Friday, December 28, 2007

Christmas in the Rocky Mountains

My Aunt hit a homerun this year by suggesting that we do something different for the holidays to lighten the spirit of the family after the tragedy of this fall. She stumbled upon Trail Creek Ranch, about 20 miles Northwest of Red Feathers, CO. (Or 60 miles south of Laramie, WY). During the summer Trail Creek hosts a working dude ranch and trout fishing from the Poudre River that runs through the property. During the winter, it is a beautiful winter wonderland.

The main ranch house, originally built in the late 1800's, used to be a main stop on the trail from Denver to Laramie before the highways were built. With 8 bedrooms, it was the perfect place to host the Brunmeier Christmas Retreat. There was even a "house horse" that hung out near the main house and quickly became friends with the entire family.

The whole family had a great time and I was surprised that everyone really got into the Brunmeier Christmas Olympics. My cousin, Elisabeth, and I split the family into three teams and put together a series of competitions. Winner took home the title and the losers had to be the kitchen work crew for the Christmas dinner. I have to say congrats to the "Red Necks" who took the crown and the title of the "Winter Retreat Elite" and I send my regrets to the "Lean Mean Fighting Green Bean Dream Team" who were the Kitchen Work Crew. As for the Blue Jackets, better luck next year! It was a close race! I will never forget the scene the family made while playing the game "Bundle Up," which involved covering a person in as many extra items of clothing as physically possible in a certain amount of time. I laughed so hard watching everyone scramble for clothes and winter gear that I thought I forget how to breathe.

Hopefully, I will have all the photos up after the New Year... (as well as other photos from this past year.) In the meantime, I hope everyone has a merry holiday season and I send all the best to you this new year!

Saturday, April 28, 2007

After a perfect spring day in nyc, i'm off to london! Cheerio!

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Friday, April 27, 2007

My May Mission: Springtime In Europe

6 Countries, 8 Cities, 2 Conferences, 1 Wedding... 12 Days.

For someone whose only experience of European travel has been limited to the United Kingdom, a task such as this is both exciting and daunting, at the same time. It challenges the possibility of one's abilities to grasp the true nature and culture of a city in 24 hours or less. But given this unique opportunity to see places I have only been able to dream about, it was too much of a temptation to resist... especially when the travel is partially funded by a departmental grant.

So to quote Mark Twain, it is time to "...throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

A Detailed European Itinerary

As my Mom requested that I send her a detailed itinerary of my travels, and I think its a brilliant idea to keep family&friends up to date on my plans, I thought I post my detailed itinerary with fun links (in color). Hopefully, I will have time to find an internet cafe to update it while traveling. Feel free to comment and add suggestions of things i should try to see along the way!

27 APR: San Francisco/New York City

Flight Info: American Airlines FLT178
Departs: SFO @ 1:15PM
Arrives: JFK @ 9:45PM
Lodgings: Uncle Charlie Flat in Queens

08:30am - Team Meeting @ Office
10:30am - BART from Berkeley to SFO Airport
12:00pm - Check-In: American Airlines FLT 178
09:45pm - Arrive JFK
10:15pm - Check Luggage: British Airways
10:30pm - JFK Airport Pick-Up (Uncle Charlie)
10:45pm - Late Dinner with Family

28 APR: New York City (USA) /London (England)

Flight Info: British Airways FLT182
Departs: JFK @ 10:45pm
Lodgings: British Airways FLT182

08:00am - Coffee & Bagel @ Dean & DeLuca, Rockefeller Center
10:15am - Presentation (Evolution of Mayan Language) @ AMNH
12:15pm - Lunch & Tour @ The Metropolitan Museum of Art
02:30pm - Wanderings & Early Dinner Mid-Town
6:30pm - Shuttle to JFK @ Grand Central Station
7:30pm - Check-In: British Airways FLT182

29 APR: London (England)

Flight Info: British Airways FLT182
Arrives: Heathrow @ 10:30am
Lodgings: Astor Museum Inn

10:30am - Arrive Heathrow
12:00pm - Tube from Heathrow to Astor Museum Inn
01:00pm - Check In: Astor Museum Inn
03:00pm - Tour @ The British Museum
07:00pm - Dinner & Tour with UCL Institute of Archaeology

30 APR: Cambridge/London (England)

Lodgings: Astor Museum Inn

07:00am - Rail from London to Cambridge
08:30am - Breakfast & Check-In
09:15am - Conference Presentations
11:15am - Presentation @ The Cambridge Museum of Archeology & Anthropology
12:30pm - Lunch @ King's College & Tour of Chapel
01:15pm - Conference Presentations
04:00pm - Rail from Cambridge to London
07:30pm - Orchestra Stalls Seating (E24) - Les Miserables

1 MAY: London (England)/Paris (France)

Rail Info: Eurostar #9036
Departs: Waterloo (London) @ 3:11PM
Arrives: Gare Du Nord (Paris) @ 6:53PM
Lodgings: Le Regent Montmarte

08:00am - Self-Guided Walking Tour of London
12:30pm - Check Out: Astor Inn
02:15pm - Check-In: Eurostar #9036
07:00pm - Arrive: Gare Du Dord (Paris)
07:30pm - Check-In: Le Regent Montmarte
08:30pm - Self-Guided Night Walk & Dinner

2 May: Paris (France)

Lodgings: Le Regent Montmarte


A DAY IN PARIS!

3 May: Paris (France) /Stockholm (Sweden)

Flight Info: Scandinavian Airlines SK574
Depart: Charles De Gaulle Apt (
Paris) @ 10:40am
Arrive: Arlanda Apt (Stockholm) @ 01:10pm
Lodgings: Ellen's Flat

07:00am - Check-Out: Le Regent Montmarte
07:30am - Metro from Gare Du Nord to CDG-Roissy (B3)
08:30am - Check-In: Scandinavian Airlines SK574
01:00pm - Arrive: Arlanda Apt (Stockholm)
02:00pm - Rail from Arlanda to Downtown Stockholm
02:30pm - Settle in @ Ellen's Flat
03:00pm - Henrik's Walking Tour of Stockholm and Dinner

4 May: Stockholm/Kristianstad (Sweden)

Rail Info: SJ Rail X 2000 521
Depart: Stockholm C Station @ 6:20am
Arrive: Kristianstad C Station @ 10:41am
Lodgings: First Hotel Christian IV, Kristianstad

06:00am - Arrive Stockholm C Rail Station
11:00am - Arrive Kristianstad C Rail Station
11:30am - Early Check-In:
First Hotel Christian IV
12:3opm - Lunch w/ Other Wedding Guests
02:00pm - Tove's Walking Tour of Kristianstad

5 May: Kristianstad/Bäckaskogslott (Sweden)

Lodgings: Bäckaskogslott (The Bäckaskog Castle)

09:00am - Breakfast w/ Wedding Guests
10:00am - Check-Out: First Hotel Christian IV
12:00pm - Check-In:
Bäckaskogslott (The Bäckaskog Castle)

Tonio & Tove's Wedding & Reception
www.mywedding.com/tovetonio/

6 May: Bäckaskogslott/Kristianstad (Sweden) /
Copenhagen (Denmark) /Cologne-Bonn
(Germany)

Rail Info: SJ Öresundståg 1031
Depart: Kristianstad C Rail Station @ 07:17am
Arrive: Kobenhavn H Rail Station @ 09:17am

Flight Info:
Scandinavia Airlines SK641
Depart: Copenhagen Kastrup Airport @ 05:00pm
Arrive: Cologne/Bonn Airport @ 06:20pm

Lodgings: Vivien's Flat in Bonn

06:30am - Check-Out:
Bäckaskogslott
07:00am - Arrive Kristianstad C Rail Station
09:30am - Arrive Copenhagen H Rail Station
10:00am - Boat/Canal Tour of Copenhagan
11:15 am - Walking Tour of Copenhagen
01:00pm - Lunch @
Cafeen Nikolaj
02:30pm - Take Rail to Kastrup Airport
03:00pm - Check-In:
Scandinavia Airlines SK641
06:30pm - Arrive: Cologne /Bonn Airport
07:30pm - Meet Vivien @ Baggage Claims

7 May: Bonn (Germany)

Lodgings: Vivien's Flat

Tour of Bonn with Vivien!!

8 May: Bonn (Germany)

Lodgings: Vivien's Flat

09:oo am - Explore Bonn
11:00 am -
Visit the Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany) in Bonn showcasing the exhibition "Egypt’s Sunken Treasures”
5:oo pm - Dinner w/ Vivien

9 May: Bonn (Germany)/London (England)/San Francisco (USA)

Rail Info: Germany InterCity Express Rail
Depart: Bonn @ 07:30am
Arrive: Frankfurt Airport @ 08:30am

Flight Info: British Airways Flt903
Depart: Frankfurt Airport @ 11:20am
Arrive: Heathrow (London) @ 12:00pm

Flight Info: British Airways FLT287
Depart: Heathrow (London) @ 01:50pm
Arrive: San Francisco @ 04:40pm


Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Affordable Europe: City Guides

From: emailthis@ms3.lga2.nytimes.com on behalf of Nancy
Sent: Wed 4/25/2007 3:47 PM
To: Wanderer
Subject: NYTimes.com: Affordable Europe: City Guides

This page was sent to you by: Nancy
Message from sender: i thought you might like this.
TRAVEL April 22, 2007

Affordable Europe: City Guides
Yes, the euro remains strong, but you don’t have to max out your credit card to indulge in some of Europe’s timeless luxuries.

LONDON

PARIS

COPENHAGEN

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Restaurants in Paris

From: Michael Chui
Sent: Tue 4/24/2007 11:58 PM
To: Wanderer
Subject: Paris Suggestions

Vail was really fun. Sunday was one of the best ski days I've had in a long time. Five inches of fresh powder fell on Saturday night, but it was sunny by Sunday, which was awesome. I'm so jealous that you get to traipse around the world.

I do have a few restaurant recommendations from a Lebanese Canadian friend of mine:

Desserts:
LaDuree on the Champs-Elysees
PierreHerme in St-Germain

Regular Food (a.k.a dinner):
Chez Andre on rue Marbeuf
(And my mom suggests the following)
Helene Darroze 01 42 22 00 11 Le Passiflore rue de longchamps

La Duree is a fun place for dessert. Chez Andre is kind of a classic diner. Helene Darroze (very modern decor) and Le Passiflore (classy, classic restaurant) are places you'll want to dress up. Apparently Helene Darroze rates 2 Michelin stars, and Le Passiflore is a single Michelin star

- Chui

Monday, April 23, 2007

A List Of London Milliners




















Bates The Hatter
21A Jermyn Street SW1Y 6HP
Nearest Transport Station: Piccadilly Circus

Bridget Armstrong
83 Hartfield Crescent SW19 3SJ

Ca4la
23 Pitfield Street N1 6HB
Nearest Transport Station: Old Street

Cappelli
Amhurst Park N16 5AA

Cozmo Jenks
21 New Quebec Street W1H 7SA

Edwina Ibbotson Millinery
45 Queenstown Road SW8 3RG
Nearest Transport Station: Queenstown Road

Eloise Hats
25 Roxwell Road W12 9QE
Nearest Transport Station: Shepherd's Bush (Hammersmith)

Gabriella Ligenza Hats
5 Ellis Street SW1X 9AL
Nearest Transport Station: Sloane Square

Gina Foster Millinery
13-16 Embankment Gardens SW3 4LW
Nearest Transport Station: Sloane Square

Hats Etcetera
36 Kensington Church Street W8 4BX

Hats Plus
101A King's Cross Road WC1X 9LP
Nearest Transport Station: King's Cross St. Pancras

Heads Rule Hearts
56 Upper Ground SE1 9PP
Nearest Transport Station: Temple

Hectic Hat Hire
207 Munster Road SW6 6BX
Nearest Transport Station: Fulham Broadway

Hectic Hat Hire
242 Munster Road SW6 6BA
Nearest Transport Station: Parsons Green

Hepsibah
112 Brackenbury Road W6 0BD
Nearest Transport Station: Ravenscourt Park

James Lock & Co
6 St. James's Street SW1A 1EF
Nearest Transport Station: Green Park

John Boyd
16 Beauchamp Place SW3 1NQ
Nearest Transport Station: Knightsbridge

Judy Bentinck Millinery
Cockpit Yard Northington St WC1N 2NP
Nearest Transport Station: Holborn

Kangol
400 Oxford Street W1C 1JS
Nearest Transport Station: Bond Street

Katherine Franklin Adams
49 Moreton Street SW1V 2NY
Nearest Transport Station: Pimlico

Marie Mercie
8 Knightsbridge Green SW1X 7QL
Nearest Transport Station: Knightsbridge

Philip Somerville
38 Chiltern Street W1U 7QL
Nearest Transport Station: Baker Street


Philip Treacy
69 Elizabeth Street SW1W 9PJ
Nearest Transport Station: Sloane Square

Rachel Trevor Morgan Hats
18 Crown Passage SW1Y 6PP
Nearest Transport Station: Green Park

Siggi
48 Fulham High Street SW6 3LQ
Nearest Transport Station: Putney Bridge

Stephen Jones Millinery
36 Great Queen Street WC2B 5AA
Nearest Transport Station: Holborn

The Hat Centre
18 Stamford Hill N16 6XZ

The Hat Studio
5 Margaret Street W1W 8RG
Nearest Transport Station: Oxford Circus

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Nancy's Advice For Paris

From: Nancy
Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2007 10:46 AM
To: Wanderer
Subject: Advice For Daytripping Paris

You're spending two nights in Paris? Ooolala! Here are my ideas for sights and things to do.

This first part is actually stuff I did in one day alone:

This second part is stuff that I liked which I did over a few days:

You'll have to be able to navigate yourself on the metro, but it shouldn't be too difficult. Things are probably more expensive now than when I went...which was when the dollar was greater than the euro. Let me know if you need anything else!
-n

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Henrik's Recommended Walking Tour Of Stockholm (Sweden)


From: Henrik
Sent:
Wednesday, April 18, 2007 12:29 AM
To:
Wanderer

Subject:
Re: Travel advice...

Hey there,

Let's definitely talk before you leave for Europe! A couple of ideas though for your stay in Stockholm...


You want to take a walk through the "Gamla Stan" = "Old city" which is the middle of the city. Walk down the "Västerlånggatan" street where you'll find a ton of touristy shops, but also some nice cafes. Be sure to wander off in some of the alleyways that start from the "Västerlånggatan" - supposedly one of these alleys is recognized as the worlds narrowest street. If you're close to the royal castle around 12 noon it may be worthwhile seeing the changing of the guards (although this will be a Thursday, so it won't be the full deal that you'd see on a Saturday or Sunday.

From "Slussen" (south end of "Gamla Stan") you can take a ferry boat out to the "Djurgården" peninsula (schedule at http://www.waxholmsbolaget.se, click on UK flag at top right for English) . Out there you'll find "Skansen" which is a park that has full size buildings collected from all over Sweden from different time periods, which I think the archaeologist in you might find interesting. "Skansen" is also a Zoo,

but that part is less interesting. You're also very close to the "Vasa", a battle ship that sunk on it's maiden voyage in the 1600's. It was recovered in the 1960's and is in an amazingly good condition.

If you then proceed across the "Djurgårdsbron" bridge to the "Strandvägen" boardwalk you have an easy 20-25 minute walk till you get to the downtown shopping areas of Stockholm. It's worth taking a look at "NK", a major department store, that has been around for over 100 years.

I guess you'll spend Thu night in Stockholm - for a nice relaxed drink its nice to go down to the "Mariatorget" square in the "Södermalm" part of town. Here you'll find plenty of nice pubs and bars that have a fairly relaxed atmosphere. For a slightly more "posh" area of town you can go to the "Stureplan" square, just north of the central shopping district. This is more of the banker & consultant type setting, but there are some nice bars around here too.

A good web site to visit is http://www.visit-stockholm.com/ which has lots of info, and some good maps (print one and bring along).

Hope this is helpful! It's too late to write a similar note on Paris right now, but I promise I will try to get to it tomorrow night!

Talk to you soon!
Henrik

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Tove's Background Information on Kristianstad (Sweden)

The municipality of Kristianstad is the largest municipality (land and water) of Skåne (Sweden’s southernmost province). Kristianstad has about 74,000 inhabitants living in 1346.2 km2 (approximately 55 ppl per km2), and about 37% of these live in the central town of Kristianstad, a lively trading town with many shops in a beautiful and well-kept town center with wide pedestrian streets.

History
During th
e Middle Ages, Skåne was a part of Denmark and the cities of Vä (= sacred place) and Åhus were both important centers for trade, religion, and royal power. However Denmark and Sweden were constantly involved in bitter battles. In February 1612, the infantry of the Swedish king Gustaf II Adolf razed Vä to the ground. The Danish King Christian IV (nicknamed “Christian the Great” in Denmark and “Christian the Tyrant” in Sweden) decided to build a new and more easily defended fortified city on the island of Allön, in the heart of the wetlands near the river Helgeå, instead of rebuilding Vä.

The town was founded on May 22, in 1614 and was named Christianstad (Christian's town) after the king, but today the towns name is spelled
Kristianstad. The king revoked the city charters of Vä and Åhus and made the bourgeois move to the new city. The bourgeois disliked the position of the new city, because of the disease-causing marsh climate and the bad ground for building. Draining of the surrounding wetlands in the 1860s later solved the disease problems, but bad building ground is a big problem even in modern Kristianstad.

Kristianstad was for its time a very modern fortress, and it was the first important fortified town in Scandinavia that made full use of the Renaissance system of bastions. It is also one of few towns in the Nordic countries that are built on the basis of a decree on a place with no earlier settlements. These conditions gave Kristianstad its straight streets and right-angled city plan. The ramparts were leveled in 1847 to make way for Parisian-style boulevards and give the town room to expand. These streets are also
named boulevards, just like in Paris, and have given Kristianstad the nickname "Lilla Paris"(= Little Paris). Today only portions of the northern moat are left. Kristianstad and Skåne became Swedish in 1658 at the Treaty of Roskilde, but this didn't create peace for Kristianstad. Snappharana, the feuding guerilla soldiers of the time, were fighting what they saw as the Swedish invaders for about 50 more years and during that time Danish troops captured the town twice.

“The most Danish town in Sweden”

Even though Kristianstad was only Danish for 44 years (1614-1658), its “Danishness” is still
apparent and Christian IV makes his presence felt in many ways. For instance, the municipal coat of arms contains his name cipher "C4" and before 1898, when private banks had the right to issue banknotes, paper money from "Christianstads Enskilda Bank" bore the portrait and coat of arms of Christain IV - a Danish monarch on a Swedish banknote!

Transportation

Krisitianstad was a trading town, and barges used to sail through dredged channels from the port in Åhus, up until the water level fell after the Helgeå river created a new channel to the
sea in 1775. In 1865 the first railway line was opened, and when the railways were at their peak, seven different lines radiated from Kritianstad. Although many of those railway lines have closed, Kristianstad still has a good connection to Lund, Malmö, and Copenhagen. A small airport is situated in Everöd, just outside Kristiantad. "Food Capital of Sweden” The land around Kristianstad is good for farming, which combined with a clean environment, specialist skills, and top food manufacturers make Kristianstad the food capital of Sweden. Each week every Swede probably consumes at least one product from Kristianstad.

Kristianstad’s Coat of Arm
s

King Christians IV of Denmark, the founder of Kristiastad, gave Kristianstad its coat of arms in 1622. The coat of arms consists of two golden lions holding the crowned monogram of Christian IV between each other on a blue background. The town kept the coat of arms when Kristianstad became Swedish at the peace of Roskilde in 1658 and is supposedly today the only city/town in the world that has the monogram of a foreign monarch in its coat of arms.

Maps of Krisitanstad
The left map shows the fortress Christainstad in the 1670s, the middle map is from 1807, when the fortress was at its largest, and the right map is over central Kristianstad today. North is to the right on all three maps.