Week Six in Pictures
Day 34
Day 35
Day 36
Day 37
Day 38
Day 39
Day 40
Archive for August, 2010
Week Five
These past few weeks have raced by, and I have unfortunately not taken the time to keep up with my writing. This post is about a week and a half overdue, and it’s sad that I haven’t spent time on it recently. The worst consequence of not writing my weekly post is not taking time to reflect on what I’ve done, and reflection is a hugely important practice in my opinion. It makes me cringe that because I neglected to write, I might have forgotten a small interaction or experience, that is in essence what makes up this thing we call life. So it goes. Thankfully, the biggest reason for this drop off is the crazy amount of fun stuff that I’ve been able to do.
During week five, the class took a trip to the state government of Saxony, and I made a little side trip to a weapons and armory museum in the Altstadt. The weapons museum has all types of things that were used back when war was cool and you had horses and killed people with spears. I particularly liked seeing the intricate and intimidating armor of the former Dukes of Saxony. The class also made a trip out to Hellerau where we found some old Soviet Barracks and a quite affluent present day suburb. The garden city apparently gained the favor of Upton Sinclair (still looking for source outside of Dr. Spencer).
The real treat of week five, though, was the weekend trip to Prague. After Friday’s class, four of my classmates and I packed up and hopped on the train to the Czech Republic. One incorrect ticket purchase and two missing classmates later, we ended up in the land of a-bunch-of-consonants-followed-by-a-y (my personal favorite Czech word? Tie between Drinky and Slevy).
The first night we unpacked, and quickly settled in with the help of the extremely nice hosts at our hostel. The sun was setting on the day but we made plans for the night: the infamous Prague Pub Crawl. The land of a-bunch-of-consonants-followed-by-a-vowel is also the land of wait-how-much-does-this-really-cost? One U.S. dollar is equivalent to about 20 Crowns (Czech play money), and this complicated things a bit for my puny mind. It was only after dividing by 34.1, raising that to the third power and moving the decimal two places that I could have a vague idea about how much I was spending on any given thing. So no, it wasn’t that dumb to pay 40 Crown for a beer at a bar; in fact, that’s a steal! I met people from strange lands such as Belgium, Norway, Scotland (Paul gets the craziest-dude-of-the-night shout out), and Florida. It was a train of fun that made its last stop at a five-story dance club that is everything you could ever want in such a place.
Saturday and Sunday were filled with sight seeing and more sight seeing. We were good tourists and took lots of wonderful pictures. Saturday evening we decided to have a classy dinner at a smaller place just outside of the tourist trap section of Prague (it’s all a tourist trap), and it was delicious. Following that we spontaneously met up with some fellow classmates who also made the trek to Prague, but weren’t staying in the same hostel. The bar we checked out had an American theme, and fittingly enough, I was finally called out for my Ohio State garb. Let me clarify: I wear a lot of OSU stuff, I love my OSU shirts and always hope that someone I don’t know will strike up a conversation with me or at least give me a passing “Go Bucks!”, but it rarely ever happens. These dudes (and I do mean dudes, or bros if you prefer), were on a dude vacation from their Boston workplace. I never know what people think about Ohio State students, we’re not particularly known for our academics… so am I a hard-partying idiot? Or am I a farm boy who got lost in Europe? Anyway, they were nice guys and they shared their epic vacation plans with me. All day I was determined to stop in a cigar shop to enjoy before the nights end, but didn’t succeed. Luckily, the bar had a small cigar case and I enjoyed that on our walk home. On Sunday we did some more touristy stuff and hopped back on the train, with my school work waiting patiently to greet me upon returning.
I had an odd feeling coming back from Prague, arriving at the train station. It was a bit like I just got back home. But I thought to myself, home is half the world away. But I thought to myself, is home where my parents are waiting for me, or a 20 minute drive 315 south? What is home? Can you have more than one?
Other Notes: Tried Haxe! (Pig knuckle)
Bis bald!
Week Four
This past week was dominated by our 4 day trip to the city of Berlin. I’d been looking forward to this the whole trip, and it absolutely blew me away. I experienced so much that I could talk about it forever, but I’ll pick out my favorite parts to share.
Our hostel was located on the historically significant Rossenstrasse- the stage for an uprising during the Nazi period orchestrated by wives of imprisoned Jewish men. It was also centrally located, so despite how big the city is, I could manage to walk almost everywhere.
Berlin intrigues me because it definitely struggles with its identity; trying to memorialize its significant history while being a center of progression and modernism. The charisma of the city is unlike any that I’ve experience before. Because of building restrictions, there are no real skyscrapers. But rather than taking away the big city feel, it simply avoids intimidating visitors. Compared to New York, where sometimes light cannot even reach the street due to the high rises, Berlin is welcoming and open. It also “lacks” an overbearing hipster culture.
I was able to see many historical landmarks, including: Hitler’s bunker, some Nazi architecture, the Brandenburg gate, the Bundestag, ghost train stations from the GDR, sections of the Berlin Wall, and more. At Bernauer Strasse there was a particularly interesting view of a section of the former Berlin wall. Here, a section of the wall is preserved exactly as it was in GDR times. Viewing it from above allows you to see the death strip, the inner wall and a watch tower.
Treptower Park was the most absurdly overbearing, over-the-top monument I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to capture how it completely surrounds you in picture. This dedication to the Soviet Union soldiers that died in World War II leaves quite the impression. Especially with Stalin quotes inscribed on the “mini” sculptures that lead to a gigantic depiction of a soldier holding a baby in one hand and wielding a sword that is crushing a swastika in the other. Be prepared to pick your jaw up from the ground if you plan on visiting Treptower.
The Olympic stadium in Berlin was also surreal. For my fellow Buckeyes, you might note that this is where Jesse Owens clowned the Nazis. In fact, there is a street named after him just outside of the stadium. The stadium and other athletic areas are massive, and were built in a typical intimidating, Nazi style. It is still used today for athletic events, so it is extremely well maintained. Though, surrounding the stadium are original signs from its inception that are eerie in a way.
Saturday night I was lucky enough to attend the International Berlin Beer Festival, which is basically a mile long party. I met people from around the world, tried beers from around the world, and had an all around great evening. Even though it was a mile along, you still had to elbow your way through crowds late into the night. I also learned a Welsh toast! I have no idea what the correct spelling is, but it sounds like “Yahkee Dah!” Awesome.
The sheer amount of culture that Berlin posses is mesmerizing. From live bands, to impromptu street performers, to the dozens of languages that you hear on a daily basis, it is a city that defines what it means to be worldly. In Dresden, I have often felt like an outsider, but in Berlin I legitimately felt home.
Things I didn’t talk about: Currywurst, the Automobil Forum, the Bundestag, Topography of Terror exhibit, Potsdam
Bis Später!
