Visit to Idaho

On the 10th to 12th of January, my family and I visited Moscow Idaho and stayed there for three days.  While there I visited the University of Idaho (UI) campus and visited  Washington State University(WSU). WSU was very focused on sports while visiting i counted at least 10 stadiums of different kinds. UI was a more intellectually focused university. WSU was significantly bigger most likely because of the number of stadiums. Both still had little amount of open green spaces were students could gather. UI's latest buildings did a good job of matching the older building by taking the brick work from the older building and incorporating it skillfully into the newer ones unlike WSU where the newer building were not matched very well to the older buildings. Overall i liked UI in caparison with WSU.

Just to complete my summer/ fall 2010 European trip I'll post here the concert and theatre experiences and some final thoughts about my trip.

During my trip I have experienced an umber of places and important cities, naturally I have been comparing them . Vienna. Austria for me was the best place I have visited on my trip, mainly because of the environment: it has comparatively many pedestrian only zones and bicycle paths, everything is quite well kept and clean, the public transport is everywhere and runs spot on time, the atmosphere was quite artistic and there was usually something artistic going on, the museums were excellent and the Viennese are kind to visitors.

As I was traveling I of course went out and ate in some of the local restaurants. The best food almost consistently was in Paris. The food tasted excellent and the produce was always fresh. The prices might have been a little higher than other cities I visited, but for example I was in the heart of Paris enjoying a delicious piece of teramisu and a cafe latte.

Below is a list of music events I experienced. My favorite one I was the opera called L'Elisir d' Amore.

This is probably my last posting on this blog until I travel again.


UK (London)

1) Nottinghill Carnival

2 )play - "Welcome to Thebes" by Moira Buffini (The National Theatre)

3) concert - BBC Proms: recreation of their 1910 programme (Royal Albert Hall)

4) concert - Simon Schembri, guitar: G.Sanz, J.S. Bach, L.M. Gottschalk, I. Albeniz, A. Piazzola, A. Barrios (St. James Church, Picadilly)



France (Paris)

5) concert - Guillaume Fichter, viloncello: J.S. Bach (Eglise St. Ephrem)



Austria (Vienna)

6) opera - L'Elisir d'Amore, G.Donizetti : Julia Novikove as Adina & Juan Florez as Nemorino (Wiener Staatsoper)

7) concert - Andreas Woyke, piano & Friedrich Kleinhapl, viloncello : L Von Beethoven sonatos (Musicverine)



Czech Republic (Prague)

8) opera - Madame Butterfly, G. Puccini (Tate Opera House)

Science,Environment and Social Observations Post:9

Science and the Enviroment

Like Vienna, Prague has a good mass transportation system that includes trams, buses and metro.The tram system runs quite efficiently arriving about every 5 minutes. I have not yet tried the bus or metro. Unfortunately, there is no separated bicycle lanes as inVienna. Although I see people riding bicycles, they are very few probably because many car drivers are agressive and the roads are very narrow, and are shared with the trams and buses. It seems there are not stations for people to rent bicycles as seen in London and Vienna.* On the other hand, I see more solar panels here in the Prague and surrounding area than I saw in London, Paris and Vienna.



Social, Economic and Cultural Observations

During my stay in Prague and Ceske Budejovice I have noticed that this country is not doing too well economically as the other European countries I have visited; its public services are not as good, buildings are not as well looked after, and generally people seem poorer. I have talked to some people living here and have learned that some think that they had more material wealth in their communist era. Museums here have good collections, but generally appear not to have as attractive facilities to house and display them. I guess this is a matter of comparative wealth. On the other hand, just yesterday I went to a large, free exhibition of contemporary art that had been donated by the artists from all over the country as a charity fundraiser. In this exhibition I saw many excellent paintings, sculptures, glassworks and lithographs.* Quite impressive. Art and aesthetics appears important to the Czech even if they are not as wealtly as their neighbours.

Going back to my queing theme, here it is moderate, better than London, but definitely not as orderly as in Vienna.

I will be in Prague for a few more days, then back home.

* for pictures related to this post and previous posts with pictures please visit http://www.frozenmiceblogpics.wikispaces.com/

Art Experiences Post:8

Through out my trip, I have visited many art and design museums and galleries and have not written about it, except for the occasional add-in. So, in this post, I will write about some of my favourite artists and design exhibitions. In a footnote, I've also listed the art and cultural experiences I've had to date (for my later use).


While staying here in South Bohemia (Czech Republic) I had the pleasure to meet and talk with two fine artists face to face, as well as see their work. The first that I spent time with was Karel Hrubeš, an abstract painter who has fantastic and interesting paintings. His paintings are abstract, but not to the point that it is a mish-mash of colours.* I think that some of his works reflect on the global warming issue. The second artist I met in South Bohemia is Petr Šladek, a ceramic artist and painter; less abstract and very well composed and pleasing.

A few days ago I also went to a museum dedicated to the artist Egon Schiele, and while I was impressed with the building (a converted 14th century brewery) the works in the exhibition were not all that good in comparison to the Leopold and Belvedere museums in Vienna, Austria. The Austrian museums had quite a lot more paintings, and were very well done unlike the works in South Bohemia which were delightful but, did not have the quality of the others. My father suggested that the Bohemian museum being new, unfortunately has too little money to purchase 1st rate paintings by Schiele, and also can't afford the high cost of insurance needed to borrow paintings for its exhibition. Yet, I enjoyed the chance to see any of Schiele's work.

In London I visited the National Gallery where I saw in my opinion the best Giovanni Antonio Canaletto paintings. I like this 17th century painter very much, especially his water pictures of Venice. Although I saw some of his paintings in the Historical Art Museum in Vienna they were small and not as beautiful in colour and composition. I particularaily like the way he highlights objects with white to make them stand out, and his buildings are so detailed as though they are fine photographs.


In the L'Orangerie Museum in Paris, I saw a collection of eight Claude Monet water lily paintings that were about 15x20 meters and were quite beautiful and magnificent. Those were better than any Monet paintings in either London or Vienna, which I thought did not have as much charm and as good composition as the ones in Paris.


The best Paul Cézanne paintings in my opinion, were also at the L'Orangerie in Paris. One is of autumn trees on a hillside and the other of a house and trees under the summer's sun. Both, you could not add a single brush stroke anywhere to improve on the picture. They were wholly complete. These two are the best of any Cézanne paintings I have seen so far. In comparison the Cézanne paintings I saw in both London and Vienna did not amount to how wonderful these two paintings in Paris are .

In terms of design exhibitions, the best were in Vienna, which had two very good exhibitions in the Applied Arts Museum and Vienna City Museum. The Vienna City Museum featured 10 contemporary Viennese commercial design companies. They exhibited everything from chairs and tables to lamps and skis, all of which were very well executed and displayed. In the Applied Arts Museum, they showed a gathering of chairs in chronological order with an explanation for each one (who was the designer, when designed, where, etc.). When you had finished reading about each chair you could pass to the other side of a linen panel hung behind the chair, from ceiling to floor, and observe its silhouette made by a back light onto the chair casting the silhouette onto the panel. Also, while in Vienna I saw a very interesting display of the inventions by James Dyson in the Design Centre, in which you could test out all of his products and watch a short video on him and his inventions. While finding solutions to common problems, such as vacuum cleaners, he also makes machines quite pleasing to the eye. It is said thatVienna is becoming a hub for design, and am looking foward to visiting this city again.





*For Pictures Please Visit http://www.frozenmiceblogpics.wikispaces.com/


Fn: European Museums, Galleries, Monuments, Environmental Design and Cultural Landscapes I Experienced On This Trip To Date

United Kingdom
Albert Hall, London (architecture)
Courtlauld Museum, London (art)
Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Lincoln's Inn Fields & Regent Park (environmental design)
Museum of Natural History, London
London historical core w/ the Strand, Somerset House, Picadilly Circus, Sloan Square, Leister Square, Portabello Road, etc. (environmental design)
Perth History & Art Museum, Perth (history, art, applied arts)
Perth Historical core w/ St. Johns Cathedral, Rose Terrace, etc (environmental design)
Perth area (cultural landscape)
Science Museum, London
Sir John Sloane's House, London (art, architecture & envirnomntal design)
St. Paul's Cathedral, London (architecture)
The National Theatre (architecture)
The British Museum, London (history, art, applied arts, archeology)
Tower of London, London (history and art)
Tower and Millennium Bridges, London (architecture)
Tate Modern Museum, London (art)
Tate Britian Museum, London (art)
Victoria & Albert Museum, London (art, applied arts, tribal art)

France
Ardeche/Rhone Alps area (cultural landscape)
Bois de Boulogne, Champ-Elysee, Tuilleries, Paris (environmental design)
D'Orsay Museum, Paris (art)
Guimet Museum, Paris (Asian art, applied arts, architecture)
Charles de Galle Airport, Lyon Train Station, Paris (architecture)
L'Orangerie Museum, Paris (art)
Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris (architecture)
Paris historical core w/ Opera Quarters, Latin Quarters, Isle of Paris, Seine bridges, etc. (environmental design)
Pompidou Centre, Paris (art)
Quai Branly Museum, Paris (tribal art)

Italy
University of Venice, Venice (art, architecture)
International Architecture Bienalle, Venice (architecture, environmenal design)
Venice historical zone, w/ San Marco Square, etc, Venice (environmental design)
Venice Laguna area (cultural landscape)

Austria
Applied Arts Museum, Vienna (applied arts, architecture)
Bellevedere Museums, Vienna (art)
Design Centre, Vienna (art, architecture, industrial design)
Historical Art Museum, Vienna (art)
Leopold Musuem, Vienna (art)
Natural Science Museum, Vienna
Secession Building (art, architecture)
Vienna City Museum, Vienna (art, applied arts, history)
Vienna historical zone w/ the State Opera, Museum Quarter, Hofpalace area, St. Stephan's Square, Kartner Street, Charles Square & Church, etc, Vienna (environmental design)
Wienerwald area (cultural landscape)

Czech Republic
Cesky Krumlov and Ceske Budejovice towns' historical zones, Cesky Krumlov and Ceske Budejovice (architecture, environmental design)
Egon Schiele Art Centrum, Cesky Krumlov (art, architecture)
Rozmberk Castle, Rozmberk (architecture, art)
South Bohemia area (cultural landscape)
South Bohemian Gallery, Hluboka (art)
Naprstkova Museum of Ethnography, Prague
Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague
Alphonse Mucha Museum,Prague
Museum of Modern & Contempory Art, Prague
Czech Cubist Museum, Prague

Vienna: Post: 7

Science & the Enviroment

In Vienna, like London and Paris, there is a public bicycle system (unfortunately I did not take a picture of this, but I have already pictures posted on the other ones*). In this city are wide, designated bicycle lanes, and not on the road but seperate on the sidewalks. Moreover, they seem to be everywhere in the city's centre. There are a lot more spaces to lock up your bicycle than in the other two cities. Comparativly it looks like bicycles are being used less in London than in Vienna and perhaps Paris. Also related to green transportation, the mass transite system here has trams, metro ("U-bahn") and trains. The system is excellent, maybe the best of the cities I have visited. In addition the U-bahn stations are exeptionally clean and more attractively desighned.

The cars here still remain relativly small compared to London and Paris. The variety of models of cars is not as many as in London, although there are still a number of different models of cars I haven't seen in either London or anywhere else.

Social & Cultural Observations

The Vieannese, unlike the Londoners, wait for the cross walk signal to turn green before crossing even when there is no car on the road. The Londoners that I witnessed, ran across the street even when a bus was coming at them from a close distance. The custom in Paris seems in between. People drive slower here compared to London or Paris with Londoners driving the fastest. The Austrians are comparatively quite formal, athough I am told they are not as formal as the Germans. The metro stations here do not have a barracade connected with scanning your ticket to get through to the metro. It appears the Metro company trusts that you bought a ticket and so do not have barracads. Is this because it is a Gemamanic culture? ( What do you think? Leave your ansewer in the comments section related to this post)

Comparison of Natural History Museums in London and Vienna

The Natural History Museum in Vienna in my opinion is much superior to the one in London. Vienna's museum has a little less in quantity in its collection but much better quality.* For example, when I was comparing the collection of minerals and gems, the Austrian collection had much better samples, unlike the London ones wich had lower quality but much bigger quantity of specimins. Also, the Austrian musem displays there collection in a much more aesthetic and effective way compared the the London's Natural History Museum. Vienna's had a lot more dioramas than London's, and were more realistic.* Overall, the Natural History Museum in Vienna is much superior than London's.

Queing in Veinna

Although queing seems to have died in Britian, it is alive and well in Vienna. Unlike in London, were people make a clump and then rush to the opening at the first oporntunity in this city people wait patiently in an orderly fashion until their turn.

Next Destination

The capital of South Bohemia, Cěské Budějovicé.

P.S. The pastries here in Vienna are like a slice of Heaven. Have you had a "Mozart Bombe"?

*pictures related to this post can be found at www.frozenmiceblogpics.wikispaces.com

Southern France: Post 6

Southern France


The Ardeche Region


My parents and I took a bullet train from the Gare Du Lyon station in Paris to the city of Lyon. It was a very nice experience especially when you are sitting in the opposite direction that the train is going. After the bullet train we took a slower, more local train to the town of Montelimar ( in the area of France called the Ardeche). While waiting for the local train to start I noticed the huge number of cigarette butts littering the sides of the track and that got me thinking, what is the percent of people who die in France due to smoking related lung disease.



From Montelimar we were driven to our B&B out in the countryside, which is close to where my mother and father will be participating in a conference on Mountain Amenity Migration -- people moving to beautiful and interesting places and not mainly for economic reasons. It is considerably warmer here because it is closer to the equator and is on a plains. It is even warm enough to wear a T-Shirt. Altough on the second day being here the bad weather of rain and cold seemed to follow us from Paris. This area of the Ardeche is known for is chesnut recipies, such as cakes, spreads, preserves, etc. I think the food here generaily is a little less in quality here than in Paris, but still quite good.



More Comparative Architecture
Architecture around here is Mediterranean in character. I find it similar to that of SantaFe, New Mexico's architecture; same adobe finishing, bright colours and warm coloured tiles. Yesterday we visited Balazuc, a nearby town of Roman origin perched above a cliff. There, it was mostly stone walled houses and small cobble stone streets winding in and out of the town.*

Next Destination

Tommorow my parents and I will travel Back to Lyon and fly to Venice, Itaily -- if we can get a ride to lyon because there is a general strike in France which includes the trains.

Venice, Italy

Science & the Enviroment

Venice is known as the floating city, although it may be quickly becoming the sinking city. On spending a day with two architects and city planners who live and work there, I learned the city has a long history of finding ways to deal with water. It's water problems is mainly governed by tides from the surrounding Adriatic Sea. Some areas of the town are lower than others and usuaily have water, there are higher parts that are affected by the tides. These water issues are increasing due to the rising sea level which is resulting from Global Warming.* I learned that the people of Venice keep an eye on the tide reports day by day so they can decided how to avoid the water. For example, they check the internet and see what the tide is going to be (its going to be some inches high), then they will plan there route to where they want to go by avoiding places (like streets and plazas), they know will have water on them, and/or put on different styes of shoes for were there going. If the water is coming into theire house they can't do much about it, and just have to wait it out and clean up afterwards. At the same time the arcitects showed us buildings with drainage and pumping systems to combat this water problem. However it seems to deal more with historical times. However can they sole the rising water issue coming from Global Warming?

Footnote: *pictures can be found at http://www.frozenmiceblogpics.wikispaces.com/

Scotland: Post 4

Long Ago British Queing

When traveling around London by bus and flying to Scotland via plane I noticed that the renound perfect queing of the British is no more. Instead of lining up in very neat strait rows they coagulate into a dynamic clump of people trying to push and wiggle to the front. Intrestingly, at the international conference of academics in Perth, Scotland that I looked in on several times with my parents the straight and polite lines existed. Why do you think there is this difference? (Reply in the comments section.)

Some Comparitive Comments on Architecture in London, England & Perth, Scotland
I have notice that Scotish architecture, houses and commercial, uses mostly stone unlike London that uses mostly brick with little pieces of wood here and there. In Perth, Scotland the buildings in stone gives them a very sturdy heavy look to it. I am told this material is common thorough out Scotland. Also, like in London there is a lot of green growth on the buildings, walls etc. With all the rain that has been falling over the past month since my arrival, I am not surprised.

Comparison of Ads in London, Perth and Western Noth America
Ads on TV, buses, airports, wall posters and internet ads are almost the same in Scotland as in London, Canada and USA. Although I didn't see as much home renovations ads here as in London. Although in Scotland (BBC-Scotland) I did see the second Green ad so far on my trip.

Next posting from Paris, France

And always please visit www.frozenmiceblogpics.wikispaces.com for pictures related to postings on this website.