Culture Shock

Friday was a hell of a day.

The morning started off with us going on a trip to Sachsenhausen. Sachsenhausen is the closest concentration camp to Berlin. While it was a work camp and not a death camp toward the end of the war it was used for mass killings. It is in the middle of a town now which in itself is a very strange thing. But as you approach the former walls there are blocks with name of the camp running across them every so many feet. Once you walk on to the grounds there is this eerie feeling. The sun was shinning and it was a beautiful day but something just didn't feel right standing there. Our tour guide was great and very knowledgable as he walked us around the entirety of the complex. Our first task was to walk down the camp road and through the main gate. We were informed this was the same path that the prisoners would come down when they were being taken into the camp. The gate and the guard houses in the camp are all still original but there are only two barracks left since the Soviets knocked them all down. But once you pass through that gate it feels as if your whole world changes. There is such a heavy feeling that right where you are standing some 300,000 people marched through on their way to work and possibly die. The camp is organized in a triangle with the main guard tower at the base to watch over all the barracks which were radially arranged. From the gate we walked over to the two reconstructed barracks to go inside. Here at these barracks lies another layer of history. They were reconstructed in the 60s when the camp became a memorial but then in the 1990's a group of Neo-Nazis came and attempted to burn them down. The walls still bare the char of the flames and its a further reminder that there is still prejudice in the world. Walking through the flame scarred barracks into the rooms that are laid out in the same fashion they were when the camp was operational was quite strange. The description on every room was the name of the room and then how people were tortured in it. Bedroom: Jews were smothered with sheets, Bathroom: Jews were drowned in foot basins. It may have been overkill but it was still very uneasy. From there we went to the real serious part of the camp. Known as Station Z because it was the Crematorium and the "Doctors" where they killed and cremated the bodies. It was Station Z because most people entered through Tower A and left through Station Z. We were able to walk in to the bunker where they lined people up to be shot. We stood against the same wall countless others stood against face to face with death. Then we were taken in to the "Doctors" office. Only the foundation remains but they rooms are still there. We saw the room where after being examined by the "Doctor" the people would go to be shot. One small room probably 3x3 where the blood of over 2,000 people was spilled. Right next to where we standing lives were taken on a daily basis. It was enough to make you ill if you thought about it. You learn about all this stuff in school but it honestly doesn't carry the same impact unless you basically stand in the shoes of those people.

We we got back from Sachsenhausen and were off the rest of our cultural roller coaster of a day. We were seeing a show at the Berlin Philharmonie. The Berlin Philharmonie is one of the most famous buildings in the world designed by Hans Scharoun and houses one of the most famous Orchestras in the world. Before he show Casey, Rob, and I were sitting enjoying a beer at the Sony Center when a bachelor party goer decided to strip down to his skivvies and attempt to swim across the fountain and he ate it as soon as he touched the fountain and then promptyl removed by security. We then found our way into the hall and into our seats. Our seats were great especially since there isn't a bad seat and they were only 10€. The show was made up of three Nordic pieces; a warm up and two longer pieces each with four movements. It was spectacular. I didn't fancy myself much of a fan of orchestral music but in that hall with that Orchestra it was awesome. It was a nice way to brighten our spirits after a depressing day at Sachsenhausen. So now its on the final week before the my final critique. Time to buckle down and get done.

Oktoberfest In April

Our last trip before the end of the semester was to München (Munich). We have been wanting to go since the beginning but found the time now since while we were there it was Starkbierzeit which in German translates to Strong Beer Time or Strong Beer Fest as it is now know. So we set off on our Bavarian adventure with our seven hour train ride. Unfortunately my train ride was the ride from hell. I sat next to a girl who smelled like she had rolled around in Tacobell that someone had thrown up. I was nauseous for the 4 hours she was next to me. Also on the train was the screaming baby who's mother found it hysterical to just let her daughter scream. So after that we finally arrived in Munich and settled into our hostel. We took a walk down MarrienPlatz and down toward the Oktoberfest grounds just to check em out. Me and Rob and Casey went to go meet my friend Kevin who's been in Munich for over a year now so he could show us around and we could hangout with him. We went and grabbed a beer and caught up while we waited for Blake, Kyle and Blake's friend Will. We met up with them and went over to a Beer Garden to have some traditional Bavarian food and our first taste of Starkbier. It has a slight spicy flavor and is very very dark. We enjoyed our meal and went to experience some of the local nightlife before retiring to bed.

The next morning we wake up and get out of the Hostel as fast as possible and after a pain in the ass we finally make it to the other hostel. After that we headed over to the famous 1972 Olympic Stadium. It was incredible place. A huge Olympic campus with a pool complex, and soccer stadium and a large pond in the middle. The roof of the stadium is like a cloth draped over some columns. It was a gorgeous day and we hung out and walked around. We were even able to get cheap boats to rent to go out on the lake. After that we made it back to the hostel and got changed to get ready to go to the festival grounds. The festival was like everything I could have imagined. There was at least 3000 people there. They served the beer in 1L pitchers that were ceramic for the purpose of banging them together when you "Prost" which is german for cheers. We really enjoyed ourselves. Especially when we went inside the hall and there were another 2000 people standing on table and singing along while a band played Beatles music. It was a great time. We tried afterward to sneak out the mugs we were drinking out of but after hopping fences and sneaking through gaps we were foiled and pretty much tackled by guards. Happy but slightly disappointed we headed back to our room to catch some much needed Z's. We all said good bye and made it to the train the next morning with no problem. The train ride was cake. No screaming children or unbathed adults. For our last trip it was amazing and I only have three German cities that I still want to go to; Stuttgart, Frankfurt, and Hanover but those will have to wait until next time.

Will There Be A Future?

I'm going to use this blog post a rant. Our Seminar class deals with issues of sustainability and climate change, both architecturally, socially and politically. In the past weeks we have seen charts and graphs and many depressing statistics about how we are reaching the "tipping point". The tipping point is the point at which all the damage we have inflicted on the planet becomes irreversible and there is nothing we can do to slow down the process that will make an impact. We have also seen examples of architects and planners who are trying to change this. Both in their designs and writings these people believe that we have not come too far and we can live comfortably without destroying the planet in the process.

Here in Germany the idea of a sustainable lifestyle is paramount. Recycling is encouraged, buildings don't use air condition or heating, and there are solar or photovoltaic cells everywhere. Germans live very comfortable loves too. They don't suffer in the Summer or the Winter. They understand that fossil fuels and the waste of energy is lead to the eventual demise of our own society.

So what is understood here is not even accepted as fact in America. If you were building and office building in New York and you said for reasons of energy efficiency I plan on leaving out the HVAC systems you would be laughed out of the city. But that is because Americans don't understand proper building techniques like it seems most of the rest of the world does. If a building is properly insulated on all sides and there allowed adequate room for cross ventilation on all floors they building won't need to run air conditioning except for hot days and won't need heating except for bitter cold days. Then if the building is made from a thermal mass, ie: concrete, it won't require heat at all. Concrete draws heat from its surroundings, like office workers and electronics and then at night can be cooled down through the use of ventilation and will cool the building the next day through the same means. Also radiant heat can be used to heat building too. This heat is usually in the floor in most American cities but that is extremely inefficient. If you have radiant heat in the floor when it is being emitted if you are sitting on a bed or chair or desk you will not feel any heat because you are in what's called a radiant shadow. So the structure between you and the floor is absorbing the heat before you can. Having it in th ceiling like all European buildings that employ it is much more effective. Since radiant heat is not air driven it doesn't only rise. It spreads evenly. so since there is less furniture on the ceiling of buildings there is no radiant shadow.

There are plenty of other techniques that majority of Americans are ignorant to. And it isn't just designers its politicians too. Although my political leaning is left our president is equally as ignorant to the sustainable issue too. They cut funding from schools and infrastructure that research these technologies and will not fund companies that are already developing the technology. John Boehner is equally as stupid on this fact. Saying that he " not believe it has been proven that CO2 is harmful to the atmosphere" sighting that the CO2 we exhale can't be that harmful because its in our body. he then adds that when cows "do what they do" the CO2 they release can't be harmful either. This infuriates me that an elected politician can be so naive and stupid about basic information. 1st its been proven by scientists that CO2 is harmful to the atmosphere. 2nd our exhalation isn't harmful because it is immediately absorbed by plants. 3rd cows release methane which is up to 4X as harmful as CO2. Now maybe he's playing stupid for political gain but either way it forces me to lose a lot of faith in our government. They play on the minds of the ignorant and purposely retard the countries progress forward.

America has all the resources to develop a new source of energy or something beneficial to a sustainable future. If they ever did it would provide such an economic boost and revolutionize energy production and transportation for ever. Revenue would be generated like wild since new companies would pop up, old oil companies would adapt new business models for this technology and there would be plenty of healthy competition. But ignorant politicians like Mr. Boehner and President Obama refuse to think that this is their problem. Truthfully it's not their problem its mine. My generation is going to have to deal with the ensuing planetary crisis. I just wish more people would see this and educate themselves and make informed decisions and maybe create enough noise so that the politicians have no choice but to act. If rebels in every middle eastern country can organize and execute a revolt via Facebook we should be able to reach our politicians some how.

We only get one planet and we need to save it.

Insert Cliché Czech/Check Joke Here

So This past weekend we had a trip to Prague in the Czech Republic and then to Dresden back in Germany. We arrived in Prague after about a 5 hour train ride. Prague is absolutely beautiful. Without a doubt my favorite city in Europe. Unfortunately Czech is the most screwed up language that we've encountered thus far. And not nearly enough people speak English for the tourist destination Prague is.

initially we walked around and just explored some the local works of Czech Cubism as direct reaction to the Modern Movement in the Czech Republic. Prague is a beautiful city because it is not the typical Roman city with temples and classical buildings nor is it the Gothic town with large cathedrals with spires and sharp edges. Prague is a purely medieval town. There is the Prague castle and tons of old medieval fragments from the bridges, tunnels and clock tower. When one walks through Prague all of the Orange roofs and old medieval buildings give this quaint feel to this bustling urban area. We were staying at the Czech Inn which is funny in itself. But it was a really nice place and probably the nicest hostel we've stayed in.

So Saturday morning it was up early for our 9 hour walking tour of Prague. It was a gorgeous day so it was spectacular. We walked all through the streets. Through tight alleys and wide green spaces. We eventually made it up to the Prague Castle which is more of a Baroque fortress but is beautiful anyway. Our tour guide Milosh (Me-low-sh) was very knowledgable and pretty much sounded like he was the original planner of the city. We walked down from the castle with the sun still beaming over toward the Lenon Wall. On the way I passed my first Lock Bridge and search frantically for a place with a lock that I could lock on there but to no avail. Just beyond that was the Lenon Wall. This amazing thing is a wall that was graffitied after John Lenon was shot with an anti communist message and has since become the only wall in Prague where you can legally graffiti and write whatever you want on it. There are layers upon layers of history on there. Right on the other side of the wall is where a tree where Mozart sat to compose some of his earlier music.Some of the other attractions we visited in Prague are St. Charles bridge the beautiful medieval bridge and the Dancing House by Frank Gehry. The it was time to experience Prague's nightlife. I'd relate here if I was legally allowed to but certain factors may prohibit me.

The Next morning it was up even earlier because we had a tour of Adolf Loos' Villa Müller. It was a pretty cool place although very boring from the outside. It was organized so that from the central stair you could see into all the rooms of the house at once. This technique is called Raumplan. After that I spent the afternoon searching for a padlock only to be alerted that it is padlock to lock it on the bridge without the other person there. So we all headed back to the Hostel and hopped a train to Dresden.

We got into Dresden late and went to grab some food then went over to a local Irish pub for some live Irish music, Guinness and Cider. After enjoying ourselves there it was off to bed to be up early especially since the clocks went ahead.

So the day in Dresden was led by our man Helmut. He took us all around the city and described us his time living in Dresden as a youngster. He recalled to us the first time he heard rock music since it was banned in East Germany. He said "it was better than the first sex, not that that's particularly good anyway but it was incredible to hear rock music." The rest of our day preceded seeing many of Dresden's church and other buildings that were destroyed by allied bombing or narrowly survived. It was at lunch that I was talking with Helmut about some of the communist era buildings and he said something very profound. We were talking about how these buildings were supposed to be "permanent" but he said "what is permanence in the scale of a few hundred years of the life of men". This resonated with me for a second and made me realize how special every opportunity I have and every person in my life is and how fast I could lose it all. Nothing is permanent but it doesn't matter as long as you enjoy the time you have. Our final stop in Dresden was a Synagogue built where one was burnt down by the Nazis on November 9th. It was a magnificent space but they did not have enough yarmulke for all the men so we had to walk in with scarves and handkerchiefs and anything else available on our heads. The space was very serene and perfect for contemplation. But we had no time as we had to run back to the HBF to catch our train back to Berlin.

We got in at 9:30 exhausted from a long and action packed weekend.