I happened to be experimenting with some focus settings on my camera this evening and using Jeanine as a test subject. She is generally less than fond of such involvement with these experimental pursuits but flashed me a big smile which I was happy to record.
The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge across the Charles River and is now considered a Boston icon. The bridge and connecting tunnel were built as part of the Big Dig, the largest highway construction project in the United States. Its full name commemorates Boston civic leader and civil rights activist Leonard P. Zakim who championed “building bridges between peoples”, and the “Battle of Bunker Hill.” I stopped in the neighborhood of the bridge this morning after dropping Kris off at Logan Airport for an early flight home. I then walked along the river to where the USS Constitution and USS Cassin Young are docked while putting my drone to good use along the way.
Nicolai called us this evening from a pet store in Colorado Springs where he was picking out a gift with and for his girlfriend Karuna. Shortly after our conversation, he texted us this image which seems to suggest that these dinosaurs are now part of their family. Normally I think of Nicolai as a master of the grand romantic gesture. I now find myself reconsidering that assessment. These guys look like baby velociraptors that escaped from Jurassic Park. Not to worry, I am sure Kubo (their recently acquired dog) will kill them before they eat anyone. Just ask the chickens at the Catamount Center for Environmental Science & Education where he recently dispatched one of the flock which, it should be noted, belonged to the Director of the program and Nicolai’s future boss when he begins working there next month.
Kris, Jeanine and I had breakfast out and then went for a walk at Heart Pond along the new rail trail. We then stocked up on groceries and snacks for our micro World Cup viewing party. You have to admire the Croatians for their work rate and “never say die” attitude but in the end, the French put the ball in the net more times. It has been a great World Cup tournament and I am now looking forward to the Amputee World Cup which will take place in Guadalajara, Mexico in late November
Visiting us for a few days is Kris Earle, Jeanine’s best friend dating back to her middle school days. The two have remained extremely close and it is always a pleasure to spend time together. Kris was curious about the Copenhagen Wheel so I set her up with my bike and she joined Jeanine for a short ride. It is always fun to see how people react the first time they try it and Kris was no exception.
Judging from the photos we are receiving from him, Kyle appears to be having a tremendous European vacation. Here he is “flying though Paris.” He started in Ireland (Dublin and Galway), flew to Paris, and is now headed for Marseille by train.
During our visit to Switzerland, I took several series of photos for later merging into high resolution panoramas. This evening I completed the post processing and have posted my favorites here. The only way to appreciate these is by clicking on the images and then zooming in and scrolling about. Normally, I crop the final results into rectangles but left the raw borders of the one below unmodified since it followed the lines of the glacier so nicely.
Today will be spent returning home by way of Zurich where I will rendezvous with Jeanine at the airport. I left Friedrichshaffen on the 5:40am ferry bound for Romanshorn and then took a train to Konstanz (Germany to Switzerland to Germany). I checked my big backpack into a locker at the train station and gave myself a couple of hours to tour the city.
Rhine Falls is on the way to Zurich and my next destination. About twenty minutes and two trains into that journey I realized that I had left my large backpack at the Konstanz train station necessitating some serious backtracking. Even so, I had time to quickly visit the falls which far surpassed my expectations. The volume of water and sound was overwhelming. I continued to the Zurich airport where I reconnected with Jeanine with plenty of time before boarding our flight back to the states.
In addition to bicycles and e-bikes, the show featured an occasional hybrid vehicle of the three and four-wheel variety. It is my prediction that we will see more and more human/electric-powered hybrids like this replacing cars in urban environments. Small footprint, environmentally friendly vehicles are the only real near term solution to urban traffic congestion and I am glad to be part of an industry that will be addressing this global problem.
Pictured here are some of my colleagues attending the Eurobike trade show. Each evening we dined together and it was fun hearing stories about the early days of the company as recounted by the veterans. They reminded me a great deal about the early days of Truevision, the company I co-founded in my twenties.
Superpedestrian is exhibiting at Eurobike 2018, the largest bike show in the world. Our booth is located in the biggest hall of a twelve-hall Messe Friedrichshafen complex which was entirely devoted to electric bikes. This being my first bike show, my main objective was to familiarize myself with the players in the industry and to gather information useful to Superpedestrian. I covered close to 11 miles according to my step counter and tested several e-bikes throughout the course of the day. I took hundreds of photos documenting our competition as well as potential component suppliers.
The Matterhorn has a very unique profile and is regarded by many as one of the most photogenic mountains in the world. I whole heartedly concur and could not be happier with the photos I captured this morning. My first attempt was at 3am from the Fluhalp. When I walked outside, there it was in all its glory, illuminated by starlight. I set up my tripod and triggered a 30s trial exposure. I then adjusted the settings on my camera for the exposure I wanted and tripped the shutter again 180 seconds after the first shot. In that time, the entire mountain became obscured by clouds which rolled up in front of my camera position. I could not have been more disappointed and went back to sleep.
I got up again at 5am and walked down to the lake which was covered in clouds and set up for the shot I had pre-visualized the day before. At 5:30am I was joined by a group of Japanese who were also staying at the Fluhalp. Fog on the lake had lifted but the Matterhorn was still shrouded. I put up my drone and took a picture of the assembled group waiting for the magic to happen. It didn’t and they left for breakfast an hour later.
Thankfully, the clouds began lifting by 7am and by 7:30am the sky was clear and I went crazy, starting with the picture at the top of this post. The light was perfect and there was no wind making for an excellent reflection in the water. Satisfied with my images, I started hiking to the cable car station, stopping for a few more shots along the way.
I arrived back at the hotel where Jeanine was staying just in time to join her for breakfast before we departed Zermatt for Thun. The Thun Castle, pictured below, contains a really engaging museum and offers excellent views of the city from its turrets.
After a quick lunch, Jeanine and I boarded different trains. She will remain in Switzerland for the next four days while I travel to Germany to attend a trade show for work.
The Gornergrat (10,285 ft) is a rocky ridge of the Pennine Alps, overlooking the Gorner Glacier. It offers a commanding view of more than twenty 13,000 feet peaks and can be reached from Zermatt by the Gornergrat rack railway, the highest open-air railway in Europe. The structure pictured above was originally the Gornergrat Infrared Telescope and is now the Kulm Hotel. When we arrived early this morning clouds obscured most of the peaks but we did have a nice view of the glacier.
We returned to Zermatt briefly to prepare for the longest hike of our vacation while runners from around the world prepared for the Zermatt Marathon to be run tomorrow.
The Five Lakes Trail covers nearly 10km and is generally hiked in the downhill direction. We chose the uphill direction which is considerably more work but far less trying on my knees.
Pictured above is the Bergrestaurant Fluhalp alpine restaurant and hotel. I will spend the night here while Jeanine returns to Zermatt. My plan is to photograph the Matterhorn at sunrise from nearby Stellisee Lake if the weather cooperates. Thus far we have yet to catch a glimpse of the iconic mountain which has been shrouded in clouds all day.
Yesterday afternoon we made a first attempt to hike from Grosse Scheidegg to First. When we arrived after a 30 minute bus ride up the switchbacks to the pass, we decided the weather was not a good match to our gear. This morning we made a second attempt only to find ourselves shrouded in clouds and a steady rain. We decided to forge forward on the 6km hike anyway. About an hour in, the clouds began to dissipate and magnificent views of Eiger’s north face came into view. Our time in the Alps has reinforced the notion that mountain weather can change abruptly and dramatically and that you should be prepared for every eventuality.
After descending by cable car back to Grindelwald we collected our bags from the hotel and began the long train ride to Zermatt transferring to a different line in Spiez were I had a few minutes to take the photo below of the Schloss Spiez (Spiez Castle) before the heavens opened up in a major deluge.
When we arrived in Zermatt we made a bee line for our hotel (pictured below) hoping we could get in another hike for the day. It proved to be too late so we settled for a walk through the opulent town and for dinner at a restaurant owned by the descendants of the first man to ever scale the Matterhorn.
