Trond Kristiansen

Praha

Last week Liz and I decided it was time to have a short vacation and we went to Praha. Praha is the capital of the Czech Republic (see wikipedia), and has been the center of Bohemia for hundreds of years. The city is so rich in history and culture, which is clearly reflected in the old buildings and streets of the historic old centre.  I think it is probably the most beautiful city in Europe. It is a joy to wander around the streets, enjoying the statues, squares, and houses from hundreds of years ago. No wonder the city center is put on UNESCOS list of World Heritage Sites. We took a lot of pictures during this trip and I have put the first batch of pictures online: click here for pictures from Praha.

Bryce panorama

hoodoos. My dad and I hiked the park for a couple of days, meandering in between the  oddly shaped monuments enjoying the scenery big time. Click here to see pictures from Bryce National Park.

Panorama view of San Francisco

The location by the water, the hillsides, the streetcars, the people, and the laidback feeling of San Francisco makes it one of the most intriguing and attractive cities in the US. I enjoy hiking around the city with the occasional stop at a cafe, bar, or a gastropub such as the Monks Kettle, before stopping at one of the many really good restaurants. Also, the city now has a new aquarium at the California Acadademy of Sciences that alone is worth the trip to the city. I have collected some pictures from San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge from May 2009.

Traveling South from San Francisco we followed California State Route 1 along the coastline. The route is beautiful as it follows the jagged cliffs and the green rolling hills along the coastline. Scattered along the road there are a myriad of small and larger State Parks, and all of these parks have unbelivable hikes and beautiful scenery. Liz and I went hiking in Garrapata State Park and climbed to one of the taller peaks in the area, which gave us a wondeful view of the coastline. We hiked the area during May at a time when tons of wildflowers were blooming. We also explored several other State Parks in the area and pictures are found here.

San Juan Bautista

The arrival of non-native Americans to California introduced Christianity and missions to the native Americans back in the eighteenth century. The spaniards built a chain of 21 missions along the southern coast of California. Many of these missions have been restored and you can visit them. Liz and I went to two of these missions; San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo built in 1770 and San Juan Bautista built in 1797. Some pictures from this trip are found here.

Flamingo Hotel, Las Vegas

During a road trip through the western US, my dad and I drove across the plains of Nevada. We followed Highway 50 which is also called “The loneliest road in America”. When you look at the map of the US you can tell that the country is big, but I had no idea how big it really is. Just crossing Nevada from West to East took us the better part of two full days, and during the drive, we entered a valley that seemed endless. Eventually we reached a mountain range that we had seen on the horizon, and when we crossed it  we encountered another enormous plain spreading out in front of us. These plains kept on coming until I lost count of them. Of all my traveling in the US, I think this trip across the Nevada is one I will definitely remember as a trip that made me realize what the West is all about.  I highly recommend seeing parts of the US like Nevada that are not always mentioned as highlights.  Taking the backroads has a lot to offer and it is unbelievable how many great moments you can experience in what is usually thought of as pretty desolate country. Pictures are found here.

An important part of my roadtrip in the USA in May 2009 was to explore as many of the amazing National Parks that the US has to offer. This included a trip to the incredible Grand Canyon. In fact, I went there two times in one month. The first time I traveled there with my Catalan friend Jordi, and the next time with my dad. On both occasions we stayed for a couple of days inside the park at the South Rim (National Park Service). Staying inside the park is expensive, although extremely convenient if you want to spend most of your time as close to the Canyon as possible.

Grand Canyon

Jordi and I spent one day traversing the Bright Angel Trail which takes you down to the bottom of the Canyon. We hiked down to the Indian Garden where we turned around (wikipedia). The hike moves you quickly down and into the Canyon, and at first you are surrounded by other tourists that have come to enjoy the Canyon. However, after about and hour of hiking the density of people starts to disperse and you are suddenly in the Canyon by yourself and can enjoy the peace and quiet. The trip down the right Angel Trail is truely amazing and well worth doing. Next time I go to the Grand Canyon I would like to go to the Phantom Ranch and stay for a night before continuing on to the North Rim. The pictures from Grand Canyon can be found here.

I had not been back to Berlin since I traveled through as an interrailer in 1998. At that time Berlin was the biggest construction site in Europe, and I was very curious how the city had turned out to be. I have to say that Berlin is one of the greatest cities I have ever been to, and I really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. The food is really good and the beer is great, and the ambience you find in bars and restaurants was enjoyable. Since I was in town for a conference I did not have much time to take lots of pictures, but I did take some which you can see (link).

Berlin

During autumn of 2007 my parents and I decided to go on a roadtrip from North Carolina to Massachussetts, traveling through Virginia (link), Pennsylvania (link), Connecticut, Rhode Island (link), before we ended in Woods Hole, Massachussetts (link) one month after start.

Newport, Rhode Island

Some of the pictures I took on that trip have still not been posted online so I dedcided to sort through them and post some of the nicer ones. I start with some pictures from Newport, Rhode Island (link). This gallery include some images of the The Breakers which is a Vanderbilt mansion located on Ochre Point Avenue. The mansion was built between 1893 and 1895 (wikipedia).

Last May I had the opportunity to go on a roadtrip in the US. The trip started and ended in Phoenix Arizona and I was on the road for one month. I will publish a special roadtrip gallery later, but I wanted to publish some pictures from one of the many amazing parks I got to see during that month on the road. These pictures are from Red Rock State Park just outside Sedona, Arizona (link). On this leg of the roadtrip I travelled with Jordi from Catalunya in Spain.

Red Rock State Park, Sedona, Arizona

Liz got her paper published in Plos One today! The paper is global analysis of the effectiveness of marine protected areas in preventing coral loss (link)