Sabbatical in Central Europe

September 23rd, Saturday, was Water Taxi Day ( Wassertaxitag ) for both Denise and I. A pleasant journey, where we stopped at stop # 2 - Heilandkirche (Church of Saviour) - and stop # 3 - Meierei Restaurant and Palace Schloss Cecilianhof. We enjoyed a nice meal at the Meierei Restaurant, enjoying their homemade beer and visited Palace Schloss Cecilianhof, where the famous Potsdam Conference took place, back in 1945. During this conference, leaders from the United Kingdon (Churchill), USA (Truman) and USSR (Stalin) decided the future of post-war Germany. Churchill is back at Cecilianhof! =~=~=~ 23 de setembro, sábado, foi o Dia do Táxi Aquático (Wassertaxitag) para Denise e eu. Uma viagem agradável, onde paramos na parada 2 - Heilandkirche (Igreja do Salvador) - e na parada 3 - Restaurante Meierei e Palácio Schloss Cecilianhof. Apreciamos uma boa refeição no restaurante Meierei, saboreando sua cerveja caseira e visitamos o Palácio Schloss Cecilianhof, onde ocorreu a famosa Conf...

I am in Potsdam, but all my graduate students are in Fredericton. Despite the distance, I intend to keep with our weekly research meetings. Today, we had another one. It is important to follow and discuss what Thalia, Emerson, Marco, Anthony and Mike are doing, and see their progress. The figure shows a snapshot of my screen during a Skype conference call. Estou em Potsdam, mas todos os meus alunos de pós-graduação estão em Fredericton. Apesar da distância, pretendo continuar com nossas reuniões semanais de pesquisa. Hoje, tivemos outra reunião. É importante acompanhar e discutir o que Thalia, Emerson, Marco, Anthony e Mike estão fazendo e ver o progresso deles. A figura mostra um instantâneo da minha tela durante uma teleconferência do Skype.

As per our return to Potsdam, I returned the van to Hertz. It was evening and I left is in its parking lot. A few days later I realized that I had paid 700 Euros more than agreed. After contacting Hertz I was told that there was a small bump at the back of the car (see yellow marks in the pictures). I really had no idea of what caused that and my suspicious fell on any Hertz employee who might have mishandled the vehicle later on. I contacted AMEX insurance and everything seemed on its way for me to have the insurance covering for it. But then, I was told by AMEX that the insurance covers vehicles up to 8 seats, and the vehicle that I rented had 9. Quite a disaster, as I booked a mid-size car, but ended up taking the van as there was no other vehicle available. I did not want a van, it was only me Denise and Churchill. And I would have never guessed that AMEX insurance had such a limitation. An expensive piece of bad luck =~=~=~ As regressarmos a Potsdam, devolvi a van para Her...

After a lovely time in Aachen and Bonn, it is time to head back to Potsdam. A few pictures from our day-long drive tell the story. Após uns dias agradáveis em Aachen e em Bonn, é hora de voltarmos para Potsdam. As fotografias abaixo contam a história da nossa viagem de regresso. 

Leaving Aachen on our way to Bonn, we stopped at the Lindt chocolate factory. We thought we could visit it inside but no, the best we could do was to visit the shop. The prices were not that different from what we are used to so we just bought the usual (a lot 😉). Churchill could not enter the shop. Well, they don't know he does not like chocolate. He stayed outside, but always receiving the attention of the shoppers. - - - - Deixando Aachen em nosso caminho para Bonn, paramos na fábrica de chocollates da Lindt. Nós pensamos que poderíamos visitá-la, mas não, o melhor que pudemos fazer foi visitar a loja. Os preços não eram tão diferentes do que estamos acostumados, então acabamos por comprar o de costume (muito 😉). Churchill não pôde entrar na loja. Bem, eles não sabem que ele não gosta de chocolate. Ele ficou lá fora, mas sempre recebendo a atenção dos compradores.

We stayed in Bonn from September 18 to 21. Bonn, on the shores of the Rhine, was the capital of West Germany until its reunification with East Germany. It is the city where Beethoven was born, in 1777, where he spent his childhood and teenage years . We stayed close to its historic center. =~=~=~   During this time, I attended the Workshop "Satellite Geodesy for Climate Studies", organized by IAG Commissions 2 and 4, at the University of Bonn.  Ficamos em Bonn de 18 a 21 de setembro. Bonn, às margens do Reno, foi a capital da Alemanha Ocidental até sua reunificação com a Alemanha Oriental. É a cidade onde nasceu Beethoven, em 1777, onde passou a infância e a adolescência. Ficamos perto de seu centro histórico. Durante esse período, participei do workshop "Geodésia por satélite para estudos climáticos", organizado pelas comissões 2 e 4 do IAG, na Universidade de Bonn. Beethoven House Casa do Beethoven Beethoven Market at the historic ...

Finally. At the city of Charlemagne, the great emperor of the 9th century. I will write more about Charlemagne in the next post. Here, I will share a few pictures taken during our visit to the Aachen Dom Cathedral and to the museum Centre Charlemagne. (tons of photos below) Finalmente. Na cidade de Carlos Magno, o grande imperador do século IX. Escreverei mais sobre Carlos Magno no próximo post. Aqui, compartilharei algumas fotos tiradas durante nossa visita à Catedral de Aachen Dom e ao museu Center Charlemagne. (uma tonelada de fotos abaixo) The Throne of Charlemagne, inside Aachen Cathedral. To see it, we had to register into a guided tour in German as the throne can only be visited with the company of a guide. We learned that during the Second World War, the throne was covered by plaster and brick to avoid it being damaged by bombs or bullets. O trono de Carlos Magno, dentro da Catedral de Aachen. Para vê-lo, tivemos que nos registrar em uma visita guiada em alemã...