Fotoeins Fotografie

location bifurcation, place vs. home

Posts tagged ‘fotoeins’

Baldwin Street, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand

Dunedin: Baldwin Street, (2nd) steepest in the world

July 2019: The record for the world’s steepest road now belongs to Harlech, Wales (CBC News).

In Dunedin, New Zealand, make your way from the city centre, around the University of Otago to North Road, and onwards to Baldwin Street, where The Guinness Book of Records declared the latter street as “the steepest (street) in the world” in 1997. With this claim to fame, the street is touted as a place to visit in Dunedin. Anybody who’s spent time in San Francisco should take the challenge and find out whether the ascent grade on Baldwin Street approaches or exceeds their experience in the American city by the Bay.

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Image by Sameboat, for Wikimedia

MTR Hong Kong: in town flight check-in

Chep Lap Kok airport, otherwise known as Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), opened for service in 1998, replacing the smaller Kai Tak Airport in Kowloon. HKIA operates 24-hours, and is one of the busiest airports in the world by passenger numbers, aircraft movements, and cargo traffic.

As the airport is located over 30 kilometres (over 20 miles) from Hong Kong’s “Central” business district and city centre, transport options include taxis, buses, coaches for major hotels, or the MTR.

The MTR (Mass Transit Railway) Airport Express route is a reasonably quick and inexpensive choice with trains running every 10-12 minutes between the city of Hong Kong and the airport in a one-way trip lasting under 30 minutes. As of posting, the cost for one adult is HKD$100 (less than USD$13) for a single journey, same day return ticket, or with an Octopus card; additional information about fare-, ticket-, and travel-options with the MTR Airport Express can be accessed here (fares above as of 2013).

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New Zealand: Air Safaris’ Grand Traverse flight over the Southern Alps

The majestic mountain spine along New Zealand’s South Island is known as “The Southern Alps”; the Maori Ngai Tahu name for these mountains is “kā tiritiri o te moana”. For many locations around the South Island, you cannot avoid or ignore the sight of looming towers of rock and snow.

Between visits to the Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier, I’d been thinking about whether or not I should have a look at the mountains from above. It would be beautiful, but it also seemed very expensive. What to do, what to do … it sounds stupid writing it out now, but a unique opportunity had presented itself, and I knew I’d have deep regrets if I didn’t take it.

I bit the proverbial bullet and hopped onto a plane with Air Safaris for a 50-minute “The Grand Traverse” tour including aerial views of various glaciers, Horokoau (Mount Tasman), and Aoraki (Mount Cook).

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Royal Scottish Academy, The Mound, East Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh: 2 days in the Scottish Auld Reekie

What happens over two days in Edinburgh?

I had an opportunity in early November to visit a friend in Edinburgh, Scotland; the city was a place I’d been looking forward to visiting for some time.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone the weather was cool, wet, grey, and windy … except when it was cool, dry, clear, and windy. The weather summary might have appeared something like: “mostly cloudy with rainshowers, accompanied by fresh westerlies and occasional clear spells.”

But coming from Vancouver, Canada, I really should be made of sterner stuff. Besides, the Old and New Town areas in Edinburgh were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.

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