Eiger
Here’s a photo I took in January 2009 of the mighty Eiger, one of three main summits of the Jungfrau Massif in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. It was taken from across the Lauterbrunnen Valley in the small traffic-free village of Mürren (1,650m). For a shot using a pokey little point-and-shoot, it came out quite nicely.
You can read about my adventures in Switzerland by exploring the Switzerland tag. The post about my sledging exploits is particularly good, even if I do say so myself.
In The Veins Of Death Valley
Birds Of Tokyo • Birds Of Tokyo
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Early last year, I was introduced to the awesome sound of Aussie band Birds Of Tokyo. This was shortly before I embarked on my Grand Colonial Tour of Asia and Australasia. Whilst on the first leg of the trip from London to Singapore, we flew over the Himalayas and hit some nasty turbulence. To relieve my worry, I headed for the music section of my entertainment screen and found to my delight the entire Birds of Tokyo album.
Here for your listening pleasure is the song I chose at random. This is what I call my ‘turbulence tune’.
Whilst it’s a fantastic song, it’s only today I’ve realised it contains the line, “…good luck, you’re finished for sure.” In retrospect, it was short-sighted of me to choose a song called “In The Veins Of Death Valley” to counter my turbulence-induced panic.
So what would help you through a bumpy flight? Leave a comment or send me a message.
You can find out more about Birds Of Tokyo on their website.
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Celebrating the end of Winter the Russian way in London’s Trafalgar Square.
Winter in Russia and its neighbouring countries is a cold, long, drawn-out affair. Temperatures typically struggle at around the minus 10 to 20 mark for a good three to four months. No amount of big, fluffy siberian hats can help keep the chill at bay. So naturally, once March arrives, Russians, Belorussians and Ukrainians are keen to celebrate the arrival of the sun. They do this in the form of a Maslenitsa, an annual folk and religious festival where dreadful music is played and danced to and pancakes and dumplings are consumed.
This weekend, London’s Trafalgar Square played host to its own version of the Maslenitsa and I was one of the thousands that turned up.
At the centre of the celebrations was the effigy of Kostroma, a slavic fertility goddess. Revering her and dancing around her straw-filled being is said to improve soil fertility in the spring. She was at the centre of the first performance on the big stage.
Boss-eyed Bear was also present, though his relevance to the Maslenitsa was unknown. The crowds loved him though, especially when he strutted his stuff to the sounds of “popular folk group” Balagan Limited (our favourite Balagan Limited track is on YouTube).
There were plenty of ways to part with your cash. One stall was flogging Russian satellite tv while almost all the others sold Russian souvenirs and tat. The dolls were proving to be particularly popular.
Of course, no festival is complete without traditional food to try. And no blog post on Here To Geneva is complete without photos of said traditional food. So, here’s what I had;
To start, I had a savoury blini, a crispy deep-fried pancake filled with undisclosed meat. It was tasty, though rather greasy. Those in the UK familiar with Findus crispy pancakes will find them instantly recognisable.
Following that, a steaming cup of Borsch. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting. I’ve had Borsch in the past and it was purple and beetrooty. This though was red and oniony. I’ve since read that there are several varieties of Borsch where the amount of beetroot varies. This variety was heavy on the tomato and onion. It was like watery pasta sauce.
To finish, Pelmeni. These with like little meat-filled tortellini, though the dough was deep-fried and crispy. On top, a squirt of sour sauce that added little to the experience.
In all, it was nice to experience Russian culture for the first time, though whether it’s encouraged me to visit Russia in the future remains to be seen. If I’m promised Boss-eyed bear will show me round, you can book me a room right now.
Russians Take Trafalgar Square
London’s Russian community celebrates the beginning of the end of Winter at the annual Maslenitsa festival in Trafalgar Square
Bite Your Drink Now
How could I refuse such an instruction from an apple standing by a palm tree, giving me a thumbs-up whilst licking his lips?
I went to my friendly local Asian shop yesterday and picked up this Malaysian drink. It’s Lychee flavoured with chewy chunks of coconut floating about in it. Really lovely.
South-east Asia is obsessed with putting bits in their drinks.
Slurp-slurp, nom-nom!
The Journey Begins
Yesterday, I along with 9,999 others, attended an event at Wembley Arena held by LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games). Later in the year, the world will descend on London for the ‘greatest show on earth’ and I will be playing a very small part in its success.
I can’t tell you anymore than this for the time being for various reasons. Rest assured though, when I can tell you more, I will.
Asked by
rev-e
I guess I ought to answer this since you asked it about 2 months ago. Sorry about that.
I’ve been to England, Wales, Scotland, France, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong & Macau.
That makes 20. Not many really.
If you have a question, feel free to ask away.
One Word… Currywurst
Every Christmas, me and my mum go for day out in London to see the lights. And every year, mum stands patiently watching me in the freezing cold as I chow-down on a serving of Currywurst and warm, fresh bread.
Thanks Germany! And thanks mum!
Rafting The Kaituna River
Rotorua, New Zealand
I can’t believe I’ve never posted about last year’s white-water rafting experience in Rotorua, New Zealand. It was a blast!
Naturally, as a complete beginner, I opted to go on a grade 5 rafting trip down the Kaituna River (as a point of reference, the grade above grade 5 is classed as “effectively unnavigable”). The Kaituna is often referred to using words like “exhilarating” and “furious” and is notable for its 7 metre waterfall, the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world. Yep, I’m a nutcase.
Despite at one point misinterpreting an instruction and having to be rescued from the foaming whitewater, it was a fantastic experience. Pretty draining though. I’ve never felt so unfit.
In the photos, I’m the guy either grinning or ‘woohooing’ in the middle of the boat!
Oh Snow! Another Winter Photo
One more won’t hurt, surely!
