Saturday, November 21, 2009

What? It's over?!?


I can't believe it, it is time to fly home and it seems like I just got here!! Though I am so glad to be finished with my studio project, I can't believe it is actually time to go home. This trip has been unbelievable, there are things that I never though I'd see, and things that I'll never forget. It is sad to go for sure, but it will also be nice to see friends and family again.

Three months ago it felt like I was moving to a new home. I'd never been out of the country for longer than 10 days so 90 days felt like a lifetime. Berlin felt like my new home, whether I liked it or not, I was living there for at least 3 months. Luckily I was forced to stay, because as I wrote in my last blog, it was hard to stay but after time, I learned to love the city.

Studio is over! My crit when great and everyone seemed to really love my project, which was a relief. After studio, we all went out to a restaurant/pub and had a nice dinner with the German students. We talked about our work, the US, Germany, cars, anything and everything. I ended up staying at the restaurant talking with 3 of the German students until 11pm or so. Luckily they were nice enough to drive me home so I didn't have to deal with the subway. It was a great way to end a great semester abroad.

Anyway, I will miss Berlin, Germany, and the rest of Europe. Hopefully I can get back someday, I actually wouldn't mind live here, as long as I learned German. The picture at the top is a group pic of everyone on the trip (obviously), but it is taken in front of the bakery around the corner from studio. The woman in the red shirt and black vest is the owner of the bakery, nicest woman in Germany (also the best baker)! Every weekend, including today, she gave us a tray (2' x 3') with a mountain of pastries, for free. She would pile everything she could on that tray. Sometimes she even had it ready for us so that the next time one of us walked it, she would just go out back and grab it. If we didn't show up before closing time, she would throw pebbles at our window (we shared a courtyard) until someone noticed and then she would wave us over. I if I get a chance to come back the shop is still open so I can see our picture on the wall and point me out in the picture... I bet they'd give me a free coffee and pastry! ;)

Ok, so I think that is it for now. This will probably be my last blog in Germany as I turned in my key to studio so as soon as I leave, I'm out. I will post one more entry when I get home tuesday or wednesday, and then I'll be finished!

Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed my stories! I still saved some for when I get home, I'd be happy to share them with you in person!

Take care and Tschüss!

Friday, November 13, 2009

My Changing Views on Berlin


This is a 3 page paper I had to write for my humanities class, that it might be interesting to share.

Before coming to Berlin I had travelled to a number of different countries; Spain, Portugal, France, and Denmark, just to name a few. Though all of these countries were different, they also had many similarities, similarities that I expected from Berlin. I was ambitious and naive about coming to Berlin, ready to jump right into the culture and become a Berliner, but I was not ready for what I was about to jump into.

I guess you could say I was much like the character Hope from This Must Be The Place. I quickly found myself lost in a city, a culture, and a way of life. The language barrier probably hit me the hardest and it knocked me straight to the ground. I lost all of my ambition and quickly felt like I had become an outcast; people wouldn’t even sit next to me on the train. The biggest moment for me was mastering the U-Bahn trip from my apartment to my architecture studio space. This is when the tides started to turn.

Though we talked about WWII and the Berlin Wall during history class in high school, there was never mention of how it affected the citizens of Germany, or Berlin for that matter. All I knew about Berlin, and Germany, was the stereotype; their harsh and rough language, their love for beer, and their somewhat cold personality compared to the typical American personality. I knew that the city of Berlin had a lot of history and that architecturally, most of the historic buildings had been destroyed or damaged during WWII.

What I learned when I finally got to Berlin was that their language is very difficult, they do like beer very much, that they are very sharp and direct, but they don’t mean to be cold. But more importantly, I felt that the city of Berlin had a huge weight on their shoulders and that the rest of the world looks down on them for the destruction and devastation caused by WWII. It may have been the dark clouds and rain that helped fuel this feeling, but the presence of the past is hard to overlook as you pass buildings that are partially demolished and signs of was use to be the Berlin Wall. These things are hard to overlook, but once you do, you begin to learn about a pretty amazing city, and that is exactly what happened to me.

Like I mentioned before, the turning point for me was learning the U-Bahn. As foolish as it sounds, it was the first thing that finally made me feel like I was “at home.” What a strange term to use, “at home”, when you are thousands of miles away from home, but that is exactly how it felt. That was just the boost I needed to jump-start my original ambitions of becoming a Berliner. From there, it wasn’t long until I starting to pick up on the little cultural differences. I stopped acknowledging people I met on the sidewalk with a nod, I slowed down my life and took each day one step at a time, I even styled my hair and dressed like a German. Before long there were people approaching me for directions, people would make quick comments to me on in German expecting me to understand, and people actually started sitting next to me on the train.

It felt great to be accepted, the cultural barrier had been overcome and the only obstacle left was the language barrier, which I have yet to crack. But language or not, once I felt comfortable in the culture and felt at home, I began to see the real Berliners.

My stereotype was wrong, the Berliners are not cold hearted, they are just nice in their own way. More often then not, they spoke English. In fact I spoke with one gentleman who responded to “sprechen Sie Englisch?” with “Well of course I speak English, I live in Berlin.” But I was right about one thing; they do love their beer.

More importantly, I feel in love with the history and spirit of the Berliners. Though they do feel the pressure of WWII, they rise themselves above it. This is a culture who overcame a Communist Nation by creating social movements and protesting again a government, something they are, and should be, very proud of. It is that kind of history that makes it hard to not love a Berliner. In school we, Americans, are always taught about the bad and we never learn about the struggles the people went through to overcome the bad.

As my views of the Berliner changed, so did my views of the city. It wasn’t a dark and gloomy place anymore; it was a place full of history and mystery. The historic buildings that still stand have more meaning, that plaza that I walk through everyday went from being a destination to a place where rallies were held and where protests over threw the government. Check Point Charlie was no longer a hut on a street, it was a major historical element had significant importance, and I was standing right in the middle of the action. It was as if the city opened up and became a place of exploration with something new and exciting around every corner. After living here for three months, I feel as though there is still more to see and there is not enough time to see it all.

In the three months I have been here, and maybe a little before I arrived, Berlin went from being a new adventure, to dark and cold, to inquisitive, and finally to how I see Berlin now; amazing. If there was ever a time I looked to move to Europe, Berlin is where I would want to live. I feel with more time, that language barrier is something I could overcome. But with that aside, Berlin is not a place full of tourist like the other major European cities, but it still has just as much history, and more importantly, the pride and passion of that history is so strong.

It wasn’t until recently that I really saw this other side of Berliners during the 2009 20th Anniversary of November 9, 1989; the day the Wall came down. The concerts were great, the atmosphere amazing, but what really caught my attention was what I felt to be the main attraction of the ceremony; the domino wall. As the blocks fell and the way came tumbling in my direction, the crowd grew more and more impatient. The windows of the buildings that lined the streets filled, the people on the streets put their hands in the air as you could hear the roaring of the crowd get closer and closer.

After the wall had fallen and continued past, smiles, laughter, and tears followed. There was joy for the accomplishment of the Berlin citizens, joy showed in the forms of laughter and hugs, but also in the forms of tears. That is when I realized just how proud this society was of the battles that they, as citizens, fought in and won. The people lost along the way, the family split and reunited years later, the history they have had to overcome. That is what you do not learn in history class, but that is the true Berlin and all of that is masked by the immediate sights and stereotypes placed on the city and its citizens.

I would say that my view changed greatly during my time here and that this is a place I pride in calling “home.” After learning so much about the city and evolving myself in the cities history it is hard not to feel attached to the people here and call this home. I will forever live with a piece of Berlin with me.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

"... Tear down this Wall!"


So maybe the most defining moment of the Berlin Wall coming down 20 years ago was not the famous quote by US President Ronald Reagan, according to the Berliners, but is a historical moment for the US.

Either way, Monday, November 9th, 2009 marked the 20th anniversary of the day the Berlin Wall was torn down and the city of Berlin had a huge celebration, and I was right in the middle of it. The festivities started around 5pm, officially, and went on till after 11pm when I left. At the Brandenburg Gate there was a huge concert stage and major diplomats gave speeches throughout the night, Hilary Clinton gave a shout out for the States and President Obama made a speech via "live" video stream. Bon Jovi performed a quick number as well as U2.

The biggest attraction/celebration, and the one I found to be most powerful, were the dominos. Spanning from Postdamer Platz and the Brandenburg Gate were one thousand 8-10 ft blocks set up like dominos (Pictured Above). Each block was painted by a specific artist from all over the world and was an original design of the artist. Sometime around 9pm the first block was knocked over and down the line they came, each one falling one-by-one. It gives me chills to even think of it.

The blocks and the actions of the ceremony I can explain, but the atmosphere, which gave me the chills, can not be explained in words. First, to me, and some of my fellow classmates, Berlin seems like a much darker, dreary city compared to the states. It is not common to just start chit-chatting with someone on the street, like it is in the US, so the city just seems kind of gloomy to us. So to go to this event and to see the joy in the face of all the Berliners and not just joy, but specifically pride. Pride shown in screams, in tears, and hugs and kisses. The people of Berlin are the ones who tore down that wall, they were the most influential and it was their actions that brought down that wall, and that is something to be proud of.

For a moment, getting caught up in the excitement of watching this wall "fall down" all over again, it seemed like a felt a small glimmer of what it must have been like to see the original wall fall. It was an amazing thing to be apart of and is by far the best thing I have been apart of during my time in Europe, I wouldn't trade the opportunity for anything. No matter how cold it was or how much it rained that night, the spirit of the Berliners was a live and well and the adrenaline that pumped through your veins was enough to keep you warm in the coldest of weather. I wish you could have all been there to experience it for my words do it no justice. I strongly feel it is worth the trip on the 30th, 40th, and/or definitely the 50th year anniversary.

During my time here in Berlin I have learned so much about Germany's history, specially Berlin itself, more than any school book has taught me in school. Growing up we learn about the Nazi Regime and WWII and a little about the Berlin Wall. But there is so much we do not learn about the city and every new thing I learn about the city makes me fall a little more in love with it. Their history is so rich and their past is so dominate in the architecture and culture. I'm just happy to be apart of all of it.

But that is it for now, I am trying to post a video that I took of the "wall" tumbling by, I think it is exciting to just hear the crowds reaction as it approaches. I will post pictures also, but the video can be found on my Facebook page if I can't find alternative methods!

Only 13 days until I'm back on US soil, it's going to go by fast! So long for now!

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Busy, Busy, Busy, B!


Wow have I been busy!! So this week I came home from Athens on Sunday, had a group powerpoint presentation Wednesday, Thursday I was in Hamburg from 7am-9:30pm, another powerpoint presentation on Friday, AND my 10 page paper due Friday before 11pm! Needless to say, the amount of sleep and extra time was limited.

There are no signs of this slowing down either! Next week I have a 3 page paper due, a group project where we have to put together a book of sketches that analyze a number of spaces we visited through out our time in Europe, my sketch book itself is due (which I need to do some more work on), and another paper to write on Friday. The Friday after that is my Final Crit and then 4 days after that... I'm shipping out to Boston! WHAT?!

Ya, I have 18 more days here and then its on the plane. What happened to the time? I still thought it was October 1st. What happened to September? Was it fun? Anything interesting happen? And where is November going? Before I know it I'll be eating a huge turkey (deep-fried *hint*) with some squash, mashed potatoes, and corn with my family at a table that is way to small for us.. cause it just wouldn't be a family holiday if we had an appropriately sized table.

Needless to say, this journey has gone by as fast, of maybe faster, as I expected. Not to say that I have missed it, cause it has been great and I've made sure to take advantage of being here. I saw it as my last opportunity to be in Europe... which may VERY well be true.

So now that I've told you all my work that is due... time to do it! Talk to you later!! Soccer game tomorrow... maybe I'll post pics. Also, check out the pics from my day trip to Hamburg, it was a pretty cool trip.. minus the rain and cold weather!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Whoops... Athens!!


Ok, alright... it's been a while.. and yes, I know... BUT hey... let me explain. Ok.... well, I've been busy.. short story. You can read the next blog, which I may or may not write directly after this, for an explanation. This post is all about Athens!

First, check out the pics I posted! Link to the left under "Links" or something like that and it's called something along the lines "Study Abroad Album." If you haven't figured this out by now... then welcome to the blog... or just... wow.

So the parents came over for a week+ and took some time to tour Germany and then joined me on my trip to Athens. From what I hear, they had a very busy weekend driving through a lot of Germany. They saw a lot of beautiful stuff and very little time, but they had some very funny stories that I will let them tell, so if you're interested, talk to them. They have some very funny stories, so it will be entertaining.

On to Athens. The ruins are great and you'll see that from my photos. I had a lot of fun with the folks and they seemed to really appreciate the ruins also... and dad REALLY seemed to appreciate the small, tiny, microscopic ruins spread through out the city... which I'll admit bugged me a bit cause I wanted to see the big stuff, that is what amazes me! You can see in the pics that we had a pretty good time. Unfortunately, the city was no so impressive. I have used the term, along with everyone who I have talked to about the city, disappointing.

The ruins of Athens are so amazing and of course the history is also impressive. I think is common for people to see the city of Athens as this great place, home of what we consider the olympics, all of the Gods and Goddess' who were so important to the culture; but to go there and see how dirty and scary the city is, it is really is a disappointment. The place to be is on the islands. Unfortunately rain and poor weather kept us from going to the island, but everyone says that you have to go to or stay on the islands if you go, and I also recommend that. Stay on the islands and just come inland to see the beautiful ruins and then get back out of there.

Other than the ruins, I also enjoyed Plaka, which is a historic part of the city. It was very a live and full of shops. It was fun to walk through and see all of the goods you could buy. It was set up really weird though, like all of the clothing was together, then all of the jewelry was together, same with bags, beads, glassware, anything. I'm not sure if this was on purpose or if this is just how it turned out.. but it was just kind of different.

But I do still recommend going to Athens, the history is still there and that part of the city is beautiful. Just beware of the hotels and their locations... you can either get a nice hotel is a scary area or a crap hotel in a pretty good area, so just be careful and do extensive research and check various sites for recommendations! I can't warn you enough! But it's time to write my next blog and then get some work done... so keep reading! :)

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Day in the life


So as most everyone probably knows by now, my parents flew in Friday evening, I skipped part of class to go meet them at the airport (ssshhh!) and then met up with them later in the day after class.

Friday night we all went to the Eisbären Berlin hockey game and had a great time. They were pretty tired, as I knew they would be, but the arena is so loud all the time that I knew it would keep them awake. They love their Eisbären here! They did win 3-0 and it was a very action packed game, full of excitement.

Yesterday (Saturday), after a confusing morning of trying to find my parents/waiting around the hotel until they returned from their morning adventure, we set out for a day of shopping and sight seeing.

We started in Alexanderplatz, where their hotel was, and hit up a few stores there and took a stroll into the huge mall over there. I mean huge. From there I brought them over to my studio and showed them where I work and spend 90% of my time in Berlin, it's not very impressive, but there was internet and we needed to check out museum times online. Then! I took the 'rents across the street to a little slice of heaven called "Iss Was." We are not really sure what it means, it translates to "Eat What" so I think it means you can eat whatever you want because they have everything from Döners to Burgers to Pizza... wide selection.

So over to Iss Was, I introduced my father to the world of Döner Kebabs, but mom wasn't very interested, so she stuck to her familiar cheeseburger. So I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this before, but its worth explaining again. Döner Kebabs, other than being a marvelous food, is a Turkish fast food, equivalent to BK and McD's in the states. But it's better than BK, cause the food isn't frozen. Döners are made up of 3 things; some kind of bread/pocket thing, meat, and mixed veggies, all topped with a choice of sauces. The meat is the variable, it can be many different kinds of meats, but the traditional meat is lamb, and it is so good. So the mean rotates as a heat source cooks it evenly. When you order one, they cut the meat off fresh and prepare your Döner. I like mine with lamb meat, garlic sauce, and all mixed veggies. Anyway, dad seemed to really like it, but mom wouldn't even try a piece of the meat... she's not very adventurous when it comes to food. I'll get to try one before she leaves...

So after that great experience, I took them to see Check Point Charlie and to the CPC Museum and showed them some of the escape techniques used, there are a lot of cool things there and I highly recommend going if you ever visit Berlin. It was my second time at the museum and I loved it just as much as the first. There is so much to see and the stories are so interesting, they are hard to imagine, let alone believe they actually occurred. I got a great picture of Mom and Dad in front of Check Point Charlie so I will post that as soon as I get it... it was on Dads camera.

After that we did some more shopping in the CPC area souvenir shops and looking for stuff for friends and family. I think mom and/or dad might have gotten something, but I'm not sure, I found a few things but I'm gonna keep looking, I can always go back if I don't find anything else. From there I took them to a major shopping strip in town (for those die-hard readers, this is the same strip that I saw all the super high-end cars on). Dad wanted to check out KaDeWe, which was the start of the shopping street. I don't know if you've ever heard of this place, but dad said it was kind of a tourist attraction because it is so high end. I was looking at watches for 3,000€, dress shirts for 100€, I could go on forever. It actually kind of became a game to see who could find the most expensive article of clothing! Anyway, we experienced the store and left due to the realization that we were never going to buy anything!

We ended a great day of exploring at the Hard Rock Cafe and had a great meal and a very nice waitress. I believe my parents enjoyed the day, they both really enjoyed just walked down the street at night with all the shops and cars and buildings lit up, mom said it was nice to see the real city and not just all the tourist attractions. I would have to agree with here, I had walked down that street a few times, but never at night, and it was really nice to see the city as it is, and not through the eyes or a tourist.

So I guess that is it for now. The folks are out adventuring the rest of Germany right now, they will be back Tuesday night or Wednesday, then we set sail for Athens on Thursday morning! Woo0hoo0! Stay posted for pics and such. Catch ya soon.

Bis später

Rewind...


Ok, I have to take a second and rewind a little bit here. I realized recently that I totally forgot to mention how incredible the food in Italy was, so I will do that now.

The first night in Italy I was a little place called Siena, it's a great little city up in the hills that has a lot of medieval history and buildings, great place. Anyway, after a fairly late night of touring around the city, I was ready for a nice slice of Italian pizza, and I found it. It was only a little shop, nothing special, with a small standing bar to each a slice and leave. But the assortment of pizza was incredible and I had no clue what any of it was. I ended up getting a slice of cheese, a slice of cheese and hotdogs, and a slice of something that I don't even know, but it still tasted amazing. This pizza was the best pizza that I have ever had, at the time, so good that I actually told my professional-pizza-loving uncle that pizza in the states will never be the same. It's true, there is not a single pizza in the states that will ever compete with Italian pizza, unless it's a pizza shop owned by people who moved there from Italy and fully Italians and have lived in Italy for x number of years and know exactly how to make this pizza. But lets face it, there are a lot of variables there, plus their ingredients would still be American, still wouldn't be the same.

The place in Siena sold the pizza by the slice, but there were a few places I went to in Rome that sold it by the kilo. Ya, they had big rectangle pizzas and you went in and told them how big you wanted them to cut it, they would cut it and weigh it and thats how much you paid. Additionally, they cut the pizza with scissors instead of the traditional pizza-cutter that we more commonly use in the US. I thought that was interesting.

Ok, enough about pizza, I could talk about it all day... plus it's making me a little hungry. Lets talk pasta, not that it will make me any less hungry. So the first night I was in Rome it was my mission to go to a restaurant and get a real Italian meal of spaghetti and meatballs, of course this did not happen as I planned. After finding a restaurant that I found to be good quality with a good price, I sat down to observe the menu, which contained nothing about meatballs. Broken hearted, I opted for the lasagna. I was shocked by the prices of a pasta dish, the most expensive dish was maybe 11€, and it had shrimp in it, then I received my lasagna and realized why it was so cheap.

So apparently pasta is like a first course meal in Italy, then you order the more expensive main course. In front of me sat a large, but not meal size, slice of lasagna that was suppose to serve as my entire meal because I did not order a main course. Needless to say, it was a very inexpensive and non-filling meal. But still delicious.

From that point on I learned to order some bruschetta to go along with my meal. Overall the meals was delicious and the pasta is more amazing than the pizza. There is so much to the pasta that makes it better, and they are all better! The pasta is cooked better, the sauce is, well it's just unbelievable, the meat is just an extra bonus to an already perfect dish. If I lived in Italy for an extended period of time, I would have a hard time eating anything other than pizza and pasta... which I already have a hard time with but that is only cause it's quick and easy to make. And anyone who really knows me well, knows that I can eat the same meal over and over again for months... maybe even years.. I don't know.

Anyway, all this food talk has made me ridiculously hungry... so that needs to change. I'm feeling Döner Kebab. Which is a good segway into my next blog; my parents arrived safely friday evening and I took them to a restaurant to introduce my father to the world of Döners, check it out later.

Oh ya, one last thing about Italy... sweet Ducati's!

Ok, I'm gone, Tschüss!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

When in Rome...


When is Rome, there is apparently no internet! Sorry for the long delay since my last post, but it was pretty hectic leading up to the days of Italy. With my mid-crit the Wednesday before I left for Italy, I was very busy that weekend, and the Monday and Tuesdays leading up the crit, getting all my work ready to display. Then first thing Thursday morning was my flight to Italy, where I had very poor internet and could not post or upload any photos. But here I am, back in Berlin and streaming freely on the internet.

To start, my mid-crit went well. I hope to get some pictures online soon, but there isn't much to show, nothing is really set in stone yet, but I suppose I can show you what I have finished. I felt I got a lot of good feedback on my crit, the most helpful was to simplify my concept. I have 1 major concept, which is making a visual connection to the surrounding neighborhood, and 2 minor concepts; creating different non-program spaces inside and out, and splitting the program into two different spaces (private and public). The feedback was that the visual connection concept is so strong by itself that the other two concepts weaken it, so I need to simplify my building so that the visual connection isn't lost. It makes sense to me, and I agreed with the critics, so that where my project is heading.

As for Rome, well Italy in general, what an amazing country! I obviously had a blast and loved it. The ruins of Ancient Rome are so amazing. The size of them is so impressive even today, it is hard to imagine what people thought of it then. The only thing I can relate to the feeling is the construction of the Burg Dubai, which is an astonishing 1/2 mile tall tower, but even that doesn't compete with the Colosseum, which was built in like 70 AD, obviously before the invention of sky-scrapping machinery, loaders, and trucks that we take advantage of today.

Anyway, the weather a bit rainy, which was unfortunate, but the last day and 1/2 cleared up and we did manage to get a little bit of sunshine. The city was beautiful, the people were friendly, the gentleman at the coffee shop we went to every morning tried to teach us Italian, but I still don't know the language, other than the few Spanish words I know that are the same in Italian.

Next weekend I go to Athens with my parents and I expect to be just as amazed by the ruins there. I'm really excited for this trip, it is my last big trip during my time here. After that I have a couple day trips in Germany, one to Hamburg. Then shortly after that it will be a long flight back to the US just in time for a great turkey dinner and Black Friday, which I will probably be wide awake for because my internal clock will still be 6 hours ahead!

For now it's back to work, I'll try to post again this weekend, not much going on this week until my parents arrive on Friday! It should be a good weekend around Berlin, but I hope they bring their rain coats cause the forecast is calling for cold, cold rain! *hint,hint*

Until next time, take care!
Tschüss

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Eisbären Berlin!


Last night I went to an ice hockey game here in Berlin and it was a great time! I loved it! The skill wasn't nearly NHL caliber, but it was still fun hockey to watch and the crowd was very rowdy and very involved in the game. It was like a hockey game with a futbol game crowd.

My roommate and I decided to buy tickets kind of last minute... so we ended up paying €40, but the seats were great! We were 13 rows off the ice, so we were just high enough to see over the class but still be pretty close. We sat on the long side on the end the home team shot twice on. To our right was the local rowdy section, it was standing room only, so it was legit "rowdy" section. There were people with drums and noisemakers and I don't think the entire section stopped yelling at any point in the game.

Unfortunately the game ended as a 6-2 loss, but the experience was so awesome and the atmosphere was so intense that it still made for a great game, win or lose. I go again in two week with my parents. I bought seats right behind the rowdy section, so we'll be right in the heart of it... this may be moms first pro-hockey game, I think she's in for quiet the experience! After that, it's only a month until I come home... unbelievable!

Check out the pics I posted of the game using the link to the album to the right. I've been having issues uploading all of them, but I'll get them up there, I promise!

That's it for now, gotta get back to work! Later!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Barcelona, Hola y Adiós!


Ok, so I've been slacking on the blogs... put c'mon, I was in Barcelona! Give me a break! Yes, it was awesome and I instantly feel in love with the city, as I expected I would. I didn't want to leave, I actually dreaded coming back to Berlin! The weather was beautiful, I don't think it went below 77 degrees all day, even at night time it was comfortable to wear shorts or pants. How is that weather back in New England?! Shorts are still ok, right? Ha!

But to make-up for not posting lately, I did post a ton of pictures! So you can work you way on over to the photo album using the link to the right and check those out. There are tons of pictures from Barcelona and I even put some up of Oktoberfest, though I am still looking for some more to put up, so more should be coming, some day. :)

So while I was in Barcelona, I saw a lot of cool things; Catedral Basilica De Barcelona, La Ramblas, Magic Fountain, Sagrada, Park Guell, FC Barcelona, Barcelona Zoo and Aquarium, La Pedrara (Casa Mila), the Olympic Stadium, and a few other things that I'm sure I'm forgetting. I also got to see a Red Bull Air Race, which I had see on TV before, but it is so cool to see in person. These planes fly through a pretty tight obstacle course reaching speeds of 200+ mph... insane.

I even found a few things that were closely related to my design for my studio project. The entrance to the Aquarium was set up almost identical to the way I am proposing the entrance to my Student Center, so it was nice to see it in built form and learn how it was successful and how it was not so successful. I also found this somewhat interesting "park" are that I don't think was very successful in its current location, but it really addressed the concepts I am working with in my design, well. So it was nice to see my concepts in built form, so now I have something to work with and an idea in the back of my head.

So again, I apologize for the lack of posting, but with all this travel, work, and even filling out some application for Grad school.. it's been a little crazy! I'll try to pick it up... but next week is Mid-Term... and that is just about the time the studio project takes an overload, cause the semester is 1/2 over!! Alright, wish me luck, we'll talk soon.

Guten Tag, Tschüss!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Oktoberfest


So this is kind of an experimental post. It is now 5pm on Friday afternoon here, my train leaves for Munich in about 5 hours. In this one post, I plan to talk about pre-train events, then pause for the day and enjoy Oktoberfest, then finish the post Sunday morning, Post-Oktoberfest.

There are really two way this could end up, pretty interesting... or a complete failure. I'm hoping for the first one, but preparing myself up for the later.

Like I said,it's 5pm here, I'm on a rather large break from class and am about to start up the last part of class any minute. We took a tour of the Berlin Wall museum earlier this afternoon and it was pretty cool. There is so much history here and it is all hard to believe. When you look at the city now, everything seems to normal for me, it is hard to believe at some point in time (not to long ago) there were people killed for attempting to cross this wall that split the city in two and created two different worlds, not just cities.

Today we learned about "No Mans Land" and how they used the space not only to spot people escaping, but how the also raked the soil so that they could see footprints and find all the hotspots so they could block them, and also they could use the footprints and track who was on in that area and punish them. We were told of a story about this man who was separated from his wife and family, so when a new sports car came out which only stood 3ft from ground to top of the window, he went out and bought it. He put his wife in the truck and his mother-in-law squeezed in behind the seats. He deflated the tires as much as possible so that when he approached the gate he appeared to be pulling out his pass and then gunned it at the last second and went right underneath the gate at Check Point Charlie! It was so close that he had to duck his own dead!

Anyway, pretty interesting stuff. But tonight I leave it all and go to Müchen for the Oktoberfest celebration. This will be a first for me and I don't really know what to expect. I know there is going to be tents and tons of people, but other than that, I don't really know what to expect. I'm excited to see this though, this is a tradition that started in 1810, it is the worlds largest fair! So like I said, the train leaves here around 10pm and arrives in Munich at 6am Saturday morning. That gives us a solid 8 hours to sleep if we want.. which I plan to do! We enjoy the city and culture until 11pm and then arrive back to Berlin at a wonder 7 am Sunday morning! Pretty good plan... I don't see ANYTHING going wrong! :)

Thats it for now.. catch ya on the flip side...


It is now the flip side! I got back from Munich Sunday morning, but I didn't feel like posting yesterday, so I am doing it today instead. Oktoberfest was awesome and I had a really good time. When they said its the worlds biggest fair... they mean it. This place had like a full size roller coaster and everything. It was almost like an amusement park, but with the feel of being a fair.

We arrived in Munich at around 6:30 am Saturday morning and followed the waves of people wearing the lederhosen to the site of the actual fair. It was only a 10 minute walk, so it wasn't bad. We were there pretty early, we stepped in line at the first beer tent around 7, but none of them even opened until after 9. We first got in line in the front of the building, we were only 4-5 rows back, so we were in pretty good shape. Then everyone started moving to the side... apparently you enter from the side entrance.. the front is for looks only! This made us fall back in line a ways and by the time we entered the tent there were no more seats! NOTE TO EVERYONE, if you are ever looking to go to Oktoberfest, reserve a seat at a beer tent before you go... its an extra 50€, but you're guaranteed a spot to sit all day. You have to reserve months in advance, so don't plan last second.... like I did.

Anyway, we ended up eating outside, but it was still fun to walk inside and check out the festivities. People kept standing up on the table and chugging their beers... probably 1/2 liter at a time. Everyone would start chanting "chug, chug, chug" and if they finished it there would be a big cheer, and if they left even a sip left, they would all boo! There is no mercy! People all over are chanting their "cheers" song before they all take a drink, and more everyone threw out a "PROST!", which is the equivalent of 'cheers.'

The food was amazing. I ended up eating some kind of goulash, which is like a beef stew, and mine had small pieces of potato in it. It was so good, I wish I could have more! I also tried to get pictures of the kitchen area, you'll have to look at the pictures to really understand what I'm talking about, but there was more rotisserie chicken than I have ever seen in my life! 10-15 chickens per rotisserie stick, and 5-8 sticks all rotating along this wall of heat! It was so crazy to see. On top of that, there is a giant big, I've also never seen a pig this size, rotating on it's own rotisserie. It was like a big you see the Mythbusters use on their show... full size... just there. You'll have to see the pictures to fully appreciate this. We also ate a lot of pretzels, very big pretzels. I'm not sure if I got a picture of this, but it was probably 18" wide and probably 3" thick. I didn't know how to order, so I just told the waitress "Groß Bretzel!", which is 'Big Pretzel!" and she brought one.

Anyway, I am in the process of posting pictures, so keep an eye of the Picasa page (link can be found on the right) for new pictures of Oktoberfest and more.

This has been a very long post, but I think it was pretty successful, before and after thoughts. The train ride home was long, but I'm pretty sure everyone slept, it was pretty long day in Munich, and we had just enough energy to walk back to the apartment at 8am Sunday morning and go back to bed for a few hours.

Overall, it was a great trip and I suggest it to anyone. The beer tents are just a small part of it and can easily be avoided. There is an entire fair there and I'm sure there is way more then we saw. It was so big and so easy to get lost... which happened a few times! Though after 6 it starts to get a little more rowdy. Everyone has been drinking since 10am, and around 6pm is when they start playing more modern age music so young kids get a little crazy, until then they play original festive music so it is not as bad.

Ok, seriously, that is it for now!

Take care, Tschüss!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

One Crit Down, 4 To Go?


So I'm not sure how many more crits I have until the Final Crit, but I am one more crit closer than I was! After a late night in the studio, 4am to be exact, I had a very successful studio crit and am feeling very good about my project. Was it worth staying till 4? Yes, because my other other option was to leave at 11, and at the point I would have regretted leaving without pushing more work out.

See, here is the big flaw in the living situation here in Berlin. It takes me 45 minutes to get from my apartment to studio. It is all by subway and there is only one place I have to get off and switch lines, but it still takes a long time. The apartment is bout 4-5km from the studio, so walking there anytime between 11-4 is out of the question, but the last train leaves the nearby station at 11, and if you are not on it, you have to wait for the next one... at 4am!

So I willing missed the 11pm train knowing that I should stay and pump out some more work, and that is what I did and it paid off big. My professor loved where I was with my design, he was a little concerned with the fact that my building is based on 3 different concepts: Views, Circulation, and Spaces. He felt that my building focused around 1 very powerful central view, which is correct and that was my intention. His concern was that my other two concepts might start to take away from that one central view as my project progresses. I saw his point and have already thought of some ways to make the central view the top priority and make my other concepts minor supports. This should be good.

With that, my next step is getting my building ready for the engineering students, who will come in next Monday and be "HVAC consultants." This should be interesting, I think it will be the first time any of us have really worked 1-on-1 with an engineer. We will need to meet their needs and they will help guide our building from wasting too much energy and show us areas that need improvement.

I am looking forward to all of this, I hope all this traveling doesn't tire me out too much and I lose my motivation and ambition on this project. I like where it's going and I'm already excited to see the end result!

Thanks for the support all. But now it is time for me to go to bed... even though it's only 7pm!

Gute Nacht!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Back in Black


Guten Abend!

Back to Berlin and back to studio! I arrived back to Berlin Saturday night around 10:30, made some food, and called it a night. Prague was pretty cool, I posted a lot of pictures, which I will give you the address for soon. The city was full of history and a little bit of modernism was sprinkled in here and there. It still amazes me how buildings from the 20's look like they were built yesterday. Not only in their condition, but in their style and modernism. Those are the builds that make me want to be an architect, if I ever design a building that still looks modern even 80-90 years later, I'd be happy.

But being back to Berlin means back to studio and back to work. Yesterday I did nothing... all day. Luckily for me, no one did work. Everyone was pretty exhausted from Prague and very unmotivated to do any work, so nothing got done. But unlike everyone else, I came in to studio early and pumped out some good design ideas, which my professor really liked, so I'm in good shape.

So about the pictures. It has been kind of a pain to get these pictures all organized in a place where anyone and everyone could see them. I originally, for those die-hard views who have been reading since the beginning of time, had designed a webpage that contained both my pictures and blog all under one convenient roof. But for everything good, there is a bad, and for whatever reason I had issues uploading to my domain and had to seek alternative methods. So long story short, I started using this method to post my blog and using Facebook to post pictures, but not everyone on here has access to my Facebook account. So yet again, I had to seek alternative methods, which lead me to using Flickr, which I found I could only post 200 pictures unless I wanted to pay $26, which then lead me to Picasa. Picasa is free and is a Google page, so as of right now everything is perfect. I have 1 gig of free space, so I hope that doesn't fill up, we will have to see. Anyway, the address to my Picasa page is:


I will add to the links section on the homepage of my blog, just incase you forget it. But I think that is it for now, I have to get back to work, we have a critique Wednesday and the students from the school that gave us the tour are coming to watch, so I want to impress and I want to have a lot of stuff for them to look at so they can try and understand how the building might actually look like. It is still very conceptual right now and that will make it hard to understand. Anyway, off to work.

Auf Wiedersehen!

Friday, September 18, 2009

Prague... not pronounced like the sauce


So it's been a few days... but it has also been a very busy few days. With the project underway, heading to Prague Thursday, and now a critique Wednesday, it is easy to say that I've been very busy.

But... the past couple days I have been in Prague, and I must say, I'm liking the city. Like Paris, we are staying right in the center of the historic town. There are so many history buildings, monumental buildings, and even old town blocks and town houses. The buildings are amazing and the city just seems to light up at night. Each historic building is brightly lit and is clearly visible from across the river, which splits the original city in two. The Prague Castle is beautiful and its almost impossible to capture its true beauty with a camera.

There are many town squares and areas along the river that are specifically staged for the sights of the old city. I am currently studying one square that is adjacent to the river and has buildings on 3 sides, but the buildings are oriented in a way that draws your eye not to them, but to the view across the river. The space is amazing and well planned. To draw tourist and users into the space, Frank Gehry was commissioned to design a building on the corner, and he designed an iconic building that you can't stop to see if you come to Prague. Once you're there, it is the orientation of the rest of the buildings that turns your focus elsewhere. The view is amazing and it only gets better at night.

Oh, I forgot to mention, we are staying on a Botel during our visit in Prague. Yup.. that is a hotel... on a boat! It's pretty crazy, the rooms are tiny! Two people per room, and its right quarters. My roommate is about 6'-5" and the shower is about 18"x18"... I hardly can fit in there... I can only image how awful it is for him. But luckily, the shower head is removable so you don't have to move much, just need room to move the shower head around you.

So yesterday I had rabbit for the first time... and it wasn't bad. There wasn't much meat to eat... well, I didn't know what meat to eat and not to eat... and there was a lot of bone! But the meat itself was pretty good, it was a lot like chicken, but just had more taste to it. I can see why Bear Grylls gets so pumped when he catches one.

Also, the Czech money, koruna, is actually worth LESS then the USD!! Its about 17 korunas for $1.

A disco boat just went by.

Anyway, the USD is still strong here, but also products cost like 500 korunas! It is crazy to go buy a drink and it says 33,00! Then you realize that is only $2 and every things is ok again. Last night 5 of us went out for dinner and our bill came to 1,755... but after you break it down, I only paid $20 for what would be a $30+ meal in the states.

So I think that is it for tonight, I know I'm forgetting stuff, as I do every time I write these, but I touch on most everything. It's time for bed now though, so good night!!

The disco boat just went past again... the opposite direction this time... I wish I had my camera on me

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Stu-Stu-Studio

So my first week of actual class is over… and it has only just begun! The professors made sure to load everything onto us all at once! Almost all of our assignments for the semester have been given to us and it is a little overwhelming! Here is the break down.

For our actual studio we will each design a student center for a school, much like a high school in America. Part of the building is from pre-WWII, the rest of the building and its surrounding area is post-WWII. The school is adjacent to a major street corner, elevated rail system, and a river. On the other side of the river is a more historic and rich neighborhood. Tomorrow we visit the school and talk to students, but we also need to have a group model of the surrounding neighborhood, which includes all of the buildings and their correct height. We actually need TWO of these models, one for the students upstairs, one for the students downstairs (our studio is split into two floors). So that is what I have been doing this weekend, as well as some sketches of my own proposed building. This project is due in 3 phases; initial iterations, design development, then the final product at the end of November.

Next is the Urban Design class, which we travel to Prague, Siena, Rome, and Hamburg. For each of these trips there is a group that has to work together and produce a PowerPoint of the cities history, buildings, architecture, and such. My city is Hamburg and it is the last city we visit, so I’m worried that everyone will wait till the weeks before we go to do all of this work, which will also inconveniently be during the heart of our studio design that will no doubt take up 90% of my time. We may also have to each write a paper on the city, I’m not 100% sure about that right now.

On top of all that, Humanities is requiring each student to write 1 paper, present 1 PowerPoint, and write the final paper on the last day of class. This actually isn’t too bad by itself, it’s the addition of the other work that makes it difficult. The paper will be given to each student by the draw of a hat, so no one knows what their topic will be until the end of class. If your name gets drawn at the end of class, you better hope you were paying attention during that class because that days topic is the topic of your 3 page paper. Luckily, the paper isn’t due until the end of the semester. Four students already got chosen last class, so they are won’t be chosen for the rest of the semester. The PowerPoint we signed up for. I paired up with my roommate and are making a PowerPoint about the Berlin Airlift. Should be pretty straightforward and easy... should be. The final paper I am not at all worried about cause we write it in class on the last day of class and we already know the topic. It is basically a reflection paper on what we learned from the class.

So here is to hoping everything runs smoothly! We travel to Prague for 4 or 5 days starting Wednesday, so I’ll write again about that experience, should be exciting!

Goten Morgen und Tschüss!

Friday, September 11, 2009

America Vs. Europe


Ok, so this has been a long time coming and it may be a pretty long post just cause there is a lot to say. But let me first say that I am not saying that either side is better then the other, I'm just pointing out key observations that when I first saw them made me look twice because it was different then what I am use too.

First, as I have mentioned before, bicycles are on the other end of the spectrum here, compared to the Sates. Not everyone though, but on average. For example, Amsterdam was packed full of bikes and they had the right of way over pedestrians. You could take them any where, park them any where, the city just made it so much easier to own a bike over a car. Paris, not as many bikes, but they did have these "bike station" where you can rent a bike and then park it at another "station" where ever you were going. So it was kind of like renting a bike, and it was was tied into your Metro pass, so the bikes were often found at Metro stations and you just tapped your card, the bike unlocked, and off you went into the sunset. Pretty cool concept. In Berlin, there are not as many bikes as Amsterdam, but they have special bike lanes that do not share the road with cars but are actually more sharing the sidewalk with pedestrians. My fellow students and I often finding ourselves walking on them without realizing it, because it is only symbolized my a change of brick with no type of barrier, and jump out of the way as we hear a bicycle bell come flying up behind us. Basically they just make it easier for people with bikes so more people own them, and I like that.

Another big one is the cleaning service. I noticed this more in Amsterdam and Paris than in Berlin (so far). But basically, Amsterdam doesn't seem to wake up until 10 or so, and I think it's due to them staying up until 3. The town is most lively at like 1-2, so you can imagine that there is a huge mess in the streets the next morning. Well, not for long because city workers, on feet and street cleaners, are up early in the morning sweeping up all the streets. Not saying the place is spotless, but it does seem cleaner. One night I was walking home and this one street at literally hundreds of Fanta bottles all over the place, the next morning, GONE! I've also seen this in Spain, so I know it is a common European concept.

This is kind of annoying to me, but when you buy bottles here in Berlin, you can get charged up to 50 euro-cents as a deposit. You get it back when you return the bottle, but you can only return it to a store who sells that same product. So if I buy a coke, I have to return it at a store that sells coke. I guess if you buy something from Aldi, which is a grocery store that I bought my groceries at a few posts ago, you have to return them at Aldi and Aldi only! Kind of annoying.

This is a gimme, but the cars over here are crazy! First, in Berlin, the traffic lights go Green-Yellow-Red and then Red-Yellow-Green. This country is made for fast cars... and they show it. As soon as that goes from Red-to-Yellow, those cars are gone! Second, I walked down a "rich" shopping street today and passed by several Lamborghini's, Ferrari's, Aston Martins, and a few high end Audi, I think it was an R8. But I have seen these cars go flying by near my studio and apartment, so they are pretty common, unlike back home.

Lastly, for now, is COLD MEDICINE! I've been sick since Amsterdam with some kind of cold. I've been to two pharmacies since my arrival in Berlin and have come out with the wrong thing the first time and empty handed the next. Apparently they do not have "cold medicine" like we do in the States. They also, that I have found, do not have stores like CVS or Rite-Aid where you can walk in and look at all the non-perscribtion meds you can think of. Trying to explain you have a cold and not a fever and just want to treat the cough, in German, is hard. The first time I was given medication for a sore throat. The second time she was trying to give me a pain medication for my chest. All I want is some Tylenol Cold & Sinus! All well, should have brought some, bad planning on my part!

Anyway, that is it for now, time to some food, after my 45 minute train ride home! Take care all!

Tschüss!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Berliner

Well, I've finally reached Berlin and it has been so nice to settle in, as I expected. The apartment is awesome, fake leather furniture, big windows that open 270 degrees, and kitchen, bathroom, and two bedrooms. It's pretty nice. I tripped the breaker about 10 times and blew a fuse in my converter trying to get my US power strip to work... it did not. But I didn't burn anything, so everything is good.

Also, you might notice that the site has changed and you are now reading this on Blogger.com. This change is due to issues with connecting to my WIT web space and therefore I can not upload my blog and pictures. So I have made the step over to Blogger, which runs much more smooth.

Back to Berlin. I went grocery shopping yesterday morning and that was an experience. I went to this small store, which was hidden and nothing like what we would think of as a grocery store. It was more like a dollar store theme then a grocery store. Anyway, I brought my own recycling bags and almost loaded up both of them with spaghetti, oranges, apple and orange juice, milk, cereal, and a bunch more, all for 10 euros! But I get to the check out, there is only 1, and she rings up my items and slides them past the scanner to this tiny little bagging area, which is where I am suppose to gather my money, give it to her, receive my change, all while bagging my own items that she has just rung up. Then as I was finishing up bagging, she was throwing items of the person behind me into my mix, but luckily I knew the person behind me, so it was ok. It was all crazy.

Today I am doing some shopping on a street that is said to be filled with stores. I have a few things I need to get, and a few groceries that I forgot to get yesterday. A bike is in order for me also, as long as I can get one for under 30 euros. I'm obviously looking for a used one, but bikes are really cheap over here because they are not as fancy as the 21 speeds in the States, it is basically a classic bike with one speed... sometimes you can get one with multi-speeds.

Anyway, it's time to get on the road, still have nearly a full day ahead! Enjoy your day in the States, hopefully the weather is a nice as it is here!

PS. Pics coming soon... I've been kind of lazy with the pics lately... trying to catch up and get some relaxation

Friday, September 4, 2009

Au Revoir, Paris




We are on the road today, left Paris, touring through southern France and then off to stay at a pilgrimage for the night. I’m probably going to make this entry short, just cause I already wrote about most of yesterday and today is pretty fresh, so not much to talk about.


So last night I saw Paris after dark and took a lot of pictures. It was pretty fun to see and the pictures came out really well, I think. At 11:00 pm, I just so happened to be taking pictures of the Eiffel Tower when all of a sudden it started sparkling. I can’t describe it very well, not even to other people on the trip, so I’m not even going to try to explain it to you via typing. But take a look at the photos... when I get them up... and maybe you can see the sparkles. Anyway, the sparkles lasted for about 5 minutes and then stopped. It was great!


Anyway, the city was awesome, and it was even better in the dark. But enough said, it is something you’ll need to experience yourself to understand!


Good morning in the States!


Ps. The picture above is my signature on the Eiffel Tower. Many people signed the billboards on the stairway to the top, so I joined in.



Fraaaance


So yesterday was a pretty good day, the weather was good for the most part, the building we saw were amazing, and the small community we stayed at was the exact opposite of every other place we have been since arriving in Europe.


Yesterday started by visiting Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoya, pictured above. I’ve seen this building many times during my studies at WIT, but to actually be there was incredible. It is one of those buildings you just never want to leave. It is hard to believe this house, like the Shroder house, was built in the 20’s.


Next was the Versailles Garden, which is by far the largest garden I have ever seen! You should probably Google it. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperative during my visit, but it was still nice to wonder the gardens. The gardens are over 1,900 acres and were built by the order of Louis XIII. Like I said, find a map on Google and check it out, it’s HUGE and pretty amazing. I wish the weather would have been nicer and we had more time, a bunch of us were going to rent segways!


After the gardens was another beautiful house called Maison Carre’ by Alvar Aalto. This another building that is studied a lot in school, but again, it is nothing that you ever imagined when you finally visit it. This space was amazing, even with the vegetation overgrown to block what use to be views for miles. Though this building was built in the mid to late 50’s, it still looks pretty modern for todays time.


Anyway, after all that, it only got better. Last night the group went to this very little village in the mountains of southern France. I believe it was a place called Vézelay, though I am not 100% sure at this point. But in this village, way at the top of the hillside, was a beautiful cathedral. We just so happened to get to the cathedral just in time for mass and I sat through my first Catholic mass. Though I had no idea what they were saying because it was in French, their voices and singing carried through the 12th century building so clearly and beautifully.


After mass, a few of us went out to get dinner and stumbled upon this relatively fancy restaurant. I was served a 3 course meal for 19 euros, which contained a little bit of chicken, pork ribs, duck, potato vegetable soup, and raspberry mousse. Ya, that’s right, I ate duck and it was pretty good. I thought it was a cross between steak and chicken, not sure if I’d ever order it as a meal, but I’d definitely eat it if it was readily available.


So overall it was a pretty good day, a lot of fun and adventure. Also a lot of driving on the bus! This trip is almost over and Berlin is only a few days away. Soon I’ll start chatting more about my experiences in Europe and how they differ from US, but I’m just letting them build up right now so I can post an entire blog about them. I will say it is almost 100% different, that is my opinion.


But that concludes another night. Just past 11 pm here. Sorry for the lack of posts. Internet in Paris and France in general was weak if existing at all. Hope all these post make up for it. Take care all!

Centraal Beheer (Bear-heer)


I have presented my project, toured the building, taken several pictures, and am now ready to write my research paper. The building I have been studying is Centraal Beheer in Apledorn, Netherlands. Centraal Beheer is a very well known issurance company here in the Netherlands and in the mid-70’s asked unknown arhictect Hermann Hertzburger to design an office building for 1,000 employees. During this time, it was Hertzburgers belief that people spend more time in the office than at home and therefor an office building should feel more like a home. His main ideas about the buildings were that there would be no hierarchy, meaning every office space would be the same for interns all the way up to CEOs. He also wanted the space to be very open so that one could easily get up and roam to get coffee or talk to another employee or just relax, this also made it easy to sneak out of work without the boss seeing you.


Hertzburger compared this building a city. He gave it many different exits/entrances, put several public spaces in it for the users, created a grid system and took away the hierarchy. It is an amazing building with great concepts. I loved touring it and couldn’t believe how successful it was. All the images I found of the building, as well as plans and sections, never really helped me understand the building. It is a crazy building with crazy concepts and a crazy design, but once you enter the space and look around, everything makes sense. Though it would take a new employee a few weeks to learn their way around the office. Once really cool concept is pictured below. As you can see their is only one escalator going from floor to floor, so during the morning rush hour they run the escalators moving upward. They then turn them on moving downwards in the afternoon rush hour. In the hours in between they are shut off and used as normal stairs, this way the building saves energy and we all know what that means for the environment. Of course the building does have an elevator and alternative stairs.


I guess that is it for now, hopefully I get internet soon! Later all!

Bonjour, Paris


Tonight will be my last night in Paris, it has been great here. The people are nice, the buildings are fantastic, and the weather is... ok. There are a ton of things to climb, the picture above is at the top of Notre Dame, but I also climbed the Eiffel Tower this afternoon. I thought Notre Dame was a lot of climbing after spinning around a spiral staircase which seemed to lead no where, then I climbed the Eiffel Tower. Both climbs were well worth it in the end and now I can say I actually climbed the Eiffel Tower, not just took the elevator.


Anyway, Paris is a great city to see many different kinds of architecture, it is almost like an onion. The center of town, the area where it all began, is the historic area. There are buildings wall-to-wall, parks built by kings, cobblestone, and very old buildings. As you get further out of town, the buildings get more and more modern until you finally reach the tall skyscrapers. The coolest thing about this is that the city is split directly down the middle by a river, so if you take a river tour you can see all these layers and most of the important buildings can be seen from the river anyway.


One thing that took my by surprise were the rats. At night time, these things are everywhere! You usually only seem them near the bushes and grass areas, but I saw one dart through the plaza like it was trying to set a new land-speed record or something. After investigating where it came from, I found what appeared to be a colony.


Well I guess that will be it for tonight, still not a strong internet connect, so again I can’t upload this. I think I may be switching to google blog because it will work better in places I don’t have strong internet and it will allow everyone to comment back so I can see what everyone thinks. I don’t know though, we’ll see.


Take care and enjoy your day!

Bye-Bye Nederlands


So it has been a few days since I’ve updated everyone, but it has been busy, and I think I’ve done pretty well, this is post 3 in 5 days?


As the title suggest, we are on our way to France, with a few stops along the way. Since my last blog, I have visited Rotterdam, Utrecht, and seen more of Amsterdam. I have been posting pictures on my Facebook account, mostly because it is easy, so if you’re not a Facebook friend, request me and I’ll add you so you can see them.... maybe. I’m just kidding. But I will try to post some more photos on here, I’ve been taking a lot, nearly 300 every day, 360 yesterday!


Rotterdam; Great architecture, weird place! The modern architecture is great, and many more sky scrappers than Amsterdam, which has nearly none. But the culture in Rotterdam is not the same as Amsterdam, they just don’t seem to have their own “thing.” Amsterdam has a strong cultural fabric with their canals and everything you think of when you hear Amsterdam. Everyone there seems to act the same and everything jut flows together nicely. Rotterdam was the opposite, everyone seemed to do their own thing. It is almost like it is a city of tourist, there is no such thing as a “local” because everyone there is really from somewhere else. Anyway, the city is a growing city (building development) and I think that may play a role. But because it is a new and growing city, the architecture is just amazing and I got to see so many modernist forms, organic forms, and the use of so many modernist materials that it really just puts shame on American architecture. I’m starting to wonder what they think about the architecture when they come to America, and I don’t really think I want to know the answer.


Yesterday we went to Utrecht, much smaller city, but still very interesting. This is where the Schroder House is located, and I could go on forever about how awesome that was, so you’ll have to talk to me in person if you really want to know about it. But I will say it is the building pictured below, and it was built in the 20’s!! As you can imagine, the local community was NOT pleased with the new appearance that did no fit with the rest of the houses. But this modernist building is amazing inside and out, the interior has elements that people still today would consider to be very modern. Keep in mind this was built nearly 85 years ago! Also in Utrecht was an amazing cathedral, and I love cathedrals. It amazes me how they constructed these enormous structures with such little and simple machinery. I took several photos of the inside and outside, I will try to post them soon. While I was there, a group of women were doing some kind of performance in the courtyard. It was no doubt either a performing arts or religious ritual, but it was pretty unique and nice.


Anyway, everyone is sleeping on the bus right now, I think I am the only one awake! But not for much longer, I will post again after my presentation later today!


Take Care All!! Thanks for reading!