Traveling Scotland

Sunrise over Loch Lomond

Thanks to a visit from my brother and sister I had an excuse to go and explore some more of Scotland. After the, in the mean time almost obligatory, stay at the Oak Tree Inn we drove past Kilchurn Castle and Glencoe to the island of Mull. Here we stayed at a cottage in the middle of nowhere for a few days.

Sunset at the beach in Calgary, Mull

The secluded tranquillity of the location (and resulting reduced light pollution), together with two clear nights, gave an absolutely spectacular view of the stars and the milky way. The journey back included a detour via the Glenfinnan Viaduct and a stop for some tasty pub grub in Pitlochry. Unsurprisingly, my camera and tripod were along for the trip as well... (click here to see the full album)

The night sky from in front of our cottage (Aird Cottage)

Fireworks over St Andrews

 

Well, so far I have missed the fireworks display of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship which takes places in St Andrews once a year. This time I managed (a nice little break from essay writing), however I decided that instead of going to the golf course from where they were being launched, I would try and capture town with the fireworks from up on the costal path leading away from east sands. It turns out, it was actually worth the hike....

You can see all the pictures I took on the night (or at least the ones which turned out ok) here: St Andrews at night

Sailing on the Tay

A fantastic Sunday afternoon of sailing on the river Tay. Follow the link to my album: Sailing on the Tay 2014 for more pictures.

 

China 2014

Now then. A little two week trip to Shanghai - yes please. Thank you very much to the Shanghai Open University for organising the 2014 International Student Exchange Program. It was an absolutely unforgettable experience. There are hundreds (well actually thousands) of pictures. These are just a little taster. A more detailed selection of mine can be found here: China 2014

Sunset in St Andrews

Time for a few more pictures. These are from the famous pier with the sun setting over St Andrews.

On my way back home, I just had to stop to take this one of St Salvator’s Chapel.

Finally, this was a few days later. Now at first glance the picture is completely unremarkable. This however is a weather phenomena known as noctilucent clouds. Looking through the kitchen window, I saw some really bright clouds in the sky. It was fairly dark outside and these clouds somehow looked strange in contrast. So I decided to take a "snap shot" before going to off bed. Truth be told, I forgot about the pictures on my camera till I was reading an article on the news a few days later explaining that these clouds had been happening. Next time I guess I will have to go out for some proper pictures...

Aurora Borealis

Ok, well there also was a reason for me blogging again. In fact, it is for one of the main reasons I had started it in the first place – pictures. These long exposure shots of the Aurora Borealis were taken on the evening of the 27th of February 2014 from the end of the pier in St Andrews, Scotland. (Click on the images to view them in full size)
 

 

 

Time for an update...

So apparently I took some time out. Graduated from St Andrews and am now in the process of finishing the last module so that I can also get my MBA from the Open University. Good that the internet never forgets anything, so I will just continue the blog from here (but won't make any promises as to how frequently...).

St Andrean

Exactly 600 years after the founding of the University of St Andrews (the university charter was first granted in 1413) I have become an official St Andrian and as a postgraduate student also a member of St Leonard's College.

A new beginning

Well, it has been quite some time since I last wrote anything for this blog. Starting a new chapter in my life seemed like the perfect time to re-start blogging. Just to bridge the gap between the "Festival of Lights" in my last entry and now, here is a quick summary of the time passed... After finishing at my last job, I did a sailing course, went skiing and then managed to break my clavicle (or more commonly known as my collar bone) in May while playing hockey. With a lengthy metal plate inserted I am now the delight of every metal detector at the airport - providing the staff know how it works and have actually turned it on. This summer consisted of a very interesting and culturally educating trip to China, followed by a short visit to England and organising a surprise Birthday Party for my father's 60th. While all of this was happening I completed my Diploma in management (so now I may add a fantastic jumble of letters on to the end of my name). On the side I applied to do some further full time study at the University of St Andrews and low and behold, I was offered a place...

And here the actual story begins:
I am now up in St Andrews at the School of Management, studying for a master of research (short MRes). This morning - apart from getting completely drenched by the rain in conjunction with the costal winds - I found myself sitting in the board room of the Management School (view out to the ocean) and listening to our course introduction. The advice given was: Try to write something every day, try to make it 1 000 words a day just to get used to writing. I intend to have a go at this so, while I will not be writing my 1 000 words in this blog every day, I intend to keep it a little more up to date and share with you the pleasures of the exciting research things I am learning. Maybe even have a little discussion on the way.

That is all for today, so I leave you with the picture I posted at the beginning of the sea view in St Andrews.

Festival of Lights

Though I was working long hours last week I nevertheless managed to take a little evening drive through Berlin with my Parents to look at what is known as the festival of lights. For about two weeks there are a number of buildings in the city that are lit in a special and sometimes spectacular way. Though I have to say that it looked nice, I had actually expected more and was a little disappointed at some of the lighting displays. Managed to take some nice pictures nevertheless, so here are some of them for all of you who unfortunately missed it.