In September 2005 I attended the DPS conference in Cambridge, England, where my colleagues and I announced our discovery of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on Iapetus. It was fascinating to live for a week at Cambridge University, where such great thinkers as Sir Isaac Newton studied and taught. After the conference, I stopped in Denmark and Iceland on the way home. The history of these three countries is intimately tied together, as Denmark ruled both England and Iceland at times. In Denmark, I explored Kobenhavn (“Merchant’s Haven”) on foot, and had dinner at a wonderful resautrant, Det Lille Apotek (“The Little Apothecary”) set in a former chemists’ shop. In Iceland, I rented a car to tour the volcanic yet glacial landscape, visited Geysir—the original geyser—and Gulfoss waterfall, and dined on guillemot in Reykjavik. On the flight home I passed over Greenland, and also got my first view of the aurora borealis (“northern lights.”) Not bad for a “work” trip.
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| Cambridge University, England |
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| Christianborg Slot, Kobenhavn |
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| Gulfoss, Iceland |