Taipei

I'm now in Taipei, Taiwan, for a couple of weeks. So far, I haven't done much more than work, eat some wonderful food, and try to get over jet lag! But I did go to the National Palace Museum yesterday, which is famous for it's collection of artifacts from mainland China. It's collection of carved jade and ivory is absolutely wonderful! I went with a number of friends, and we had tea in the very peaceful teahouse on the museum's top floor.



The view from my hotel room



I'm not sure what this walkway is supposed to be, but it does look interesting!

This is an interesting woodensculpture in the lobby of my hotel

A tradtional Taiwan building next to the National Palace Museum





Taipei 101 -- it used to be the tallest building in the world.









Berlin

I'm on another inspection, this time to Germany. We arrived in Berlin on May 7.  We've had great weather -- much better than I had expected. Despite the work, we've been able to get out and see some things. And we have a beautiful view from our window at the Embassy! We went to Frankfurt on May 16, and then to Hamburg and back to Frankfurt. I'll post those photos as soon as I can. We'll be back in Berlin in mid-June.

This is the quadriga on the top of the Brandenberg gate. This is, unfortunately, not from my window, but rather from some of my team members.  

This is the view of Pariser Platz from  my office window. Not bad at all! The Brandenberg gate is to the left.

This is the view of the dome on the parliament (Reichstag) building.

I love the way this building, which is also on Pariser Platz  right next door to the embassy, reflects the older buildings surrounding it.

Reykjavik, again

As you saw in one of my earlier posts, sunrise is at about 10 a.m. now. Sunset, which was at about 5 p.m. when we arrived a week ago, is now at about 4:30. By Dec. 21, there's only about 4 hours of sun a day. Of course in the summer, it's daylight for about 24 hours. I think that would be much easier to deal with!

 I love this statue near the Reykjavik harbor.

Since this was displayed on a ship that was advertising whale watching trips, I'm assuming it's a whale skeleton. Maybe watching isn't the only things they do on these trips! 

The mountains across the bay from Reykjavik, at sunset -- and yes, it was only 4:30 p.m.! 

The spiral staircase at the Hilton.

Gullfoss and Geysir

By the time we got to Gullfoss and then Geysir, it was extremely windy! Gullfoss is a very nice waterfall, which was almost frozen over. Geysir (pronounced geezer) is the original geyser, and is where the English word comes from. We didn't see Geysir erupt, since it only does it about once an hour and we weren't about to stand out in the wind that long, but we did see some of the smaller geysers go off. And then we went to have lunch, hot chocolate and some schnapps inside!

 As you can tell, Gullfoss is already almost frozen over -- and it was only Nov 11!

This is one of the smaller geysers. Notice all the ice on the ground around it. Although the water comes out boiling, it freezes fast.

This is a shot of the geyser field. Iceland is the largest producer of geothermal power in the world, and we frequently saw plumes of steam while driving around this part of Iceland.

I just like this photo because it gives an idea of the wide open spaces that make up Iceland. With only 320,000 people in the country -- about 200,000 of whom live in or near Reykjavik -- there's lots of open land. But it can also be very desolate.  

As you can see, we were rather cold!

Iceland's Pingvellir National Park

November 11 was a US holiday, as well as being a beautiful day, so almost all of us took a bus tour called the Golden Circle. We went to Pingvellir (or Thingvellir) National Park, and then to Gullfoss waterfall and Geysir. Pingvellir is where Iceland held what they say is the world's first parliament. We got there just in time for sunrise -- at about 10 a.m. Although the day started out great, it soon became very windy!

Sunrise at Pingvellir National Park. And yes, it really was almost 10 a.m.!

Another shot of the sunrise, this time over lake in the park.

Pingvellir National Park is also the site of the mid-Atlantic rift. This is the North American side of the rift, which is splitting Iceland at a rate of about 3 centimeters a year.

There are a few buildings inside the park, including this church and house or hotel -- I'm not sure which.

I love this photo, because it looks just as cold as it really was! And of course, since this is our third country, none of us had the proper clothes to stay warm.  

Reykjavik, Iceland

I'm now in Reykjavik, Iceland, where winter, and wind, have arrived. It's not that cold, really -- generally somewhere between the mid-20s and mid-30s, but the wind is amazing! On some days we've estimated that it's about 45 mph, with gusts up to 50-55 mph. I literally have almost been swept off my feet several times! But despite that, I've gone out touring in Reykjavik.

This is a shot from the plane coming in. You can see the large glacier, which I think is called Vatnajokull. 

This is a pond a few blocks from the embassy. Most of it has already frozen over -- even though it's not even mid-November yet! -- but there's still a little area for the geese and ducks.  
Today was windy and cold with a few light snow showers. Most of the boats were in the harbor, rather than braving the rough waters.

The mountains, which are on a peninsula across the bay from Reykjavik, can be seen from much of the city.

This is the Reykjavik Lutheran cathedral, the largest church in the country. It's beautiful, but very spare, inside, with very little decoration.

Vianden, Luxembourg

On Saturday, Oct. 30, one of my co-workers and I went to Vianden, which is in the Ardennes region of Luxebourg. It's a little town -- maybe 1,500 people or so -- but it has a beautiful medieval castle that has been very nicely restored. And some wonderful restaurants! Although it's only about 40 kilometers from Luxembourg city, it took us about an hour to get there -- first on the train, then on a bus, and then another bus. But we saw some beautiful countryside. It rained a little, but mainly while we were in the castle or eating a wonderful restaurant on the banks of the L'Our river.

A view of the town of Vianden and the castle that stands above it. You can see the castle from practically anywhere in town!

Another view of the castle, with time with a woman washing her windows in one of the houses below. 

One of the rooms in the castle. There's a four-poster bed on the left side, outside of the photos. The castle was in ruins for years before the government bagan restoring it. I think they did a great job -- very nice but not overdone. 

This is a serious fireplace, but I'm sure it was needed in the winter cold of Luxembourg!  

One of the many tapestries in the castle. They were from the 16th and 17th centuries.