Christmas Greetings! I've had a rather different and pretty enjoyable year,
travelling overeas for a sabbatical and holiday. I spent Mar-May at
Telematics @ NTNU in
Trondheim, Norway. Pictured
are a view over Trondheim from Kristiansten fort; a view of NTNU from the
tram heading up Bymarka; and the sunset view over the river Nid from my
apartment in Tempe. Then the warehouses by a partly frozen river Nid soon
after I arrived; the Anglican service in Our Lady Church which I attended
regularly (and great to renew friendships I made there in 1997); and skiing
up on Bymarka just before Easter.
Whilst there I did several short trips, including to the mining town of
Røros with students and staff in the
NordSecMob program that sponsored
my trip; in April I travelled through Bergen (view from Fløyen)
to Finse (see glacier behind me) for the NordSec IT security conference (and
was invaded by StarWars fans for the 30th anniversary of the filming of
Hoth there). Then on to Oslo and my favorite Vigelund sculpture park; and in
May a day trip on the Hurtigruten to Kristiansund - with work, life was so hard!
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| I then flew to England for June, staying first with my cousin Eric and his family at Houghton; and doing some sightseeing in Cambridge, Ely (cathedral pictured) and Norwich. Then I travelled via York to Haworth in West Yorkshire to see more of the family; and then to Liverpool to see friends Colin & Rachel (pictured on the roman hypocaust in Chester). From there I took the train for a few days in North Wales, including a trip on the Welsh Highland Railway, and the Snowdon Mountain Railway to the top of Snowdonia. Finally I travelled to Morecambe Bay to visit my friend Lynda (and the statue of Morecambe) along with a day trip to the Lakes District. In all I had a wonderful time away. |
Back in Australia it was more of the usual. I enjoy walking and swimming at Daveys Bay near Frankston when visiting Mum's. It was great to catch up with Ursula who hails from Trondheim but managed to be in Sydney on sabbatical just as I was heading over there! In Nov I got to Sydney to see Sculpture by the Sea. In Sept I met GoH Kim Stanley Robinson at the Aussiecon4 World SF convention in Melbourne. There was lots of dancing (such as a swing dance display at Canberräng), and fun with costume picnics!
Thats about it for now, hope it gives some idea of my many and various activities. I hope you're keeping well, and look forward to hearing your news. May your life be filled with peace and joy this Christmas and New Year Lawrie - 7 Dec 2010.
And a few more photos that I didn't get room to squeeze into the printed letter. A photo of paintings and sculptures in a Copenhagen museum (I spent a week and a bit there, visiting DTU on my way to Trondheim). Dog-sledding at Røros; and the large tiger sculpture outside Oslo Central Railway station. Then a view of the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim soon after I arrived (which I'm using for my e-card this year). Back in Australia, my new Centauri jacket (thanks Madelaine) worn at the Aussiecon4 World SF convention in Melbourne in Sept; the gorgeous flowers at Floriade in Oct; and the "new" daleks at the Academy of Science for the Science Festival in Aug.
