29 November, 2012
Hobbit Red Carpet
25 November, 2012
Kapakapanui (1102m)
Clouds at the top mean no pic, but still logging it: just under 12k circuit with 3100-plus feet of altitude gain in 4 1/2 hours. The knees are a bit sore.
11 November, 2012
24 October, 2012
Prague and Vienna
With the World Psychiatric Association annual conference being held in Prague this year, we braved the 21+ hours of flying time and headed to Bohemia.
Owen, a friend of ours, lived here for several years while doing his medical training, and gave us a great "to do" list, from lunch at Vaclav Havel's favorite restaurant to musical performances at the iconic Obecni Dun (Town Hall). Given the density of great music here, it was incredibly easy to pick up same-day tickets for top-notch performances: Vivaldi, Smetana, Dvorak and many others. The highlight, however, had to be seeing La Boheme at the Prague State Theatre, an ornate hall with an intimate scale and excellent acoustics.
Other highlights included a visit to the Botanical Gardens, Prague Castle and the surrounding hills of Petrin Park to enjoy the Fall colors--especially appreciated as the only seasons in Wellington are Early Spring and Late Spring (it's always windy season). Of course, there were the obligatory strolls through Old Town, Lesser Town, New Town and along the Vltava River; all of which were facilitated by the city's magnificent (and well-used) transit system (I.P. Pavlova!)
After the conference, we took the train to Vienna, where we undertook a whirlwind tour of the Ringstrasse and stopped by Freud's flat on Bergasse. Hey, that frau in the waiting room looks familiar!
Although we didn't take a lot of pictures, here are a few we liked:
Fall colors along the Vltava
The reflected Belvedere in Vienna
The art-deco Kavarna in the Obecni Dun
The Astronomical Clock Tower in Prague's Old Town Square
The pattern in the ceiling of Prague's Opera House
23 September, 2012
Aida: Back to the Sydney Opera House
Although we have a fairly robust arts scene here in Welly, it is nice (and just a 3 hour flight) to get across the ditch to the Big City for one-of-a-kind events like seeing Aida at the SOH. The show did not disappoint, and we returned to the in-house restaurant (Guillame at Bennelong) for a pre-show meal with city's best view.
Speaking of views, we ran into some friends (Raewyn, Jordan and Lorraine) on the flight over, and had lunch at the Westfield Tower, where young Jordan (this was his first overseas trip AND first time in a plane) took this photo of us on the observation deck.
On the way home, we scored some underpriced Aussie 1996 Shiraz ($20!) at the Duty Free, and Richard was rewarded with a bottle of bubbly for answering the "is there a doctor on board?" call and helping out a fellow passenger in distress on the flight home.
09 September, 2012
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