Of course, Euro 2008 was in full-swing for the whole time we were in Europe, and Zurich, being one of the venues, had lots going on to celebrate Euro. Of course, we spent more time enjoying the colour than snapping photos, but the giant installation in the Zurich train station of some of the Euro team captains gives a nice glimpse of the fever!

We hung out in Zurich for a couple of days, enjoying the hustle and bustle of a city very much on the move.

A few scenes from Zurich.

We knew we'd ba back to Geneva, so we hopped on the train and made our way to Interlaken, a lovely little town a few hours away. Interlaken is a bit of a hot-spot for the adventure-crowd, but early summer is nice and quiet. We spent a few days there, hiking, eating, and exploring, and enjoying Switzerland's unbelievable scenery and cleanliness.

We saw the Black Forest, but kind of ran out of time to do any real exploring of it. So, a quick day-trip and photos, and we had to gun it back to Frankfurt for our flight to Geneva.

We stayed in Baden-Baden for two nights.

Ii Baden-Baden, the town was having a huge town yard sale. We wandered around--who can resist a yard sale, right?--for quite a while, snapping pics and browsing.

A few shots of the storied and crumbly-lovely Heidelberg Castle.

In Heidelberg, we were able to take in a Euro2008 game featuring Germany against Portugal.

We hung out in Cologne for a couple of days, eating good food and enjoying NOT being surrounded by desert dust and ridiclously hot temps.

A few views of the awesome Cologne Cathedral (wow!).

Kicking butt and taking names!

Well, a qualifier needs to be made first: we'd be celebrating much more if Brent wasn't missing his Lady so much!

Okay, the update: Brent and his brother Dennis did the CityChase in Ottawa again this year. CityChase (www.citychase.ca) is technically called an "urban adventure" race, but really it's a like a big scavenger hunt where teams of two run/bus it around the city completing various physical and mental challenges. It's a lot of fun.

This year saw 30+ degrees and humidity, so there was much sweating going on. Last year we finished 22nd of about 300 teams. However, this year, B&D did really well and surpassed their expectations by finishing 11th of 350 teams! Woo Hoo!

That's us at the finish line looking a little giddy and already making plans for next year...

The best three years... ever!

Rosalee and I celebrated our third anniversary yesterday. It also happened to be our first full day off work for the summer, so we decided to have a B&R-play-day.

We started with a nice relaxing breakfast out, then it was off to the National Shooting Complex. Rosalee had never fired a pistol before, so it was a unique experience for her. I hadn't fired a weapon since my time in the reserves, so I was quite excited as well.

We each had an opportunity to fire a SigSauer .40cal semi-automatic pistol, and I later re-lived the experience of firing a true assault rifle, the 5.56mm Steyr Aug (which fires the same round as the C7, the Canadian version of the M16).

As for the results, Rosalee's a natural, and it was nice to see I hadn't completely lost my aim.

Afterwards, we went to see the new Narnia film, had a couple of relaxing coffees, and just chilled out. Very nice, indeed.

B&R

Sri Lanka, April 2008

It's taken me awhile to get these up, I know, so my apologies for that.

For spring break this year, Rosalee and I decided that rather than heading on a all-out-see-all trip, we'd go low-key. So, after researching a number of beachy type locations we settled on Unawatuna Beach in Sri Lanka. It was wonderful. Sunny mornings and rainy afternoons--you could set your watch by the thunderstorms--meant that we could beach it until lunch then explore a bit of the surrounding area.

Definitely a recommended location. And we've gained a new appreciation for tea.

B&R

Rosalee and I took an afternoon to walk in the Sinharaja Rainforest Preserve. Just when we thought we had gotten a handle on dealing with the leeches--wow, the leeches--it absolutely poured rain (in the rainforest... I know, I know, imagine that) and we had a true taste of the jungle.

A few scenes from inside Galle citadel.

Inside the citadel, Galle. Dad Van: see, we made it to the Reformed Church!
In the second shot, notice the umbrellas: underneath each is a young, amorous couple seeking to avoid being seen.

A couple of views of the beach from our hotel. Thaproban Resport, Unawatuna.

Dusty days... on camera!

Hey, folks!

Wow, the wonders of technology. Here are a couple of dust-storm videos I shot yesterday at work. Check out the colour-contrast between the first and second video (the colours are accurate and haven't been modified at all).

The colour effect is amazing... however, the lung-effect isn't so spectacular.

Enjoy!

B(&R)

P.S. My apologies for the use of the word "unadulterated": I dunno what I was thinking... :)