During the workshop Rocky Mountain Mathematica 2007 we had the opportunity to hike to the top of Atlantic Peak. The way up is pretty self explanatory. Getting down is another matter.

Once again in 2007 we were able to travel to Europe. We spent nearly a week in Maastricht, NL. Adjacent to the castle ruins in Valkenburg, NL there is a chalk mine called the Velvet Cave (Fluweelengrot). Marlstone has been mined there since the 11th century. Many people have created art in the soft stone walls of the cave. Below is a photo of the Memorial of Liberation September 1944.

Electric lights have been installed in the cave. Near the light fixtures, green algae grows on the walls of the cave.

The Bonnefantenmuseum is located next to the River Maas in Maastricht, NL. One of my favorite artists is Richard Serra and I was delighted to discover one of his large-scale steel sculptures in the courtyard of the museum.

The city of Maastricht, NL contains a great deal of public sculpture along a walking path running along the River Maas. Two examples are below.

I still like the pedestrian bridge crossing the River Maas. This photo shows an unusual angle on the bridge, one the local fashion photographers are frequently using for model shoots.

We also had the chance to spend the weekend in Rome, IT. Naturally with only two days to sitesee we could only hit the must-see sites of ancient Rome. The Vatican is so large that none of the pictures I took really do it justice, therefore one of the few satisfactory pictures taken was of the Swiss guards outside the Vatican.

Here is not your typical picture of the Roman Colloseum.

Let us not forget the founders of Rome (and their mother).

When in Italy during 2006, I did not like the food, but in 2007 my experience was altogether different. We had wonderful food in Rome and great fish in Pescara, IT. I heartily recommend the restaurant "La Brace sul Mare" located at Via R. Paolucci, Pescara.

There are plenty of religious sites in Budapest representing many different religions. Gül Baba's Tomb is the northernmost pilgrimage destination for the Islamic faith.

The Holocaust Memorial Center (Holokauszt Emlékközpont) has a very moving exhibition of the Hungarian events related to the Holocaust. It also contains a synagogue.

Matthias Church (Mátyás-Templom) was built in the 13th century.

If you are looking for sushi in Budapest, try Planet Sushi Oktagon (1066 Budapest, Oktagon tér 3). They may be a chain and may even be a subsidiary of TGIFridays, but the food and service were very good.

During the summer of 2006 my wife and I spent many weeks in Europe. We visited Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Poland. Except for Brussels and Budapest we stuck mostly to smaller towns and cities. I'm happy to report that the Dutch still love their windmills and they can build an attractive bridge.

The Italian countryside is beautiful, but I was disappointed in the food. When I first learned we would be spending time in Italy (Adriatic coast), I thought "Great! real Italian food!". The reality turned out to be "real Italian food ... poisoning". It wasn't until we got to Budapest that we felt normal again. Note: the food for my visit in 2007 was very good. Thanks to my friend Guiseppe for encouraging me to give the local food another try.

We really enjoyed Budapest a great deal. I would have to put it on par with Prague (see below). If you are going I would recommend purchasing the Budapest card (available in 48- and 72-hour denominations) which enables you to ride public transportation in the city and gets you in to some museum exhibits for free and others for a reduced admission. Buy the card mostly for the transportation, since most of the "free" museum admissions are for exhibits that are already free for anyone. The discounts are only on the order of 10-20% for other things. While in Budapest we managed to see the 2006 European Swimming Championships, the 1973 monument to the 1873 unification of Buda and Pest, and the Statue Park (to which the city has relocated most of the public monuments of the communist era). I have a weakness for the public art of communist countries.

We spent time with my wife's family in Poland and took her parents on a side trip to Gdansk on the Baltic Sea. If you are planning to visit Gdansk, see if you can book your lodging at Dom Aktora. They have very comfortable studio apartments in the historic part of town. Gdansk has a great deal of important history. People of my generation recall the birth of the Solidarity movement took place in the Gdansk shipyards. However, Gdansk is also the spot where WWII began with the German invasion of Poland. We enjoyed climbing the tower of St. Mary's Church with a view of the city. There is also a very interesting monument to the end of WWII at Westerplatte. The monument resembles a huge broken sword.

Now because people have been asking me (no, really ordering me) for years to make the following trip, I can at last announce that I have been to Hell (or in the typical European economy of letters, Hel). I have to tell you --- it's not that bad. Just as most religious scholars will tell you, I had to take a boat to Hel. The image below shows my ticket.

As you can see from the read-outs on the building below, the low temperature on the day I visited was 20C (about 68F) and the high was only 27C (about 79F) --- so all in all, very comfortable for August. The beer was good (especially with "sok" (raspberry syrup)) and the beach wasn't too crowded. So, to all those who encouraged me to take this trip, thanks. Now I want you to go to Hel, PL too (you know who you are).

For Christmas 2005 my wife and I decided to visit Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The weather was gray but not that cold. Despite the holiday season, there were plenty of restaurants and coffee houses open. We had a great time, even though the crowds on Boxing Day were enormous. In the first picture below you can see the Toronto City Hall, which you may remember seeing in movies (Resident Evil: Apocalypse comes to mind). In the second picture you can see my wife (sorry for the dark exposure, I should have had the flash on) and the CN Tower, which I think has also made an appearance in a movie or two (try Canadian Bacon).

During the last week of July, 2005 I went to the European Conference on Mathematical and Theoretical Biology in Dresden, Germany. The conference was excellent and the city was pretty good. The picture below shows one of the bridges across the river Elbe. It is fairly easy to get around the city on public transportation. A 7-day unlimited pass allows you to travel on all buses, trams, and trains in the main metropolitan area. In July 2005, such as pass cost 15.50 euros. You can even take a train directly from the airport downtown. When are American cities going to catch on to public transportation?

There is a popular walking/running/biking trail which runs along the Elbe river from Dresden to Pirna (about 17 km). It is well worth renting a bicycle (try the train station or most hotels) and biking down for the afternoon.

At the end of June and the first half of July 2005, I was fortunate enough to participate in the Institute for Advanced Studies/Park City Mathematics Institute held in Park City, Utah. The PCMI is very well run and worth the time for any mathematician or student of mathematics interested in the theme (the theme for 2005 was mathematical biology). I really enjoyed the time I spent in Park City. The town is very laid back in the summer (winter seems to be the big season in Park City due to the abundance of ski trails). My wife joined me out there for the July 4th holiday. We went hiking over the weekend. The first picture below is a panorama of Park City itself from a ridge at 8000 feet. The second picture shows me in the snow near the top of Jupiter Peak at 10000 feet.

I accompanied my wife on a conference trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA at the beginning of June 2005. While there I visited the Milwaukee Art Museum, whose image graces the covers of half of the mathematics books published today. The other half have the Guggenheim, Bilbao on their covers. The architect of the addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum is Santiago Calatrava who also designed a bridge in Bilbao, Spain.

Images from older trips may be found here.