Spring is in full bloom in Gothenburg, and at the end of a nice four-day weekend due to some Christian holiday that nobody in Sweden really seems to know much about, it's about time I update the old blog. I am now a month past the two-year mark of being here, and some of you may be wondering why I'm still here. Well, if you came to Sweden, you would understand. Beautiful people, nearly endless sunshine (this time of year), and fika. I extended my contract so I could stay longer, but then a couple of things came up that will bring me back to the US at the end of the summer.
The first of these "things" is a one-year fellowship in Washington, D.C. Starting in September, I will have the opportunity to work in Congress, basically as an advisor on how science and technology can be used in policy-making. I'll either be on the staff of a Senator or Congressperson, or working on a Congressional committee. Which person or committee? Well, that won't be decided until after I start, so you can hold that question until October.
The second is a faculty position at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, where I'll start as an Assistant Professor after the fellowship. My position is in the School of Systems and Enterprises, where I'll continue doing research and teaching that focuses on product design, systems thinking, and sustainability.
So what have I been up to since my last post? Well, in February I took a snowboarding trip to the Italian Alps, followed by a business/pleasure trip up to northern Sweden in Luleå. March included two trips to the US for faculty interviews at three different schools. In April and May I attended conferences in Milan (Italy), Hangzhou (China), and Dubrovnik (Croatia), made yet another trip to the US for a wedding, ran two awesome races in Gothenburg, and taught a Ph.D. course. Now, I am looking forward to spending June in Sweden, enjoying the sunshine and wrapping up my work here, perhaps tacking on some final European travels in July, and then heading back stateside in mid-August.
I have lots of big, exciting changes ahead! Leaving Gothenburg will be sad, and I will miss the friends and colleagues that I have gotten to know over here. However, modern technology will help me keep up with my Swedish brethren in much the same way that I have kept up with my American life over the last two years. Tack till er, Internet and Google!
Also, check out the new 2014 album for some visual enjoyment.
Ses senare,
Steven
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Sunday, February 2, 2014
An Icelandic New Year
My latest travel adventure took me to Iceland for a week-long New Year's extravaganza. I had never really thought much about going to Iceland, but when my sister told me a couple of months ago that she was planning a trip with some friends and friends-of-friends I thought, "that sounds pretty cool". So, I joined her group and brought a friend from Sweden, and the 13 of us had an awesome week in Iceland. Those of you who are visual learners can skip straight to the photos at the end of my 2013 album...
We rented some apartments and based ourselves in Reykjavik, which is about the population of Ann Arbor but by far the biggest city in the country. From there, we took a bunch of bus/van tours to see as many of the sites as we could: the Blue Lagoon, the Golden Circle, the Northern Lights, and the South Coast.
Day 1 we went to the "Blue Lagoon", which is a naturally-heated pool/spa/tourist trap that's open year-round. It was really windy and cold the day that we were there, so the goal seemed to be to keep as much of one's body submerged in the warm water as possible. The surroundings were absolutely beautiful (check out the pictures), and despite chilly noses and ears it was a really awesome place. Day 2 we took the popular "Golden Circle" tour, which was a van ride out to a number of natural wonders outside of the city. Due to a lack of abundant daylight at that latitude and time of year, we left Reykjavik when it was pitch dark at 8am, and finally started to see some sites once it got light out around 10:30/11. We stopped at a couple of very impressive waterfalls, saw an active geyser (Strokkur), hung out with some furry Icelandic horses, and walked through a national park at the rift between the North American and Eurasian continental plates.
That night we also did a Northern Lights tour, where the 13 of us plus 2 random Australians got driven around in a van in search of the aurora borealis. The forecast that night was a 2 on the scale of 1-9 (though apparently it rarely goes above 4), so our chances of seeing anything and the intensity of the lights weren't super high, but our driver/guide was determined and we spent around 6 hours driving around with him and chasing the lights. We made four stops and stared at the sky for long periods of time, but it wasn't until the third stop that we really felt like we saw anything, which was just a greenish glow in the sky. At one point, for about 10-20 seconds, there was a brighter spot that sort of seemed like some dancing lights, but that seemed to be about it, and the driver said he was going to take us home. We started to doze in the back of the van thinking we were on our way to bed, but then the driver decided to give it one more shot. He drove us somewhere, went outside, and proclaimed that in 20 minutes the clouds would be gone and we would see it. So, we waited like 45 minutes, and at the end we could really see some much more noticeable green glowing in the sky. It was pretty cool, but also very exhausting (recall: 6 hours), creepy (recall: driver without much of a plan), and mildly disappointing (while we saw the lights, they weren't very strong or as beautiful as the photos we've all seen). However, I'm really glad for the experience, and the long-exposure photos came out way better than what the eyes could see!
The next day was New Years Eve, and part of group did a South Coast tour while the rest of us took a tour of Reykjavik. We reunited in the evening, made and ate dinner together, had some drinks, and went for a walk out to the top of a hill where we could see fireworks and bonfires being lit. Apparently from 9-10:30pm, however, everything goes dark as all the Icelanders watch a comedy show on tv. Not knowing Icelandic, we didn't watch it, but instead we went back to our place and continued the party, and at midnight we went to the main church on a hill in the middle of the city and saw ridiculous amounts of fireworks going off all around the city. It was probably the most impressive display of disorganized pyrotechnics I've ever seen.
New Years Day was for recovery, plus a lot of tours and stores were closed, so we slept in and hung out in the apartments. The next day, a few people left, and the rest of us did the South Coast tour. There were a bunch of options with this tour - we could have gone snowmobiling, taken a glacier hike, done some ice climbing, or seen a city and some black sand beaches. We opted for the glacier hike, and we got to put on crampons and walk around on the glacier Sólheimajökull, which was very cool. That took up the bulk of the day, and after that we saw the sunset over the sea and a bunch of impressive waterfalls, then headed back to the city. The next day was our last full day, and having done all of the tours we wanted and being reduced from 13 to around 6 remaining people, we spent the day in Reykjavik and then went home the following morning.
All in all, this was a really cool experience, I made a bunch of new friends, and I got the chance to see some of the natural beauty of the small country of Iceland. I'd really recommend a trip there. You can find some pictures, some taken by me and some "borrowed" from others, in the 2013 album (even though some of these were technically in 2014...) linked on the right or here: https://picasaweb.google.com/115872916923607849736/SwedenTravels2013?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNa0m8etr8_gWA&feat=directlink).
Happy 2014!
Steven
We rented some apartments and based ourselves in Reykjavik, which is about the population of Ann Arbor but by far the biggest city in the country. From there, we took a bunch of bus/van tours to see as many of the sites as we could: the Blue Lagoon, the Golden Circle, the Northern Lights, and the South Coast.
Day 1 we went to the "Blue Lagoon", which is a naturally-heated pool/spa/tourist trap that's open year-round. It was really windy and cold the day that we were there, so the goal seemed to be to keep as much of one's body submerged in the warm water as possible. The surroundings were absolutely beautiful (check out the pictures), and despite chilly noses and ears it was a really awesome place. Day 2 we took the popular "Golden Circle" tour, which was a van ride out to a number of natural wonders outside of the city. Due to a lack of abundant daylight at that latitude and time of year, we left Reykjavik when it was pitch dark at 8am, and finally started to see some sites once it got light out around 10:30/11. We stopped at a couple of very impressive waterfalls, saw an active geyser (Strokkur), hung out with some furry Icelandic horses, and walked through a national park at the rift between the North American and Eurasian continental plates.
That night we also did a Northern Lights tour, where the 13 of us plus 2 random Australians got driven around in a van in search of the aurora borealis. The forecast that night was a 2 on the scale of 1-9 (though apparently it rarely goes above 4), so our chances of seeing anything and the intensity of the lights weren't super high, but our driver/guide was determined and we spent around 6 hours driving around with him and chasing the lights. We made four stops and stared at the sky for long periods of time, but it wasn't until the third stop that we really felt like we saw anything, which was just a greenish glow in the sky. At one point, for about 10-20 seconds, there was a brighter spot that sort of seemed like some dancing lights, but that seemed to be about it, and the driver said he was going to take us home. We started to doze in the back of the van thinking we were on our way to bed, but then the driver decided to give it one more shot. He drove us somewhere, went outside, and proclaimed that in 20 minutes the clouds would be gone and we would see it. So, we waited like 45 minutes, and at the end we could really see some much more noticeable green glowing in the sky. It was pretty cool, but also very exhausting (recall: 6 hours), creepy (recall: driver without much of a plan), and mildly disappointing (while we saw the lights, they weren't very strong or as beautiful as the photos we've all seen). However, I'm really glad for the experience, and the long-exposure photos came out way better than what the eyes could see!
The next day was New Years Eve, and part of group did a South Coast tour while the rest of us took a tour of Reykjavik. We reunited in the evening, made and ate dinner together, had some drinks, and went for a walk out to the top of a hill where we could see fireworks and bonfires being lit. Apparently from 9-10:30pm, however, everything goes dark as all the Icelanders watch a comedy show on tv. Not knowing Icelandic, we didn't watch it, but instead we went back to our place and continued the party, and at midnight we went to the main church on a hill in the middle of the city and saw ridiculous amounts of fireworks going off all around the city. It was probably the most impressive display of disorganized pyrotechnics I've ever seen.
New Years Day was for recovery, plus a lot of tours and stores were closed, so we slept in and hung out in the apartments. The next day, a few people left, and the rest of us did the South Coast tour. There were a bunch of options with this tour - we could have gone snowmobiling, taken a glacier hike, done some ice climbing, or seen a city and some black sand beaches. We opted for the glacier hike, and we got to put on crampons and walk around on the glacier Sólheimajökull, which was very cool. That took up the bulk of the day, and after that we saw the sunset over the sea and a bunch of impressive waterfalls, then headed back to the city. The next day was our last full day, and having done all of the tours we wanted and being reduced from 13 to around 6 remaining people, we spent the day in Reykjavik and then went home the following morning.
All in all, this was a really cool experience, I made a bunch of new friends, and I got the chance to see some of the natural beauty of the small country of Iceland. I'd really recommend a trip there. You can find some pictures, some taken by me and some "borrowed" from others, in the 2013 album (even though some of these were technically in 2014...) linked on the right or here: https://picasaweb.google.com/115872916923607849736/SwedenTravels2013?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNa0m8etr8_gWA&feat=directlink).
Happy 2014!
Steven
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