We’ve had an uncharacteristically snowy week in Portland. I only got to see the beginning of it before I left on a business trip but Hendrik got to enjoy it all. He even got to work from home several days when the city essentially shut down. And to think I never got a snow day off from school in Idaho.
Bonus picture of the Steel Bridge with snow!
Schnee, schnee, die flocken fliegen.
I’ve grown quite familiar with this bridge over the past few months because it is the bridge my MAX train uses to cross the river on my commute. It has two decks and can be crossed by cars and light rail on the top deck and pedestrians, bicycle, and rail on the bottom. So far I’ve crossed by light rail, car, and foot. Two more modes of transportation to go!
The Steel Bridge from the East Side Esplanade.
My favorite fun fact about this bridge is that it was named after the bridge it was built to replace in 1912. That bridge was named the Steel Bridge after the exciting building material they used instead of the standard wrought iron in 1888. That’s right, the currently existing bridge is named the Steel Bridge because it’s predecessor was made of steel! I assume the existing bridge is made of steel too.
This bridge is a vertical lift bridge meaning that instead of opening like a draw bridge, the double deck lifts straight up the towers! First the lower deck telescopes into the upper deck and then both are lifted up. I bet it’s fun being the guy in the operator’s room in that little house on top of the second deck.
What century is this, America?
I grew accustomed to paying bills entirely electronically in the Netherlands and it is quite a shock to have businesses, especially small ones, and utilities allow and even prefer to be paid by paper check.
In fact, when we first opened our bank account in the Netherlands, we asked for paper checks and they stared at us blankly for a few seconds before they figured out what we were talking about and explained that they don’t even exist there.
Fast forward three years and step back into the dark ages of giving strangers a piece of paper with your bank account number. In the Netherlands, the business would give you its bank account number. Then you would log into your account using a PIN to generate a one-time code and pay them that way. Because of the secure system with the one-time code, it was safe to give out your bank account number to anyone who owed you money too.
Maybe we’ll catch up one day. At least our cards have chips now.
There’s not much new to say. We’re sort of getting into a routine now for commuting and work but I’m totally out of my routine for climbing.
This winter has been unseasonably sunny, which is great for my mood but not so good for the reservoirs that supply us with our drinking water or for the skiers on Mt. Hood. I have my umbrella just in case!
EisenOrem Adventures 