Category: Travel

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Science Traveling Lisbon’s Oceanarium

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If you’re an aquarium nut like me, one of the places on your “must-see” list is the Oceanarium in Lisbon, Portugal. Officially the Oceanário de Lisboa, it ranks as the largest indoor aquarium in Europe.

Lisbon Oceanarium

Like most big aquariums it has a huge central tank of roughly 1.3 million gallons filled with the usual blend of marine fish, sharks, and rays. It is also one of the few aquariums that includes an ocean sunfish (Mola mola), a notoriously difficult species to maintain out of its natural oceanic habitat.

Lisbon Oceanarium

What I liked about the main tank – and I’ve seen dozens of them – is that as you walk around the perimeter you have many large floor to ceiling windows to gaze through.

Lisbon Oceanarium

There are large areas where you can often see divers feeding the fish and maintaining the tank.

Lisbon Oceanarium

But also many alcoves where a diverse community of fish, anemones, and corals can get some “privacy,” i.e., some sense of normality in a life literally in a very large fish bowl.

Lisbon Oceanarium

Of course, there are many smaller tanks and exhibits for up-close-and-personal views of worldwide marine flora and fauna. As always I was drawn to the tropical frog exhibit.

Lisbon Oceanarium

With only a month to go before finishing my three-year sojourn in Brussels, I had made a special trip to Lisbon specifically to see this world-famous aquarium. I was not disappointed.

See more about my aquarium visits on the aquarium page.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for over thirty years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the e-book Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. He is currently writing a book on Thomas Edison.

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Looking for Housing in Brussels (from Hot White Snow)

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Brussels flower carpetThud.

Yes, I actually heard a thud, just like you hear in the old movie reels. So loud it seemed to resonate in my ears, echoing off the walls of the attic room I was evaluating as a possible living space during my impending three-year secondment in Brussels.

On the floor was my guide, his hand to his forehead, his eyes glazed over in partial coherence; clearly concussed.

At my height I rarely worry about low-hanging beams, but he was near two meters easily. Clearly not paying attention he had marched confidently into the center beam of the room, solid and stalwart in its insistence of that space four inches down from the low ceiling. I had walked under it; he found it squarely.

It wasn’t a bad place, really. Tiny in retrospect, but quaint and old-fashioned in a European sort of way. A simple garret with a single window, though grand in size, overlooking one end of the converted attic. Nice enough, and I was considering it, until it took out the man who had been assigned to show me living arrangements. The decision to not take this apartment became clear just as my guide’s vision was doing the same. We would look some more.

In all we looked at a dozen apartments, some impressionably bad…others less obviously insufficient. At one point I decided on one apartment, only to find that it had been rented in the hours I had looked on indecisively. Even the final choice was indecisive. I had agreed to take an apartment in a new building half a block from the main road that led to my company’s office building. It was the only modern building we had seen, and I looked at two or three apartments there. On the second day of looking I asked to go back there and after deciding on an apartment on the fifth floor, had my guide negotiate the deal. An hour later I called him to renege, though just to take a different apartment, this one on the second floor, in the same building.

[Continue reading on Hot White Snow]

The above is a partial of a full article on Hot White Snow, my creative writing blog. Please click on the link above to read further. Thanks.

I’ll have photos and stories from my most recent science traveling trips to Scandinavia and Quebec shortly.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for over thirty years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the e-book Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. He is currently writing a book on Thomas Edison.

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Science Traveling – Waterfalls (videos)

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I love waterfalls, and it seems that during my recent science traveling excursions to Norway, Canada, and Connecticut I saw a lot of waterfalls. So for this edition I thought I would show you some video of a few great falls. Be sure to turn on the volume for your monitor to hear the impressive roar of the water.

Kent Falls: Not surprisingly, these namesake falls are in Kent State Park in Kent, CT. This was a stop coming back from Quebec in early July.

Montmorency Falls: Just above Quebec City is a wonderful surprise. These falls are one and half times the height of Niagara. I wrote more about Montmorency in this previous post.

Kjosfossen Falls: Back in May when we traveled to three Scandinavian countries I saw some amazing waterfalls. This one jumps out at you when traveling the railway through the mountains towards the fjords in central Norway.

Naeroyfjord Falls: As part of the “Norway in a Nutshell” tour, which involves a train, another train, a boat, a bus, and another train as you make your way from Oslo to Bergen (plus another train from Bergen back to Oslo the next day), you spend a few hours in the fjords. There are literally hundreds of waterfalls, and that is not an overstatement. One of the most spectacular is this one as you first turn into Naeroyfjord.

I’ll have more details on these in the future. For now, turn up your sound, go full screen, and enjoy the waterfalls.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

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Spiraling Upward in Copenhagen

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Sometimes science traveling can really take you up in the world, though spiraling around the globe can be a bit dizzying. At least that’s how it felt as I climbed the spiral staircase in the spire of the Church of Our Savior in Copenhagen.

Check that – not “in” the spire; outside the spire. This was (yet another) time that my mild acrophobia seemed not so mild. At least there was a railing.

The day began trying to figure out how to get around the line of 10,000+ marathon runners blocking our path. A very long detour got us heading to the strange spire we had glimpsed the day before. Two elevators and some stairs got us to the top of the tower in Christianborgs Palace and a great view of the city of Copenhagen. From there we could see this very intriguing spiral tower. Zooming in I could see there were people on it (look closely).

spiral tower

Finally ditching the running masses we hiked our way over the bridge into Christianshavn, the canal-laden neighborhood across the river. With the general direction of the spiral in sight we wended our way through the narrow streets where, in case you forgot to look up and might miss it, was a sign to the tower:

spiral tower, church of our savior, Copenhagen

No elevators for this tower. For 45 Danish Krone each we began our climb conventionally, through the bowels of the church tower inside the dusty, and yet creaky, wooden steps, past the carillon (i.e., the bells, which thankfully weren’t pealing), and eventually up to a door leading outside. There the steps seemed more substantial, though they quickly narrowed…and narrowed…and narrowed.

Spiral tower, Church of Our Savior, Copenhagen

It seemed the narrower the steps the more tired our legs until I turned the last turn into steps that actually came to a point. Okay, now the acrophobia kicks in – 295 feet from the street at a pointed step just a few inches at its widest. No problem. Look at the view. Got it, now turn around and slowly start working my way down.

Spiral tower, Church of Our Savior, Copenhagen

Okay, it really wasn’t that bad (no, it really was that bad). But the view was gorgeous.

Spiral tower, Church of Our Savior, Copenhagen

Once back on solid ground we went into the church where we were greeted with a pair of elephants holding up a massive organ. Of course. Elephants. What else should we expect in a church in Denmark?

Spiral tower, Church of Our Savior, Copenhagen

This was the last major event in Copenhagen. A long, winding walk back to the hotel to pack up before heading to the train station for a nearly 6-hour speed train to Stockholm. More on that later; I’m still recovering from climbing the spiral tower.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, now available. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

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Montmorency Falls (Parc de la Chute-Montmorency) – Quebec

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Part of my recent science traveling jaunt included Montmorency Falls, better known to the francophonic Quebecians as Chute-Montmorency. While not as broad as Niagara Falls, at 275-feet high (84 meters) Montmorency is almost 100-feet higher (30 meters). And it is spectacular.

Montmorency Falls, Quebec

To get to it you simply drive a little over 7 miles (12 kilometers) beyond Quebec City, or you can take a shuttle tour bus from downtown. The parking price is a bit steep ($12CAD), but if you decide to spend some time there it is worth it. That time spent can be simply photographing the falls, of course, but I highly recommend walking up the panoramic stairway that climbs the cliff next to the falls.

DSC03326

The views from each stopover hut on the steps are magnificent, and at the top there is a surprisingly nice park space for picnicking. But the best is yet to come. Follow the short trail over the fault bridge and onto the amazing Falls Suspension Bridge that straddles the top of the falls. You’ll see on one side that there is actually a small entree falls coming from the Montmorency River, which turns into the huge drop cascading over the other side of the bridge.

Montmorency Falls, Quebec

Smaller falls beside the main falls add further character. If you don’t want to walk the steps (or get wet in the mist at the bottom), you can take the cable cars from the main terminal near the ample parking. The cars bring you up to the Manoir Montmorency, where you can find a restaurant, the Kent House pub (one of several Kent connections I saw on this trip; more on those later), shops, and even a theater.

To get a feel of the power of the falls, check out this video:

Montmorency was one of two impressive waterfalls I saw on this particular trip, which adds to the hundreds of waterfalls I encountered on my earlier trip to Norwegian fjords. More on those soon.

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His next book, Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, is scheduled for release in summer 2017.

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Science Traveling the Northeast

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David J. KentFor some reason I thought of the old days in Catholic confessional in which I would ask the priest to bless me from my sins and say “It has been 30 days since my last confession.” Well, I’m not really confessing, and I don’t consider it a sin, but I must admit “It has been 30 days since my last science traveling.” That trip was to Scandinavia – Denmark, Sweden, Norway. As you read this I’ve already been several days into my current trip to the northeast – New England and Quebec.

Fireworks and fourth of July parades will highlight (have highlighted) the first part of the trip. But even before that we stopped off in West Orange, New Jersey to visit the Thomas Edison National Historic Park. While Edison was nicknamed “The Wizard of Menlo Park,” he actually spent more time working out of his much larger laboratory complex in West Orange. It was here that he had his grand mansion called “Glenmont,” his multi-story laboratory, several separate smaller labs, and the Black Maria – the film studio where he made motion pictures. This was a must-visit for me as I write my book on Edison; so too was a stopover in the town of Edison (as Menlo Park was later renamed in his honor).

Edison Lab, Menlo Park, NJ

After a few days with the family and the fireworks we’re headed even further north. A couple of days in a Quebec City B&B will let us see Montmorency Falls, the funicular, the aquarium, and, of course, Maison Kent. From there it’s on to Montreal for the Notre Dame cathedral, Musee des Beaux Arts, and for the science part, the Biosphere and Jardin Botanique.

Quebec City

The rest of the trip will be spent leisurely working our way back down western Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut where the main goal is to do some old bookstore hopping. Some of the coolest books in my Lincoln collection have come from old barns and basements, so I’m hoping to make some lucky finds.

I’ll be posting periodically during the trip, both on here and on Facebook, so keep checking back for more science traveling tidbits.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for over thirty years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the e-book Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. He is currently writing a book on Thomas Edison.

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Nikola Tesla and the Two Sides of Budapest

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Budapest is the capital of Hungary. It also played a key role in Nikola Tesla’s greatest discovery and in the development of modern technology. There are two sides to Budapest, and I got to explore both of them a few years ago.

Spanning the banks of the beautiful and broad Danube River, the second longest river in Europe, Budapest used to be two cities (or three, depending on how you count). Buda, on the western bank, is the former capital of the Kingdom of Hungary. Sitting high on the hill is the Buda Castle and the Citadel.

Buda Castle, Budapest, Hungary

On the opposite, eastern, bank is Pest. Mostly flat (compared to the hilly Buda), its most prominent feature is the newer Parliament Building, though you might think it looks more like some sort of sprawling cathedral. It remains the largest building in all of Hungary, and the tallest in Budapest. And yes, it was rainy during my entire visit.

Parliament, Budapest, Hungary

Buda and Pest were merged into the single city of Budapest in 1873. Nine years later, Nikola Tesla had moved to Budapest expecting to take a job working for Alexander Graham Bell’s new telephone company. The job turned out to be nonexistent, but Tesla was able to find work at the Central Telegraph Office, where he soon found himself sinking into a profound depression. It was during one of his episodic visions he discovered the principles that led to his most famous invention – the alternating current polyphase system of electricity. You can read more about that in this excerpt from my Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity book.

Budapest offers other interests to science travelers like myself. It houses the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, eighteen different Universities, Roman spas, and of course the beautiful Danube River itself.

During my time in Europe I was able to see several of the places that Nikola Tesla spent time, including Budapest, Austria, Strasbourg, Slovenia, Prague, London, and Paris. Still on my list to see are Belgrade and Lika. I look forward to that adventure.

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David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, scheduled for release July 31, 2017. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

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Tesla and Electric Cars in Scandinavia

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More and more I see electric cars around the United States, mostly the obvious ones like the Tesla Model S and an occasional plug-in hybrid like the Chevy Volt, plus the obvious non-plug-in hybrids like Toyota Prius. But this pales to the number of electric cars that I saw in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. One reason – access to charging stations.

Tesla car

Elon Musk has been working hard to install charging stations throughout the major driving corridors of the US. The government has not been all that helpful in that regard; in fact, because of oil and auto manufacturer lobbying (and Congress’s inability to function), our government inaction still works against the widespread distribution of electric cars. Europe has taken the opposite approach.

Electric cars in Oslo

In Copenhagen, there were a couple of charging stations right next to the famed city hall. In Stockholm, charging stations were also present, while in Oslo they have put a huge focus on electric vehicles. The photo above shows charging stations lined up and down both sides of the street. Interestingly, this particular spot was up against the old stone fortress walls made so famous in Jo Nesbo books. It shows that the old and new are compatible.

Norway EV Sales

While it was nice to see so many Tesla Model S cars, the predominant electric vehicle (EV) was actually the Nissan Leaf. According to Clean Technica, the Leaf has grabbed a huge lead in market share in Norway. The graphic above shows that Leaf sales made up 55% of the total EV sales in January 2014, almost four times the next electric car (Volkswagen’s e-Up!) and almost five times the Tesla Model S. Fully electric vehicles (EVs) dwarfed the number of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in Norway (and in Denmark, where 100% of EVs were full plug-ins). Oddly enough, PHEVs were ahead of full EVs in Sweden, in part because of the popularity of Mitsubishi’s Outlander PHEV and the lack of availability of the Tesla Model S.

Besides the greater environmental awareness of Scandinavians compared to Americans, drivers in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway already have access to the type of electrical sockets needed for EVs. These countries also offer much better financial incentives to help drivers move away from fossil fuel based engines to more sustainable engine technology.  They have also done a better job at facilitating charging stations, most of which are free to the public.

As you’ll see in that last link, charging stations for EVs and PHEVs are starting to appear in more and more places in the US as well, which should mean faster adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles in the near future. Eventually, all our vehicles may be EVs. That would go a long way to reducing our dependence on oil-based energy and our contributions to man-made climate change.

I’ll have more science traveling updates from Scandinavia, as well as from the Everglades, Yosemite, Argentina, and the other places I’ve visited since I embarked on this new career. Stay tuned (and feel free to wander around previous posts by clicking on “Travel” in the category list below).

David J. Kent has been a scientist for over thirty years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the e-book Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. He is currently writing a book on Thomas Edison.

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Scandinavian Surprises

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The trip to Scandinavia was, in a word, awesome (a word I rarely use, I assure you). In 10 days we visited Copenhagen, Stockholm, Olso, Bergen, and points in between. I previewed the route in a previous post and I’m working my way through the first 2800 photographs for future posts, so stay tuned for details.

Each city has its own well-known attractions (e.g., Little Mermaid, Royal Palaces, The Scream, etc.) but we ran into a few surprises as well.

spiral tower

For example, in Copenhagen there was the changing of the guard we accidentally stumbled upon, not to mention the replica of Michaelangelo’s David tucked into an out-of-the-way canal-side walkway, and the big band concert and fireworks at Tivoli. There was also the cool spiral tower above, which I’ll have more on later. Oh, and then there is the Copenhagen Marathon, which blocked our route while about 10,000 runners passed in front of us.

Kungstradgarden subway station

In Stockholm there was the unfortunate surprise that we had scheduled our whole day Monday around the mistaken belief that the museums and other attractions would be open, only to find out that most are closed on Mondays. [Tip: Check the tour books before you plan your schedule.] But that was offset by the more pleasant surprises, like the really cool artwork unique to each subway station (and the station agent at Kungstradgarden that let us go down to the platform gratis to take photos like the one above).

Air and Water Gauges

In Oslo I was pleasantly surprised to find the Ra, the papyrus reed raft Thor Heyerdahl traveled in, which was tucked into the lower level of the Kon Tiki Museum. Of course, the Kon Tiki balsa wood raft he used on his first epic voyage was there too. Meanwhile, the scientist in me liked the above stone slabs on the street that gave visual gauges of air and water quality; more on that in the future too.

In Bergen, nothing can beat the impromptu “makeover/fashion show” that emptied off the train onto the platform (complete with loud dance music, TV coverage, and a catwalk).

And then there was the free beer on the Lufthansa flight from Oslo to Frankfurt. I may have a new favorite air carrier (hint to United Airlines). 🙂

Tesla car

Given the success of my Tesla book, there was one more surprise that seemed appropriate – the prevalence of Tesla Model S and other electric cars and charging stations in all three countries.

There is tons more to talk about, which I’ll do in follow up posts complete with photos and videos as soon as I can sort through them.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, now available. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

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Ships Abound in Oslo

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I’m still science traveling in Scandinavia, but here’s a few photos of something that’s a big deal here in Oslo – ships! This old sailing ship is used as a tourist boat when it’s not showing the contrast with the modern Opera House in the background. You can walk all over the roof of the latter, which goes all the way to the water and a cool glass sculpture floating in the fjord like a sailing ship in its own right.

But all the cool ships are on a separate spit of land best reached by a water taxi.

Which gets us to a series of small museums highlighting several Viking ships, the Kon Tiki, and the Fram. The Fram is an old (1890s) wooden ship taken into the Arctic, and later, the Antarctic. It’s a fascinating story I’ll have more on later. Here’s the Fram.

But my favorite was the Kon Tiki. Thor Heyerdahl sailed this balsa wood raft from Peru to Tahiti in 1947. I read about it many years ago. Even cooler, I was surprised to see that the museum also had the Ra, a papyrus boat he built in Egypt and sailed from Morocco to Barbados in 1969. I’ll definitely be writing more about these later as they are true science traveling.

[Note: This was from a trip in May 2015]

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His next book, Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, is scheduled for release in summer 2017.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.