A Tour through East Berlin

The day started out warmer than yesterday plus the sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We got breakfast at a little cafe and kept on walking to our first destination. We arrived at the Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Centre which is a library that is part of Humboldt University. It was designed by Max Dudler and opened in 2009. The first thing I noticed was the windows on the exterior were different sizes and wasn't until I went inside realize it was reacting to the space. Skinnier windows were in the stack areas while larger ones were in reading areas. Also the center of the building was a large atrium like space where the floors stepped up from the center to provide study areas for students. It is a beautifully designed building.

Interior of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Centre

Next we stopped at St. Hedwig's Cathedral. It differed greatly from all the cathedrals that we have seen thus far. The building was round and domed and had one center space for everything to occur. It was very obviously modeled after the Pantheon in Rome. It was an interesting building but not one I liked as a church. I liked it as a building but I have a view on churches now after seeing so many. From there we walked around the corner to Gendarmenmarkt which is a plaza that houses the French Church, the German Church, and the Konzerthaus. It was cool to see those all in one place but we didn't enter them. Also the German and French Churches looked almost identical. We got lunch across the street and made a plan for the remainder of the day.

St. Hedwig's Cathedral

Our next stop was the German Historical Museum which told of the history of Germany. It was an interesting building that had been restored following World War II. An additional exhibition building was added on in 2003 by I.M. Pei. This part of the building is very reminiscent of the interior of the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The space was beautiful and the exhibits were interesting.

Interior of I.M. Pei Addition

From here we walked to the König Gallerie. It is an art gallery that exists in the former St. Agnes Church. It is of a brutalist style of architecture were heavy concrete plays a huge role. The spaces were divided up differently than what they were used for as a church so the sizes felt a little off. The quality of the spaces didn't suffer though. From there we went to the East Side Gallery where over a mile of the Berlin Wall still exists and is used as an outdoor art exhibition. It was quite an experience to walk along the wall and get a feel for what it used to be like.

Berlin Wall

To end our day, we made our way back over to the Sony Center and had a nice dinner. It was a long day and involved a lot of walking. Tomorrow I leave Berlin by train in the mid-afternoon to Prague. I have some time to go to places I hadn't seen yet.

Sony Center

Berlin Reunification

Rebecca and I got into Berlin right on time. There we met Hannah who came from Milan shortly after us. By the time we got to our Airbnb and had dinner it was time for bed to get a fresh start in the morning.

The first thing we did was buy day passes for public transportation as we knew we'd be all over the place. The first stop was the Chapel of Reconciliation. It was built following the fall of the Berlin Wall on the site of a former chapel previously destroyed by East Germany. It is very elegant in its simplicity. The chapel is a clay and aggregate (mainly rubble from old church) mixed central room surrounded by wooden columns on exterior. The chapel was actually located within the death strip of the Berlin Wall. There was a memorial across the street from it and section of the wall was reconstructed to show how it used to be. The whole stretch through this area was rich in history. After a stop for breakfast we were off to our next stop.

Chapel of Reconciliation

We made our way into the city center and stopped at the famous Brandenburg Gate. It was amazing to see such an iconic part of Berlin. Next we walked over to the Reichstag to make reservations for a viewing of the dome in the evening. It took some standing in the cold but we got one. Since there was nothing to do there for the time being we went to the Berlin Philharmonie. It was an older building by Berlin standards dating back to 1963. We showed up just in time to get a tour of entire place. It was a great tour and it stood out even more compared to the Renzo Piano building in Rome.

Brandenburg Gate

It was a bit late in the afternoon but it was time for lunch. We went across the street to the Sony Center which is like a giant outdoor mall. It is a tall space and one used for red carpet events. It was a nice place to eat lunch and people watch. We walked back towards the Gate to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe by architect Peter Eisenman. It is these concrete slabs of varying heights laid out on a grid over sloping ground. There is also an information center underground. The slabs were very oppressive. It felt odd walking through it which I suppose is the point. The underground information center was too much for me so I had to leave it.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

Following the Memorial, we went to the Jewish Museum designed by Daniel Libeskind. It chronicled the history of Jews in Germany and it was a nice change to that of the memorial. The building is really well designed but certain things stood out that the client added to the building that clashed with the architecture. Overall, I think Libeskind did a great job on most aspects of the building particularly his "voided voids."

Interior of the Jewish Museum

At this point it was time to catch our appointment at the Reichstag. The Reichstag is a government building that houses the German parliament. It has a history dating back to 1893. It went into disuse following a fire that occurred in 1933 that coincided with the Nazi Party coming to power. It wouldn't be used again until 1999. Another historical note of record is this is where the Battle of Berlin and World War II was finally won by the Allied Powers. It ended when the Soviet Union erected the Soviet flag atop the building in a now famous photograph. The only part of the building we got to go into was the dome which was designed by Norman Foster and finished in time for the grand reopening of the Reichstag in 1999. It was beautiful and ultra modern compared to the building it sits on. It gave 360 degree views of all of Berlin.

Reichstag

It was late and food places were scarce so we decided to eat at Hofbräu Berlin which is a franchise location of Hofbräuhaus in Munich. It was just okay. Apparently Germany closes early. It can be really frustrating. But anyway, it turns out today was spent mostly exploring West Berlin. Tomorrow we tackle East Berlin and see if there is a difference in architecture.

Munching in Munich

Today we had a half day in Munich before catching a flight to Berlin so we tried to make the most of it. First we tried going to the Ohel Jakob Synagogue but it was closed. It was an interesting piece of work but you can only see so much from the outside. From there we decided to go back by the Frauenkirche to photograph the outside towers a little bit. We were kind of running short on ideas at this point so we went to another church to check it out. St. Michael's Church was huge and more ornate than some of the others.

St. Michael's Church

Once we got some breakfast we went to the market called Viktualienmarkt. It was a permanent market area that sold lots of fruits and veggies and wines and honey. We didn't buy anything but looking around was pretty cool. The sun also decided to finally grace us with its presence which felt nice. We found ourselves once again wondering what to do when we noticed some people on the top of a tower. That's when we decided to go back to St. Peter's Church to climb up Alter Peter. The tower of St. Peter is about 300 feet high above Munich and provides a breathtaking (and terrifying) 360 degree view of the entire city. It was well worth my new found fear of heights.

View from Alter Peter

After the tower, we went to the Neue Rathaus (New Town Hall) and wandered around inside. For awhile I didn't feel I belonged but no one ever said anything. The interior of the building was pretty interesting with a lot of vaulted ceilings. We were getting hungry and didn't want to spend airport prices for lunch so we grabbed a döner kebab which ended up being delicious. We were near Hofbräuhaus such we decided to peek in again and see the second floor and museum. It was interesting to see it empty and all the history that this place packs.

Neue Rathaus

Finally, it was time to go to the airport and catch our flight to Berlin. There, Rebecca and I will meet up with Hannah and the three of us will explore Berlin.

Behaving like a true Münchner

Our second full day in Munich proved to be another busy one. We had our pick of churches to go to so we went to the Theatinerkirche for Sunday Mass. Since it was in German I didn't understand a lick of it which started the trend for the day. The church was beautiful and grand and a bit ornamental. Despite its size it still had an intimate feeling to it. That also might be because only 20 people showed up for 8:15 service. I have discovered that Germany does not get up before 10am on a Sunday and everything single store was closed. But I digress. Attending mass in such a grand space from the 1600s was an experience. The only downside was that the entire exterior was under renovation and up in scaffolding.

Theatinerkirche

We needed breakfast at this point so we figured our best bet was to go to the pastry shop we went to yesterday. They were really good. We stopped by the Fünf Höfe on the way to the pastry shop which is a shopping mall of sorts. The design was interesting but every single store was closed. Following breakfast we went into St. Peter's Church. This church dates back to the 1100s and has been added onto in 4 different styles making it a mutt of sorts. As with a lot of Munich this church was bombed out in 1944 only to be rebuilt. We spent a little bit of time in there before heading to Marienplatz to catch a show.

St. Peter's Church

On the facade of the Neue Rathaus (New Town Hall) are life size figures that come to life everyday at 11am. It is referred to as the Rathaus-Glockenspiel. It is apparently world famous. It was so cool to see it. Two stories played and last a total of about 15 minutes. It is so intricately designed. Next we made our way to another church called Frauenkirche. It is the cathedral of Munich and therefore the main church. It is also an iconic symbol of Munich with its two towers topped with green domes. It is the highest structure around and provides views of the surrounding area. Normally you can climb to the top of the towers but they are under renovation. That also seems like a constant theme in Europe. It was a beautiful church and we saw a bit of it before the next service was to begin.

Rathaus-Glockenspiel

Frauenkirche

We made our way to the Munich Residenz to see the Cuvilliés Theatre. It is a 4 story theatre built in the 1750s. It is very detailed and intimate. It would be pretty sweet to watch anything in the building. Once we completed this little side attraction we walked around the corner to Odeonsplatz where Munich was holding St. Patrick's Day festivities. There was a parade followed by a concert on a stage erected in front of the Feldherrnhalle, a loggia modeled after the one I saw in Florence. It was interesting to see the German culture celebrating the Irish culture. It was a good experience.

Cuvilliés Theatre

Feldherrnhalle behind St. Patrick's Day festivities

After some hot chocolate to warm us up (it's mid-40s here in Germany right now) we caught the train to the home of FC Bayern Munich, Allianz Arena. The arena was designed by the firm Herzog & de Meuron in 2005. The stadium was the replacement of the Olympic Stadium that I saw yesterday. Allianz Arena is covered in inflated plastic panels that light up. We bought a tour that was very cool to see that inner workings of the stadium and everything behind that signs. The downside of the tour was that it was completely in German. It was the only tour left in the day that we could make. I really enjoyed what I got to see but it would have been nice to understand it.

Allianz Arena

We trained back to our Airbnb, took some photos of the Neue Rathaus, and tried to come up with a place to eat. Rebecca found this one restaurant after we spent awhile trying to something reasonably priced. The restaurant was called Burg Pappenheim and it was amazing. I got pork Wiener schnitzel and it was pretty cheap and huge. It was a locals' spot, definitely not a touristy hangout. It was fantastic and a must visit when in Munich. Dinner was amazing and relaxing after such a long, busy day.

Wiener Schnitzel at Burg Pappenheim

We have half a day in Munich tomorrow before flying out to Berlin in the evening to start leg 2 of Spring Break 2016.

München: Spring Break has Sprung

Wow! The halfway point of the semester has arrived. It's such a bittersweet time. It means that it is time for independent travel but also that I am that much closer to leaving Europe. But anyway, Friday started off with a pinup in studio. It went okay but I was anxious the whole time about leaving on time. After a train ride, a bus ride, a plane ride, another train followed by a third train we made it to our Airbnb. It was a long, frustrating travel day so Rebecca and I went to dinner nearby and called it a night.

Today started off fairly early. We wanted to make sure that we had time for everything we wanted to do. We started off by getting breakfast at a little pastry shop by the train station. It was really good and cheap too. We caught a train at Marienplatz which is a main plaza in the Munich city center. We divided Munich up into 2 groupings of stuff we wanted to see. The first grouping is farther away. We got off the U-Bahn at Olympic Park and went into BMW Welt. It is where BMW shows off what cars they have for sale off the line. It is in a beautifully designed building by Coop Himmelb(l)au. It is a glass and stainless steel building. There was so much to see in that building that we spent 2 hours there.

BMW Welt

The next stop was the BMW Museum located across a bridge from BMW Welt. The museum showcases the past exploits of the company since its founding. This building (along with the neighboring BMW Headquarters) was designed by Karl Schwanzer. The Museum was reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum in New York. It had a spiraling ramp that had exhibits along the way until the top floor. It was cool to see an idea like that being used elsewhere in the world.

BMW Museum and Headquarters

After the museum we got lunch at BMW Welt before heading to the Olympic Park. It was an interesting place to be at. I felt like I stepped back into the 1972 Olympics. The Olympic Tower is the first readily apparent structure followed by the consistent structure throughout. It was like a following tarp had been placed over the buildings but it was made out of acrylic glass and anchored to the ground. We walked into the pool area and took a self guided tour of the stadium before going to the hill over looking the park. You could see everything for miles including downtown Munich. It was a fun experience but it was time to leave.

Olympic Stadium

We took a train to the art district and went into a few museums. The first one was called Neue Pinakothek. We ventured into the lobby and took a lot of photos but didn't go into the actual museum part. The rest of the museum would have been a disappointment compared to the lobby. The next museum was called Pinakothek der Moderne which was a modern art museum. We did go into this one as some exhibits were design related. It was interesting.

Neue Pinakothek

We stopped at the Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof München which is the main bus station of Munich. It was designed by Auer+Weber+Assoziierte. While it was a bus station it also doubled as a mall of sorts. The overall design was interesting but we didn't stay long and made it back to the Airbnb.

Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof München

It was finally dinner time so we went to Hofbräuhaus am Platzl which is a huge beer hall in Munich that had been around since 1589. The food was delicious and the beer was nice and cold. It was a traditional German atmosphere that I wanted to enjoy. I glad we did it and it was a nice way to end the night.

Hofbräuhaus am Platzl

Another Day Trip to Milan

After talking to Rebecca and both deciding we wanted to go somewhere this weekend but also not spend too much money concluded on Milan. She hadn't been before and I had but didn't mind going back. One of the disappointments though is that we missed Milan Fashion Week which ended on March 1st. But there was still plenty to see and do.

We got into Milano Centrale at about 10am and started the walk from the station to the Duomo. We stopped to take some pictures at the Torre Diamante and the neighboring park before continuing on. We got to the to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and even though I had seen it previously was still awe inspiring. I told Rebecca about the legend surrounding the bull on the ground in the Galleria. She was a little hesitant at first but I got her to spin on it for good luck. Next we headed for lunch. The place I wanted to go to was closed on Sundays (of course) so we went to Pizzeria Spontini which highly ranked. It was a really good slice. Next we headed in the Piazza Duomo.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Some things never get old such as seeing the Milan Cathedral. It is so big and beautiful and words really can't accurately describe the building. We walked around a bit before deciding to sit and sketch. We got there as mass was starting so we listened to that while we sketched. We were there for a long while. It was pretty peaceful. The next stop was the Museo Duomo was interesting but a bit repetitive.

Milan Cathedral

We wanted to see The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci so we walked to the Santa Maria delle Grazie. We had heard you needed advanced booking but thought it was worth a shot anyhow. We walked through the church, which was interesting in its own right, looking for the painting. We couldn't find it. Once we did, we were turned away because the next available time is some time next week. It was a little disappointing.

Santa Maria della Grazie

To make us feel better we got gelato. We tried to pull a plan together at this point and made our way to Parco Sempione and Castello Sforzesco. Today was the last day of the carnival in the park we couldn't not ride something since we did walk through it so Rebecca convinced me to go on a ride. It was a lot of fun and I am glad I did it.

Carnival at Parco Sempione

Now was time for dinner and this is where Milan struggles for me. It is tough to find a restaurant on a student's budget. We ended up eating at Rossopomodoro (my third time in as many cities) at the train station. It was just as delicious as always. We ran into a friend on spring break just before catching our train back to Riva. It was a pleasant surprise and not the only one. We ran into some of the PGS kids on the train too. As large as a city as Milan is it seemed really small in these moments.

I have a 4 day week ahead of me before leaving for Germany on Friday for spring break. Stay tuned!

Snow Day in Riva!

This past week at the Villa has been pretty smooth. There's not much to do and the work load has been light so it has been pretty relaxing. The weekend finally came and we weren't scheduled to do anything so all the PGS students went away for the weekend and some architecture students left early for spring break or did a weekend trip. This left the Villa pretty empty which was a nice change of pace.

Saturday rolled around and it was nice not having to wake up to an alarm. I leave my room to discover that it started snowing in Riva! This is my first snowfall of the season and my first in Europe. I was so excited. I was seeing it snow in the Alps! Seven of us decided after brunch that we were going outside in the thick of it. We had a snowball fight and sledded down the hill in the Villa. It was all so much fun. I had a blast. Once we got tired of that we made a snowman out in front of the Villa so that everyone could see it. It was a perfectly constructed snowman. It was beautiful.

Once we finished that it was time to warm up back inside with a nice cup of hot chocolate. It was a day dedicated to relaxing and I took that seriously. I ended up binge watching most of House of Cards as the snow outside turned to freezing rain. After taking a break I one point I discovered that someone knocked the head of the snowman off and kicked in its body. It was pretty infuriating. But overall it was an incredibly fun day. Tomorrow I am daytripping to Milan.

Looking out into Villa garden

Rebecca attempting to sled

Building a snowman!

The finished product