A day in the park

Japan is pretty well know for its public works projects, what we in the US might call "pork-barrel projects" -- helping the legislator's local community with construction projects that are often not necessary. Niigata has its fair share of these, with a former Prime Minister of Japan, Kakuei Tanaka, from this area of Niigata -- a man The Economist once called, "that paragon of post-war corruption". Well, thanks to someone at least, this off-the-radar area of the country, mostly known for its delicious rice and heavy snowfall in winter, has two stops on the shinkansen bullet train to Tokyo and an international university right out in the middle of a rice field. We also have some beautiful parks! So enough about politics... let's enjoy what we have :)

Wednesday we spent a few hours at a park in Muikamachi (Yukari's hometown) next to the city building where the playgroup meets (see her post below). The day before we bought a hat for Ian, since he has rubbed off most of the hair on his head, and we didn't want him to get a sunburn. I am pretty tired of seeing every kid in the world wearing a baseball cap, so my rule was anything but a ball cap! Luke emphatically said at the time that he didn't want a hat, but shortly after we left the store, he changed his mind... How old are you? Oh, that's right, terrible two! So we returned and bought him the identical hat as Ian's -- though I notice that Luke likes to turn the brim of his hat up a bit on the sides, somewhat like a fedora, just to be different.

Yukari and I came to this park years ago, and I vaguely recall filling out health insurance forms for travel here at that time -- maybe before a trip to Indonesia? Anyway, I don't remember the park being this interesting and elaborate. There is an expansive pond with an area for viewing and feeding koi (see Yukari's post last month), a fountain in the middle of the pond, a pagoda at the top of a hill, a bridge, beautiful red Japanese maple trees, and a replica of an old style tea ceremony house complete with a stone lantern (ishidoro) and rock path to the pond. We really had a wonderful time as a family today, and I expect we'll be back at this park many times over the course of the next month. Thanks, pork-barrel politicians!

Reunited

I flew back from London to Japan on another very comfortable Virgin Atlantic flight (maybe just without kids airplane flights are relatively easy?), and arrived back in Tokyo in just about 12 hours -- but I had a few hours more to travel, to Tokyo from the airport is an hour or more, then the train up to Niigata is another couple of hours. Plus I had to stop in Tokyo, at Yodobashi camera in Akihabara (on a Saturday!) and brave to crowds to buy a couple of things to fix my computer -- which died when I was in Warsaw. I was getting pretty tired on that last stretch of the train ride, after being up for about 24 hours at that point.

Yukari, her Mom, Luke, and Ian were all at the Echigo-Yuzawa train station to pick me up. I didn't know what Luke's reaction would be, having not seen me for about one month. As soon as he did see me coming toward the ticket gate, he ran over laughing. It really was a bit touching, and I can say without an ounce of hyperbole that I will never forget that moment for the rest of my life. What a dear sweet boy he is.

The British Museum

The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry -- and so went my day in London. I had a plan to visit several sites in the city, starting at the British Museum, then on to Tower Bridge, the Palace of Westminster and "Big Ben", Trafalgar Square; and to end the day at Piccadilly Circus. It wouldn't leave much time to explore any one place -- just to see the sights, take a few photos, and move on.

But I was tired after a full day of travel yesterday. And staying at a hotel near Heathrow, it was an hour tube ride to the city, on the busy and cramped underground. In the end, I just didn't feel like spending the day on the subway. Besides, I did nearly the same tour (minus the museum) last time I was in London about 10 years ago.

So what happened? Well, I made it to the British Museum and just stayed there all day :) Of course, you could spend several days in this museum, and although I had visited here 25 years ago, I thoroughly enjoyed the day just leisurely looking though the collection of artifacts from ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the early British Isles. They also had a exhibit of Australian artists.

No regrets at all.

A Day in Vienna

A trip to Vienna really should be for more than one day, but I was just here for a stopover on my way back from Sofia to London, so a day is all I had. First of all, the weather in Europe for the past month has been beautiful -- no rain since I left Ireland a couple of week ago. Vienna was no different, it was a very warm and sunny day, and I really could have used a hat or at least some sunscreen, since I picked up a bit of sun today.

I stayed at a hotel just a 10 minute walk from the Opera House, and Vienna is a very easy city to see on foot, since many of the famous landmarks are all located in the city center. I spent the entire day just walking around the city, popping into a couple of museums, shops, and sidewalk cafés.

 

New Friends

I took picture of the play group today! Luke asks me every morning "Are we going to play group today? I want to go play group"--I'm glad that Luke enjoys going there.

When I took him to this group the first time, he got pushed by a boy, and Luke was uncomfortable with Japanese kids and cried a few times that day... he told me "I don't want to go there again. Because a boy poked my eyes!!"

But now, Luke starts making friends at the play group. He played with 'otedama' (small bean bags) with girls today.

And sometimes he rides riding toys with other boys, but he has a little difficult time to following those boys... because they ride so fast and very well -- but I feel in a few more weeks, Luke will be able to follow them easily (^V^)

While Luke is playing with friends, Ian also hangs out with other babies.
And we met a baby girl 'Hinano-chan' at the play group. Ian and Hinano-chan have the same birthday (January 18, 2011).
Here is Ian and Hinano-chan together...
They are so cute!

Sofia, Bulgaria

I spent the last couple of days in Sofia with my friend Ilian. We knew each other from the International University of Japan (IUJ) where he was an MBA student when I worked there in the IT department. Ilian would come visit my office to learn more about web design and programming, and he would often go to the beach with Yukari and our other friends in the summers. Later, both Ilian and I worked for companies in Tokyo, and would get together from time to time. He moved back to Bulgaria a few years ago and I knew that having the university sponsored trip to Poland this summer, I was as close to visiting Bulgaria as I ever could really hope for -- so I flew in from Warsaw for a few days to visit and see a bit of the city and surroundings.

It seems that on Sundays in the springtime in Sofia everyone spends the day in one of the many parks in town. We walked though about a half-a-dozen parks in town and all were filled with families enjoying outdoor music, cafés, rollerblading, cycling, or just sitting and enjoying a day off. I really enjoyed the feeling of being in Sofia, and I really liked the fact that people here spend time together outdoors on holidays, not inside watching TV or playing video games.

Later I stayed at Ilian's condo, and was really impressed with what he's done with the place! Balconies all around and lots of windows. Also, he is neighbors with the "snail house" -- a famous landmark... The house is shaped like a snail, with a ladybug on top. Sorry, I didn't capture a front shot of the house below -- but this is what it looks like from Ilian's balcony (here's a link to a photo that shows the front).

Koprivstica, Bulgaria

I arrived in Bulgaria yesterday afternoon and met with my old friend Ilian. As Saturday is a work day here, he was busy today and instead asked a friend if I could join them on a trip out of town. Ilian's friend is Simeon and his wife Etsuko, who own a Bulgarian restaurant in Tokyo and were back in Bulgaria for a few weeks this spring.

We hit the road at 8 AM to visit a town a couple hours outside of Sofia called Koprivstica. It is a beautiful trip, into the hills outside the capital to the village known for its cobblestone streets and colorful buildings dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. It was perfect weather and I really enjoyed being out a city for the first time in a couple of weeks.

Warsaw and the Frederick Chopin Museum

Mateusz was gracious enough to offer to take me to Warsaw and show me around a bit on my last full day in Poland. We took a train from the Poznań station in the morning of May 26 and arrived in Warsaw around noon. Our first stop was the Frederick Chopin Museum, as I have come to enjoy classical music more and more over the past few years. As the guidebook explains, the museum covers "the history and works of Poland's most famous son, Frederick Chopin, including original manuscripts and documents written by the composer", as well as plenty of photographs and letters. It is also designed to be in interactive museum, though I'm not sure anyone knows what that means... Some of the exhibits were interesting, but overall there is a lack of context and linear progression.There was also a room for children to play games related to composing and listening to the works of Chopin.

While in the Frederick Chopin Museum we saw a group of VIPs walking through. At first, based on their dress, I thought it might be a group from Mongolia. Then I asked one of the guides at the museum, who said "Bhutan" -- and I believe it was the Princess of Bhutan and her entourage.

After the museum, we took a walk through Warsaw, passing the Presidental Palace and to the Royal Castle and Castle Square. The day after my visit, President Obama was to arrive in Warsaw, which would have shut down many of the tourist sites on this street. I picked a good day to be in the city!

Last day in Poznań

I arrived in Poland last week and have had a wonderful time. We traveled to Lublin for a couple of days last Thursday and Friday, and this week attended a small conference with professors across Poland here in Poznań. The conference was held in a former palace in a village outside of town, and there was a delicious buffet dinner and concert by the accordian playing brothers -- who coicidenlty played at the conference we helped organize here last October. This trip I have been staying in a small hotel located in the Polish Academy of Science building, which is right downtown and nearly next door to the Poznań Opera House -- with a photo of the Science Academy and the Opera House seen here:

Today was my last full day in Poznań, so after meeting with Mateusz about research possiblities, he offered to show me around town to some of the more famous landmarks. I was here with a group of professors and teachers last fall, but we were so busy visiting schools and putting on a conferece, we had no extra time for sightseeing. So it had been my plan to fit that into this trip, and today was perfect weather for walking around town.

First we had lunch in a typical "old style" of restaurant, which Mateusz mentioned were typical during the time of communism -- a simple "Mom and Pop" shop. We had a borscht style of soup, made of beets and pickles, and a dish called "piznin", which is soft bread covered with a sausage gravy. A very filling lunch!

Next we visited the Museum of Art and enjoyed an exhibit on posters, including some from Poland after the war.

Then it was off to the old square, the heart of the city. There are many café that line the square here, like in Lublin.

Lastly, we finished at Adam Mickiewicz University, which is also in the center of the city and not far from the Opera House. I remember that we began our trip here at the university last October, so it is fitting that I ended my tour of Poznań at this landmark this time, next to the statue of Adam Mickiewicz himself. Tomorrow, Mateusz is joining me to visit Warsaw for the day, and then I will be leaving Poland on Friday.

Jusco Shopping center

Today I left Ian with my Mom, while Luke and I went to the local shopping center (called Jusco) with my aunt. This shopping center has a big game center and fun play areas for small children on the 2nd floor.

We had lunch first...

And Luke went to play!
And then, after he finished playing, we picked up some groceries and went to home.
It was a nice place to hang out on this rainy day!