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!

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

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!

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!