The End                                                                                                       5^th October 2012

My last month was quite a busy one and so I am a bit late with this last blog entry. Please apologize this, but I may provide you with a bonus entry in November about my experiences in Bordeaux.
What happened in September? After the Labor day weekend, I had more less my last real weekend in Boston since I travelled to Washington and Toronto the weekends after and also my brother came down from Canada for a weekend. Certainly I also had to conclude my research and to give some final presentations.
Visiting Washington was on my plan from the very beginning, but due to some nice circumstances the Austrian government finally paid for it ;-) I got the chance to participate the Austrian Science Talks for Austrian Scientists in North America and all travel expenses were therefore covered. In the evening, the Austrian US-Ambassador even invited us for dinner to his Embassy in Washington which was quite nice, but nothing special at the end. I used the rest of my stay for some sightseeing and although I usually don’t like any kind of museum I visited quite a few of them. Not only because they are all free of charge in DC.
The weekend after, my brother Markus who is currently doing an exchange semester at the University of Toronto was visiting me and I showed him around Cambridge and Boston. But his personal highlight was probably all about food. First he enjoyed the inauguration BBQ of our new MIT president Mr. Reif at Kilian Court and on Sunday we prepared some delicious lobster by our self. (I think Diego taught me quite well the last time ;-) ). 

Just a few days later I made my way up to the north and visited him in Toronto. Whereby I actually spent quite a lot of time in the US again, since we were going to the Niagara Falls and a few miles further on to Buffalo, NY. Why Buffalo? Good question. Because there is actually nothing to see at all, but due to a nice coincident the New England Patriots were playing in Buffalo; my brother is playing American Football himself and a big fan; and it is almost impossible to get (cheap) tickets for a match in Boston. So we took this chance and have witnessed and awesome 52-28 Patriots victory, after they were already back 7-21. A last “real American experience” after I had to leave this continent completely a few days later. Check out some photos below and see you all soon again!

Take care, Clemens

Washington (-Monument) and the Capitol in the background.

 

Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington Cemetery.

 

And a thousand other as far as you can see...

 

...but somewhere in between I found Roger Chaffee and Gus Grissom. Both died in the Apollo1 accident in 1967 at Cape Canaveral.

 

Tomb of President J.F. Kennedy and the eternal flame.

 

The Abraham Lincoln Memorial from outside...

 

...and the president from inside.

 

The White House front view...

 

and from the back (or vice versa?!).

 

The US-Capitol.

 

The original Wright Flyer from 1903 in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum... 

 

...as well as the X-15 rocket powered experimental aircraft.

 

The beautiful Smithsonian castle in downtown Washington.

 

But for this Beauty, I had to travel a bit outside of the city...

 

...the SR-71 blackbird...

 

...with the Space Shuttle "Discovery" in the background. It was sure worth it!

 

The Discovery. Isn´t she a beauty as well?!

 

The X-35. A high tech fighter of today. At this point my battery died... otherwise I could show you so many more "appealing" air and spacecrafts!

 

Back in the city: the George Washington and Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

(1st and 3rd President of the USA)

The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial...

...again from a bit further down the walkway.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

Back at MIT. Where Markus is quite excited about the bounce house...

 

...and the MIT-beaver mascot (sorry Markus, bitter revenge ;-) ).

 

Maybe he is more the Harvard-guy... nice shirt btw ;-)

 

And myself at his University in Toronto.

 

The Niagara Falls...

...from the Canadian side.

 

Still at the Canadian side, but the falls on the left are to be considered the "American Falls" and the bigger one at the right as the "Canadian Fall".

 

The Canadian Fall from a bit closer.

 

Finally at the American side...

...in Buffalo at the Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Great location...

...great game!

 

Back in Toronto and up on top of the CN Tower at 446m.

The Rogers Center and the tower at night. 

The Toronto skyline seen from the Ontario lake islands.

 

Crossing the water                                                                        2^nd September 2012

I finally found a new housing J and it was sure not easy to get something for just a few weeks during the beginning of the new academic year. Fortunately it turned out as a really nice place, not far away from my old dorm, just across the river on the Boston side. The moving hassle worked out quite well and I was really glad when it was finally over so I can now focus on my research again for the rest of my stay. But it was not only me, somehow the whole campus is on the move this month, since the old students were leaving and the freshmen are coming in. So it happened that also Ben had to cross back the big pond to Ireland, but we didn’t let him go before at least playing one gig ;-) Check out the video below from the Irish pub he played in.

After I just settled in my new house some friends from Munich and Mexico were in town and I certainly hosted them. I felt like a professional tour guide ;-) when I was showing them around Harvard and MIT campus last Sunday, as it was a group of 5 who coincidentally all got into Boston the last weekend. In the evening we fished some lobsters out of the Boston (supermarket) water and our Mexican chef dropped them into a bit warmer water shortly after. Delicious lobster meat and lobster Burrito made our Sunday evening.

The 4^th metaphor regarding to my headline is unfortunately less amusing but quite sad. In a biblical expression, Mr. Neil Armstrong crossed the Jordan river aged 82. Although I unfortunately never met him in person, it made me quite sad due to all my NASA relations and memories. As always, check out some pix below and see what has happened here in August. Meanwhile I will enjoy the rest of our long Labor Day weekend.

Take care and see ye,

Clemens

 

Good Bye Tang Hall! A last view to Boston Downtown...

 

...and Boston University from my room.

 

Another great Boston view from the tallest building in town - the Prudential.

 

The Fenway Park during a Red Sox game, seen from the same building a bit later.

 

Ben playing at "The Burren" Irish Pub in Boston.

 

Sorry, I know one shouldn´t play with food. Especially once it´s still alive ;-)

 

But we changed that. At least the part with being alive...

 

That´s how they look like after some minutes in hot water. And finally they also stopped to struggle...

 

delicious dinner...

 

... with Alan (left), Hubi and Diego, the Mexican Chef.

 

Concluding a great Sunday on the roof terrace of my new home with some beers in the shadow of the Boston skyline and its highest building, the Prudential.

 

Neil Armstrong, thanks for your inspiration and duties!

 

My new home, the International Fellowship House in Boston, Back Bay.

 

A nice, fancy neighboorhood...

 

...and its typical, old Bostonian houses.

 

Victor and Alfredo, two of my flatmates from Berklee University entertaining me while writing the Blog :-)