B.C. Wine Country

Posted on April 17, 2024 by If It Was Today

We had beautiful weather in Vancouver and then drove up to the Okanagan on Monday, where we were treated to snow squalls on Tuesday.

We spent the afternoon visiting relatives we hadn’t seen in years, laughing, catching up, and having a great time. The rotten weather wasn’t a problem.

Today was a much nicer day – cool, but sunny, so we headed out to enjoy the scenery and of course, the wines.

Sun, Clouds, and Grapes

It’s still early in the season, so the vines are all bare. But that means that you get a better look at the stems. Most are the same as I’ve seen elsewhere, but we also saw one area where the were split into two rows like this.

I’m guessing this is for a certain kind of grape, but I have no idea if that is correct. If anyone knows, please let me know.

Although the vines were’t budding, the trees were beginning to flower. Perfect for allergy season…

I started this post with a view of snow squalls on the other side of Lake Okanagan. Here how it looked late this afternoon. Much nicer.

And here is one of the wineries we visited today. My kind of name.

We finished the day with dinner at Elma, a lovely Turkish restaurant in Penticton, with food to die for.

Posted in Travel | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tree Bathing

Posted on April 14, 2024 by If It Was Today

Another sunny day in Vancouver so we went for a nature walk. We were informed that it is known as “tree bathing” in Japanese culture.

The dead tree stumps add to the ambience of the forest.

Along the walk there were a number of trees that look like faces.

And a trillium flower, even though they are more associated with Ontario.

And the cherry trees were in full bloom.

Tomorrow we head up to the Okanagan.

Posted in Travel | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Vancouver

Posted on April 13, 2024 by If It Was Today

Our original flight to Vancouver was cancelled, and we were rebooked the next day through Toronto. It was a bit of a pain, but we arrived just in time for … an absolutely gorgeous day. Apparently it was the first sunny day in quite some time. 

We went out for a walk in the sunshine and then stopped by a local brew pub for a beer and pizza.

Our trip is off to a great start.

Posted in Travel | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

On The Road Again

Posted on April 13, 2024 by If It Was Today

After a pause from travel over the past year, we are taking a trip to the west coast. We are planning to visit wine country in the Okanagan and Vancouver Island before taking the train across Canada to go home. Should be fun.

This isn’t from our trip, but I like the picture, so I’ll show it today.

Posted in Travel | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Combination Lock

Posted on May 4, 2023 by If It Was Today

One of the exhibits in the Vasa Museum in Stockholm showed a combination lock for a chest, recovered when the ship was salvaged. This picture shows the inside of the chest, so that you can see the mechanism.

Ingenious.

Posted in Travel | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Vasa Museum – Stockholm

Posted on May 4, 2023 by If It Was Today

In 1626 King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden commissioned a warship that was to be the pride of his fleet and secure his dominance of the Baltic Sea. The ship was completed in 1628 and on her maiden voyage sailed less than a mile before she began to list and then, promptly capsized and sank. The bronze cannons were salvaged, but then the ship was largely forgotten until it was rediscovered and salvaged in 1961. The brackish waters near Stockholm, combined with low oxygen levels, in part due to pollution, meant that the ship was amazingly well preserved. So much so, that after extensive preservation work, a museum was built around the ship. The ship is almost fully intact and provides unique insight into 17th century ship building. Here are a few pictures to give you a sense of the museum.

The lighter colored wood in this picture is restored, but all the dark wood is original. It gives you a sense of just how complete it is.

Cannon ports

The Vasa had two cannon decks as well as a third set of cannons on the top deck. This made it top heavy and may have contributed to its sinking. The lower cannon ports were also very close to the waterline, which didn’t help.

Elaborate decorations

You can see people in the lower left on this picture. They give you a sense of scale.

If you are in Stockholm, I highly recommend a visit to the Vasa Museum. Plan on making it a day.

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

More Cherry Blossoms

Posted on April 29, 2023 by If It Was Today

When we were in Budapest the cherry blossoms were at their peak, perhaps even a day or two past peak. The ground was beginning to be covered with “drifts” of fallen petals. A week later, the cherry blossoms in Stockholm weren’t quite as far along (not surprising, given how much further north it is). But they were still beautiful.

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Stockholm Central Station

Posted on April 27, 2023 by If It Was Today

On the sidewalk, just outside of Stockholm Central Station, we spotted a pair of ducks, calmly sleeping on the sidewalk in a very small puddle of water. I know that Stockholm is a pedestrian friendly city, but this may be going a bit too far. Or maybe not…

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

I’m Not Making This Up

Posted on April 26, 2023 by If It Was Today

We are back home now, but over the next week I want to continue posting a few random observations about our trip. I’ll begin with the Swedish Krona (SEK). Perhaps you’re wondering what the Krona looks like or what denominations are in circulation? Unfortunately I can’t help you because I never saw any. Not once. And if you were unfortunate enough to have exchanged currency at the airport, you’d have trouble finding anywhere to spend it. Physical currency attracts the same level of curiosity that a 45 RPM record would here – and it’s almost as difficult to use. You think I’m joking? I took this picture at a public toilet that charged 10 SEK (about one dollar) to use. If you look closely you will see that there isn’t a coin slot to pay, but a pad to tap your credit card.

Public washroom in Stockholm

The other thing you’ll notice is that the Swedes have neatly sidestepped the whole bathroom gender issue that gets some people all worked up these days. Build single person washrooms that are gender neutral. Who knew it could be so easy?

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A Walk in the Park

Posted on April 22, 2023 by If It Was Today

It was another lovely spring day in Stockholm, so we went for a long walk (10 km) along the waterfront and through a few parks, all within the city limits. For the first part of the walk we had water on one side, and impressive old buildings on the other.

Along the waterfront

And then we were into parks. This is just one of the parks we walked through today. There are a number of large parks within Stockholm city limits. You can’t see any people in this picture, but there were many people outside enjoying the weather. On the city streets it was even worse – it was wall to wall people.

Parkland within the city

One of the parks was dedicated to sculptures. Here is one example.

And then, it was back to the city.

Tomorrow will be cooler, so we will be visiting a museum.

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged , , | Leave a comment