So lets begin...
Last weekend our group went to Berlin for a weekend of fun and sight-seeing. The train took about two hours and I got a lot of reading done (I am currently 3/4 of my way through The Fountainhead) and found some time to sleep too. We got off on the wrong stop in Berlin and walked for a good while until we found our hostel. It was my second time in Berlin in as many weeks and so instead of heading straight for a bratwurst stand, I went to a Mexican restaurant that I had wanted to try the first time and hadn't gotten the chance(I miss Clamato's in Lexington). After dinner, our group walked around the city for a while and then it was time to hit the hay. Saturday morning we got up and went to the Neues Museum for an Egyptian exhibit that included the bust of Queen Nefertiti!
Lunch followed, and this time I took full advantage of a bratwurst/crepes cart located outside the museum. Crepes may be the best thing in the world...A thin pancake filled with, in this case, Nutella and bananas...they are awesome!! Several groups split off and went to other sites in the city, but then we met back at the hostel at 6 to get ready for dinner. Cody and Marge had met a couple of Germans that were in Berlin for a bike race on Sunday so they joined our motley crew Saturday evening for a meal at the Sony Center. They invited us to come cheer them on during the race, but when Sunday morning rolled around, we found ourselves a little too tired and very ready to get back to our temporary home in Dessau. This is a picture inside the Sony Center:
Because we took the weekend off for some fun, everyone had to get back to work on Monday in order to prepare for a preliminary review of our concepts for the summer project on Tuesday morning. All of the Kentucky students represented the university very well in this initial phase reviewing our program concepts (what the space will be used for) and basic design concepts. Tuesday evening I went to see Prince of Persia at the movie theater (finally..), but it was not nearly as good as Robin Hood. It was, however, a nice way to relax after a couple days of work.
Wednesday morning we had to meet at 7:30 to get on a bus headed for Essen. I was pretty much asleep for the entire trip, except during our 30 minute lunch stop. I hopped back on the bus, passed out again, and woke up in Germany's culture capital for 2010: Essen. We started our tours immediately. The first site was a large park and office complex that is being constructed on the west side of the city. Previously, it had been a large factory for coal mining and producing steel, one of the largest factories in the world. The picture below is of the new headquarters of the steel company.
The next day we went to another coal mining site outside of Essen. Zollverein is a beautiful site and is currently being used as a center for culture and events. For example, instead of miners and factory workers, the spaces are filled with cafe areas, musical performances, and museums. This is an image of one of the main shafts on the site.
On Friday, we went to an academy for learning and research in Herne. It is a remarkable set of structures within an enclosing envelope and one of the most sustainable buildings in Germany.
The enclosure was a wood frame with glass paneling. Instead of using shading techniques to limit direct sunlight and glare on the interior, photovoltaic panels were used to both texture the glass and provide shade.
Our final stop on the way back to Dessau was at a factory built in 1911 by Walter Gropius (former director of the Bauhaus) It was the first building that Gropius completed on his own and is still running to this day.
We got back to Dessau around 7:30 pm on Friday...
At 10:30 pm on Friday I was back on a train! This one headed for Leipzig to celebrate Ainsley's birthday in the city with a couple other UK students. We all stayed in a hostel near the train station and then went shopping on Saturday. It was a nice way to cap off the weekend, but I was definitely ready to get home for a shower and some rest and relaxation. Now we are all sitting in our studio room chatting and facebooking with friends and family from home, and exhaustion is definitely hanging in the air. I think I am going to head back to the apartment and read a little before heading to bed. Hopefully the blog will be more consistent from now on. This week will be a little slow until Friday when our class is heading back to Berlin (yay!!) and then our UK group is going to Munich to meet up with some UK girls that are studying in Florence, Italy (but traveling in Germany that weekend). I am really excited for the trip and will have some more pictures and stuff to share.
Goodnight everyone!!
and here are some other pics from the trip..
Herne
Herne again...
Zollverein
Berlin
Berlin again...
No comments:
Post a Comment