http://www.leonland.com/travels/ Pictures from Leon Barnard's adventures. en Copyright 2008 Tue, 22 Jan 2008 07:51:50 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.2 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Český Krumlov is a quaint, picturesque town in the southern part of the Bohemia region of the Czech Republic. If you ever visit Prague, I highly recommend taking a side trip here. It's about 3 1/2 to 4 hours away by bus or train and worth 24 - 36 hours of time. Although it would also be a great place to get away to for a week or more because of its tranquility (in the off-season, at least). In short, it feels like the setting for a medieval fairytale, thanks, in part, to it being restored and preserved by UNESCO. We visited there with my mom when she came to visit.


The central part of the old town.





Part of the Vltava river that separates the city center from the castle.





Some typical street views in the old town.





Lots of hotels and restaurants, although it was very quiet when we were there in January.





It's a really nice place to just wander around in. Lots of nooks and crannies to discover.





And sometimes views of the castle like this sneak up on you.





The castle is the main attraction here, it's really breathtaking.





Here's a picture of it from the hostel we stayed in.





It's also beautiful at night.





The way it's lit at night makes it really captivating.





You can walk around inside it, too.





The sights inside are interesting and sometimes unexpected.





And you can get some nice views of the rest of the city.





A close-up of some tourists snapping some photos of the city.





On the bridge between the castle and the city center.





A sign on the door of a toy/knick-knack shop.




]]> http://www.leonland.com/travels/2008-01-cesky_krumlov/ http://www.leonland.com/travels/2008-01-cesky_krumlov/ Chapter 7 Tue, 22 Jan 2008 07:51:50 -0800 visited Scandinavia with my Dad, I returned for a brief trip with my wife to see the sights and visit some friends who were living in Sweden. We spent about two days in Copenhagen and then took a train up to Gothenburg, Sweden to visit our friends.


On our way to the hotel, which was on the Stroget in Copenhagen, right in the middle of things.





Some nice light on our way to the Little Mermaid.





Taken from a similar spot as the previous photo. We didn't see much sunlight when we were there, but it was nice when we did.





Photos are discouraged in Christiania, so here's one of the entrance. It's pretty incredible that places like this exist. Dirt roads, spotty electricity, no rules (except no hard drugs). But it works.





The Danish Design Centre, across from Tivoli, was a definite highlight.





The Little Mermaid.





The colors of Nyhavn, an area of Copenhagen.





Sounds tasty...





"Christmas in Nyhavn."





A fun-looking ride at Tivoli.





Something festive at Tivoli.





A nice carousel at Tivoli.





After Copenhagen, we traveled to Hoganas, Sweden, to check out their world-famous ceramics.





We stopped at this stand for some meatballs on our walk to the Hoganas Keramik factory.





Next up was Gothenburg, a very livable city.





They showed this cool, but kind of weird, Christmas show on the wall of one of the buildings.





One of the highlights of Gothenburg was going to Liseberg Amusement Park, which was all decked-out for Christmas.





There, we had a traditional hot dog with mashed potatoes on it. Mmmm...





An ice bar, inside of Liseberg. We didn't want to fork over the $25 to enter. Looks neat, though!





You can kind of see the heavy-duty coats they give you so that you don't get too cold.





We ate gyros made from Reindeer Suovas





You can win a giant Toblerone bar if you get lucky on the roulette wheel.





Some nice views on the train back to Copenhagen to fly home.
]]> http://www.leonland.com/travels/2007-12-denmark_sweden/ http://www.leonland.com/travels/2007-12-denmark_sweden/ Chapter 7 Tue, 11 Dec 2007 05:50:37 -0800

The trumpeting angels were the first sign that something special was going on.





I'll have to return in the evening to see them lit up.





It started today, so they were still putting the finishing touches on the tree.





"We have lights!"





The word was definitely out that the market had started - the place was packed.





They set up a nice viewing platform so that you could look down on everything.





The crowd watching the clock tower, preparing for the hourly display.





It's a great place to walk around if you're hungry, there's all kinds of tasty sweets, the most common being trdelnik, a cylinder of baked dough covered in sugar.





Mmmmm....





If only the did sell them in this size.





Something for the savory palate.





Nothing like a chorus to make it feel like Christmas.





Jan Hus, unveiled.]]> http://www.leonland.com/travels/2007-12-prague_christmas_market/ http://www.leonland.com/travels/2007-12-prague_christmas_market/ Chapter 7 Sat, 01 Dec 2007 06:51:43 -0800 Chapter 2.


Visiting Amsterdam was always a treat for me when I lived in Veghel. It was about 2 1/2 hours away by bus and train. Our flight arrived in Amsterdam, so we spent a couple of days there before exploring the rest of the country. It was a delight, Amsterdam is a beautiful, dynamic city.





Many of the houses there are a bit off-kilter, making them even more interesting to look at.





The trams are nicer than when I lived there.





Vondelpark. An oasis.





You can probably guess where this was taken.





If you go, you should try the fries with mayo. Very tasty.





Lots of good cheese, too.





At Amsterdam Central Station, waiting to catch the train to Den Bosch.





A very pleasant, relaxing ride.





Getting oriented in Den Bosch.





Being at the train station here brought back lots of memories. I used to take a bus here from Veghel almost every time I wanted to explore somewhere new.





My first sight of Veghel, Castle Heeswijk, where I went to a party once.





Was this same map here 7 years ago? I think maybe it was.





The street I used to live on! Weird...





And a sculpture near the nicer houses in my neighborhood.





A cool sculpture in the center of Veghel. I think it has to do with the traditional Dutch system of bartering.





Another nice statue. This one also brought back a lot of memories.





The church in the center of town.





The buses are nicer, one of the few things that seems to have changed since I lived there!





Next up was Eindhoven, where I also used to spend a lot of time. It was the other city that had a train station that I could get to by bus.





Dino's, where I used to meet up with other expats on Friday nights. It recently closed down, how sad.





Once, I visited Culemborg, a small city just south of Utrecht, while I lived there and had always wanted to return.





We were there on a Sunday morning and the city center was dead quiet. The view from the one restaurant that was open then.





Waiting for the train to Utrecht.





Utrecht is a lively city in the middle of the country that's home to the largest university in the Netherlands. Even on a Sunday there were quite a few people about (although you can't tell from this photo).





I never got to try any of the many restaurants along the main canal that runs through Utrecht. Maybe on my next visit! ]]> http://www.leonland.com/travels/return_to_the_netherlands/ http://www.leonland.com/travels/return_to_the_netherlands/ Chapter 7 Sun, 28 Oct 2007 14:23:28 -0800

Preparing for the journey, enjoying some Czech "energy drinks".





We walked along some railroad tracks to get to the start of the trail.





"Hey, stop taking pictures and catch up!"





Stopping to take in some of the beauty.





Now who's lagging behind...?





Such a perfect time of year for this hike.





Great colors.





A river of moss.





The view from the top.





The hike wasn't incredibly rigorous, but we definitely worked up an appetite. Maybe it was because I was so hungry, but the sausages were amazing.





The gang enjoying some hard-earned treats.





Caught "spying".





We showed our Czech friends how to properly roast marshmallows. Most agreed that they were quite tasty.





Some typical Czech cottages that we passed on the way back. Many Czechs still go to places like these on the weekends to get away. These became popular during communism when people weren't allowed to leave the country. ]]> http://www.leonland.com/travels/2007-10-squirrel_mountain/ http://www.leonland.com/travels/2007-10-squirrel_mountain/ Chapter 7 Sat, 20 Oct 2007 12:56:25 -0800

After recovering from the overnight train ride, we did a bit of sight-seeing. Our first stop was Wawel Castle.





Some intricate detail from the impressive cathedral.





A view of the Wisla river from the castle.





Next was Grand Square ("Rynek Glowny"), one of the largest central squares in Europe.





Cloth Hall in Grand Square.





More Grand Square. The basilica of the Virgin Mary's.





Some detail from Cloth Hall.





A bit more touristy than I expected.





Waiting for the train home after an overnight stop-over in Ostrava. ]]> http://www.leonland.com/travels/2007-09-krakow/ http://www.leonland.com/travels/2007-09-krakow/ Chapter 7 Sun, 30 Sep 2007 15:23:10 -0800 the place to be that weekend. Hipsters galore, celebrities, and, um, me. Was Banksy himself there? He's never been seen in public, so I guess there's no way to know for sure. The painted elephant was certainly a sight, but I enjoyed his paintings the most.


The flyer for the show gave no exact address, but the big, painted truck (and the droves of hipsters) made it pretty clear where to go once you got close.





The most interesting sight, a live, painted elephant.





He got kind of boring to watch after a while.





I really liked most of his stuff. A nice mix of serious and whimsical.





Some of his smaller paintings.





This was painted on the back of a van that was in the middle of one of the two main rooms.





One of the few 3-D pieces.





The second room had some really great paintings.





"Applause."





"I can't believe you morons actually buy this shit."























Pretty powerful, huh?





"Punk's Not Dead", "Thug For Life."











"Sale Ends Today."





I love this one.





"I learnt a very important lesson from this woman. Moisturise everyday."





"I want to meet my true love for cheap casual sex."]]> http://www.leonland.com/travels/2006-09-banksy/ http://www.leonland.com/travels/2006-09-banksy/ Chapter 6 Sat, 16 Sep 2006 19:44:49 -0800

Tofu as far as the eye can see.





Which do you prefer: Soft, Medium Firm, Firm, or Extra Firm?





Taiko drumming on the entertainment stage.





More entertainment. The Music of Korea Ensemble of UCLA.











This dude was diggin' it.





Our first tofu treat, some kind of fried tofu patty with ponzu sauce.





Salmon-topped tofu.





The dessert version of the previous dish, covered in strawberries and almond crisps.





The Tofu Eating Contest. The first 3 contestants to finish a 14-oz block of tofu in each round get to move on to the finals. This was last year's winner, showing that he's swallowed all this tofu.





This guy finished soon after.





Getting ready for the finals.





It's on. Oh yeah, they're not allowed to use their hands.





We have a winner. He finished in something like 26 seconds. Wow.





Last year's champion comes up short.





Enjoying his new-found celebrity.]]> http://www.leonland.com/travels/2006-08-tofu_festival/ http://www.leonland.com/travels/2006-08-tofu_festival/ Chapter 6 Sun, 13 Aug 2006 20:09:43 -0800

20676 miles on the odometer in Pasadena, just as we left my street.





Our first stop, the beach town of Carpinteria, about 90 miles northwest.





It was a beautiful, sunny day and everyone was out for a day at the beach.





Big news in Santa Barbara county, a performance by KISS.





Our next stop was lunch at a well-known taco spot in Santa Barbara, La Super-Rica.





Lots of choices.





Hand-made tortillas and fresh-grilled meats and veggies. Quality.





Nothing fancy, just some of the tastiest meat you've ever had.





A brief tourist tour through Santa Barbara. The Santa Barbara courthouse.





The ocean view from Highway 101 just north of Santa Barbara.





A short stop in San Luis Obispo. Leon's books!





Bubblegum Alley in SLO. Cool and gross at the same time.





That's (eww) a lot of gum.





A town that time forgot somewhere around Salinas.





The fog told us we were arriving in San Francisco.





So did the crazy street signs. "Help! The directions say 'turn left'!"





Music Mecca. Amoeba on Haight.





They've got an "Experimental" category in their cassettes section!. Chances are that you'll find what you're looking for here.





Looking for the Japanese relase of that Donna Summer album? You can find it here.





Looking South from the San Rafael bridge, coming back from Marin.





The next day. Somewhere near Chico after leaving Grass Valley.





Dunsmuir, CA. Not much there, but pretty good burgers at Burger Barn.





Driving, just south of Weed, CA.





Mount Shasta, in the distance.





Near the Oregon border (I think).





Welcome to Oregon!





A nice rest at Emigrant Lake near Ashland, OR.





Safe and sound in Eugene, 1100+ miles later.





I took a walk around Eugene the next day. Some interesting truck trailers on a rail car.





The river that runs through Eugene. ]]> http://www.leonland.com/travels/2006-07-la_eugene_roadtrip/ http://www.leonland.com/travels/2006-07-la_eugene_roadtrip/ Chapter 6 Mon, 31 Jul 2006 11:03:18 -0800

One of the first things we saw, a giant sign for strawberry pizza. It sounded too intriguing to resist.





It turned out to be not quite as interesting as we had hoped, but it was quite tasty. In fact, we got another slice on our way out. We figured that a strawberry smoothie was the right beverage to have with it.





Sweetened-out, we bypassed strawberry nachos...





...and chocolate-dipped strawberries...





...and headed for some strawberry beer (and a tri-tip sandwich with garlic fries).





Cheers!





The itinerary for the day in the Strawberry Promenade.





That's a lot of berries.]]> http://www.leonland.com/travels/2006-05-strawberry_festival/ http://www.leonland.com/travels/2006-05-strawberry_festival/ Chapter 6 Sat, 20 May 2006 22:33:39 -0800

Our lunch stop on the first day, Pismo Beach.





A nice color palette in the rocks at Pismo.





A gaggle (or whatever it's called) of slumbering seals at a rest stop.





Morro Rock in Morro Bay, a tad up the road from San Luis Obispo.





Boaters in Morro Bay.





A weathered fishing boat in Morro Bay.





Morro Rock up-close.





Trying to catch the last waves before sundown in Morro Bay.





The Best Western in San Simeon, where we stayed, overlooking the ocean. Notice the fire pits for keeping warm while listening to the waves at night.





The next morning brought some rain, which created a different mood from the previous day.





The rain didn't last long, bringing us a little sun for the slowest and most magnificent part of the ride near Big Sur.





Great Big Sur views.





The Bixby Bridge in the Big Sur area.





A brief stop in Carmel. Even their City Hall shows the mellow and upscale Carmel aesthetic.





A well-placed cypress tree along the 17 mile drive adjacent to Carmel.





The view from our hotel in San Francisco, the Clift.





One of my favorite bridges, the underappreciated Bay Bridge, connecting S.F. to the East Bay.





Looking out from one of the classic F Muni trains in San Francisco.]]> http://www.leonland.com/travels/2006-03-highway1_trip/ http://www.leonland.com/travels/2006-03-highway1_trip/ Chapter 6 Mon, 20 Mar 2006 10:04:27 -0800

The seas were very choppy on the way there, so the sight of land was a relief.





More of the island comes into view.





Avalon. Yep, that's pretty much all of it.





A view of the harbor from land.





More moored boats and the casino (no longer used for gambling) in the distance.





The walkway to the casino.





A view of town from our bike trip around Avalon.





Biking was so much fun. We biked until sunset on the first day.





The next day we took a bus tour up the mountains to the airport.





More nice views from the bus.





The airport wasn't much of a destination. The view on the ride up was the best part. But the airport was a nice restroom and food break.





The radio station, back in Avalon.





Cars aren't allowed, so golf carts of all varieties are used.





Another way to get on and off the island.





The view from the (fortunately calmer) ride home.]]> http://www.leonland.com/travels/2006-01-catalina_island/ http://www.leonland.com/travels/2006-01-catalina_island/ Chapter 6 Mon, 16 Jan 2006 18:42:49 -0800 the) automotive capitals of the U.S. and I heard that the annual auto show here was supposed to be pretty good. I'm not super into cars, but I do appreciate good design and have been known to marvel at impressive technological accomplishments (like accelerating 2 tons of metal to 60 mph in under 3 seconds). I went to an auto show in Chicago many years ago and enjoyed it, so I decided to check out L.A.'s, which lived up to the hype. Here are some of my favorites from the show.


The new BMW M6. Nice. They also had an M5 on display that you could actually sit in.





A three-wheeled Volkswagen concept car. Eh, didn't really do it for me.





A very agressive-looking Lexus concept.





The Ford GT. One of the few eye-catching American cars there.





A tricked-out Kia. Not bad.





A sweet Ferrari. The Italians ruled, as usual.





A very fast-looking Lamborghini.





The most-hyped car of the show, the $1.2 million Bugatti Veyron. 1000 Horsepower says it all.





The new Porsche Cayman. I'd settle for one of these.





A classic Porsche Carrera. Very cool.





These Dodge Chargers looked pretty tough.





A futuristic-looking Maserati concept.





I hit 100,000 miles on the way home. Time to start thinking about a new car (a BMW M5, perhaps)? Probably not. My car will hopefully be good for another 100k.]]> http://www.leonland.com/travels/2006-01-la_autoshow/ http://www.leonland.com/travels/2006-01-la_autoshow/ Chapter 6 Fri, 13 Jan 2006 14:15:13 -0800

This giant, smiling avocado greeted us at the entrance.





A gorgeous setting on a great day.





Top entries in the largest avocado competition.





Descriptions of just a few of the many types of avocados that exist. I had no idea there were so many.





Definitely one of the highlights. Lots of fresh, tasty guacamole.





They even had avocado ice cream. It wasn't too bad.





After stuffing ourselves on green goodness, we drove up a little further to go wine tasting near Santa Barbara. Here's a shot of one of the tasting rooms.]]> http://www.leonland.com/travels/2005-10-avocado_festival/ http://www.leonland.com/travels/2005-10-avocado_festival/ Chapter 6 Wed, 19 Oct 2005 14:48:36 -0800

One of my first impressions of Hermosa Beach, a beach-inspired sushi restaurant called Paradise Sushi.





A surfshop a few blocks inland from the boardwalk area.





The pier here is really long. You get a nice view at the end.





I think this kid was just waiting to be photographed. He picked a good thinking spot in any case.





Looking South (I think) from about half-way down the pier.





One of the cool, engraved garbage cans along the pier.





Looking North near the end of the pier.





A plaque on the Surfers Walk of Fame, also on the pier.





After I checked out the pier and skateboarded, I walked South along the boardwalk. I spied someone chilling out in their house looking out the window at the ocean. It looked funny to just see a foot.





The lower level of the same house. Nice, huh?





The house next door wasn't as nice, but the large, reflective windows sure looked cool.





Downtown L.A. as I was caught in traffic on my way home.]]> http://www.leonland.com/travels/2005-01-hermosa_beach/ http://www.leonland.com/travels/2005-01-hermosa_beach/ Chapter 6 Mon, 24 Jan 2005 12:06:27 -0800