Too close for comfort

I was surprised by how long it has been since I last posted!  I haven't had much time lately, and even if I did there wasn't much to write about. This evening I found myself with a bit of extra time due to cancellations of appointments.  The cancellations were a result of the massive manhunt going on in the town just down the road.  It started with the marathon bombings Monday, which was a very sad and upsetting incident.  Yesterday the situation progressed after photos of the two suspects were released, and this morning we woke up to news on the radio that one suspect was killed overnight and the other was on the loose... in the town right just 4 miles down the road!  We were going to go running but stayed indoors as Waltham was in lockdown and we figured that even though technically we could leave the apartment, Prospect Hill would be an excellent place for someone to hide out.  We know this for a fact; a couple years ago there was an armed attacker suspected of hiding in the park while we were running and we were ushered out by heavily armed guards.

Anyways, there are reports that there are several thousand police and special forces officers from all over MA, NH, and NY in Watertown, and they made their base at the mall where I liked to go shopping :o(  The ultimate surreal experience is seeing pictures of familiar streets filled with SWAT teams and tanks on the BBC... the BBC!

Businesses in Waltham were closed and MBTA public transport was suspended.  FSU, however, was not closed (it is too far away from the excitement) so I drove in to class.  I probably should have just stayed in Framingham all day.  Walthamites (as I like to call the locals) get feisty when they are cooped up all day: the house across the street has parties and people hang out on the balcony drinking (all day into the night); there is a drunk guy right now going up and down our road shouting something; we saw at least one drug deal below our window.  Apparently people get bored when things close.  Hopefully tomorrow will be more normal.    

Nemo

After having a record low amount of snow last year, and an equally underwhelming amount again this year, we were long overdue for a good dumping this weekend.  It is hard to tell how much actually fell, but I'm going to guess 2 and 1/2 feet (though it feels more like 4 feet!).  I am not sure how the storm was given the name Nemo, but here are some pictures of its aftermath.

Our street just an hour or two before the snow began to fall

The next morning

It is funny how all you can see of the car next to Seth's is the antenna

The drifts are up to my head!

The wind blew the snow so that it accumulated very unevenly

Now where in the world do we put all this snow? (I am from the south, so questions like these naturally come to my head) 

 

We decided to go to Brandeis to get out of the house.  Seth was so desperate to work at the library that he actually shoveled his way there!

It is always good to have a guy who likes to shovel... and is highly motivated

Day 22: The cherry on top: Munich, Germany

Our flight from HK was relatively simple, with just one *long* layover in Germany.  At first I was annoyed with the length of time between flights (about 10 hours), but we decided to make the most of it.

We departed HK at midnight and some hours later we landed in Munich at 5:30am.  We found luggage storage and checked ourselves into an airport lounge club (thanks again, Mom and Dad!) to get ready to stretch our legs.

Running from the airport.  Although it was about 23 degrees F, it still felt shockingly cold to us.

After being in a tropical climate for several weeks Seth and I both forgot it was Winter.  It was so strange to have it suddenly be so snowy, cold, and dark (it was about 8am by this point and still very dim).

What a treat!  A lovely trail just 2 miles from the airport!  This path connected all the nearby towns.  The air was so cool, clean, and refreshing, I didn't want to go back to the airport.

Thankfully we didn't have to stay at the airport for long.  We had really nice, hot showers and a brunch at the lounge club then took the 40min train ride into the city.

View of some town from the train

We only had less than 2 hours to explore the city so we did what many fast-paced tourists do: we ran around willy-nilly snapping photos of as much stuff as possible, as quickly as possible.  We didn't have much time to research Munich, so besides some pamphlets from the airport we really didn't get to read up on the city before our excursion.   

The train deposited us smack dab in the center of town, and this was our first sight when we emerged from the subway.

A dragon detail on the town hall

Marienplatz

A nifty model of the city

Church of Our Lady

The side of the chuch

 

 

This looked very familiar!  Felderrnhalle was modeled after the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence.

I was always under the impression that Germany was ultra modern and new, I honestly had no idea it could be so old and Italianesque!  (Although I'm not sure how much the Germans would like being compared to Italy...)

 

Near the Residenz

Freezing out in the Hofgarten

The sprawling and serenely beautiful English Garden

 

 

 

It was indeed as cold as it looks, especially since we were not properly equipped for winter temps.

There were people actually out surfing!!!  Gosh, Germans are a tough breed.

 

Little Red Riding Hood

  Though rushed, this Winter wonderland was a wonderful treat (the icing on the cake!) to end a fantastic trip

PS-I must mention that I am ABSOLUTELY impressed that even though we flew in the middle of winter, every one of the 9 planes we took during the entire trip was ON TIME.  It is lucky to even have one flight on time in perfect weather, so I felt very fortunate to not be encumbered with typical travel hangups during the trip.

Days 20-21: Hong Kong Experiences

We spent one morning attempting to run along the harbour.   For some reason I remember it being much more pleasant, but there was so much construction we gave up and went through Victoria Park instead.

Harbour view, old vs new

Victoria Park, just how we remember it, with people everywhere doing calisthenics

A morning market in Causeway Bay

Since Dan took Saturday off to have fun hanging out with hanging dried fish in Tai O, he had to work Sunday, so we met with just Synni for most of the day. 

We started off with a sushi lunch! So delicious!! 

One of many massive public housing complexes

This is one of the 'fingers' of the back side of the complex.  I liked how there were older ladies playing card games out in the open there.

Taking the super old (and slow!) double-decker tram through the different neighborhoods along the north side of the island

Making excellent use of bamboo for scaffolding

Just like NYC's Flat-iron Building!

Sunday is the day off for Filipino and Indonesian house maids.  They gather and picnic and relax all day long in these public areas.  There were so many that they covered entire squares and pretty much any open space, such as this building.  I think most households hire one of these girls, even Synni and Dan have plans  to employ one someday, too.

We went for a little walk around Sheung Wan, the Old District.  These are the old Stone Steps.

It was tea time, which meant only one thing for Synni: Egg Custard.  We followed the trail of little yellow take-away bags to the best egg custard bakery around.  They were serving them hot out of the oven, for crying out loud!

Antique Street.  We saw one vender selling tiny carvings of animals.  The sign said some were made of walrus teeth and others out of mammoth tusk!  I didn't think they could be authentic, but sure enough the price tags listed them as costing hundreds of dollars!  I wonder if these were legal???

The longest escalator in the world.  Unfortunately we came at the wrong time of day and it was only going up, so we had to walk down the steps the old fashioned way.

We took the bus back to Synni and Dan's place in Tai Koo.  For dinner, Synni and I were each in charge of cooking up a dish or two in her one-person-at-a-time kitchen.

Trying to fit two people in the kitchen

Synni's very advanced toilet.  There was a massage setting, shower setting, and temperature settings.  I was curious to figure out what this all meant, but I chickened out.

Our home cooked meal!  Synni was in charge of the shrimp paste water spinach and steamed pork cake.  I requested that my ugly tofu burgers were to not make it in the photo. 

Kong Kong is a total nanny state in that there are long lists of rules for EVERYTHING.  Not only does this door say 'KEEP CLOSED', but also 'No abrupt push. Beware of man behind door'.

After a dinner and a couple rounds of cards (Saboteur, actually a fun game!), we spent the rest of the evening at the apartment block across the street, where Dan's family lives.  His parents, sister, and a few friends had gathered to watch the Manchester vs. Liverpool football game.  It was really nostalgic to be back at Dan's house--we had met his mother and sister there 4 and a half years ago--and they welcomed us back with gifts of tea and ham cookies.  I wish we could have visited longer (they are such a wonderful family!) but the colds we had developed were dragging us down by that point.

The next morning I went to explore the IKEA hidden down the road.  As cramped and crowded as HK is, this was probably the most vacant Ikea I had ever been to.

Synni and Dan were both back to work, so Seth and I were on our own to explore HK island for most of the day.  Luckily, we had the opportunity to meet up with both of our friends for lunch at a very popular BBQ place.

What dish doesn't belong in a BBQ place?  Roast crispy pork skin, roast duck, pork char shiu, or tofu with mushrooms? 

Seth and I went to the Bank of China high rise.  Someone didn't bring his photo ID so I had this view of the city to myself.

Peaceful Hong Kong Park

The Botanical Gardens.  Housed here was a little outdoor zoo of primates and reptiles.  There were also 'wild' sulfur crested cockatoos, just like in Australia (they were released as pets and have survived in the isolated green spaces of these parks).  After hearing their terrible screeches, I was quickly reminded of how they are nicer to look at than to see live (no wonder they were released pets!)

More signage!!

If you know what's best, don't do anything fun in HK

All this time I thought I knew how to use a bathroom stall

This warning sign, on many escalators, was my favorite.

For our final dinner in HK we met Synni and Dan at the same restaurant where we met them at the start of our previous HK trip.  Synni's idea was to recreate the photo we took together that night long ago. 

All of us at Crystal Jade restaurant in June, 2008.  We haven't changed one bit ;o)

Our last dinner, sad but delicious

The noodles were fresh and made to order!!  This guy pulled the dough into thin, linguini-like noodles by hand!

Time Square

After dinner Synni and Dan helped us collect our bags from the hostel and walked us to the airport shuttle stop.  It was really sad to say good bye again, but I think we will be seeing them again soon!!