Going Green and Coming Up Short

So last night I began to work on my studio project which is being designed to be a green building. Something the Berliners are big into. They are also crazily into recycling. There's pails for green glass, brown glass, and clear glass. Theres paper and compost and non-recylable trash. Its a little tough to keep it all straight. Its definitely a huge cultural difference here. People are actually encouraged to recycle because on all glass bottles the return for recycling it can be almost 25 to 33 cents. Its odd here how recycling and being efficient isn't seen as going above and beyond like it is in America, its seen as a daily and normal routine.

So the other part of this story is about the Jets. The game was at 12:30am CET and ended just before 4am. So my roommate casey (him being a Steelers fan) and I decided to stream the game on our computers on our crappy internet connection. So we huddled around my computer and watched, me agonizingly for two quarters then triumphantly for one. Then as the fourth quarter started the internet application sent us a message that we reached our data limit and proceed to shut down. So both of us huddled in front of ESPN.com watching the time tick down and continue to guess what happened. Unfortunately it was not to be for the Jets and going to be at 4am was even more bitter.

So Cold My Schinkel's Falling Off, But At Least I'm Fashionable

So this was the last week of orientation classes. On monday we start the real schedule and actually have less of a time constricted life. So since being in Germany we've learned that everything in the city was designed or built by Friedrich Schinkel.

So Tuesday we went to the German Parliament. It's called the Reichstag and it is a super historical building which houses the Bundestag (The Parliament). And on the way we passed under the Brandenburg Gate, which is the former medieval gate to the city of Berlin. It is such a cool building. It was designed by Lord Norman Foster and the whole building is almost completely self-sufficient. There is a metallic mirrored core in the middle of a large dome which reflects sunlight in to light the parliamentary chamber and at night reflects the artificial light out to show the people the parliament is there. This building is so energy efficient that it actually powers the near by buildings.

Then Thursday we took an extensive tour through the city visiting a majority of Schinkel's prominent buildings in Berlin. Eventually ending up at the Altes Museum on Museum Island. Schinkel's buildings are magnificent. They all have this Neo-Gothic style with this hint of classicism through proportions and materials. But regardless of all of this when its 20 degrees outside it's not fun when your professor stops and explains the history of each brick outside for 20 minutes.

Also this week was fashion week in Berlin. So on thursday we happened to end up right beside a photo shoot of models and Mercedes'. Needless to say this was a pleasant change from Museums and Churches. The model was like 6'5" and like 95lbs but she was gorgeous. We wanted to go in but 25 twenty-year-olds dressed like eskimos weren't on the guest list or dressed nice enough.

So Friday was another trip to another on of Schinkel's Museums on Museum Island. But these Museums housed some incredible stuff. Since being here I've become quite the artsy type. I have a great appreciation for artwork now. The first one had recreated Babylonian Temples and Islamic artwork like rugs and jewelry. Then the second had incredible amounts of Egyptian relics. Everything from sarcophaguses to mummies it was amazing. The upper floor also contained a history of the world from like the first people up until present day. But unfortunately everyone was starting to whine so we had to go. But a return trip is most definitely planned.

So far even though its freezing here now Berlin is a pretty incredible city.

The Wall, Turkish Food, Internet & Potsdam

So this first week has been much better than I initially thought it would be. Berlin is nice. Its like New York City, its big and dirty and crowded. But everybody speaks German. That's been the most difficult part. Trying to adapt to a new culture and a new language. But thanks to "intensive" German class my German is pretty good.

The Wall:

So on Friday we went to the intersection of Frederichstrasse and Zimmerstrasse. This the intersection in the center of Berlin were the Wall used to divide east and west Germany at Checkpoint Charlie. There is a path on the ground demarcating where the wall once stood so you can almost imagine that there is a physical border. You get an erie feeling standing there. It almost feels as if you are in a piece of history. Its a very ominous feeling and its really very moving. There is another section further down where a large piece of the wall is still standing. This is incredible you can actively feel how the Germans felt. You can really see the pain anguish these people felt from the graffiti on the wall calling for justice and help. I can only imagine what it would have been like to be living there. The other strange feeling you get when you are there is you can still the divide between East and West. The east side has all old concrete communist era housing and looks very tradition and the west side has a McDonald's and a Starbucks. Its an incredible spot where you feel this clash and blending of cultures.

Turkish Food has become my new Taco Bell. It is everywhere but its surprisingly good. All of the places look like a fast food stand but everything is made right in front of you. The blend of fresh vegetables, different sauces and lamb is awesome.

So we finally got internet in our apartment so I can actually be connected to the world, my parents and my wonderful girlfriend.

Finally today we went to Potsdam. Potsdam is one of the most magnificent places I've ever seen. It is a small German town which has a very dutch style. The town is quaint with small buildings and a farmers market. The real incredible part is the 19th Century architecture that is still there. There are castle gates that have survived from the 1800's and other beautiful monuments in the town. Its incredible to be surrounded by such a historical presence. Its something that you can't experience really in America. The we went to one of the many parks around the City. The park which must have been 10 square miles and took seven hours to walk was filled with castle. Formerly a hunting ground for Fredreich the Great the place is just beautiful. everything is on an axis except for the paths between the castles. Just the grounds and the fountain and how there is just so much of a majestic quality all around. There are breathtaking moments when as you're walking up the paths the castles are hidden from you and revealed only when you've almost reached them. The views are beautiful all around and the architecture is equally spectacular. So of the buildings have such a massive scale you feel dwarfed by them. And all of the statues and sculptures make all of the history almost overwhelming. So it has been one the most incredible things I've seen.

I'm going to put all the pictures on the blog via Flickr so look for that soon. And I tried to take touristy pictures not architectural ones.

Traveling Through Time

So the first day was spent almost entirely on airplanes or in airports. The flight from boston a Virgin Atlantic Jet. The flight wasn't bad outside of the Lean Cuisine they served for dinner. The British stewardesses and the Tea and snacks for breakfast felt very authentic. The flight didn't seem as long as the 6 hour travel time promised. When we finally got over land London at 6:55am was gorgeous.

Then the fun started. The flight came in slightly late to London and we only had an hour to make it through security and to the other Terminal.

I, of course, got lost in the Airport with one of my friends and we ended up sprinting through the airport to board the plane to Berlin. The flight to Berlin was uninteresting and I slept. Landing in Germany we broke through the clouds and emerged in a rain and cloudy and bleak stereotypical Germany. They showed to our modest accommodations and left us be.

Hopefully we can get a constant source of internet so I can continue to write these. So far cheap beer and good food are the themes but hopefully some scenery and beautiful buildings will come

The Storm before the Calm

Today I started my travel. D-day to make a bad pun. But I rushed up to Boston to beat the snow that never really came. I'm sitting in a hotel room trying to read a stupid book and wondering about the next 4 months. I ask myself why I can't get as excited about everything as everyone else? I just only hope that I'm pleasantly surprised because right now things just aren't really falling together like I planned. I just have to much time to dwell on everything that isn't and not focus on how great of a time I should have once I'm there. I like to think that when I land in London on Sunday morning my world won't be different. Everything will feel right and I'll board the other plan to Germany among my friends laughing and being excited for the opportunity of a life time. For now hopefully a goodnights rest quells the storm in my mind and calms my nerves. So from now on only post about happy sightings and great adventures. Here goes nothing!

A Final Thank You Parts 1 & 2

Part 1

This being the inaugural post on my blog I figured it should at least have some significance. So with this first post I wanted to thank all of the people I worked with at Schneider Engineering/ACT for making my time there fun. Everyday was different, except for those days filing at streetlighting but I've blocked those out anyway. I hope you guys are following along and will continue to. But thanks for everything and I wish you all well.

Part 2

The next thanks I'd like to extend is to all my friends/family at home. Those who I saw extensively and almost too much in the past 8 months and those who I only saw randomly. I enjoyed all the time we spent together and it made being away from school bearable. You're all important to me and I hope by following along with this we can stay connected even when I'm across the world.

That's the first post. I promise from now on they'll be interesting.