hiking in Ireland

Finally, it looked like we were going to get some decent weather.  Or at least normal temperatures rather than March, which was the coldest March on record (records go back to the 1940s).

But, of course, there was a catch.  Rain was likely - this is Ireland, after all.  Because the rain was set to arrive in the afternoon, we decided to try a hike in the morning.

Specifically, we went to Bray Head.  It's a beautiful coastal path between Bray and Greystones.

The sun was shining when we got up (leisurely, a bit before 9).  But the clouds started to roll in as we started our drive.  By the time we got to Bray, it was cloudy and windy, but warmer than it had been in a while (but not exactly warm).

So, we started on the trail, although ORBJ was not convinced of the idea of going for a walk in really windy conditions when rain was iminent.  FABJ enjoyed the adventure.  Generally, ORBJ has been acting like a three-year old with the moodiness and tantrums, whereas FABJ has been very well behaved of late.

FABJ making the most of the conditions

ORBJ's version of hiking

As you can see, ORBJ and LBJ were optimistic that the sun would magically reappear at any moment (stranger things have happened in Ireland).

But, before we started out, we posed for a family photo:

After a while, the kids had a great time.  They were chasing after each other.  We even started our traditional (i.e. used twice) hiking cheer of "Run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me.  I'm the gingerbread man."

ORBJ then chimed in with her own version as she ran past us, which ended with "You can't catch me.  I'm Orla Borla."

Later, they decided that they were running for team Ireland, running by and shouting "Go Ireland!"

I passed them and said "Go Iowa!"  That was short lived, as the girls passed me, shouting "Go Ireland!  Ireland wins, not Iowa!"  Such little respect for the fatherland.

In the end, we had a great walk despite the weather.  The rain held off mostly, with just a little spitting (our sign to turn around and head back).

Now I am foolishly optimistic that we might be able to do more hiking when the weather is decent (for Ireland, that is - my standards are low, especially after this lousy winter).

norway, briefly

I was scheduled to give a talk at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH in Norwegian) back in March, but I had to reschedule due to illness.  I finally made it a couple of weeks ago for a quick visit.

Alas, the visit was quicker than intended.  My flight from Dublin to Copenhagen was delayed by over 3 hours (due to an unspecified delay on the flight from Copenhagen to Dublin), and I missed my connection.  So I spent hours in the Dublin airport and hours in the Copenhagen airport, and I had to cancel my dinner plans with my Norwegian hosts.  At least SAS gave me vouchers that covered a light dinner in the airport.

I was slightly amused and disappointed when the immigration person in Copenhagen looked at my passport and asked me if I had any Norwegian ancestry.  I say disappointed because my last name is Danish, although the spelling is probably "Americanized".  (My father's mother was Norwegian-American - thus, the amusement.)

I arrived at 10:15pm at the Bergen airport.  On the bright side, I was at my hotel by 10:45pm.  The taxi was quick and amazingly expensive (about 50 euros).

The next morning, I had an amazing breakfast at my hotel.  Of course, smoked fish - including salmon - was essential.  One of my hosts kindly met me at the hotel.  We took the bus to campus, which was great because it went through the center of town and by some of the main touristy spots.  So, at least I was able to see them, even I didn't have time to do any sightseeing.

The weather was great as well - sunny and warmer than Dublin (not that it took much, as March and the first 1.5 weeks of April were unseasonably cold).

I enjoyed meeting with professors in the department.  The views from the cafeteria and the conference room were stunning.

My talk did not go particularly well.  I did not have good time management, and I don't think I explained the results very well.  But I still had an enjoyable visit - my first visit to Norway.

I took a taxi to the airport after my talk.  Bergen is incredibly beautiful, and the NHH economists are very nice and do interesting work.  I hope I can visit again, hopefully for longer (and during the summer).

I forgot to any pictures, sadly, so here are a couple of links to websites with photos (rather than risking copyright issues by copying them).

https://www.google.ie/search?q=bergen+photos&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=H7JqUYfGLZO2hAfEmoHACA&ved=0CCoQsAQ&biw=1017&bih=502

http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotos-g190502-Bergen_Hordaland_Western_Norway.html

http://www.visitbergen.com/en/Pictures-from-Bergen/

On this trip, I also tripled the number of countries where the only place visited was the airport.  Specifically, I can add Germany (Frankfurt) and Denmark (Copenhagen) to the list (which formerly contained only El Salvador (San Salvador).

quotable children again

FABJ: I don't want to go to Grandma and Grandad's house.  They just sit around and read the paper all day.
LBJ would like me to point out that this is not actually true.  FABJ did a bunch of fun activities at their house during two days of her Easter break.  (Nonetheless, she was highly amused by this statement.)

FABJ: Katie Taylor is a boxer and Lady Gaga is a singer.
Me: Do you know any other famous women?
FABJ: No.

There are a couple others, but, of course, I have already forgotten them.

Sadly, Iowa played very poorly last night in the finals of the NIT.  A sad end to the season, but they were very impressive in their other NIT games.  Plus, with only one senior playing any substantial minutes (perhaps on the entire team?), the outlook for next season looks very good.  I am hopeful (an uncommon emotion for me) that they can make the NCAA tournament next year, for the first time in a long time.

I was also sad to see the University of Kentucky women lose handily in the elight 8, to Connecticut.  I used to take FABJ to games when we lived in Kentucky.  In fact, FABJ informed me today that she roots equally for Kentucky and Iowa.  She was born in Kentucky (at the UK hospital, in fact), so she has a point.