Friday, December 25, 2015
Tuesday, December 01, 2015
Baby Lily - but a little bit bigger!
Lily is just over three weeks old and and already during 'tummy time' she can hold her head up and turn it side to side. She is not a fan of tummy time though, too much work and she gets easily frustrated just like me.
We went for a rather cold walk in Monbiel with her (asleep), the sun goes behind the mountains very early in the afternoon around here.
She's had many visitors, however as is probably obvious in the pictures she is a big fan of being asleep. I did manage to get a nice photo with her eyes open though.
We went for a rather cold walk in Monbiel with her (asleep), the sun goes behind the mountains very early in the afternoon around here.
She's had many visitors, however as is probably obvious in the pictures she is a big fan of being asleep. I did manage to get a nice photo with her eyes open though.
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Baby Lily
Baby Lily was born in Davos this November! What made the labour extra special was the fact that the midwife helping through the majority of the labour spoke only in German.... At the end I remember clearly people chanting "weiter weiter weiter" or something similar (go on, go on, go on).
The end result was our daughter Lily.
The view from the hospital room was pretty amazing, weather in Klosters/Davos for November has been fantastic - sunny and warm.
The end result was our daughter Lily.
The view from the hospital room was pretty amazing, weather in Klosters/Davos for November has been fantastic - sunny and warm.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Power Plant in Kublis
Now that I am idle at home on holidays I went on the hydroelectric plant tour of Kublis which is offered once a month. I was expecting it to be in German of course, but also was hoping to do a bit more walking around.... Unfortunately we spent almost 1.5 hours at the beginning standing around a map and looking at the computer control system.
However, even with my A2 limited German I could follow most of what was going on and learned about the tunnels through the mountains for the water and the annual filling of the lake in Davos. Throughout the winter they draw on the water in Davos lake for power and they must refill it every spring before the tourists arrive. They use some of the electricity to power the electric trains of the Graubunden canton (the RhB network).
I got to see a photo of the inlet at the bottom of the Davos lake, I was always wondering how bit it was... apparently the bars are about 3.5 cm apart to give you an idea of the scale.
There weren't a whole lot of machines in Kublis, they had a big empty room with two generators attached to two turbines each.
There were photos of the making of the turbines, they were carved from a single piece of .... steel?
At the end I had a slow walk back to the bus stop through the village, cute, small and friendly.
However, even with my A2 limited German I could follow most of what was going on and learned about the tunnels through the mountains for the water and the annual filling of the lake in Davos. Throughout the winter they draw on the water in Davos lake for power and they must refill it every spring before the tourists arrive. They use some of the electricity to power the electric trains of the Graubunden canton (the RhB network).
I got to see a photo of the inlet at the bottom of the Davos lake, I was always wondering how bit it was... apparently the bars are about 3.5 cm apart to give you an idea of the scale.
There weren't a whole lot of machines in Kublis, they had a big empty room with two generators attached to two turbines each.
There were photos of the making of the turbines, they were carved from a single piece of .... steel?
At the end I had a slow walk back to the bus stop through the village, cute, small and friendly.
Saturday, October 03, 2015
New buildings in Switzerland and Stock Photos
I learned something about new buildings here in Switzerland. I had previously wondered why sometimes at the top of a building as it was being constructed there was a small dead pine tree. I know that in some places in Switzerland when there is a birth they stick a small pine tree on the top of a tall pole, but the new building thing was new to me.
It turns out that after you have built the envelope of the house and everything is sealed up you have a house warming party for all the workers and put up the tree. I guess that's the birth of the house?
Also, apparently about once or twice a year I show up in the local Davos newspaper (Davoser Zeitung). A few years ago they did an article about my boss and took pictures of some of us in the lab (I had to wear a labcoat for that). There's a good one of Mattia and me looking at what appears to be a blank computer screen but actually we really did pull up data and discussed it and even figured out something new. But in the photo we are just pointing at a blank screen. After this article they kept the photos on stock and every time there is an article about science in Davos (we have a bunch of research centers up here) they pull out one of the photos of me in my labcoat (usually the one of my back while I work on the bench).
It turns out that after you have built the envelope of the house and everything is sealed up you have a house warming party for all the workers and put up the tree. I guess that's the birth of the house?
Also, apparently about once or twice a year I show up in the local Davos newspaper (Davoser Zeitung). A few years ago they did an article about my boss and took pictures of some of us in the lab (I had to wear a labcoat for that). There's a good one of Mattia and me looking at what appears to be a blank computer screen but actually we really did pull up data and discussed it and even figured out something new. But in the photo we are just pointing at a blank screen. After this article they kept the photos on stock and every time there is an article about science in Davos (we have a bunch of research centers up here) they pull out one of the photos of me in my labcoat (usually the one of my back while I work on the bench).
Wednesday, September 09, 2015
Visit to Scotland
At the end of August I made a trip with Julia and Sachi to Scotland. Our first stop was Edinburgh while the Edinburgh festival was going on.
We rented a great apartment with Airbnb, a short bus ride into town and close to a grocery store. Staying in apartments is my favorite way to visit a city!
After we settled in we caught the bus into town where we pushed through the crowds for a tasty pub lunch (including some hagis), beers and funny faces.
I had heard about the Edinburgh Fringe Festival years ago while at the Vancouver Fringe Festival and in Edinburgh it did not disappoint. The city is in festival mode for a month and there are thousands of shows ongoing. While we were in Edinburgh we watched three shows, all excellent. Fringe shows are short (around an hour), cheap (around 5-15 pounds) and usually pretty quirky. We watched an improvised Sherlock Holmes mystery, a show about two pirates on a search for the sands of time (they played all the roles and had a musician to add songs and effects) and a circus show with vignettes based on famous Hitchcock movies.
The town was lovely and there were lots of great shops and great places to eat and I bought a wool shawl which hopefully will work in the cooler fall weather and cover me better than my coats. My raincoat did up on the trip but the girls said I looked like a sausage about to burst!
After Edinburgh we rented a car and drove north 3 hours to Inverness. The weather had taken a chilly turn but our apartment was nice and centrally located. The next day we headed out on a long road trip, first along Loch Ness (not that exciting actually) and then to the Isle of Skye.
Along the way we stopped at a very picturesque castle (Eilean Donan) on a small lake and we stopped to have a break.
The Isle of Skye was lovely and there were a fair number of people visiting. The road was a single lane with pullouts so there was always excitement of wondering when the next oncoming car was going to appear around the corner!
We stopped at a popular rock formation and went for a hike up.
On our way we ran into the famous midges I had read about and they were certainly uncomfortable! Once we were in the wind a bit they weren't really a problem any more. We went up maybe 400m or so and had a lovely look around the countryside.
Then we continued north, stopping for fish and chips lunch on the way. At the north end of the island we had a lovely view across the sea. Unfortunately at this point of the car ride there were no bathrooms, and no trees either and I had a baby taking up valuable space!
The next day we went to visit a whiskey distillery (Tomatin), apparently owned by a Japanese company. Apparently most of the distilleries in Scotland are owned by a major brewer (can't remember the name).
We saw how they first extract the sugars from the malted barley.
And then use this sugar water as food for the yeast fermentation step.
Then the alcohol is distilled twice in these giant copper kettles.
And ultimately aged in oak barrels.
Sachi found one from her year.
Apparently whiskey collection is a big thing and collectors are always looking out for specific bottles. They don't actually drink it, just sell it later to other people for profit. Although at this point if this is where the capital needs to be invested to make money (and also fine art I've heard, and empty apartments in London) our world economy has a serious problem. It means you can't make money in companies making things (or ideas) and how valuable is an economy based on buying stuff that other people want to buy for more money later but doesn't actually do anything (like undrunk whiskey bottles or empty New York apartments)?
After the whiskey tour we headed to Culloden, the famous battlefield that was the end of the highland clans. However, they charged a lot of money to go see a small museum and a field so instead we photographed the special highland cows (interestingly, the most highland cattle I've seen has been in Switzerland on the San Bernardino pass to Bellinzona).
Then we drove some more and had a great look of Inverness from across the river.
The next day we drove south and stopped at Stirling castle before heading to our last stop - Callander.
The village was small and very lovely and we stayed at a lovely BnB with a parlor all to ourselves. The next day we went for a hike, about 5 hours, from the village and into the moors with all the sheep farms. It was an easy hike on the road and we had a lovely view of a large waterfall at the beginning.
At the end we drove back to Edinburgh, returned the car and I took my flight back to Switzerland.
We rented a great apartment with Airbnb, a short bus ride into town and close to a grocery store. Staying in apartments is my favorite way to visit a city!
After we settled in we caught the bus into town where we pushed through the crowds for a tasty pub lunch (including some hagis), beers and funny faces.
I had heard about the Edinburgh Fringe Festival years ago while at the Vancouver Fringe Festival and in Edinburgh it did not disappoint. The city is in festival mode for a month and there are thousands of shows ongoing. While we were in Edinburgh we watched three shows, all excellent. Fringe shows are short (around an hour), cheap (around 5-15 pounds) and usually pretty quirky. We watched an improvised Sherlock Holmes mystery, a show about two pirates on a search for the sands of time (they played all the roles and had a musician to add songs and effects) and a circus show with vignettes based on famous Hitchcock movies.
The town was lovely and there were lots of great shops and great places to eat and I bought a wool shawl which hopefully will work in the cooler fall weather and cover me better than my coats. My raincoat did up on the trip but the girls said I looked like a sausage about to burst!
After Edinburgh we rented a car and drove north 3 hours to Inverness. The weather had taken a chilly turn but our apartment was nice and centrally located. The next day we headed out on a long road trip, first along Loch Ness (not that exciting actually) and then to the Isle of Skye.
Along the way we stopped at a very picturesque castle (Eilean Donan) on a small lake and we stopped to have a break.
The Isle of Skye was lovely and there were a fair number of people visiting. The road was a single lane with pullouts so there was always excitement of wondering when the next oncoming car was going to appear around the corner!
We stopped at a popular rock formation and went for a hike up.
On our way we ran into the famous midges I had read about and they were certainly uncomfortable! Once we were in the wind a bit they weren't really a problem any more. We went up maybe 400m or so and had a lovely look around the countryside.
Then we continued north, stopping for fish and chips lunch on the way. At the north end of the island we had a lovely view across the sea. Unfortunately at this point of the car ride there were no bathrooms, and no trees either and I had a baby taking up valuable space!
The next day we went to visit a whiskey distillery (Tomatin), apparently owned by a Japanese company. Apparently most of the distilleries in Scotland are owned by a major brewer (can't remember the name).
We saw how they first extract the sugars from the malted barley.
And then use this sugar water as food for the yeast fermentation step.
Then the alcohol is distilled twice in these giant copper kettles.
And ultimately aged in oak barrels.
Sachi found one from her year.
Apparently whiskey collection is a big thing and collectors are always looking out for specific bottles. They don't actually drink it, just sell it later to other people for profit. Although at this point if this is where the capital needs to be invested to make money (and also fine art I've heard, and empty apartments in London) our world economy has a serious problem. It means you can't make money in companies making things (or ideas) and how valuable is an economy based on buying stuff that other people want to buy for more money later but doesn't actually do anything (like undrunk whiskey bottles or empty New York apartments)?
After the whiskey tour we headed to Culloden, the famous battlefield that was the end of the highland clans. However, they charged a lot of money to go see a small museum and a field so instead we photographed the special highland cows (interestingly, the most highland cattle I've seen has been in Switzerland on the San Bernardino pass to Bellinzona).
Then we drove some more and had a great look of Inverness from across the river.
The next day we drove south and stopped at Stirling castle before heading to our last stop - Callander.
The village was small and very lovely and we stayed at a lovely BnB with a parlor all to ourselves. The next day we went for a hike, about 5 hours, from the village and into the moors with all the sheep farms. It was an easy hike on the road and we had a lovely view of a large waterfall at the beginning.
At the end we drove back to Edinburgh, returned the car and I took my flight back to Switzerland.
Friday, August 14, 2015
World bouldering competition
On the weekend in Klosters was a world championship bouldering competition (or world cup, I can't remember). Anyway, they had a big stage set up in the parking lot close to our house so we headed over in the evening to catch the finals. They were still setting up the routes when we arrived so we bought something to drink and found ourselves a good seat to wait.
In the competition there were the top 6 men and women competing. First they had 30 seconds all together to look at each of the four routes (different for men and women) to try and pick the path.
Then they went behind the stage and two by two they came out to try and climb the route in 4 minutes. I don't know how the point system worked but the routes were hard enough that not everyone made it to the top on all routes and some routes were so difficult no one was successful.
At the end of the evening we went home but could listen to the party music afterwards while we were in bed!
In the competition there were the top 6 men and women competing. First they had 30 seconds all together to look at each of the four routes (different for men and women) to try and pick the path.
Then they went behind the stage and two by two they came out to try and climb the route in 4 minutes. I don't know how the point system worked but the routes were hard enough that not everyone made it to the top on all routes and some routes were so difficult no one was successful.
At the end of the evening we went home but could listen to the party music afterwards while we were in bed!
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Cycling to Verina mountain hut
On the weekend we had a bit of nice weather so we rented bicycles and cycled to the mountain hut Verina. We had a gift certificate there from our wedding and we went for a giant lunch!
I had an electric bike and Mic had a mountain bike which in the end worked out well. The road was a combination of rough asphalt and gravel and the trip was over 20km and up about 900m. That was hard work for me even with an electric bike! The electric bike had about five gears on one side and the electric motor control on the other side of the handlebars. You could add more power as needed which was great on the steeper section of the hill. In general it required approximately the same amount of energy to pedal as the terrain changed, and you had to pedal it.
Here is the start of the road going above the valley we live in.
They way up was very lovely, usually beside a stream with lots of waterfalls. Of course, it was significantly more pleasant for me since I wasn't dying without the extra help.
When we got to the top of the road the valley leveled out. I might have had an e-bike but I was still tired when we made it to the hut!
We ordered a big lunch and looked forward over the valley.
And we took our time eating and enjoying the view and the weather. I ordered a dessert of ice cream, whipped cream and meringue. When it came to the table it was huge! It took me quite a while to eat what I could. Someone passing by laughed a bit and I said "yup it's huge". When they walked by again they said "still huge".
As it looked like rain might be coming and we had to return the bikes we headed down along the stream again.
We stopped for a picture.
And made it back in good time to return the bikes.
I had an electric bike and Mic had a mountain bike which in the end worked out well. The road was a combination of rough asphalt and gravel and the trip was over 20km and up about 900m. That was hard work for me even with an electric bike! The electric bike had about five gears on one side and the electric motor control on the other side of the handlebars. You could add more power as needed which was great on the steeper section of the hill. In general it required approximately the same amount of energy to pedal as the terrain changed, and you had to pedal it.
Here is the start of the road going above the valley we live in.
When we got to the top of the road the valley leveled out. I might have had an e-bike but I was still tired when we made it to the hut!
We ordered a big lunch and looked forward over the valley.
And we took our time eating and enjoying the view and the weather. I ordered a dessert of ice cream, whipped cream and meringue. When it came to the table it was huge! It took me quite a while to eat what I could. Someone passing by laughed a bit and I said "yup it's huge". When they walked by again they said "still huge".
As it looked like rain might be coming and we had to return the bikes we headed down along the stream again.
We stopped for a picture.
And made it back in good time to return the bikes.
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