Taxidermied Birds at the Natural History Museum

Bearded Vulture (known as a Bartgeier in Switzerland). This magnificent bird went extinct in Switzerland in 1913 when the last one was shot, but the Swiss Alps were repopulated with the bearded vulture through an ambitious re-introduction program in the 1980s. I had the privilege of being eyed by one in flight as she swooped just 5 meters beside me while I was belaying a fellow climber on a cliff-side on Piz Kesch. I made eye contact with this beautiful, massive scavenger.

Let's take a look at an exhibit at the Natural History Museum before we move on through the city. The Birds exhibit is a magnificent collection of common, rare, and curious ornithological specimens.

An American Bald Eagle

A pheasant (this one is from China). These are such funny birds. I've only ever a glimpse of one running into a meadow in Maryland, but here in the UK, they are raised for game hunters and they are everywhere! I mean everywhere! And they aren't very smart, which means you often see them bopping around road sides, popping on and off golf course greens, and standing conspicuously in the open. But that doesn't change the fact that they are gorgeous fowl! I would love to raise a few from chicks myself someday.

Bird collection

The Dodo

And here's a photograph of a video display played in the ecology section of the museum. I was really excited that they have an ecology section, but I was less impressed with the display than in the rest of the museum. Still, even having an ecology section is a very good start!

Let's take a closer look at the Natural History Museum in London

 

When you arrive at the Natural History Museum in London, this is the sight that greets you. The building is stunning! My favorite part about it is that the building was actually built in 1881 with the intention of it being a Natural History Museum. How rare! Most of the museums I have encountered in my life seem to be in repurposed buildings. What this means for the Natural History Museum in London is that the entire building contains details rich with flora and fauna in every nook and cranny. There are relief sculptures of animals and plants everywhere! Try to find some in the pictures I've taken... 

 

Do you see the dragon-like creature guarding the windows here?

And do you recognize these unique animals? Perhaps they were real or perhaps they were imagined.

Even the interior is covered in details. Here, sculptures of fossils line the walls and decorate the columns.

The main hall's centerpiece is this complete dinosaur skeleton, but what catches my eye is still the details in the building!

How oranate!

This is a view toward the entrance of the building, looking through the dinosaur.

And of course, I looked for the plants, which are interestingly all over the ceiling of the grand hall. Look at all those gorgeous illustrations of plants. I could spend hours just laying on the floor gazing up at these.

 

Natural History Museum

Charlotte, North Carolina

July 7th, 2010
On the morning of July 7, I awoke in Jackie and Mark’s really beautiful home in Charlotte, North Carolina. I lolled in the comfortable guest bed they had set me up in and tried to relax after the demanding drive the day before. Jackie and Mark were both up early and left for their respective jobs while I still stretched and took inventory of what my new life held for me. I took their suddenly sweet, well trained miniature dachshund, Simon, for a walk around the neighborhood just before midday. Although this seemed like a good idea to me at the onset, Simon made it quite clear within 4 steps out the door that he did not agree. The 97º F base temperature plus the extreme humidity gave us a heat index of about 105º F that stood like a wall of invisible concrete just outside the door. After an abbreviated walk, during which Simon continued to look at me with baffled looks concerning my Homo sapien stupidity for leaving a well air-conditioned building, we hurried inside for refreshment, both panting.

Not long after, I vowed to get out of the house on my own and explore the town of Charlotte, NC because I knew I didn’t have long in the area. Knowing the extreme heat that awaited me, I thought that perhaps taking a leisurely biking tour of the city, with the wind in my face, would be more comfortable than a sweaty walking tour. I loaded up my bike once more on the back of my Corolla and followed the GPS directions to the center of town. I was shocked to see that there were brilliantly tall, modern skyscrapers nicely clustered around the center of the town, a convenient beltway around the city epicenter, and great parking and bike lanes everywhere. Wow! This is what a properly planned urban center was supposed to look like; compact (without too much suburban sprawl) and conveniently centralized (which makes it pretty nice for all forms of transportation) with beautiful landscaping and even space for urban trees. I had seen it throughout my schooling on paper, but never in practice. It felt like a tiny, bustling, state-of-the-art utopia. According to Jackie, Charlotte is one of the only cities which is still experiencing a financial upswing even during the economic downtimes of the rest of the country. Construction, scaffolding, and design plans can be seen all over the city. Charlotte was recently awarded the title of the 2nd largest financial center in the US (just after New York City). Did you know that? I certainly had no idea! Banking institutions such as Wachovia (a Wells Fargo subsidiary) and Bank of America have established their headquarters in Charlotte and are prominent developers of and investors in the downtown area. This explains why I was seeing an overwhelming number of what I considered moronically suited, uptight people walking around in sweaters (obviously for their overly cooled office buildings) during a heat index of 105º F!! It all makes sense now.

Side note of interest: According to the World Economic Forum’s ranking of the top 10 global financial centers for 2009, the US ranked 3rd and Switzerland is all the way down at 7th. I’m shocked!
I parked at a pay-meter along the street near the intersection of Trade St. and Tryon St. (the slightly elevated epicenter of the city, which surprisingly also had bike lanes). Again, I was delightfully shocked to find that it wasn’t necessary to find a frighteningly dark parking garage in a booming city like this. Just in front of the centrally located Bank of America high-rise building, I was met by a mid-day farmer’s market where I bought fresh cantaloupe and blackberries to thank Mark and Jackie for having me.
Then, with fruit in tow, I continued to ride my bike around the center of town and found some cute strips of boutiques, barber shops, travel agencies, some surprising multicultural food (Indian and Jamaican), and pubs where the World Cup was in full swing.
Still on island time, I soon realized that the city was not my speed, so I reloaded my bike and drove to another, more calm part of Charlotte, called Midwood (read about this in Design Sponge City Guide). Midwood is a very chill, laid back, somewhat hippie part of the city with a small section of the main road dedicated to stores such as:

1. Pura Vida - a great world market with fair trade goods. They are moving locations soon, so check them out soon. There, I got a new set of prayer flags for Mom since her squirrels keep taking them for nesting (this is an entirely different and totally hilarious story!).
2. The High Life Store
3. Used book store (never found a name, but I picked up some great kid books for my new nephew in spanish and my soon to be favorite travel book - a 1980s road trip guide by Readers Digest)
4. Reggae music store
5. Jamaican food

and my favorite:
6. Late Night Pawn - a sketchy narrow backdoor with a neon sign boasting the name
above the locked door.

Later, when I mentioned to her that I had gone to Midwood, Jackie also suggested I check out one of the favorite local food joints there called Penguins on my next visit. Jackie and I took Simon for a late afternoon walk at a local park, where Jackie showed me that there was still some hidden treasures of natural areas even inside the developing area.
That night, Jackie, Mark and I went to dinner at a really classy irish pub/restaurant called the Dandelion Market. The restaurant served irish food in tapas form with a really great selection of draft beers. It was not at all what I expected from an irish pub, but completely awesome and delicious! We had the:

1. Fried sage leaves (what? These tasted great and were a great conversation piece, but normally no one wants to eat a whole plate of leaves)
2. Fried pickles (YUM!)
3. Aged cheddar and ale fondue
4. Ale simmered sausage bites with hot sweet mustard (that mustard really had a bite!)
5. Steamed mussels
6. Baby back ribs
7. Grilled lamb lollipops (really good...and I love that they added a new dimension of cute to eating lamb by calling them lollipops!)

Then we had an after dinner drink at the EpiCenter (a very posh, upper deck lounge and club with an outdoor movie theater which is most certainly hopping on the weekends). We were all pretty exhausted, so we cut the night a bit short and headed home for some rest. I was thankful for the shut-eye before the long drive that awaited me again the next day. (Thanks again Mark and Jackie!)
All in all, Charlotte, NC is a really great city. Give it a few years to age out of its slightly arrogant, crazy sophomore party years (I’m exaggerating a little here), gain a little culture, and get a little more settled, and it’ll be a perfect town to put roots down in.

Savannah, Georgia

Today, from the halls of my new university in Zurich, I will continue recounting the adventures of the Treehugger Tour, my amazing summer roadtrip. The story continues where I left off at the beginning of July. Thanks for being patient to hear the rest of the adventure!

July 5th, 2010
Upon returning to Delray Beach after my amazing bicycle ride through the Florida Keys, I was greeted by the Goodwill furniture pickup truck. I promptly surrendered all of my modest furnishings, hoping that someone in need will get my totally awesome, super comfortable $800 king-sized bed (of the little furniture I have, my bed was certainly my most important and favorite). After cleansing myself of the bulky furniture I have accumulated over the years, I went about cleaning the rest of the apartment. I was living on NE 9th Avenue, just off George Bush Boulevard in Delray Beach. The area is lovely, within 1/4 mile of the beach, 1/2 mile from Atlantic Ave (the shopping/nightlife/artistic area of Delray Beach), and within crawling distance of my favorite dive - the Sail Inn. I have always tried to clear my life of clutter and chaos, but yet, my material possessions are far from simple. Deciding which items are sentimental and which will fit into my tiny Toyota Corolla was difficult and exhausting. At one especially draining point, while sitting on the cold floor of my semi-empty apartment, it hit me like a ton of bricks that I was indeed leaving this place I can come to love and the people who mean so much to me here. I was on the verge of breaking down into a warm puddle of sobs. Just in the nick of time, my friend Georgie (or Delray George as I like to call him), pounded on the door, waltzed in, gave me a much appreciated big hug, and dragged me out for some food. No one has ever had better timing, thank you Georgie! The encouraging company and good food lifted my spirits and gave me a second wind to finish the last details of packing and leaving.

On the morning of July 6, 2010, around 9am, I met with my landlord to return my keys and show him the beautifully empty and clean apartment (I'm still fighting with him to get my security deposit back...grrr...landlords!). After loading my bike on the bike rack and waving goodbye to the area, I hit the gas and tried not to look back. I was heading north!

My first stop, Jacksonville, was 5 hours up the road, then on to Savannah, Georgia. I had heard many lovely things about Savannah, but never had the pleasure of seeing it myself. I was originally planning to stop for the evening to see my friend Will who works at a gourmet restaurant adjacent to the Savannah River. I called him as I was getting closer to town, and sadly found out that he had work and sudden family obligations that would prevent us from catching up. I needed a break anyway at this point in the day, so I told him I would swing into town for a stretch, say hello for a few minutes when he could get away from work, and head on my way. It was lovely to see him, even if it was just briefly. I checked out the menu at the restaurant where he works as a chef, the Chart House, and quickly realized that he is much more talented than I ever knew and that I would need to return in about 10 years when I could afford an appetizer on the menu. Well, hopefully it's sooner than 10 years, but wow, that menu is extensive! The wines alone made my mouth water. But I didn't have much time to linger. Before leaving, on Will's much appreciated suggestion, I took a short jaunt along the shores of the graceful Savannah River, saw the riverboats, watched a huge freighter leaving the port, and took pleasure in the old town feeling of the historic downtown and the cobblestone streets (on River Street). I took a mental picture of the area and I know that Savannah is certainly a place I wish to return to sooner than later. It seems like the type of place that would be great to enjoy with a special partner. There is a distinct romantic ambiance about it.



With a renewed motivation to make it north, I called my super supportive friend Jackie in Charlotte, NC and made plans to stay with her. According to my GPS, I only had another 5 hours of driving ahead of me. Little did I know that just before entering Charlotte, NC from the south there would be a terrible RV accident on I-77. As I sat in 4 short miles of traffic for over 2 hours, my thoughts went out to the family and friends of the people who had died in the RV that police were now investigating on the highway on a hazy Tuesday evening. Although, I didn't arrive at Jackie's house until about 1:30am (sorry Jackie!) after a 14.5 hour day of almost non-stop driving, I was happy to make it safely. Thanks Jackie and Mark for having me stay with you! Your home is beautiful, your dog is the best, and your company is always enjoyable!

Willkommen in Switzerland

Yes, these are real alphorn players giving a performance on the street at a market in my Grandma's town (Chur)!! Seriously. You guys asked for alphorns, you get alphorns!

So I have made it to Switzerland! Very exciting! I am working on getting all my ducks in a row for grad school to start in a couple weeks, and it has been somewhat exhausting. Having talked to some foreign exchange students in America, I realize that the process of moving to another country is always a bit difficult, but I never really expected the paper-war that I walked into. Naively thinking that as a person with Swiss citizenship, I shouldn't have a problem with all the visas and foreign paperwork, I guess I imagined I could just bound back into my country and plop myself down somewhere. Not the case! But I think things are finally in order - two temporary homes, one semi-permanent apartment, school identification, transportation, scholarship, accounts, registering my new location, getting birth certificates, etc. Craziness! But, who am I to complain? Life is wonderful! I am now living in lovely Switzerland, soon in Zurich, and very close to my extended family (whom I can't wait to get to know better). The bratwursts, cheese, chocolate, meats and beer are everything I've ever dreamed of.

Beware: I may be twice this size when I get back to the US if I can't find more time for mountain hikes!

I have made a lot of difficult decisions in the last year to change my life for the better, and I really feel like this is where I am supposed to be. The past year has been a sort of metamorphosis, and now I think I have emerged as a happy person, with lots of life, and lots of hope for the future. Thanks to all of you who have been a part of this transformation!

I am secretly a huge fan of flowcharts and I especially love this flowchart for happiness. It pretty much describes my recent decision making process. I find it to be quite straight forward and totally reliable.

Via Swissmiss.

And at this point, the flowchart has led me here, to Switzerland, to grad school, and closer to all of this:

Family. This is my grandma and Aunt Monika.

A different habitat. This is a very poisonous and totally perfect fly amanita that I found up in the mountains (Flims). All it needs is a little gnome next to it.

Amazing food and drink. Coffee (real espresso!) at a cafe near Bahnhofstrasse, the most expensive street in Zurich, Switzerland.

Beautiful views. Me next to the Zurisee in Zurich! What a beautiful day!

And great festivals and markets. Mom at the Wednesday Market in the Zurich Hauptbahnhof (main train station). Yummy!

And, just to let you know, I am still going to be posting about the Treehugger Tour. I am currently finishing an article about the trip which will be published in the next edition of American Forests Magazine! This is very exciting! Keep an eye out for it. You can subscribe to the magazine or download it from the website when the next edition comes out. I'll let you know too. I'll get back to blogging some more after the article is complete. Thanks for your patience!

Ciao from Switzerland!

Roadtrip Updates from Nashville, TN

Hello all,

The road trip has almost come to an end. By Sunday, I'll be back in Philadelphia. My awesome brother, Erik, met me in New Orleans on Thursday night and we're driving the last leg together, which is fantastic! We had a great time checking out Bourbon Street on Thursday night and then drove a long long day to Nashville on Friday. We barely made it to Nashville in time to check out a little music cafe that had been highly recommended to me by a couple of folks from Tennessee that I met while viewing prairie dogs in the Badlands of South Dakota. And of course, I took their advice. We were not led astray!! I will need to write out the entire story soon, but let's just say, we heard performances from some of the singer-songwriters that are behind the lyrics of the country songs Erik and I grew up with. AMAZING!

Yesterday morning in Mandeville, LA we saw the largest live oak in the United States...39 feet in circumference...wow!! Then we saw a few awesome trees by twilight in Alabama last night and today we'll be checking out the national champion Atlantic White Cedar in Ohio!! Trees all over the US are feeling loved...lots of hugs have been given.


Toast to the morning with coffee that Erik and I made up:

To the parties in New Orleans
To the Nashville music scene
May we smile some more today
Cuz here we come PA

As I mentioned before, coordinating tree visits, driving long distances, seeing amazing parts of the United States and camping without internet connections make keeping up with the blog very very challenging and I have obviously not been doing well with that. But I figure, I'd rather give you the whole story of the trip in quality rather than quantity, so I will be catching up on the blog steadily once my feet are off the floorboards of trusty ol' Florida (Rudy and I named the Toyota Corolla).

Much Love,
Kristina

Coming soon...

Sunset from St. Joseph, Michigan over Lake Michigan. Breathtaking! A million thanks to Andy Sawyer.

Hello all! I just wanted to let you know that I made it to Sioux Falls, South Dakota today, July 28 around 5pm. I'm safe and sound...no worries.

I've been having such an amazing time, meeting inspiring people, seeing magnificent trees, and visiting parts of the country I've only dreamed of. Because of all the fun I've been having, I haven't been able to keep up with the blog. Tonight, from the confines of my tent in the Badlands National Park, I will be working on writing some updates that I will be able to upload when I get some internet access again. Sorry for the delay and thanks for all of your support! Hopefully, the next blog posts will come in rapid succession, so keep up when you can!

Much Love,
Kristina

Long Key State Park, Florida

After an amazing afternoon of snorkeling in Lower Matecumbe Key, I was ready to peddle quickly to Long Key State Park to get to the ranger station before the park closed.

I consistently had at least 5 feet of shoulder at all points on the road through the Keys, sometimes even 10 feet. And to top it all off, there was virtually no debris along this shoulder. Within 100 miles, I went around 1 piece of tire. That's it!! I assume they do road shoulder cleaning, because this was amazing! Many thanks to the road workers who made this possible!Ten miles later, I had made it to the park, checked in, and started setting up my tent on campsite #6. All campsites within this park are located directly on the ocean! Amazing! As I struggled to set up my tent in the great wind that was coming off the ocean (chasing after it at least once as it rolled across the camping street), I assessed my neighbors.

This campsite was also quite public, which I appreciate as a solo traveler, but less so than the one at John Pennekamp State Park. My neighbors were both tent campers, which I really appreciate since they are much quieter than RVs. As I struggled to stake in the tent, neighbor John came to introduce himself and offer me his hammer, which I gladly borrowed.
He was a sweet older man from Lantana (near where I lived in Delray Beach), whose tent had collapsed in the night, leaving him with his truck to sleep in. He confessed to me that his truck door had fallen off in the evening as well! Yikes! Despite his hard times, he seemed pretty content with his situation. Granted, we're at the beach, with the wind dispelling the bugs and the heat, the sun is setting in gorgeous pinks and blues, and we're on island time...what's not to like? I offered him part of my last juicy mango to thank him for his generosity.
As the colors of the sunset graced the sky, I sat at the picnic table listening to the small ocean waves lapping on the beach just 30 feet from my campsite and the coconut palm fronds tinkling in the wind like rain.
Highway US-1 is located parallel to the beach on Long Key State Park, so there were also the sounds of a few cars passing. Luckily, traffic on the islands basically ceases around 10pm, so I was left with the sounds of nature to lull me to sleep.

After a lovely evening in the tent, I woke to my alarm at 6am. I watched the sunrise from my tent and promptly went back to sleep for a little more shut-eye. Around 9am, I quickly woke up and extracted myself from the tent that had now become a sauna. I packed up and hit the trails in the park to explore. I found a great trail called the Golden Orb Trail which twisted through the mangroves.


Along the beginning of the trail, I explored the wooden plank bridges, the outlook tower, and the pavilion-like cabins the park has for more secluded camping (I didn't know these even existed, but look how great they are!).
One of the cabins had a camper who looked like he'd made it his home for quite a while...beautiful!
I decided to head on down the keys soon after my short exploration to make the most of the sunny, clear day. As I was heading out I saw this sea turtle that had washed up to shore and died. I'm not sure why it hadn't made it, but based on the orange spray paint X on it's back, I assumed that it had been reported and recorded by local naturalists.
I tried to grab a water from the vending machine to fill up my hydration pack. I had to ask some other campers for change for a $5 bill, and I was again surprised by the friendly folks when they gave me an ice cold water from their cooler. Thanks!

Here's a fun shot I got on my ride into Long Key State Park. Yeah, I couldn't help myself at this mile marker! Also, check out my crate. The wet towels dried using this method and so did my shoes, but it make me look like a hobo. Let's just say, that the hobo look combined with lots of sweatiness made me less conspicuous as a blonde riding alone through the Keys!
Now, on to Bahia Honda State Park for the next adventure-filled day!!