A few days ago Chrissy, Denis and I used another coupon of ours to eat at a restaurant on the Rhine. We sat outside, and this was our view.
Then we took a walk along the Rhine and Lake Constance.
palm trees on Seestraße
Then for the Fourth most of us Americans (as well as Canadians, Brits, Azerbaijanis, etc.) met at Europahaus to have a "Grillfest" (the German term for a barbecue).
Yes, that's a Target bag - Kirsten brought it from the US!
friends from around the world
Then yesterday Chrissy, Kirsten and I went to Darmstadt, which is near Frankfurt. I chose the city for two reasons: for its interesting architecture and for its museum of world-famous specimens from the Messel Pit, a fossil bed nearby that is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The first thing we did was go to the Hessische Landesmuseum (well, actually, first we grabbed some crepes). Unfortunately the museum is closed until 2011. To imagine what I wanted to see there, you can check out these videos on YouTube of what life in Messel would have looked like (here, here, here).
After that disappointment we went to the Künstlerkolonie (Artists' colony), which was really cool. It's known for its unique architecture.
This is the Wedding Tower (Hochzeitsturm).
We took an elevator to the top, and we got this view. In the bottom right corner you can see the Russian Orthodox chapel that was given to the city by Tsar Nicholas II in honor of his wife, Alexandra, who was from Darmstadt.
Next up, we went to the Hundertwasserhaus (or Waldspirale), which is one of the oddest looking buildings ever. It is currently an appartment complex. It was built in 2000 by hippy/architect Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser ("Kingdom-of-Peace Rainy-Day Dark-and-Colorful Hundred-Waters") and was supposedly partly inspired by Russian Orthodox architecture (look at the onion domes).
At the Hundertwasserhaus we met this really nice man who drove us to the museum that supposedly had the displays from the Hessische Landesmuseum while that building was being redone.
It didn't. But it did have tons and tons of these old printing presses and stuff.
So that's a very brief update on my life until now. Last week I had my first final (German), this week I have my next two (Arabic and Russian), and then next week I have two papers due and my final in linguistics. Hopefully I'll have internet again soon so I'll be able to do research at home instead of here in the library - and so I'll be able to post to my blog more frequently!
6 comments:
First again! Colin, your photos were esp neat (well, they always are). Have you ever been to a fair which had these small rooms...you walk in and mirrors all around...you see yourself wiggly and out of proportion. That is what I thought of when looking at your artist's bldg. Except for the onion tops of course. Wow, you surely have been to interesting places! When you work to get to one and find them closed...awful.
Best wishes with all the tests etc.coming up. Love, Gr Pat
I'd like to see more of that Hundertwasserhaus! Sehr interessant!
I'm also still intrigued by palm trees in Germany!!!! Love the shots of Seestrasse and the Rhine.
Good morning! I am so sorry that the museum was closed. I know you had been looking forward to that. But it sounds like you had a great day anyway, and the architecture looks really interesting.
How fun to spend a holiday with new friends from around the world.
It was fun to see/read a blog and catch up with you again after a bit of a break there.
Wow, now you have actual studies, exams, papers. That sounds like a real university student!
Good luck on everything.
Cody will be there in 11 days, and off you will go again.
much love!
What a view for dinner on the Rhine- wow. Grill fest sounds good, too. Kunstlerkolonie looks cool, and the Hundertwasserhaus looks like Dr Suess had a hand in it...."Kingdom-of-Peace Rainy-Day Dark-and-Colorful Hundred-Waters", ...okay! Now that is a name. And to think of all the parents (in the US) who named their kids "moon beam"- when it could have been "Kingdom-of-Peace Rainy-Day Dark-and-Colorful Hundred-Waters"
What fun, Colin! Keep posting when you can!
Great post - what a disappointment that the museum was closed and that the supposed backup museum was only about printing! The artist colony looked like fun. gotta love those hippy names! Good luck on your tests and papers!
So nice to see those pictures of Konstanz now that we've been there!
Hi, Colin, on Tuesday the 8th. As you know, the reunion in Minnesota is coming up soon, and Teri and I leave San Diego this Friday the 11th. So each day is filled with "things" to get done before the take off. We are all going to miss you VERY, VERY MUCH Colin. But I'll be able to talk face to face with your folks abouttheir big trip to visit you; that'll be interesting. Meantime, good luck with all those tests, Love, Gr Pat
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