hskupin.info » travel

Hiking trip around Whistler

Henrik Skupin — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 06:52:43 +0000

Before the Firefox Summit starts on Wednesday this week, Clint and I have decided to take 3 days off for vacation. We want to enjoy the stunning area around Whistler, which is about 100km in the north of Vancouver. British Columbia is really a beautiful area and absolutely invites you to have hiking or biking tours in the nature.

Our first hiking tour yesterday was a short planned one. We bought a map of the whole area in the morning and decided which trip we wanted to do. Goal was to reach the Wedgemont Lake. We haven’t really checked the elevation up to that lake and given the fact that we started a bit too late, we weren’t able to make it. But finally it was a 28km hike with about 700m elevation gain:

It was great to be back in the hotel and to be able to relax. It was a great experience even we haven’t seen any bear – or thanksfully. Here some pictures from the hike:

Phototour in the Napa Valley

Henrik Skupin — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 12:21:44 +0000

During my stay the Silicon Valley I haven’t only had a great day in San Francisco but also spent a day in the famous whine region of California called Napa Valley. Together with my co-worker Marcia we were driven up those 100 miles to mainly take pictures of the blooming mustard. The day was absolutely sunny but sadly we haven’t had luck to see lot of mustard. We were a bit too late or too early. But beside that we got a lot of impressions and enjoyed taking pictures. I was a bit disappointed that you do not have a chance to get closer to some areas, you have to know that most of those properties are private and visitors aren’t allowed to enter. The only way you can follow is up to the nice little castles and chateaus to taste the local wine. Everyone recommended that tastings but there was no time for us. If you stay in that area, you shouldn’t miss to attend at least one of those tastings.

Back in San Francisco we had a bit of time to drive up the hill in the north of the Golden Gate Bridge. We got a bit higher with the car as Martijn and myself were able the day before with the bikes. You will have a wonderful view from there down to San Francisco. By taking some animal pictures we ended that Sunday with a couple of nice pictures. But see yourself:

A Day in San Francisco

Henrik Skupin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:17:04 +0000

Yesterday I had a great day in San Francisco. My colleague Martijn joined me and we did a walk through the city and rented bikes to visit the Golden Gate Bridge from the other side of the bay. The weather was quiet perfect this time. But see yourself…

17 Miles Drive

Henrik Skupin — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:35:58 +0000

In February I got a hint from a colleague of mine to visit the Pebble Beach Resorts. This peninsula is mostly know by golfers and a place for rich people. But also has some scenic areas you can visit as tourist. There is a street routed through the whole area which is called the 17 Miles Drive.

So I picked up Marcia in the morning and we were driven to that area with my rental car. It is about 100 miles in the South from Mountain View (California). We haven’t had the best weather as all the time I have spent in California but at least there was no rain. So we were able to have a look at nearly each place. I liked the rocky beach and the greenish taint on that peninsula. See the pictures below to get an impression how does it look like.

Visting the Golden Gate Bridge

Henrik Skupin — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 11:45:43 +0000

Due to my new job I had to spent a whole month in California last February. I already blogged about it shortly. It was a great experience for me. Thanks to all my colleagues who made it a wonderful stay! Mozilla rocks!

Beside the work and the bad weather I have taken one day to visit San Francisco. Together with Tobias Leingruber we checked the area around Pier 39, the Bay coast, and finally the Golden Gate Bridge. I’m impressed each time I see those bridges and have to think about how they get constructed. The bridge was the longest suspension bridge worldwide for 27 years! But it has lost its title after the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York has been finished in 1964. Anyway, nearly everybody worldwide knows this bridge so it will definitely remain as one of the most famous bridges.

I really enjoyed the trip and the view you have when walking to the north point and back. So for the next time I know that I have to visit the bridge by night!

Staying in California

Henrik Skupin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:58:05 +0000

It’s already a week ago since I had to flight-out to California. The time is passing really fast while working with such awesome people on the best web browser. Sorry that I wasn’t able to post about it yet. I hope that I’ll find time in the next days to give a short report.

Just in-front a picture of the Caltrain station in Mountain View. Sadly it was only one day with sunny weather. In the last week it has been raining mostly all the time. I hope for better weather over the upcoming weekend. There are plans to visit San Francisco. So lets keep the fingers crossed…

Caltrain station in Mountain View