I am presently in the QANTAS lounge at Singapore's Changi Airport awaiting my flight on the dreaded Jetstar to Darwin in about 3 hours time. This will be the last leg of my three sector flight to Darwin from Vienna.
I will try to bring the blog up to date once I am back in Darwin, but in essence the conference/symposium in Gera went well and I gave the final paper of the event which seemed to go down quite well as I pointed out that while uranium mining may not be sustainable in that once you have dug a hole it stays dug but there is no need nowadays to accept that the land is no longer useful.
After the event closed we walked to the local "schloss/castle" for a BBQ which as a bit upset by wind and rain but there was pianist in one of the old rooms who played to entertain us.
On the Friday we had an excursion to see waste rock dump remediation in the area around Schlema where I have been visiting for a number of times before. Then it was off to Dresden for the night with my old mate Alex to have dinner with another old friend from the Saxony Environment Department. A good meal in the shadow of the wonderfully reconstructed Frauenkirche.
Saturday dawned early as we set off at 0515 for the drive to Vienna in the rain. 6 hours of not a lot of fun for Alex but we made it with plenty of coffee stops and even managed to avoid the worst of the traffic on the Prague ring road.
Saturday afternoon was the official handover of my apartment - pretty sad after nearly 7 years there - I will miss the place a lot.
Saturday evening we went out of town to Langensersdorf to have a nice supper with American friends and colleagues Russ and Karen before a return to Vienna and my last night at the flat. Alex headed off to his hotel and we said farewell.
Sunday was a rush of last minute cleaning up and then off to lunch with my very dear friends James and Elizabeth at their apartment in the 5th district of Vienna - a very traditional Viennese meal. Then James kindly ran me out to the airport for the start of my journey away from Vienna and back to Darwin.
I will add pictures once I am back in Oz.
Another year for the travelling and ageing mining and environment adviser
Monday, May 30, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
May 25th: The Wismut Symposium - Day 1
The conference was held out at the old motor car factory in the adjacent town of Ronneberg. Returning to the hall there was a trip back in time as I have been here several times in the past 12 years.
The conference went well with a great opening fanfare from ten traditional miners band, or at least three of them
The meeting went well and at 1815 we headed back to the hotel - only to be met by the full miners' brass band and the guild's guard of honour
The conference went well with a great opening fanfare from ten traditional miners band, or at least three of them
and then when we finally got into the hotel there were two people on stilts giving each participant a bottle of special miners\' schnapps
and beyond them await staff with free drinks as a prelude to the evening reception and a jazz band
.......another long evening coming up.................................................
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
May 24th: Tromso (Norway) to Gera (Germany)
Before the day's business I have added my picture ( to compare with and validate TIM'S) of that White Eagle from the North Cape sortie...
A very impressive bird.
Still back to today. A sad day as it saw my departure from Tromso and my separation from the Baltic Rim Expedition. Both Tim and Wendy bravely came out at 0530 on a bright but fresh morning to wave me good bye
as the airport bus headed out of town - another journey through those tunnels with roundabouts!
The expedition has been a wonderful time and we had driven about (well Tim did) 3000 km since I joined up in Helsinki. We have had some great meals, and some very expensive ones, also seen some fantastic scenery and wild life as well as interesting sites and sights. We could see some of the other cars in the local car park so it seems everyone made it back from the North cape to Tromso OK either by ferry or by road as we did.
The airport was moderately busy but it all went well and I was soon the B373-600 of SAS to Oslo. My first trip on SAS I believe and it was OK. The flight was over snow covered hills and mountains until quite close to Oslo. Then a quick change at Oslo airport with barely enough time to go to the loo and check email in the lounge before the short trip to Copenhagen. Another B737 a 700 model this time and we were all too soon in the airport.Again a short transit time - most of which was taken up with the long walk from one terminal to the other. Also time for a quick chat on the telephone with an old friend Grethe a local doctor. Those who read the blog (if there are any) may recall that I used to work in Swaziland with Grethe's husband Jes many years ago and they came to Vienna last year and we all went to see Carmen at the Opera. Jes was away in Sweden on business but it turns out he too is about to change jobs.
Then the last lap was an MD 82 to Berlin - a short flight with no problems and the weather getting brighter all the time.
The big relief in Berlin was seeing my bag had arrived in one piece. Then I took the local bus from outside the terminal to the main station.
It was quick and easy to buy a train ticket for the 2.5 hours journey to Gera and the next train left within 30 minutes so it all worked very well.
Soon I was looking out at the flat north German plain...........
as we sped to Leipzig where the train terminated. It seemed odd to see silver birch trees covered in leave s after the trees in Northern Norway for the preceding few days. In Leipzig I connected to a local express on the adjacent platform for the 65 minutes ride to Gera. After Leipzig I could see the rolling hills of Saxony and Thuringia
and even recognised a few of the place names as former uranium production sites from previous visits.
At Gera it was the same old taxi ride around the one way system to get to the Novatel Hotel , my base until Saturday morning. Once checked in for the hotel I checked in for the conference and we were issued fancy name tags that clip to your coat with a magnet system. Sadly the hotel has card keys (using magnetic stripes) and so soon we were all queuing up at the desk to get the cards reprogrammed and promising to keep them the keys and badges apart and away from credit cards too!
Many old friends and colleagues are here and it was like old pals week as we all drifted around the opening reception. Seems everyone knows I am off to a new job next week and wanted to wish me good luck, which was very nice.
Still back to today. A sad day as it saw my departure from Tromso and my separation from the Baltic Rim Expedition. Both Tim and Wendy bravely came out at 0530 on a bright but fresh morning to wave me good bye
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| Tim and Wendy at 0530 - to make sure I was leaving! |
as the airport bus headed out of town - another journey through those tunnels with roundabouts!
The expedition has been a wonderful time and we had driven about (well Tim did) 3000 km since I joined up in Helsinki. We have had some great meals, and some very expensive ones, also seen some fantastic scenery and wild life as well as interesting sites and sights. We could see some of the other cars in the local car park so it seems everyone made it back from the North cape to Tromso OK either by ferry or by road as we did.
The airport was moderately busy but it all went well and I was soon the B373-600 of SAS to Oslo. My first trip on SAS I believe and it was OK. The flight was over snow covered hills and mountains until quite close to Oslo. Then a quick change at Oslo airport with barely enough time to go to the loo and check email in the lounge before the short trip to Copenhagen. Another B737 a 700 model this time and we were all too soon in the airport.Again a short transit time - most of which was taken up with the long walk from one terminal to the other. Also time for a quick chat on the telephone with an old friend Grethe a local doctor. Those who read the blog (if there are any) may recall that I used to work in Swaziland with Grethe's husband Jes many years ago and they came to Vienna last year and we all went to see Carmen at the Opera. Jes was away in Sweden on business but it turns out he too is about to change jobs.
Then the last lap was an MD 82 to Berlin - a short flight with no problems and the weather getting brighter all the time.
The big relief in Berlin was seeing my bag had arrived in one piece. Then I took the local bus from outside the terminal to the main station.
It was quick and easy to buy a train ticket for the 2.5 hours journey to Gera and the next train left within 30 minutes so it all worked very well.
Soon I was looking out at the flat north German plain...........
as we sped to Leipzig where the train terminated. It seemed odd to see silver birch trees covered in leave s after the trees in Northern Norway for the preceding few days. In Leipzig I connected to a local express on the adjacent platform for the 65 minutes ride to Gera. After Leipzig I could see the rolling hills of Saxony and Thuringia
and even recognised a few of the place names as former uranium production sites from previous visits.
At Gera it was the same old taxi ride around the one way system to get to the Novatel Hotel , my base until Saturday morning. Once checked in for the hotel I checked in for the conference and we were issued fancy name tags that clip to your coat with a magnet system. Sadly the hotel has card keys (using magnetic stripes) and so soon we were all queuing up at the desk to get the cards reprogrammed and promising to keep them the keys and badges apart and away from credit cards too!
Many old friends and colleagues are here and it was like old pals week as we all drifted around the opening reception. Seems everyone knows I am off to a new job next week and wanted to wish me good luck, which was very nice.
Monday, May 23, 2011
May 23rd: Tromso
Last night Tim and Wendy stayed up until midnight and drove out to a nearby hill top to see the midnight sun - they did call me but I had already gone to bed so I was a big wuss and said no. So..............Here is the picture I did not take.................
And of course ships came and went all the time.......................
I am really mad I did not go with them now!
Anyway we met up after breakfast on a day that was a little grey and with odd spots of rain. My day had already begun poorly with no hot water in the bathrooms on our floor and the hotel [Clarion Hotel Bryggen] did not seem too concerned but several of us customers from the 5th floor were less than amused.
Anyway I met up with Tim and Wendy who had bailed out of the hotel to the one opposite yesterday when the room offered in my hotel had been below standard. We decided to go out of town to a small island called Hakoy which is little way away in the Tromso Fjord.
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| Another one of the charming old houses in Tromso |
The drive went past the airport where you have to drive onto the island where the airport is then in a small tunel under the runway threshold to get to the terminal at the other side.
On the way we passed this oildrilling platform which is fully weather protected to work in the Arctic
Hakoy is small and reached by a single lane bridge.
The site of the memorial where the pocket battleship was sunk by RAF bombs in November 1944 is very unassuming. A simple plaque on a piece of the 10 cm thick deck plating .
The site overlooks the location wher the ship overturned. There are a few metal objects around the beach,,,,,,,,,,,,,
........... but the main visible item is an old frame that was used in the salvage operations when the ship was broken up after the war.
The location is very quiet apart from the calls of many water birds.
We saw several diffferent species there.
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| Glaucous Gulls |
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| Oyster Catcher |
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| Arctic Tern |
We had heard of some other relics and a museum but a drive to the end of the road revealed nothing of that sort - but we did see two groups of MOOSE, 3 animals in each group!
These were the first we had seen on the trip. Others had seen one moose but we had a long session watching these magnificent creatures at the forest fringe.
After a lot of moose pictures and more bird pictures we returned to Tromso. The route was unusual as we used the network of tunnels under the city in the hills .
Very unusual to be driving in a tunnel and see not one but two roundabouts!
When we came out of the tunnel we were at the museum from the night before and saw the Norwegian navy minesweepers sailing away after their visit to Tromso.
After a return to the hotel we went off to the city's oldest pub (founded 1928 apparently - where did they drink before that I wonder) for a local beer and a plate of meat and vegetable stew for lunch.
The meal was good and set us up for the afternoon. Wendy went off to see the old cathedral while Tim and I went off to ride the cable car to the hill overlooking the town.
At an elevation of 1380 feet the views of the city, the airport and the surrounding countryside were truly awesome.
While we were walking around a text on my phone remnded me about the flights tomorrow and I was soon checked in - modern technology at work.
After our descent I went into the Arctic Cathedral whihc has a modern and massive stained glass window
- the place is plain but beautiful inside.
The atmosphere was superb as a dancer practised her choreography at the altar while an organist played Bach's Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring and The Prelude. I was finding it hard to pull myself away from the place.
After that it was back to the hotel to try and catch up on a few chores.
In the evening Wendy, Tim and I had a very good meal at a restaurant which us the best in town - Emmas - and it certainly did not disappoint. This was the "last supper" as my flight will be at 0645 in the morning. As I leave so the other 4 cars should arrive at 2400 hours tonight. Sadly it is very rainy with lots of low cloud so there will be no midnight sun tonight.
May 22nd: Alta to Tromso - the last drive
So this was the last day of driving with Tim and Wendy After a week of being a part of the "Balic Bound and Around" expedition it was to be my last day on the road. We had left the other 4 cars at North Cape yesterday and we set out for Tromso at about 0815 on a day that was trying to be sunny. There were reflections in the fjord first thing
We had left early as the drive included two ferry rides and we had to make the first one on time for it all to work out. The two rides would save us over 120 km of road work. Our target was to reach the first terminal at 1115 to be in good time forthe 1145 ferry. The wather was greying up a bit as we left but the views of the Alta fjorg where the Germen ship "Tirpitz" had been moored at one time were still stunning. There is a small museum but it was shut - too early in the year and too late in the week!
The road turned out to be in good condition and totally empty of traffic, we saw two cars in front of us in the first 120 km and both of them turned off almost as soon as we came up on them!
To add to the enjoyment the sun shone and the countryside and views were just constatntly spetacular as we ran around the edges of the fjords.
......past many small waterfalls of melt-water........................
We reached our destination on schedule to fins ourselves very much the first in line at a deserted ferry ramp.
Tim kept busy by adding more stickers to the car
Wendy and I went for a stroll and found this odd place - the cultural embassy!
After a few anxious minutes we realsed we could see the ferry away on the other side of the fjord heading our way so all was in order.
The ferry docked...................
and unloaded.
Tim bought the tickets
and we boarded.
Exactly on time we headed off - a grand compliment of 5 cars and two bicycles!
The voyage was 40 minutes of easy sailing on a flat sea
...and the chance to have an ice cream in the cafe on board.
At the next terminal we were quickly of and on the way to ferry number two.
That meant 22 km to complete in 30 minutes but we were not alone and there was some traffic on the winding road,
Still we arrived with plenty of time to spare, saw the ferry waiting...........
and found ourselves number 7 in the queue
that was about 20 vehicles by the time we boarded for the 20 minute trip.
We were in #4 posistion on the ferry so we were soon away.
That left us with a 1400 hours start on the last lap with only 44 km to run into Tomso. We stopped on the way for a sandwich and to look at the celandines..
Soon enough Tromso and the famous bridge were in sight
and arrived at the hotel and were checked in by 1500.
After the usual checking in process we went for a walk around town. We started on the water front close to where the hotel was and saw this row of whaling harpoon guns outside a museum.
The town was very quiet and pretty deserted
Ther are some great sculptures around, like this whaler
but we persevered and ended up at a really neat little museum. The Polaria
Although this was Sunday it was open and we went inside. Polaria a part of the FRAM Polar Environment Research Institiute and apart from the interesting exhibits it had a pool with seals...........
............a walk through aquarium with another tunnel under the seals,
several fish tanks, a film show about the island(s) of Svarlberg and then some interesting exhibits about the arctic environment.
We walked back past the world's northern most brewery.....
and noticed it is also the home of the British Consulate!
Even the drain covers heer in Tromso have moose on them
Past the old cinema
We found a nice pasta place for dinner and the cheapest, and some of the best, and cheapest, wines we have found in Norway so enjoyed our dinner very much.
We walked back by another route revelling in the evening sunshine
We had left early as the drive included two ferry rides and we had to make the first one on time for it all to work out. The two rides would save us over 120 km of road work. Our target was to reach the first terminal at 1115 to be in good time forthe 1145 ferry. The wather was greying up a bit as we left but the views of the Alta fjorg where the Germen ship "Tirpitz" had been moored at one time were still stunning. There is a small museum but it was shut - too early in the year and too late in the week!
Where the battleship was is now a fish farm
The road turned out to be in good condition and totally empty of traffic, we saw two cars in front of us in the first 120 km and both of them turned off almost as soon as we came up on them!
To add to the enjoyment the sun shone and the countryside and views were just constatntly spetacular as we ran around the edges of the fjords.
Even the old wooden jetty added to the scene
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| Yet another "postcard view" |
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| There were still some reindeer around |
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| Over this snow filled pass across a saddle between two small mountains |
We reached our destination on schedule to fins ourselves very much the first in line at a deserted ferry ramp.
Wendy and I went for a stroll and found this odd place - the cultural embassy!
After a few anxious minutes we realsed we could see the ferry away on the other side of the fjord heading our way so all was in order.
The ferry docked...................
and unloaded.
Tim bought the tickets
and we boarded.
Exactly on time we headed off - a grand compliment of 5 cars and two bicycles!
The voyage was 40 minutes of easy sailing on a flat sea
...and the chance to have an ice cream in the cafe on board.
 |
| Tim and Wendy enjoy the sunshine on the ferry |
At the next terminal we were quickly of and on the way to ferry number two.
That meant 22 km to complete in 30 minutes but we were not alone and there was some traffic on the winding road,
Still we arrived with plenty of time to spare, saw the ferry waiting...........
and found ourselves number 7 in the queue
that was about 20 vehicles by the time we boarded for the 20 minute trip.
That left us with a 1400 hours start on the last lap with only 44 km to run into Tomso. We stopped on the way for a sandwich and to look at the celandines..
Soon enough Tromso and the famous bridge were in sight
and arrived at the hotel and were checked in by 1500.
After the usual checking in process we went for a walk around town. We started on the water front close to where the hotel was and saw this row of whaling harpoon guns outside a museum.
The town was very quiet and pretty deserted
Ther are some great sculptures around, like this whaler
but we persevered and ended up at a really neat little museum. The Polaria
Although this was Sunday it was open and we went inside. Polaria a part of the FRAM Polar Environment Research Institiute and apart from the interesting exhibits it had a pool with seals...........
............a walk through aquarium with another tunnel under the seals,
several fish tanks, a film show about the island(s) of Svarlberg and then some interesting exhibits about the arctic environment.
We walked back past the world's northern most brewery.....
and noticed it is also the home of the British Consulate!
Past the old cinema
then past the cathedral
and the wartime Gestapo HQ
and past several statues of Amundsen the Arctic explorer...
We found a nice pasta place for dinner and the cheapest, and some of the best, and cheapest, wines we have found in Norway so enjoyed our dinner very much.
We walked back by another route revelling in the evening sunshine
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