覆盖古埃及，古希腊，罗马，古印度和非洲，并有巡回展厅。展厅布置也精美，vey professional。最吸引我的是刻画在楼梯斜坡上的一副古埃及地图，沿尼罗河顺流而下直到三角洲，pretty creative design to carve it onto the floor.

另：黄昏时从Druid Hills（Emory校园所在地）眺望Atlanta Downtown也是一景。

Trip in Europe (10) London

Sep 28 – Oct 03, 2005 London UK

After returning from Fussen, we left Munich very early the next morning (Sep 28), flyiing to London. I took my second ESMRMB workshop: Rapid Imaging at the Imperial college, which is at the center of London city. The Stuart Hotel, which is a small and old four story mansion we stayed in, was only two stops away from Imperial college. 

We didn’t take the chance to explore much of the London city and the nearby Cambridge or Oxford due to my tight schedule and fatigue after two weeks touring around Germany. I am not regretting. There will be plenty of international meetings and symposiums take place in London in the future.  Frankly, I was not thrilled by London at all, not only  because aesthetically numbed after the intensive old town experiences in Germany but also because used to be quite familiar with the big city life. London is an intriguing city, nevertheless. Maybe I was just not in the mood of tasting it. The Local host invited us to cruise the Thames river at the night of the closing day. The scenary looked a bit like Huangpu River, Shanghai from the boat.

Trip in Europe (9) Fussen

Sep 27, Fussen, DE –  Neuschwanstein (新天鹅堡)

 

By Gordon:

 

新天鹅堡可算是整个行程中的重中之重，行前mimi还反复对我介绍这座童话城堡和其主人路德维格二世(Ludwig II of Bavaria)的传奇经历。

 

由于福森身处偏远小镇，从慕尼黑到福森大概3小时的RB车程。当天下着小雨,RB在德国的乡间平原中走走停停。路边农场的奶牛显然对途经的火车习以为常，自顾自在微雨中低头觅食。路基旁沿展的电线在毗邻的柱杆间随着火车前进的节奏划出片片腾越的曲线。途中遭遇一群秋游返城的德国小学生，嘈杂吵闹的程度和窗外恬静的德意志奶牛形成极度反差。

 

福森火车站外就是上新天鹅堡的Bus stop。和Berchtesgaden一样，从火车站到景点的售票处都需十几分钟车程。可选择的guided tour为Neuschwanstein (新天鹅堡)和Hohenschwangau (旧天鹅堡)两处。旧天鹅堡就在售票点不远，临湖而居，为路德维格二世父母的宫殿；新天鹅堡则兀立于群峰环绕中。

 

 

By  Mimi:

上新天鹅堡可以选择步行，巴士和马车三种方式。但心疼荷包又附庸风雅的我们毫不犹豫的选择了步行。经过半个多小时的林木穿行，空气微冷，途中不时更新着让人惊喜的靓丽景色，终于登临。由于参观有严格的时间限制，我们被迫在童话世界大门外徘徊了半个小时。期间，我们绕堡一周，好奇的从各个角度感受新天鹅堡的庄严与天真，看云海翻腾，赏薄雾缭绕，原来周围的景色象极电影卧虎藏龙最后一幕玉蛟龙跳崖的背景风光，多么适合哲学家居住的一个地方！雾无疑给新天鹅堡蒙上了一层淡淡的哀愁与神秘。

 

入堡，如同大多数昔日王宫，参观权限仅为大部分公共区域与国王主卧。迷宫一样的旋转楼梯连接着餐厅，会客室，展厅，主卧，书房，神堂和剧场。与想象不同的是这位国王的府邸并非庞大而是略显逼仄，富丽精巧之余，最让人过目难忘的是所到之处，无论高墙，屋顶，几乎布满了巨幅油彩画，均是瓦格纳歌剧片断，足见其对歌剧的痴迷和对老瓦才华的欣赏。主卧中的一幅画大致是描述一痴情男追一窈窕女，不得，美人终投他人怀抱，也是选自老瓦的一幕歌剧。据解说，这幅画之所以得以置于主卧这么显要的地方，主要由于该情节酷似路大帅哥早年的情感经历。想象着每日从梦中醒来看到的第一幅画面便是把人无情的带回痛苦的往事，真是够折磨人的，如此这般，还如何追寻新的幸福？童话宫殿无法感化岁月的无情，路得维希二世终究在梦幻与回忆之间孤独得老去，直到神秘得溺死在城堡后的湖泊中。从此，新天鹅堡的灵魂永生。

 

参观结束已近黄昏，巴士停运，马车停开，唯有步行。饥肠辘辘的我们在急忙下班的太阳的催促下，选择了一条偏裨势陡的小道下山，道上无俗流，唯有有情人，浪漫极了，我很清楚，如此不经意的拾获将成为我一生珍贵的回忆。途中还有几处揽胜观景台，日落余晖洒在明镜般的湖泊中，旧天鹅堡点缀在旁，色彩绚烂，光影温柔，又是一个美极，花生米君留恋往返，拍了好多照片，最终在我的催促下重新上路。下得山来，天已全黑。人生地不熟得我们只好跟着感觉走，竟在最后一分钟赶上回火车站的大巴。花生米君在车站附近帮偶买了一个很好吃的小冰淇淋，两个人分而食之，心满意足得打道回府。

Trip in Europe (8) Berchtesgaden – Salzburg

Sep 26, Berchtesgaden, DE – Salzburg, Austria

 

The journey to Berchtesgaden (贝西特斯加登) represented a fortunate mistake. IE train to Salzburg (萨尔兹堡) first was our original plan, which we realized later that Berchtesgaden would have been given up. Fortunately, we hurried onto a wrong RB (Regional Baunhauf) during the connection, a very samll town branching out to both places. Not long, our old RB jade started to wind into the thick forest on the Bavarian Alps. Frequent up and downs forced the brakes shouting out loud creaking noises, which casted some mystery shadow on the jolty ride. Out of the forest it’s a bright sunny day in Berchtesgaden, the state national park. It is a popular summer resort (二战期间是纳粹高级军官疗养地, Jennar peak附近的 Eagle’s Nest据说曾是Hitler的行宫) and the train probably had already taken us couple of thousand feet above the sea level.

 

A bus had to carry us furthur uphill to the resort center through the local villages and farms. Two options from there: 1) cable car/hiking up to the Jennar peak or 2) a cruise ride in the Konigsee (国王湖) . We chose the former because of the time constraint. It’s a breeze to ride on the cable car, with magnificent views along the way up to the top. However, those elderly German hikers treading up is pretty admirable. Like all the mountain peaks, you got what you’d paid for: views from the top. The Konigsee was like a sparkling gem embraced by arms of the mountains (试想应和天山的景色相似). Btw, there’re also brave experimentalists parachuting from the mountain peaks.

 

下山来所剩时间无多，匆匆赶上最早的RB。无奈火车得从山路原道退回分岔口，方可入境奥地利(Austria)。等到Salzburg，又已是天光昏暗，城堡古迹都隐入夜色。倒是不赶时间回慕尼黑，所以徒步走去Salzach河畔的市中心。Some window shopping here and there。闲逛中误入一巴洛克花园，美则美矣，不过夜色中厚厚的树墙还是不免有点恐怖。相比德国的古而不旧，萨尔斯堡略有破败之感，公共交通没德国便利(no Tram line)，移民人口也似乎更多一些。

Trip in Europe (7) Munich

Sep 25 – 27 Munich, DE

 

Arrival at Munich from Frankfurt was already the early morning on Sep 25. After spending most of the day resting in the hotel, we decided to drop the original plan to Passau. Instead, dedicating the rest of the Sep 25 in Munich, which later turned out to be the only time we could afford to explore this big city. That night, we  wandered through the most popular old and new town center and  briefly joined the Oktoberfest, which is simply a big carnival if you’re not too much into consuming beers and hitting on girls.

 

The fact of Oktoberfest （慕尼黑啤酒节）there during our visit was kind of unfortunate.  First, the hotel room rates was outragous (one double room > 140 euro for our first night ), which wasn’t justified at all by the fact that we spent most of our time outside of Munich. But that’s how things went out of your control.  Second, the city became dirty, fidgety and less organized.  And noisy too at night, because our hotel was just couple of blocks away from the Oktoberfest. Some people may enjoy Oktoberfest a lot, but we obviously didn’t. Maybe too much drunk flooding in for the Oktoberfest altered the city’s original style, which I wondered as a lot of locals were immigrants. In general, Munich left us a less classy impression than the other German cities we visited before. 

Trip in Europe (6) Wurzburg

Sep 24  Wurzburg, DE

 

Before leaving for Munich on Sep 24, we took a half day excursion to Wurzburg, the first stop of the Romantic road in Bavaria. The rural and historical flavor along the Romantic road （罗曼蒂克大道）was said the most beautiful in the southern Germany. To fully experience the Bavarian spirit we may need to rent a car and drive along the Romantic road: Wurzberg – Rottingen – Harburg – Augsburg – Peiting – Fussen. There are plenty of small villages, old palaces and castles along the drive way. One week journey is only a conservative estimation.

 

However, one don’t have to go deep into Bavaria to sense the Bavarian style. In Wurzburg, the Baroque invasion on the sculpture, building facade, interior design and paintings was already obvious. It is in direct contrast to the Gothic architecture in the northern part of Germany, esp. the Koln Cathedral. 巴洛克艺术的浸盈令武茨堡给人圆润细腻饱满的感觉，不同于哥特式艺术的尖耸突兀。很可能巴伐利亚的罗曼蒂克大道正代表了巴洛克风格的精髓。

 

Got off the train, two-three stops by Tram arrived the old town center. It’s not a tourist season. The local church members were hosting a playground for kids in the center of the plaza.  It’s past lunch time again. People were scattered around the plaza, finishing up their lunch. There’re also some standing tables outside the coffee shop. Locals often lean against the tall table, enjoy a cup of afternoon tea or a piece of cigarette. Couple of blocks away lies the historical old bridge over the Main river, leading to the Wurzburg Residence. The sunset was just casting a luring shadow from the hilltop Residence building over the bridge. But we resisted the temptation to explore more.