Thursday, May 6, 2010

Toronto from a different perspective and dimension


On one of the days in Toronto, I decided to go up on the CN tower, which was at some point in time the highest free-standing structure in the world, a veritable tower of Babel in the city boasting the most languages spoken in the world (over 100 different languages and communities in Toronto.) 

It was a very auspicious day for going up, as Martin was in session at the conference, and he would have never agreed to join me.

When I got to the tower, I noticed that you could just go up or go up and also eat lunch in the revolving restaurant.  In 70 min. you can go all the way around, enjoy the view and have an excellent meal, with the "elevation" included.  I thought it was a good deal, especially since I was alone and it was lunch time,  so I was a total glutton and had a marvelous meal at 600 m above the metropolis.


See the municipal airport and islands across from the harbor front.  Someone at the conference landed at this airport and reported to have a rather scary landing, seeing nothing but water until the last moment.  Boats are not permitted to come close to the runway under severe threats of punishment.

You can see we are really pretty high up.  I tried not to eat too much though with the "elevation" you were required to have three courses.  For starters a Caesar's salad with the dressing on the side.  Interestingly, the romaine lettuce leaves were not even ripped into bits and the Parmesan  was in big sheets.  Thankfully, I know how the wield a knife together with my fork.  Then there was meat from the grill, which I did not all eat, and a rum pudding for desert.  The rum pudding was something new to me and most delicious and I have to confess I ate it all.  See below:


This was all pretty indulgent, but at least I can share the pictures with you.  Overall not a bad value for "elevation", "rotation", "relaxation", "meditation" and "edification".

I definitely recommend it.  Don't take anyone with you who does not like tall towers.  It should be said that the tower did NOT sway, though it can sway up to 3 m from the center.  The Calgary and Vancouver towers definitely sway. 

In terms of "meditation", being suspended between earth and sky for 70 min. with no conversation partner, was a different place to be in.  It made me think about the  space above and the universe and made me think about the microcosmic world, that is now the city below.  Everything that is the everyday world is now so small and hardly visible, like an atom with its electrons.   It made me wonder how God sees the world, hears the world, perceives the world.

The other day we talked about the "invisible", which God has also created.  We are so out of this loop.  We know next to nothing about it, this other world of the "invisible".  It seems unreal to us.  But why should it actually be unreal or unbelievable?  We now have dark matter and dark energy and all kinds of things in Physics that must exists according to mathematics, but that has not yet been detected.  Actually, everyday gravity is also pretty hard to describe other than mathematically.  Incredible, also, but proved.  From these towers we send signals all over the place, we receive them, hear them see them, we can explain the Physics of it, but it is still marvelous and unseen to us.  Some said the other day, it won't be long now and we will have devices to read people's thoughts.  Somehow, I don't think so;  but if we think technology might be able to do it, should God not be omniscient?

On the other hand, sometimes in life, the unseen seems palpable;  sometimes even evil seems palpable.  We think this life is it, what we know is all there is, but at the same time we know it's not. 

There is something else. 
We understand so little. 
We hardly know any why's and wherefore's, the past or the future. 
We only know what's given to us and what is given to us to explore.  But there is more.
There, that was the CN tower experience. After that I walked to the Queen's Quay and grabbed the double decker bus;  the ticket is good for 7 days;  also good value.

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