Pride Toronto

Sunday was the big Gay Pride in Toronto. The weather was perfect, sunshine and hot. The Pride was long, we 'only' stayed for 2h, but it went on going for at least another one. It's a little different here than in Europe, less of a party and more of a demonstration. There were lots of people on foot, from all the political parties and Toronto mayor candidates to religious groups. A big group of Jews was protesting, Jewish and gay, and another big group protesting against Isreali Apartheid and Free Speech. I don't like that they are misusing the pride for their political reasons. It's supposed to be a demonstration for gay rights, and simply a party to celebrate all queerness. What does it matter, if you are Jewish, Christian or belong to a certain political wing...

There were only a few trucks with loud techno music, I expected more. It was not so much of a dance party but more watching, taking pictures and cheering a bit. I like it more in Europe, where there are lots of well designed trucks, almost like carnival, and lot of people dancing in the street. Amsterdam was surely the most amazing pride I have been to.

The Beaches

The friday after Canada Day, I took a day off. First to watch the Dutch win over Brazil, such an exciting game. I wished I would have been back in Groningen....It must have been an amazing party! In the afternoon, Clemence and I strolled along the Beaches. It feels a little like the Sea, the lake is so big that you can't see the other side, it just misses the smell of salty water. The water was still icy cold, good for the blood circulation....

To finish the nice day off, Mark and Julie made a nice BBQ in their garden. Grilled sweet potatoes are great, to be remembered :)

Bouldering Niagara Glen

Summer in Toronto, and we got out to boulder in The Niagara Glen. The gorge is carved by the Niagara river leaving lots of featured boulders in a 'wild' forest, a great setting, a little cooler, and shady. The river is still quite wild after the falls, we could hear the scream of tourists in jetboats when they went down the rapids...A great setting for a beautiful day!

The boulders were difficult, no colours to guide you where the next handhold or foot placement is. On our way down towards the river, we stopped at several boulders. Some impressions:

G20 weekend

Riots in Toronto - it was a wise decision to leave the city. The university kicked us out off the building at 6pm, wednesday afternoon, locked the doors, and gave us some extra free days. Clemence and I rented a car and went off to Ottawa on thursday morning. We stayed with Mike's parents in Kanata.

Paul in his community orchard

It was a pretty relaxing weekend, lots of reading, watching the Jays win, loose, win, loose on Max' gigantic TV, and having great food from the BBQ. Friday late morning we went for a short hike in the Stony Swamp area, where Mike and I had gone in the winter for skiing. It was different now, we were almost alone, saw a deer, birds, turtles, and moskitos and bugs kept flying around our heads. In the afternoon, we tried climbing at Vertical Reality on Victoria Island. Well, we were not too impressed. It was small, old grips and old walls. The routes were definitely another style, involving big steps that gave us some trouble. The bouldering area was not too bad. Coming home, the BBQ was already on, waiting with BBQed pork tenderloin, peppers and pineapple.

The unfinished fence on the orchard

Saturday, we spend in the Gatineau with Paul and his family. Starting the day with brunch, Paul's signature waffels with maple sirup, bacon and fruits. It was nice to hang out with Mike's good friends Andrew and Paul. It's great to hear stories about his crazy youth, climbing supermarket roofs, going inside and scaring the security guide, running from the police, climbing hydro towers, and spinning the car in full speed, crazy guy! During our two hour walk in the woods, the deer flies kept attacking, and the moskitos biting us - I am glad we didn't camp...

During the walk in the Gatineau - shooting with me new 50mm/f1.4 lense

And sunday, Germany:England on the big screen - and what a game! The Germans played great, they are going fast towards the goal and are fun to watch. Looking forward to the next game against Argentina, then Portugal, then Netherlands in the final....summer dreams!

Memories...

When I opened my inbox this morning, I found some unexpected pictures of my dad. My aunt had digged them out from an almost forgotten CD. The are from the fall 2005. The cancer had already been detected in the summer, and the medication seemed to kick in well. So, he and my mum went on holidays to the Black Forest, and on that occasion got on some trips with Mechthild and Herbert.

The pictures are really nice, he looks happy, being in a 'Verkehrsmuseum', close to real trains. My dad was really fond of trains. Maybe that underestimating it a bit, he loved them, riding with them, taking pictures, collecting miniature trains, collecting articles from the papers, train tickets, old schedules, and anything you can imagine that has to do with trains. The dining room was never used for dining, the table and desk was buried in paper, boxes, pens, ect...and the floor covered with a miniature railway. On sundays or in the evenings, he would let the trains roll, laying on the floor, trying out a new purchase, just being very content and happy with the world.

When he got sick, things went very badly very fast. It looked promising in the beginning, the treatment kicked in. But the cancer had spread, moreover, the kidneys started failing, chemotherapy made everything worse. He could not keep any food down anymore. Mike was there for me and helped my getting through this difficult time.

Seeing these pictures makes my smile and cry at the same time. It's a weird and strange feeling. some wounds well never heal, they only hurt less. Some time memories will make us feel good, not sad, that's what I am hoping for.

NYC

Last weekend, Clemence and I went for a short trip to New York. We arrived at LaGuardia after a 1.5h plane ride from Toronto, waiting for the bus to take us to Manhattan. There, we stayed in a hostel near midtown and Union Square. First thing there, Clem's towel was dirty, but otherwise it seemed ok. Some friendly people were there, too, and some idiot teenage girls who switched on the dryer at 3am in the morning (and again at 7:30am). Besides that, the breakfast was decent and the place clean enough.

Friday night we went out for Thai food @ Pam Real Thai, delicious! It was as remembered from my trip 2 years ago, nicely spiced in contrast to thai food in Canada. Afterwards, we took a walk along Times Square. I got to say, I don't like it very much, too many glitzy advertisments, too many people (and 99% of them tourists), just not a nice atmosphere. After a beer in a pub-club close to the hostel, we got some sleep, albeit for me only till 8am. I cannot sleep in. Starbucks served the needed Americano for my start into the day.

Times Square, no tripod needed

Typical tourist picture

After supplying ourselves with strawberries, cherries, bagels, cream cheese and mini-pretzls, we went to Central Park. We had brought our climbing shoes as there are boulders in the park. We went to Rat Rock in the south end of the park and attempted the traverse. V0 is damn hard! It was a bit slippery, the rock actually painful, and we gave it a couple of tries before giving up. Later, we walked a bit through the park, watching guys play baseball, and kids playing with foam bubbles. We walked towards the boat house, and took pictures on 'Clemence's white bridge'. It was super humid and warm this day.

We were in need of coffee and a rest. For that, we went to Greenwhich Village/West Village, to Perry Street, where a lot of SatC was filmed. I saw the first half of England:US, with half of the cafe cheering England, the other half the US. After a good rest, a great muffins and a long awaited sandwhich, we continued strolling through the streets, along Bleeker, Christopher Street and more, and eventually walked back to the hostel from there after a stop in a book store. Clemence took a nap, and I decided to write a card over a beer at happy hour in a pub. For the night, we went to Williamsburg. It's different than Manhattan, lots of people around on the streets, but no high rises.

Crysler buidling

Sunday we did lots of shopping, spending too much money, but enjoying ourselves. We were always lucky to find good places to eat, so again, great brunch in a cafe along Lexington Av. Unfortunately it started to rain, and we could not see the Rockefeller Center. Eventually, it stopped again when we exited the subway. I don't understand the Americans, it's nice and warm outside but freezing inside. The subway was freezing while the waiting area was boiling hot (of course due to the heat emitted from the too cold trains).

on the Brooklyn bridge

That night, we walked with flip flops and sandals to the East Village to have some sushi, and a nice glass of wine and sake cocktail on the patio of an organic food and wine bar. Monday was our last day, so we had to do some more shopping....Walking over the Brooklyn bridge gave us a rather foggy view over Manhattan. After lunch of the Brooklyn bridge, we had some longer rest and coffee in from of the New York stock exchange, before we had to get back. Leaving was a slight panic due to a sales girl at Victoria Secret, but after all we managed to be in time at the airport.

NY Stock Exchange

view from Madison square, just before we had to leave

New York was cool, my feet were hurting every day :) We did lots of walking and shopping, too bad that we had no blue sky this time...

and the germans always win...

right...I guess that doesn't count any more. What a horrible game. Full of (unnecessary) yellow cards, and a missed penalty shot. The Germans played rather disappointing, no ideas, missed (good) chances, disorganized defense...and the Serbs played rather boring yet successful. I mean, just put 10 players in their half and defend, and then wait for the mistake. So, no we have to cross our fingers for the next game. The Germans have to win, lots of pressure on the team. Maybe some changes in the team could help. No Podolski next time, please!

I prefer offensive football. But that seems to be harder to win: look at 1) Spain:Switzerland, 2) today's game, and 3) Greece winning the EM 2004. They were playing really boring at the time, and it seemed to work. Let's see what the English do this afternoon. Good, that my boss is on holidays :)