Leaving Canada

Here's the gas station near Halifax Airport where the hire car got a top up before we left for the States.  

The trip from Amherst to Halifax Airport involved driving through heavy snow, especially thick across the Cobequid Pass where conditions reached almost total white-out and it was impossible to discern where the road was.  We stopped under an overpass allowing two other cars to pass, and then came two trucks, the trucks making a track we could follow out of the impasse; within a kilometre, we passed the other two cars stranded in deep snow at varying angles to the side of the road.

Canada and Ireland operate systems whereby travelers complete their US immigration before departure - this greatly expedites entry into the the US through its busier airports.

We had good views of the coast and islands off Maine and Massachusetts - we flew directly over Boston and had good views out to Cape Cod, we saw many snowy ski fields across Connecticut, and the the usual holding pattern before descent into Newark enabled us to see lakes beginning to freeze in New Jersey.  Manhattan's skyline was spectacularly clear.

Saint John, New Brunswick

Clear skies Friday but Saturday morning we awoke to snow, probably 2-3 inches, and it is still snowing.  This has made getting around slower, but we'll get to see a few things.  Nice to be back here after several years.

The historic market is charming.

Canada

We're being made feel very welcome on Prince Edward Island where we're discovering the delights of the local artisans.

The whole Anne of Green Gables experience was rewarding as we saw how Lucy Maud Montgomery had used her own surroundings and experiences to create the world of Anne.  Anne's tenacity and appreciation of everything around her still capture the imagination of millions of readers.

There's a strong Celtic tradition here as evidenced by the College of Piping and Performing Arts Center of Canada.

Moose

We watched moose grazing in the marshes near Antigonish in the bottom of a valley lined with Yellow Birch, Sugar Maple, American Beech and Balsam Fir.

New York on Remembrance Day hosted a huge street parade on 5th Avenue - school marching bands, veterans, army, navy and air force, as well as community groups made a colourful and sometimes noisy showing.

At Rockerfeller Plaza the day was celebrated with a ring of American flags around the skating rink under the Prometheus statue.

Later that night we joined the audience at one of Broadway's hottest tickets, 'Jersey Boys', the story of Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons.  The show was slick, and and it was easy to see why the crowds are flocking to it.

Basel - Binningen

This is a view of the northern part of Basel across the Rhine.

Basel is Switzerland's second largest city and its many museums are testament to the high value its citizens have traditionally placed on art and scholarship.

The geographical curve in the river here is known as the Rhine knee - the river changes its east-west direction to flow north-south, where it flows along the borders of France and Germany.


I'm in Basel during the first of a 2-week Autumn Fair.  This has been run for over 500 years and the ancient squares come alive with all kinds of festive activities.

I've enjoyed seeing the masters Basel's public art gallery, the Kunstmuseum where I looked particularly at Picasso, Cézanne, and some very early religious icons.

There's a nicely-placed Rodin in the entrance.

At the Münster, the painstaking work of restoration goes on, preserving tombstones and memorials to the city's famous residents.

Zürich Airport

I'm in the elegant surroundings of Zürich Airport catching up on some emails.

Last night I went up to the Heilig Kreuz church to take more pictures of the organ, and ended up having coffee in the chapter house with Theo and some of the some people who work with children including Ursula, a vivacious young lady who said one day she would love to come to Australia.

Some futher last minute shopping around Basel; lunch at Zum Isaak on Münsterplatz, and then we took some more pictures which Alec believed would provide further evidence of an earlier date for the case of the organ at Roskilde.

David has chosen not to release these recordings - the music isn't quite ready. He thinks it will take a further 2 months of work, and he'll come back to it in a couple of years.

Friday

Alec and David left at 5.45am to get their tram and a train on to Naples.

My flight from Zürich isn't until 1.30pm so I can have breakfast at the hotel before getting a train to Zürich.

Arlesheim

What a fabulous-looking organ - this one dates from 1750, and shows fine Rococo decoration. We even got to hear it played thanks to a visit by a group of organ fanciers from Munich.