That’s one very famous balcony.
The balcony on the second floor facing the back gardens doesn’t look particularly special. But here in the Czech capital city of Prague there’s an important connection between that building’s balcony and events leading to the fall of the Wall. This building is also the German Embassy, and it’s where Hans-Dietrich Genscher looked over the crowds from the balcony and made a famous speech in 1989.
Fortune often favours the brave, especially for those who rarely get to see Vancouver from a height of 1500 metres (5000 feet). This city may be my birthplace, but this is my first helicopter tour. The only other occasions I’ve seen Vancouver from the air are from planes on approach to YVR international airport.
We arrive at Vancouver Helijet Heliport on a weekday morning, and hang out for a few minutes in the spacious waiting area, sipping on coffee and chatting with the folks at the front desk. We head outside, file down the walkway to the landing pad, and hop into a Bell 206L-3 LongRanger helicopter (chopper) for our 20-minute sightseeing tour.
The “West Coast Spectacular” tour heads across Burrard Inlet to the North Shore, goes up and over the nearby coastal mountains, flies past Crown Mountain and The Lions (The Sisters), before emerging over Howe Sound. It’s easy to forget this abundant B.C. evergreen wilderness is at the doorstep to Vancouver. After heading south down the Sound, the final half of the tour proceeds past West Vancouver to English Bay (Salish Sea), enters and covers False Creek, crosses over the downtown Vancouver peninsula, makes a small loop over Burrard Inlet, before landing at the harbour base. The map below shows in green the chopper’s path, the Heliport in downtown Vancouver is marked by the helicopter icon, and the blue pins indicate mountains I identified during the tour.
The scheduled 20-minute tour goes by quickly; blink or look away for a moment, and a part of that view in that moment disappears. Not surprisingly, there’s not a lot of chatter throughout the flight, and we’re astonished by what we’re seeing below. After returning to base, we rediscover our voices and express our wonder with grateful enthusiasm. Helijet’s sightseeing tours go for a pretty penny; the “West Coast Spectacular” tour costs $224 CAD per person (minimum of two people, 2014), but the price goes down to about $150 per person for a group of five. These photos show there’s a different side to Vancouver that’s tantalizingly close and within reach.
I’m walking gingerly on the uneven cobblestone, the narrow streets surrounded by tall gabled buildings. The air is full of history, permeating structures and streets, in contrast with modern activities taking place. Much of the architecture falls within the red brick Gothic style uniquely representing the height of an era going back one thousand years.
Slowly, I’m sensing from centuries past the apparitions of people who’ve passed through this place. I tuck into a narrow passageway and stop. If I close my eyes, I hear the ancient sounds as though they’re etched into the grooves between the red brick. Shouting, negotiating, best products from around the world, best stuff money can buy, best deals you can get for miles around.
I’m fascinated by the influence of merchants who cast a massive net across northern Europe. I’m interested in the history of architecture and trade, how a town surrounded by an important river a mere 20 kilometres from the sea became a hub and crossroads for the movement of people and goods.
This special place is the “Hansekönigin”: Queen of the Hanseatic League.
I’m at the turnstiles, off to the side from the steady stream of people going through to the other side.
I’m standing on the one side in Hong Kong (香港).
The other side is the city of Shenzhen in the People’s Republic of China’s province of Guangdong (Kwangtung | 廣東 | 广东).
MTR trains come in from Hong Kong and stop here at the end of the line. People pour out of the trains, and head for Shenzhen. There are occasional lulls in between frequent arrivals and departures of the trains, reminding me I’m in the middle of the countryside and at the frontier section separating between what most people know as Hong Kong and China.
Over on the “other” side, Shenzhen is a strong economic force, helped along by its special designation as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), but there’s still a special allure for many to working inside Hong Kong’s Special Administrative Region. MTR rail passengers depart Hong Kong and enter Shenzhen at either the Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau (Spur Line) crossings. The average cross-border passenger traffic numbers are 220,000 and 80,000 people per day, at Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau, respectively (Source 1, Source 2).
From an economic, urban planning, and logistics point of view, it’s no surprise there’s a push to amalgamate Shenzhen with Hong Kong to create a super-metropolis here at the mouth of the Pearl River. Hong Kong has over 7 million people, whereas the population of neighbouring Shenzhen exceeds 13 million. Many would like to see easier and faster movement of goods and people between the two cities, but many in Hong Kong fear an exacerbation of existing problems with overcrowding and overburdened resources.
But what of the people going back and forth? How many from China and/or Shenzhen enter Hong Kong for work or school, and reverse course at the end of every day? How many from Hong Kong go to work in Shenzhen?
I wonder what the daily routine is for someone going back and forth between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. I watch patiently, and I wonder what it’s like on the other side. I have no doubt there’s someone on the other side in Shenzhen who’s wondering the same thing.
With visits numbering well into double digits, my affection for the Czech capital city of Prague remains undiminished, even in the midst of surging summer or winter crowds. When I’ve been in danger of being swamped, I veer off to a side street or quiet park; I’ll also wait for the relative solitude of nightfall or dawn. The magic is knowing I haven’t strayed very far from the big sights.
How I ended up chasing dreams over cobblestone streets, past the thousand spires and ornate facades, and across centuries of European art and history, has exceeded the limits of my imagination.
Fotoeins Fotografie 