After my job at the conference, it was time for another holiday! I thought I should take this opportunity to venture into the US East Coast for the first time, and I chose Boston as my destination (from 11 to 13 January) so that I could visit some friends there at the same time.
I certainly made sure I didn't miss out on the best things Boston has on offer: universities and lobsters!
It was already early evening when I've settled into my hotel. An Australian friend of mine currently studying at the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) took me on a visit to the institution after a dinner nearby. MIT has a long tradition of not only academic excellence but also ingenious pranks known as 'Hacking'. It helps that many of the 'hackers' are good engineers or seasoned technicians of other types. Otherwise how could someone have attempted to put a police car on top of the dome of the main building without a crane? (My friend explained that those pranksters would probably have taken the car apart first, moved the parts one by one and re-assembled them back on the dome.) Those involved in this piece of engineering feat didn't lose sight of the lighter side of things, and remembered to place a parking ticket on the windscreen in the end! Hacking is probably a fair reflection of the students' creativity and university administrators' tolerance. It has never really been reined in by the university and is limited only by the participants' imaginations.
I spent the next morning wandering through the streets of the financial district, which looked deserted on a Saturday morning. It offered me the chance to stroll between the buildings leisurely and appreciate the Victorian architecture in the heart of Boston. (I have in fact noticed how the houses and the general lay-out of Boston were reminiscent of Europe as my plane was descending.) Towards midday, I met up with three Chinese people who have only recently moved to Boston from my research institute. None of us would have thought that we could catch up together so soon again. And funnily enough, I've already managed to bump into the Taiwanese couple among the three within my first few moments in Boston, when I was on the bus leaving the airport, and they were kind enough to take me all the way to the hotel! Our reunion started with a seafood feast boasting lobsters (of course!), steamed fresh bream and a Chinese omelette with small oysters. I was only too glad to be able to taste fresh seafood dishes like these outside Hong Kong! After the meal we took a stroll through the Boston Common, which is a park in the middle of the city, followed by some shopping. I was looking for a new suitcase as mine finally gave in to the burden of travel over the ages here in Boston. I didn't end up getting one but instead bought myself a weatherproof cap, a beanie and a pair of weatherproof gloves. Yes, I just can't help giving in to the lure of shopping every time I go to the USA!
On my last day, my Australian friend took me to another famous institution of Boston, namely Harvard University. The campus looked rather classy with the classical architecture of the buildings and lush green lawns everywhere. (Who would have thought that it was actually in the middle of winter and there was heavy snow two weeks beforehand?) There were masses of tourists waiting to worship the person of John Harvard at his statue, but if they were hoping to see the actual person, they would have been out of luck. They would not have been the only ones either, as historically there would hardly have been anyone who had any idea of how he looked like. Moreover, John Harvard was not the founder of the university but a benefactor who left his library of books and half his estate to the predecessor college in 1638. As a gesture of gratitude, the college was thus named after him, and 200 years later, a statue was made with a Harvard student as the model. All this information was listed on a plaque at the statue, but many people still chose to believe that the statue commemorated the founding of the university by John Harvard in 1636. The statue has fooled enough people by now that it's been dubbed The Statue of Three Lies!
Another attraction of Harvard is its museum which is simply a magnet for all science enthusiasts. One of the halls in the museum housed a collection of glass replicas of botany specimens. The specimens were kept at the Botany Department of Harvard University, which commissioned a family of glass artists to make glass models of their collection. Initially the project was meant to last 10 years, but it went on for a total of 50. The glass specimens have totally preserved the colours and appearance of the original details, down to the minute details of veins, the tapering end of leaves and really fine branches. It amazed me to think how details so fine and delicate could be produced without any breakages. Another part of the museum put up a display of fossils from all ages past. That was the first time I was able to see so many fossils at one place and I was suitably impressed. My friend suggested that I should also see the collection at New York's Metropolitan Museum which hosts a larger and more extensive collection of fossils. Now I'm really looking forward to it!
So determined to spend my time at Harvard to the max, I visited the university book shop for some time before rushing back to my hotel, picking up my luggage and running for the airport. I arrived only one hour before the scheduled departure of my flight, and fortunately that was enough because my airline loyalty card allowed me to check in through the Business class counter and everything was fixed in no time, cool! I don't think I'll want to do that again, though.
雪山的「優差」過後，又是放假的時候，橫豎未踏足美國東岸，我便到波士頓先玩三天（1月11至13日）才回德國，順道探望在當地的朋友。
波士頓最有名的，要算是其著名學府及龍蝦，我當然沒放過！
在下榻的酒店安頓後，已是傍晚，我有個在麻省理工唸博士的澳洲朋友，帶我到麻省理工附近吃一頓晚飯，然後參觀該學府。朋友告訴我，麻省理工有個悠久的「惡作劇」傳統（Hacking），其實惡作劇本身並無惡意，亦由於學生中不少是出色的工程師或其他技術人員，惡作劇往往都別出心栽，例如把警車在深夜運到大學主大樓的圓頂上（由於沒有用吊臂，所以應該是把車斬件，運上去後再次裝嵌），還要在車頭擋風玻璃貼上違例停車的告票！惡作劇手法層出不窮，校方也從來沒有禁止，正好反映學生的創意和校方的寬容。
第二天早上先在市中心金融區逛逛，星期六早上，人跡罕至，可仔細領略波士頓的具有維多利亞風格的建築（其實從飛機上已能感受到房屋的建築特色和佈局跟歐洲有幾份像）。中午跟三個剛從慕尼黑到波士頓工作的中國人見面，大家以前都在同一地方工作，從沒想到這麼快便再聚舊，更巧的是，其中的台灣夫婦，我第一天剛從波士頓機場出來乘公車時已經碰到，他們還好心帶我往酒店呢。聚舊第一炮，當然離不開吃，而主角就是波士頓龍蝦及久違了的海鮮；清蒸鱸魚，和韭菜蠔仔煎蛋餅，在香港以外也能嚐到如此美食，真令人回味！飯後往波士頓公園（Boston Commons）散步，然後逛街購物，本想買一個新的行李箱（我帶去美國的那個，多年舟車勞頓後終於在波士頓挨不住），結果沒看中，但也買了兩頂禦寒帽及一對手套，還是那句：在美國購物真的很有吸引力！
最後一天，又是澳洲朋友帶隊，到波士頓另一所馳名學府——哈佛大學參觀。哈佛校園內的建築物大都有點古典味，到處的草坪都綠草如茵（若告訴你，其實我到波士頓前兩星期才下過大雪，你也會不信），而一般遊客最仰慕的，自然是哈佛的人像，不過遊客看到的約翰‧哈佛先生，原非其真人，歷史上恐怕也沒多少人看過其真面目。哈佛亦非創校人，祇是把其藏書及一半遺產在1638年留給這所大學的前身，後來有關方面為表感謝，便把該學院以哈佛命名，事隔200多年，再以另一名哈佛學生為模樣製銅像，由於不少遊客都會誤以為哈佛大學確由約翰‧哈佛在1636年創立，所以銅像也被人戲稱為「騙你三次銅像」（Statue of Three Lies）！
哈佛有另一個景點，就是哈佛博物館，凡是科學迷都不容錯過，博物館的一個展館，盡是由玻璃複製的植物標本，哈佛的植物學系，委托一家玻璃工匠為其標本用玻璃複製，一做便做了五十年，玻璃標本不祇色彩及形態跟實物神似，每個細節也不馬虎，枝葉的紋絡和末端都很仔細，真佩服工匠如何能做得細緻之餘又不會破爛。博物館也展出不少古代動物的化石，我第一次在一個地方看到這麼多化石，自然嘖嘖稱奇，我的朋友便給我介紹道，紐約的都市博物館，化石種類更多更廣一定要看看，好，下次一定記得。
我這個人，到最後一刻還要跟朋友在哈佛書店蹓躂，這樣才捨得離開哈佛，返回酒店領行李，然後趕往機場，到達時離起飛祇有一個小時，幸好飛行會員卡打救，可以用商務艙的專櫃辦理登機，馬上辦妥，真爽！不過下次都不敢玩得太盡了。
Cambridge is certainly flying high with its world-famous MIT and Harvard ! (Cambridge is the city right next to Boston proper.)
麻省理工及哈佛大學帶動整個劍橋（與波士頓毗鄰的區，兩所學府所在）都飛躍！
The Periodic Table of Alimentary Elements!
(Also known as a geeky menu ...)
飯食元素週期表
（一個有科學特色的菜譜）
The main building of MIT with its dome 麻省理工主大樓及圓頂
The Stata Center for Artifical Intelligence, full of architectural surprise on the outside and rain water inside on rainy days ...
Stata人工智能中心，設計獨特，包括天雨時能把雨水引導到室內……
Buildings in Boston city centre, new and old
新式和舊式建築，在波士頓市中心交錯
Boston Harbor - one of the inlets
波士頓港的一條內水道
Boston Harbor Hotel
波士頓海港酒店
Memorial for the Hungarian Revolution in 1956
匈牙利1956年革命紀念碑
Faneuil Hall, an important civic meeting place
芬尼爾會堂
Quincy Market
昆斯市場
Formerly an important wholesale meat market, it's now mainly a food hall.
從前的一大肉類批發市場，現為美食廣場。
A Holocaust commemoration
紀念二次大戰時猶太人遭逼害
Government Center
政府辦公室
Boston Common (left) and its adjacent Public Garden (right)
波士頓公園（左）及毗鄰的另一個公園
Massachusetts Legislature with its golden dome
麻省州議會，亦稱「金頂」
Trinity Church
聖三一教堂
Harvard University buildings showing their class
哈佛大學典雅的建築
Now don't be fooled again!
難道這是葉紹鈞《古代英雄的石像》的靈感？
The colour of these butterflies will change depending on the angle of viewing!
蝴蝶的顏色會因觀賞角度而變。
Glass replicas of botany specimens 玻璃複製的植物標本
Extraordinary crystals of minerals 非比尋常的礦物結晶
Dinosaur fossils 恐龍化石
Ancient elephant (left) and sloth (right) 古代象（左）及樹懶的一種（右）
Coelacanth, a well-known living fossil
腔棘魚，堪稱活化石
If humans keep threaening the livelihood of many animals, they will also be as dead as the dodo (left) and the great auk (right).
一去不復反的嘟嘟鳥（左）及大海雀（右），將來還會有如此的生態災難嗎？
I certainly made sure I didn't miss out on the best things Boston has on offer: universities and lobsters!
It was already early evening when I've settled into my hotel. An Australian friend of mine currently studying at the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) took me on a visit to the institution after a dinner nearby. MIT has a long tradition of not only academic excellence but also ingenious pranks known as 'Hacking'. It helps that many of the 'hackers' are good engineers or seasoned technicians of other types. Otherwise how could someone have attempted to put a police car on top of the dome of the main building without a crane? (My friend explained that those pranksters would probably have taken the car apart first, moved the parts one by one and re-assembled them back on the dome.) Those involved in this piece of engineering feat didn't lose sight of the lighter side of things, and remembered to place a parking ticket on the windscreen in the end! Hacking is probably a fair reflection of the students' creativity and university administrators' tolerance. It has never really been reined in by the university and is limited only by the participants' imaginations.
I spent the next morning wandering through the streets of the financial district, which looked deserted on a Saturday morning. It offered me the chance to stroll between the buildings leisurely and appreciate the Victorian architecture in the heart of Boston. (I have in fact noticed how the houses and the general lay-out of Boston were reminiscent of Europe as my plane was descending.) Towards midday, I met up with three Chinese people who have only recently moved to Boston from my research institute. None of us would have thought that we could catch up together so soon again. And funnily enough, I've already managed to bump into the Taiwanese couple among the three within my first few moments in Boston, when I was on the bus leaving the airport, and they were kind enough to take me all the way to the hotel! Our reunion started with a seafood feast boasting lobsters (of course!), steamed fresh bream and a Chinese omelette with small oysters. I was only too glad to be able to taste fresh seafood dishes like these outside Hong Kong! After the meal we took a stroll through the Boston Common, which is a park in the middle of the city, followed by some shopping. I was looking for a new suitcase as mine finally gave in to the burden of travel over the ages here in Boston. I didn't end up getting one but instead bought myself a weatherproof cap, a beanie and a pair of weatherproof gloves. Yes, I just can't help giving in to the lure of shopping every time I go to the USA!
On my last day, my Australian friend took me to another famous institution of Boston, namely Harvard University. The campus looked rather classy with the classical architecture of the buildings and lush green lawns everywhere. (Who would have thought that it was actually in the middle of winter and there was heavy snow two weeks beforehand?) There were masses of tourists waiting to worship the person of John Harvard at his statue, but if they were hoping to see the actual person, they would have been out of luck. They would not have been the only ones either, as historically there would hardly have been anyone who had any idea of how he looked like. Moreover, John Harvard was not the founder of the university but a benefactor who left his library of books and half his estate to the predecessor college in 1638. As a gesture of gratitude, the college was thus named after him, and 200 years later, a statue was made with a Harvard student as the model. All this information was listed on a plaque at the statue, but many people still chose to believe that the statue commemorated the founding of the university by John Harvard in 1636. The statue has fooled enough people by now that it's been dubbed The Statue of Three Lies!
Another attraction of Harvard is its museum which is simply a magnet for all science enthusiasts. One of the halls in the museum housed a collection of glass replicas of botany specimens. The specimens were kept at the Botany Department of Harvard University, which commissioned a family of glass artists to make glass models of their collection. Initially the project was meant to last 10 years, but it went on for a total of 50. The glass specimens have totally preserved the colours and appearance of the original details, down to the minute details of veins, the tapering end of leaves and really fine branches. It amazed me to think how details so fine and delicate could be produced without any breakages. Another part of the museum put up a display of fossils from all ages past. That was the first time I was able to see so many fossils at one place and I was suitably impressed. My friend suggested that I should also see the collection at New York's Metropolitan Museum which hosts a larger and more extensive collection of fossils. Now I'm really looking forward to it!
So determined to spend my time at Harvard to the max, I visited the university book shop for some time before rushing back to my hotel, picking up my luggage and running for the airport. I arrived only one hour before the scheduled departure of my flight, and fortunately that was enough because my airline loyalty card allowed me to check in through the Business class counter and everything was fixed in no time, cool! I don't think I'll want to do that again, though.
雪山的「優差」過後，又是放假的時候，橫豎未踏足美國東岸，我便到波士頓先玩三天（1月11至13日）才回德國，順道探望在當地的朋友。
波士頓最有名的，要算是其著名學府及龍蝦，我當然沒放過！
在下榻的酒店安頓後，已是傍晚，我有個在麻省理工唸博士的澳洲朋友，帶我到麻省理工附近吃一頓晚飯，然後參觀該學府。朋友告訴我，麻省理工有個悠久的「惡作劇」傳統（Hacking），其實惡作劇本身並無惡意，亦由於學生中不少是出色的工程師或其他技術人員，惡作劇往往都別出心栽，例如把警車在深夜運到大學主大樓的圓頂上（由於沒有用吊臂，所以應該是把車斬件，運上去後再次裝嵌），還要在車頭擋風玻璃貼上違例停車的告票！惡作劇手法層出不窮，校方也從來沒有禁止，正好反映學生的創意和校方的寬容。
第二天早上先在市中心金融區逛逛，星期六早上，人跡罕至，可仔細領略波士頓的具有維多利亞風格的建築（其實從飛機上已能感受到房屋的建築特色和佈局跟歐洲有幾份像）。中午跟三個剛從慕尼黑到波士頓工作的中國人見面，大家以前都在同一地方工作，從沒想到這麼快便再聚舊，更巧的是，其中的台灣夫婦，我第一天剛從波士頓機場出來乘公車時已經碰到，他們還好心帶我往酒店呢。聚舊第一炮，當然離不開吃，而主角就是波士頓龍蝦及久違了的海鮮；清蒸鱸魚，和韭菜蠔仔煎蛋餅，在香港以外也能嚐到如此美食，真令人回味！飯後往波士頓公園（Boston Commons）散步，然後逛街購物，本想買一個新的行李箱（我帶去美國的那個，多年舟車勞頓後終於在波士頓挨不住），結果沒看中，但也買了兩頂禦寒帽及一對手套，還是那句：在美國購物真的很有吸引力！
最後一天，又是澳洲朋友帶隊，到波士頓另一所馳名學府——哈佛大學參觀。哈佛校園內的建築物大都有點古典味，到處的草坪都綠草如茵（若告訴你，其實我到波士頓前兩星期才下過大雪，你也會不信），而一般遊客最仰慕的，自然是哈佛的人像，不過遊客看到的約翰‧哈佛先生，原非其真人，歷史上恐怕也沒多少人看過其真面目。哈佛亦非創校人，祇是把其藏書及一半遺產在1638年留給這所大學的前身，後來有關方面為表感謝，便把該學院以哈佛命名，事隔200多年，再以另一名哈佛學生為模樣製銅像，由於不少遊客都會誤以為哈佛大學確由約翰‧哈佛在1636年創立，所以銅像也被人戲稱為「騙你三次銅像」（Statue of Three Lies）！
哈佛有另一個景點，就是哈佛博物館，凡是科學迷都不容錯過，博物館的一個展館，盡是由玻璃複製的植物標本，哈佛的植物學系，委托一家玻璃工匠為其標本用玻璃複製，一做便做了五十年，玻璃標本不祇色彩及形態跟實物神似，每個細節也不馬虎，枝葉的紋絡和末端都很仔細，真佩服工匠如何能做得細緻之餘又不會破爛。博物館也展出不少古代動物的化石，我第一次在一個地方看到這麼多化石，自然嘖嘖稱奇，我的朋友便給我介紹道，紐約的都市博物館，化石種類更多更廣一定要看看，好，下次一定記得。
我這個人，到最後一刻還要跟朋友在哈佛書店蹓躂，這樣才捨得離開哈佛，返回酒店領行李，然後趕往機場，到達時離起飛祇有一個小時，幸好飛行會員卡打救，可以用商務艙的專櫃辦理登機，馬上辦妥，真爽！不過下次都不敢玩得太盡了。
Cambridge is certainly flying high with its world-famous MIT and Harvard ! (Cambridge is the city right next to Boston proper.)
麻省理工及哈佛大學帶動整個劍橋（與波士頓毗鄰的區，兩所學府所在）都飛躍！
The Periodic Table of Alimentary Elements!
(Also known as a geeky menu ...)
飯食元素週期表
（一個有科學特色的菜譜）
The main building of MIT with its dome 麻省理工主大樓及圓頂
The Stata Center for Artifical Intelligence, full of architectural surprise on the outside and rain water inside on rainy days ...Stata人工智能中心，設計獨特，包括天雨時能把雨水引導到室內……
Buildings in Boston city centre, new and old
新式和舊式建築，在波士頓市中心交錯
Boston Harbor - one of the inlets
波士頓港的一條內水道
Boston Harbor Hotel
波士頓海港酒店
Memorial for the Hungarian Revolution in 1956
匈牙利1956年革命紀念碑
Faneuil Hall, an important civic meeting place
芬尼爾會堂
Quincy Market
昆斯市場
Formerly an important wholesale meat market, it's now mainly a food hall.
從前的一大肉類批發市場，現為美食廣場。
A Holocaust commemoration
紀念二次大戰時猶太人遭逼害
Government Center
政府辦公室
Boston Common (left) and its adjacent Public Garden (right)
波士頓公園（左）及毗鄰的另一個公園
Massachusetts Legislature with its golden dome
麻省州議會，亦稱「金頂」
Trinity Church
聖三一教堂
Harvard University buildings showing their class
哈佛大學典雅的建築
Now don't be fooled again!
難道這是葉紹鈞《古代英雄的石像》的靈感？
The colour of these butterflies will change depending on the angle of viewing!
蝴蝶的顏色會因觀賞角度而變。
Glass replicas of botany specimens 玻璃複製的植物標本
Extraordinary crystals of minerals 非比尋常的礦物結晶
Dinosaur fossils 恐龍化石
Ancient elephant (left) and sloth (right) 古代象（左）及樹懶的一種（右）
Coelacanth, a well-known living fossil
腔棘魚，堪稱活化石
If humans keep threaening the livelihood of many animals, they will also be as dead as the dodo (left) and the great auk (right).
一去不復反的嘟嘟鳥（左）及大海雀（右），將來還會有如此的生態災難嗎？
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