Views of Vienna

Here are some pics of this past weekend in Vienna. Saturday was Arianne's first birthday, so we went to an amusement park and did the only ride that is appropriate for that age. The Prater is the oldest ferris-wheel in the world. It's actually a dozen small train wagons that you ride inside. Later, Christine drove a go-kart, and then we both rode the "Sombrero" (separately), which pulled some real G-forces.

Riding the Prater

Of course the public-transit system here is fantastic. The old streetcars are still around with wooden seats.

Riding the #5 tram together.

On Sunday, the 18th I took the D tram north to the suburb of Nussdorf (Nut-town). I walked up the hill through vinyards where this year's crop of grapes was being harvested. It was a hot day and the view was spectacular.

Eichelhofweg

Peasants

The pointy tower at the left (the Donauturm) is the highest in Vienna. I went up it on Thursday.

The Danube

Off to Vienna

We are off to Vienna for 9 days!

I am going the European Summer School for Scientometrics for most of next week (September 12th to 16th). I am not simply attending the conference: Along with my friend William I will be teaching a workshop on the h-index all day Wednesday! Paradoxically, the h-index is both a widely-known yet rarely used measure of scientific productivity.

Small earthquake yesterday evening

I felt the house shake a bit yesterday evening. I knew right away that it was an earthquake as our street is pretty quiet (no big trucks passing). It only lasted a few seconds. Here's the news report.

Seal hunting in Turku

Some photos from Turku. There were "art seals" scattered around the city. I caught 6.

Another wierd thing about Turku was that in the neighbourhood near the university, some of the cobblestone streets were made up of round rocks from the river. I don't have a photo of that, but you can imagine that this created a very bumpy and uneven surface.

ISSOME 2011 presentation

The presentation that I gave in Finland is available online and can be viewed below:

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Bonn Gamecocks 44, Dortmund Giants 20!

We just watched a football game. The Bonn Gamecocks play in a municipal stadium just a few kilometers from where we live. We loaded up Arianne in the Burly trailer and rode there in no time. It was neat to watch real football again, and I really liked the low-key community atmosphere.

There were maybe 150 people in the stands, a small kitchen serving bratwurst and pommes (frites; i.e. french fries).  Interstingly, the beer was served in the bottle. Unlike in North America where laws would require plastic cups (if a community sports club could even get a liquor license). Whereas here you are trusted not to smash the bottle, and to return the empty.

This sort of semi-pro football is apparently quite widespread in Germany. There's a whole league and Berlin has at least 4 teams. While not at the level of the CFL or anything, it was still a great time. Arianne clapped when the crowd did, so she's a big fan.

Finnish bicycles

In the winter Finland is as bitterly cold and dark as Ottawa. That does not stop the Finns from having a thriving bicycle culture. There is no need for BIXI bicycle-sharing programs because lots of people have bikes. There is no need for bicycle lanes because drivers are not aggressive greed-heads. Cycling is just a normal part of everyone's transportation options.

I noticed a particular brand of bicycle was very common. The Finnish bicycle company Tunturi has been around for 90 years. Their city bikes have a caliper front brake and an internal-hub rear brake. It is odd to see bicycles with only one brake lever. The emblems are quite nice.

That must be a rare one: Tunturi made in Turku

In addition, there was a particular style of bike I had never seen before. With 24-inch wheels and a unisex frame with oversized down-tube, the "JOPO" bicycle struck me as an ideal runabout. These single-speeds were fairly common and were ridden by adults, not children. I wonder what the reasoning is. Pehaps the smaller wheels give some advantage in terms of ride or quickness off the line. I sure thought they looked cool.

One of the original stamped-frame JOPOs

Actually, the JOPO website explains the origin of these typically Finnish bikes:

jopo story begins from the 1960’s when Eero Helkama had a dream. He wanted to create a bicycle that all people could use, no matter what age, size, sex or financial status. Almost 50 years later the same dream is a crucial part of Finnish cycling culture. Three generations of jopo bicycles live in perfect harmony, and do not care about fashion trends.

An old (JOPO-style) Tunturi PONI

After seeing the widespread popularity of bicycles in hilly Turku, I know there is really no excuse for Canada to not have a vibrant 3-season bicycle culture. The Finns put up with long, dark winters and icy winds coming off the Baltic Sea. But when the snow melts they don't make up excuses to not ride.