Pennsylvania, Washington DC - September 2015

In late September early October, we took a trip to the east coast.  The main reason for the trip was to participate in a Sierra Club Service Trip to Fallingwater, the Frank Lloyd Wright house south of Pittsburgh - a week of moderately physical work maintaining or building trails in the park adjacent to the home.   We flew into Washington DC and tacked on a few extra days for a bit of sightseeing in the capital.

Arriving into Dulles airport in DC on a Saturday evening we sidestepped DC and headed towards Western Pennsylvania, our destination for the service trip.   We didn’t have any definite ideas of where to stay for the evening and we ended up in Hagerstown, a fairly large town in Maryland.  Not the most impressive of towns, but it showed up at the right time and it had hotels.  We had an OK meal at a German restaurant where they made the waitresses dress up in Bavarian garb.  There is a lot of German influence here in this part of the country.

The next morning we were treated to a most mediocre breakfast at the hotel (actually not mediocre, just plain bad) where everything was served in polystyrene containers with plastic cutlery.  It has been a while since I saw that quantity of polystyrene.

On the road again we did not have to be at our destination until late afternoon so we took a detour to Gettysburg,  Obviously I was expecting some Civil War related sights but nothing on the scale of what we found there.  There were statues, monuments and plaques at every turn – a crazy amount of memorials to what went on there in the Civil War and in the town itself copious tourist related hotels, restaurants, shops and the like to detract from the true gravity of the place.  We wandered around from the David Wills house (where Lincoln wrote his famous “address”), over to a graveyard and then to the National Park Visitor center.  We were a little overwhelmed by the entire affair and we were pushed for time so we left with only a minor understanding of what went on their.   Maybe a candidate for a return visit on a more serious Civil War history tour.

Gettysburg

From Gettysburg we headed towards our destination for the work week which was near Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania.  Frank Lloyd Wright built Faillingwater near Ohiopyle for the Kaufmann family who at that time were the owners of a fine department store in Pittsburg.  We were to be working on the land adjacent to the house owned by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

When we reached the house we were staying in during the week there were a few fellow volunteers already there.  The Sierra Club always invites one or two strange folk and this was no exception.  We were greeted by one lady who informed us immediately that they were assigning beds by arrival time and all the beds were now taken.  Not exactly welcoming, and when the leader of the trip arrived later with his own room/bed assignments then this same lady got outraged and went on a rant about how unfair that was.  For the rest of the trip she remained an outsider and continued to irritate people.  One wonders why she put herself in that situation.

Our lodging was fairly comfortable – as a couple we had a room to ourselves (alas only a single bed, I slept on the floor) and everyone except the previously mentioned lady seemed to be fine.  Our project for the week was to create 2,000ft of new trail.  We kicked off the work week on Monday morning bright and early and were introduced to Brian Jones an employee of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy who was to direct our work.  It was raining so we were all decked out in waterproofs.  Before we started work we had a little tour around the grounds of Fallingwater which gave us our first chance to see the house.   It truly is a remarkable structure.

Fallingwater

Following a brief tour of the exterior of the house we started work on our trail.  We had a 2.5 mile hike in to our trail section and by the time we got there we were all quite damp.  That didn’t stop us however and we labored on throughout the day, taking only a short break for lunch.

The first day's work was a bit confusing – we were all finding our feet and figuring out how best to do things and which tools we liked the best.  We had the usual shovels, rakes, hammers, pry bars, clippers, etc and then a few more specific tools like McCleods and Pulaskis (both fire fighting tools and great for cutting new trail).

Old Growth Hemlock

I was working on one particular section, hacking away at the entangled roots when I noticed some bees flying around.  Of course I had to go and investigate further and I found the hole that lead to their nest.  I should have left well alone but I stood close by watching them until first one stung me, then another, and then another and then I was running down the trail flapping my arms like a wild man.  No one else got stung and the next day we routed the trail away from the nest.

We finished work around 3:00 pm and made our way down the hill to the road.  A little damp but not too uncomfortable.

For our meals we each took turns with cooking.   Fortunately Nancy and I didn’t cook until Friday so we had plenty of time to figure out how things were going to work.   The food ingredients were provided along with the appropriate menus so it wasn’t too difficult to figure out what to do.

The next day, Tuesday we were off again at 8:15 and it was raining but much harder and more consistently this time.  I think a lot of us, including myself, thought that we would not work in such conditions, but no, we labored on despite the conditions.  I discovered my favorite thing to do was to mark the uphill side of the new trail using my favorite tool – the McCleod.  The trail had been roughly laid out with colored ties on the trees every 20 ft or so.  I just went ahead and figured out what I thought was the best path through the trees and excavated a line for the uphill side of the trail. 

We broke early on Tuesday afternoon in order to take a tour of the inside of Fallingwater.  We were back to our lodgings by 2:00 most of us totally wet through.  We dried off, cleaned up and headed down to Fallingwater.

The house is really wonderful and it must have been an amazing place to live (it was the summer home of the Kauffmans).  A lot of FLW quirky design features – narrow doorways opening up into beautiful spaces, built in furniture designed by the architect, toilets lowered so they are only 18 in above ground,  leaking roofs, etc.  

Rail to Trail in Ohiopyle

The next day, Wednesday, we had a day off work and we all went rafting on the Youghiogheny River.  Ohiopyle, which is quite a small town, has become a center for outdoor activities and there is a lot or rafting and kayaking done on the river from there.  We did a short section of the Yough downstream from Ohiopyle.  It was a grey day and it was raining intermittently but the conditions weren't too bad.  We loaded up into our 6 man plus one guide paddle rafts and after a bit of instruction took off downstream.  It was nice enough, but we didn’t really do much paddling and the rapids were not that thrilling.  The countryside was beautiful however – a steep sided river valley with forested slopes. 

Rafting the Youghiogheny

After the raft trip we cleaned up back at the house and then went for a short hike – to Cucumber Falls and then on the banks of the Youghiogheny back into Ohiopyle.  We had dinner in town with everyone that evening.  Not great food but an enjoyable time all the same.

Thursday was another day of work and while it was overcast and occasionally drizzled it was for the most part dry.   I continued outlining the trail and then went back to work on widening it.  We made good progress and things looked good for finishing the whole section before the end of the week.

The Start of the Trail 

The idea with the trail building was to scrape off the top surface layer of leaf debris (called duff) down to something a bit more substantial (clay or whatever the subsoil was).  If there were any holes then we would fill them in with rocks and pack the rocks in with clay retrieved from around fallen tree roots.  The subsoil is a yellowish clay and when a tree falls down its roots drag up a lot of clay which we could then transport in buckets to stabilize other parts of the trail.  Where the terrain was uneven or climbed too steeply we would build steps by placing larger rocks in place and again binding them with clay and other smaller rocks.

Kentuck Knob

Thursday afternoon, we again finished early and went to visit the other Frank Lloyd Wright house in the area – Kentuck Knob.  This is a more modest Usonian house of Wright’s and in some ways more enjoyable (it would have been easy to imagine living there).  Again there were the quirky narrow spaces opening to more expansive rooms, the fine details of the builtins, etc. The house is now owned by Lord Peter Palumbo an English aristocrat who made his money in UK Real Estate.  He has added a sculpture garden to the property with some nice pieces – Red Army, a couple of Andy Goldsworthy’s, an Oldenburg Apple Core, a piece of the Berlin Wall, etc.   Palumbo also owns the Farnsworth House in Illinois, a Mies van der Rohe design.

The Red Army at Kentuck Knob

Friday, our final day, was good weather and we were able to finish up the entire section.  It looked pretty good by the time we were done.  A nice single track trail with some more technical challenging steps through the tricky bits.   I think we were all quite proud of our efforts especially when you consider the conditions earlier in the week.   However when one thinks that we were 16 people, admittedly some old, and in a week we only did 2,000 feet of trail and then you think of how many miles of trail there are in the USA, it is quite mind-boggling to consider the effort that might have been required.

Friday night was our night to cook and although I say it myself we did a fine job of cooking steaks in the oven.  We wanted medium rare and by some fluke of circumstance we got medium rare.  Enough for 18 people.

The Trail Crew

The final morning we all chipped in to clean the house.  By 10 o’clock we were pretty much done and people started to depart.  It was kind of sad to leave these folk behind after bonding so well over the week.  Laura the lady who had annoyed everyone early in the week, was still pretty much an outsider, despite her efforts to buy her way back into favor with wine, beer and snacks the previous evening.  Big thanks to Marty Joyce our leader and Jerry and Pam his assistants.

From Ohiopyle we headed north towards Pittsburgh,  Of course it was a grey day with intermittent rain but we were getting used to that.  We wanted to visit the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh so we headed straight for it.  It is a great museum celebrating the life and art of Andy, the local Pittsburgh kid.  We got to try our hands at a silkscreen printing too.

The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh

We had a little wander around town – over the MonongahelaRiver, around the downtown area, a quick look at the now closed but very fine Kauffmans Department Store (The Kauffmans of Fallingwater fame).

Since we weren’t really interested in staying in Pittsburgh, we headed out in the direction of DC and ended up not far from Ohiopyle again.  We stayed at the Summit Hotel just outside Uniontown.  A wonderful old hotel that once hosted Edison, Ford, and a host of other inventors.  We enjoyed a swim in the pool, a dip in the Jacuzzi, and a fine meal of liver and onions in their restaurant.

We moved on the next day towards DC with no particular route in mind.  We ended up going to a historical site called Fort Necessity where George Washington, whilst in the British Army, encountered the French and was taken prisoner.  Not much of a site really but interesting history and it was also located adjacent to the National Highway. The first Federally Funded highway in the US dating from the early 1800’s.

Fort Necessity

From Fort Necessity we progressed to Harper’s Ferry on the junction of the Potomac and  Shenandoah rivers.  This was a beautiful old town with lots of history and lots of nicely restored buildings.  The town had been quite important in arms manufacturing before the Civil War and several breakthroughs in the manufacturing process were initiated there (e.g. rifling), it was also renowned for the failed attack by the abolitionist John Brown who was captured in the town.  Unlike Gettysburg which had a patina of tacky commercialism, Harper’s Ferry was nicely done – you park your car in the Visitor Center outside town and you are bused into town.  As a result the town is quite free of commercial clutter.  The Appalachian Trail passes through the town.

Harper's Ferry

From  Harper’s Ferry we moved on to Shepherdstown where we stayed at this relatively cute Bavarian Inn.  Sherpardstown is a nice college town with a lovely high street.  We had our second German meal of the trip in the hotel’s restaurant

The following morning we headed for Washington DC.  We left our car  back at Dulles airport and Ubered into town.  We stayed at The Churchill Hotel a nice place on Connecticut Avenue beyond Dupont Circle.  We decided to visit the National Portrait Gallery which turned out to be a great historical education.   Each portrait had a brief description of the significance of the individual.  It also has the only complete collection of presidents outside of the White House.   Again a very educational display.

The White House

Tuesday morning we were scheduled for a White House tour.  After a few hiccups like having to go back to the hotel to drop off Nancy’s bag (no bags allowed in WH and no storage outside) we were in line for our tour along with hundreds of others (somehow, I imagined a more intimate tour).  I must say, I was not overly impressed – a few overly ornate rooms, the odd portrait, some fine china and other bric a brac  and that was it.   Worth doing but it's not Buckingham Palace.

Washington DC Mall

In the afternoon we walked down the Mall – the Washington Monument, the Reflecting Pool, the Vietnam, Korean and 2^nd World War Memorials, and the Lincoln Monument.   We didn’t get to the Jefferson Memorial.  I think the Korean was perhaps the most moving monument.  I never fully appreciated it was a United Nations affair with a majority of those killed being non-US soldiers.

Korean War Memorial, Washington DC

We visited the Museum of Art which was really good and then made it back over to the National Portrait Gallery to finish off the 2 floors we didn’t get to see before closing on the previous day.  Again we didn’t manage to complete the Gallery as there was an event that forced us out with half a floor to go.

Washington's Home, Mt Vernon

The next day we went out to Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home near Alexandria.  Uber proved to be a reasonable and very efficient way to get there – only $30.  The home was interesting and I enjoyed it much more than the White House.  Washington had quite an estate there and apparently in inflation adjusted dollars he was the richest of all our presidents.   Maybe that will change if Mr Trump gets his chance.

I liked the “rustification” of the house siding where planks were shaped like large bricks, painted and then peppered with sand to give a stucco type finish. 

Uber again provided the best way to get back to town and even in the relatively remote setting of Mt Vernon we didn’t have to wait more than 10 mins.

We had time for a third trip to the National Portrait Gallery to visit the remaining rooms (thank goodness admission is free) before we left for the airport and our return trip to Sacramento.

Photographs of Fallingwater are here and the other parts (mainly Washington DC) are here.

Norway and Denmark - August 2015

While I was  home in England in August, Nancy flew over to Europe to join me for a little trip around Norway.  She tried out the new service from Norwegian Air who are now flying direct from Oakland to Oslo three times a week.  By all accounts the airline is pretty good and the price is significantly cheaper than the other offerings.

I flew from Manchester to Oslo to join up with her on a damp Monday evening.  We had secured a great deal at the Oslo Grand Hotel, one of the finer old hotels in Oslo (apparently the place you stay when you are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize).  It is looking a bit tired now but it is still a fine hotel with a bit of history to it. The breakfast buffet was one of the best and the hotel cafe/restaurant was very fine indeed.  Worthy of a visit by itself - apparently it was a favorite of Ibsen's.

Vigeland Park

The weather was not cooperating during our stay and it was raining most of the next day.  We wandered around the harbor and city hall area before heading off to Vigeland Park to see Mr Vigeland's collection of bronze and granite sculptures.   Vigeland Park is quite the beautiful place and Gustav Vigeland was quite the prolific sculptor with some 600 of his figures arranged around the park - how did he find the time?  The rain kept the crowds away but we were quite damp by the end of the morning.

Vigeland

From Vigeland Park we took the tram back into town and visited the National Gallery of Norway.   The gallery has a nice collection of paintings and was just the right size to cover in a couple of hours without feeling overwhelmed or that you missed something important.  Of course there was the obligatory collection of Edvard Munch paintings and his most famous, The Scream, was mobbed by people.  No photographs are allowed of the Munch paintings but I did like the one below by Christian Skredsvig - very Norwegian I think.

Youth Festivity in Eggedal - C. Skredsvig - National Gallery of Norway

Towards evening and in between showers of rain we headed over to the new Opera House.  This very modern building was built in 2008 at some horrendous cost ($0.5 billion).  It's roof is also a public space and you can walk up its angled planes and wander around on top.  It is a nice building, but I wonder how it will wear in the extreme weather in Norway.   It is already showing signs of grout issues so we will have to wait and see.

Rooftop of Opera House

The Opera House is in the East Harbor;  we walked from there past the ferry dock for Denmark (we would catch the ferry later in the week) past the Akerhus Fortress area to the West Harbor and the City Hall.  We found a very nice Italian restaurant just outside the City Hall (named Prima Fila I think) where we had one of our best meals in Norway.  Norwegian food did not impress me other than with its price - seriously expensive - and this restaurant had pretty good food at a reasonable price.

We were forced out of our fine Grand Hotel as the weekend deal we got did not extend to the work week but we found a reasonable hotel nearby - the First Grims Grenka. All the hotels do a great breakfast buffet which we soon found to be the real deal in Norway (perhaps the only deal) - if you do it right you can secrete away enough ham and cheese sandwiches, fruit, and cakes to provide you with lunch as well.  Always take a coat with pockets or a some sort of bag to breakfast.

Houses Myrdal

The next day, Wednesday, we took the train from Oslo to Myrdal.   A very scenic route on the line to Bergen.  We traveled through some beautiful countryside - forests, lakes, picturesque farms and villages.  The route climbed slowly to the highest point on the line at Fense (4,000 ft) where there were still traces of snow.  Myrdal is about two thirds of the way from Oslo to Bergen and it sits high above the fjords of Aurlandsfjord and Sognefjord.  We changed trains in Myrdal and caught the smaller private train on the Flamsbana Railway down the hill to the fjords at Flam.  This railway is quite dramatic traveling some 20-25 km steeply down the side of the hill to the fjord.  I believe it is the steepest non-cog railway system in the world.

 Kjofossen Waterfall

Waterfalls and rivers were everywhere.  The train stopped in the middle of the route at the Kjosfossen Waterfall where we could go out and get drenched by the spray from this torrent of water pouring down the hillside.  It was impressive and dramatic.  To add to the drama when the train stops a sylph-like woman appears singing and waving her arms around high on the side of the waterfall.  She is apparently Huldra a seductive figure in Scandinavian folklore.  To be honest, it was impressive enough without Huldra.

Flam

At the bottom of the hill at the end of the line lies Flam, a beautiful little town - 2 or 3 hotels, a handful of restaurants, a museum, gift shops and a gorgeous setting by the side of the fjord.  We found a reasonable hotel and spent the evening wandering around town.  The most notable thing was the railway museum describing the efforts to create the railway line down the hill from Myrdal.  It certainly was a major piece of work.

Old Church Flam

The next morning we awoke to a slightly different town - overnight a cruise liner had docked (how do they get such big ships so far inland?).  As we left our hotel in the morning, droves of people were leaving the ship to take the train up the hill to Myrdal.  We wanted to take the train back up the hill and cycle down but there were so many people from the ship that the first two or three trains were totally sold out.

The road downhill from Myrdal to Flam

We made the trip a couple of hours later after the initial surge of cruise people had subsided.  We rented bikes in Flam and traveled with them on the train up the hill to Myrdal. The bicycle ride down the hill was most enjoyable - a bit steep and a bit rough at the start on a gravel road with a series of hair pin bends that tested the brakes and our cycling skill.  Lots of waterfalls, rivers, goats, farmhouses, a tunnel, and eventually a paved road into Flam.

Cycling down the hill to Flam

We had a few more hours to kill in Flam so we rode out along the edge of the fjord to Aurland, the next town.  Aurland was a little less touristy in that it didn't accommodate cruise liners but it was equally pretty.  We rode back to Flam in time to catch the high speed ferry to Gudvangen.

Leaving Flam on Aurlandsfjord

Traveling down the fjord from Flam on the ferry we passed through the most beautiful scenery - steep cliffs, little villages and farms nestled on the waters edge, picture postcard settings except for the gray skies and drizzling rain.  We re-evaluated our journey whilst on the boat and since the weather was not that great we decided to stay on board the boat as far as Bergen - another 4 hours ride from Gudvangen.  The weather stayed overcast and showery for a good part of the way, but every now and again the sun poked through and made things look a whole lot better.

Sognefjord

In Bergen we arrived just at dusk and we struggled a bit to find a hotel.  In the end we got in at a perfectly nice Scandic hotel near the bus station.

The next day, Friday, we spent walking around Bergen.  It is a nice town and just the right size for a walking tour.  Since we were a little way out of the center of town we switched hotels to one closer to the harbor just behind the Bryggen in a beautiful old building - the Hanseatic Hotel.

The Bryggen, Bergen

We spent the day wandering around town - the Bryggen area (the old Hanseatic Wharf), the Rosenkrantz Tower, the funicular up to Mount Floyen, Bergen Cathedral with its embedded English cannonball, the Leprosy Museum and the Fish Market.  In the evening the rain came down again, but by now we were used to it and we were carrying umbrellas - a travel essential in Norway.

Bergen from Mount Floyen

Saturday morning we took the bus out to Bergen airport and caught a short Norwegian Air flight back to Oslo.  By lunchtime we were back in Oslo with 3 hours to kill before we caught the overnight ferry to Copenhagen.  It was a beautiful day and we got to see the Opera House and other areas of town under blue skies and sun - it all looks so much better in such conditions.  We went over to the Astrup Fearnley Museum area - a very modern development on the east harbor side of town.

Astrup Fernley Museum, Bergen

We took a late lunch in the same Italian restaurant as 3 days before (Prima Fila) and while in that area I went inside the City Hall to view the murals (Nancy had previously paid a visit before I arrived).  The interior of the City Hall was spectacular - murals on every wall depicting the history of Norway from early rural life, through Nazi occupation, to the post war era.  What a wonderful building.

Oslo City Hall

Murals inside Oslo City Hall

The Danish Seaways Ferry leaves Oslo every afternoon around 4:00 pm for Copenhagen.   Simultaneously one leaves Copenhagen for Oslo and they cross paths in the night.  We had a cabin with a window and it was just great - a comfortable bed, shower, toilet, complimentary champagne, what more could you desire.  About the same price as a hotel and it included breakfast - one of the few deals in Scandinavia.

Our Ferry to Copenhagen

Leaving behind Oslo we traveled down the Oslo fjord, passing very close to shore in some places for such a large vessel.  We left land and crossed the Skagerak to Danish waters and the Kattegat Sea.  The crossing was quite calm though up on deck the winds were blowing forcing everyone back inside.

In the morning we docked in Copenhagen very close to the center of town.  It was an interesting walk to our hotel past the Mermaid statue (Den Lille Havfrue), through the park around the old military fortress (Kastellet),  through the square where the Queen's Winter Palace is located (Amelienborg) with great views of the splendid Rococo masterpiece, Fredericks Church.  We also passed the office of Maersk Drilling that I had visited a couple of times a dozen years earlier.  Alas we never sold any software to Maersk but I did enjoy my trips to visit them.  Our hotel was in the Nyhavn district and in fact was called Nyhavn 61 after its address - a nice old warehouse building on the dock side that had been converted to a hotel.

The Little Mermaid

Nyhavn

For once the weather was cooperating so we set off to walk around Copenahgen.  Through the Kings New Square (Kongens Nytorv), past the Round Tower, out to the Rosenborg Castle.  We toured the interior of the Rosenborg Castle then walked over towards the City Hall and Tivoli Gardens.  At that point we decided to be adventurous and rent one of the city bicycles.  A great idea - you create an account with a credit card on the bicycle's terminal, unlock the bike and away you go.  When you lock the bike back in one of the many stands around town you are charged by the hour (20kr per hour as I recall).  The bike has a map interface so you can see where you are going or where you should be going but it was a bit of a challenge to watch that as well as everything else that you have to pay attention to when cycling in a big city (cars and pedestrians and more capable bicyclists).

We headed over to Christianshavn neighborhood on our bikes as I wanted to look at the church with the spiral staircase on the exterior of its spire - Vor Frelsers Kirk.  On the way there we got separated and I never did find Nancy again till we were back at the hotel. Riding the bicycles was fun and a great way to see the town but you do have to pay attention.  Bike lanes are everywhere but are also quite busy and, unlike in the US, Danish cyclists obey the traffic rules - no sliding through red lights there.

Vor Frelsers Church

In the evening we returned to the main square (Radhuspladsen) and went into the Tivoli Gardens amusement park.  It is one of the oldest amusement parks and is right there next to the city hall in the middle of the city.  It must have been an inspiration for Walt Disney.  At Nancy's insistence we bought tickets to the SkyFlyer ride.  Before being allowed on we had to remove everything we were carrying - bags, cameras, hats, coats, money in pockets - nothing was allowed in case if fell to earth and caused damage to some unsuspecting soul below.  Then we were off on a high altitude roundabout high above the city.  I was pretty terrified at first but finally settled in and was able to enjoy it.  I'm not sure I would want to go on it again though.

Sky Flyer in Tivoli Gardens

The next morning, Monday, we were off back to the UK.  Its a very easy subway ride out of Copenhagen to the airport which is just as well as we were cutting it a bit fine to catch the plane.  We made it with a couple of minutes to spare.

There are more photos here.