Occupied and Preoccupied

My my, what busy lot we've all been here on the Tech-Berlin Study Abroad Trip. We've been to so many places since my last post, I feel like some of the memories are things I'm pulling out of my childhood memory already. There are just too many things to see here in Germany!

I'll walk you back from over 10 days ago (where my last post left off) and pick up from the following day (day 6, Tuesday June 15)

Journey to Potsdam

Potsdam for me was the quintessential northern European town. It was very quaint, and felt surprisingly extensive. Every street looked like the scene below:

Potsdam city block

The "town" is only a ~45 minute train-ride from Berlin, and feels so much further. There are plenty of people here (evidenced by the masses of tourists [and locals alike] flooding the streets). There is plenty to see and eat, with enough history to be a world famous city all itself.

Potsdam city block

Of course, one of the main reasons we were even in Potsdam was to see some of its jewels; architectural jewels!

Sanssouci Palace and Gardens (1747)

The view from the picture above was simply astounding, and to be honest I didn't see it coming. Basically, you get to see this view after turning a sharp corner on a small paved street with no signs. At first, I thought it was some sort of backdrop; the axis here is clear and evident, and the hierarchy of structures is set by heights in landscape. In contemporary architecture we don't normally deal with such clear-cut plans, so seeing something like this in person is a nice breath of fresh air. When I think back to the states, it's this type of landscaping that most home owners would like. Of course, perhaps not on this scale, but a grove of trees leading up to a door, and a main pathway along a straight axis towards the entry is something of a dull game for me and not normally my preference however, the people (especially in the South) crave this sort of thing. Yes it's beautiful to gaze on, but too predictable and of the ordinary. I bet you can guess what happens to the path around the fountain?

This arbor is for my dad. Needless to say though, thousands of people make gardening their hobby, and I just thought seeing something as intricate as this arbor would inspire a similar creation somewhere in the states.

I've never been a big fan of Baroque or Rococo style architecture simply because it was always to "busy" for me. Too much ornamentation (which is the point of Rococo), and too many basic shapes getting covered up by it. But when you turn the form work into a lattice like the arbor below, it becomes something of a diamond in the rough for me. I admired this construction for a good 20 minutes:

Sanssouci Palace Arbor (1747)

Sanssouci Palace Arbor (1747)

Sanssouci Palace Arbor (1747)

The rear of the palace was a bit more classical, taking cues from the Romans. Using a flared version of the Corinthian column and stone railings to cap it off, the courtyard feeling was very elegant, and probably my favorite part of the palace.

Sanssouci Palace and Gardens (1747) (rear)

Sanssouci Palace and Gardens (1747) (rear)

Following that same fountain I pointed out in the first shot of the palace, you hang a left and walk down a ways along the great east-west axis until you see this next behemoth. The approach doesn't catch you off guard at first, only because the thing is set so far back from the entry steps, you only see the towers, -somewhat of an oversight in my eyes. It's called the Orangerie Palace and was built 117 years later after the Sanssouci Palace above. You'd think they'd stick to the same theme right? -Naw, they went for a bit of their own flare. More neo-classicist I think.

Sanssouci Orangerie Palace (1864)

Sanssouci Orangerie Palace (1864)

I felt bad about not keeping up with the blog, so I uploaded the video I took of this area so you can get a good idea about the connections this place makes. Also note the huge lobby space on either side for the guests.

Next up while we were in Potsdam, was to visit our first castle. Although this too would fall short from that definition. This one still felt more like a palace only with thicker walls, and turret like towers.

Babelsberg Palace (1833)

It still felt like a palace because once you entered the place, you immediately think "home," -or at least I did. Please enjoy these interior shots, because our tour guide forgot to tell us we weren't allowed to take any photos once inside and it wasn't until we made it to the second floor that some of the other curators stopped us from taking any more. So, these may be some of the few interior shots of the place you may not be able to find elsewhere.

Babelsberg Palace (1833)

Babelsberg Palace (1833)

As we would come to find out later, this was one of the few genuine places we'd visit in all of Germany. This structure is still its original self, and it was very evident by the paint chipping off and reinforced floor boards, that it was in a delicate state. Still though, the place looked cool in the sense it indeed was a fortified structure overlooking the river below.

Babelsberg Palace (1833)

Russians: 1, Germans: 0

We began our war history part of Germany by walking through the great Tier Garten to reach this communist monument. Right along the main stretch leading up to the Brandenburg Gate itself, this monument stands at a very omniscient position. The statue of the Russian soldier atop it can be seen stretching out his arm in a very stoic manner. It's as if, the German people were to bow down in front of this commanding demeanor. The monument built in 1945 was meant to remind the Germans who exactly saved them from their Nazi tyranny. Every column contains a set of Russian sayings... -in Russian. 'Tis a very imposing structure.

Soviet War Memorial (1945)

Up next we had a chance to view the Victory Column, which apparently was moved from its original locale. Of course, like many old structures in Europe, it too had the fake image on canvas draped over the scaffolding. Oh well, maybe next time.

Victory Column (1873)

To end our history day, we took a stroll to the biggest palace in Berlin. the Schloss Charlottenberg Palace. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take any interior photos, but the outside was somewhat impressive:

Schloss Charlottenberg Palace (1701-1785)

Our class may have ended with the Charlottenberg Palace, but not my hunger! A few of us made our way to the largest department store in Berlin: the KaDeWe. It's essentially a mall, but actually a department store like how they used to be over in the States back in the 30's before the war. The place is 8 levels (I think) of shopping with all kinds of things. They have a whole floor dedicated to nothing but gourmet foods. -Talk about delicious looking! At the top is one big gourmet buffet and bar. Needless to say, I had a chance to grab my share, and it was quite delicious!

Delicious food from the top of the KaDeWa Department Store (1907)

As a gamer I found the following somewhat amusing:

For the "Garten" enthusiast!

Getting Along

We made our way the following day to some of the prominent embassies here in Berlin. By now, we were getting used to the subway system or U-Bahn as it's called around here. We use it to get almost anywhere we want, and it's all based on a honor system or sorts, which is funny because here in Germany you might find some milder non-honor based scenarios where for example you have to put a coin in to use a shopping cart (and retrieve it when you lock it back).

Making our way to the Nordic Embassies

First Embassy we visited was not necessarily an embassy at all, but a political party headquarters. The CDU, or "Christian Democratic Union" of Germany's headquarters is an interesting spectacle. I'd post more images, but I'm reaching the maximum limit now I think. It's a double layer building where the interior skin is nothing like the exterior shape. And because of the transparency of the glass, you glance through to see the distant egg-like/ship hull-like shape, which also pokes out of the roof of the outer glass shell. This makes for a cool transition, but once you get inside, you begin to see what the functional part of the design is.

Close-up of the CDU headquarters in Berlin exterior (2000)

Atrium space of the CDU headquarters (2000)

Along our way to the Nordic embassies complex we passed by the Mexican embassy, which showed off a pretty interesting facade you can't ignore. Between the curving slits are windows which are what you'd expect, but the flowing curve is made by all straight pieces, making a cool curvilinear effect. We didn't get a chance to actually go into the building though.

The Mexican Embassy (2000)

Finally reaching the Nordic Embassy Complex, we almost knew it on site it was something we were looking forward to seeing. I say complex because five Nordic countries' embassies are all located here within separate buildings separated by a closed plaza and water. The layout of it actually is in the general order the actual geography of the countries are in relation to one another, and the water simulates the seas that separate them. The front wasn't as noticeable as the rear, see below:

Back wall of the Nordic Embassies Complex (1999)

The rear comes off as a green snake winding around a sharp street corner sitting somewhat far in from the road. I think it's something you either love or hate. I myself after examining it for a while, and walking along the length of, I found I couldn't enjoy it that much. I appreciated it for what it was, but the design didn't really appeal to me; too rigid I suppose. The color might have thrown me off too I suppose.

before we dove in to the Nordic embassy, we had to kill some time before the tour, so we walked around a bit and stumbled onto the Saudi Arabia embassy which was quite impressive in its own right. The level of "iron work" or in this case, steel-work and glass was pretty eye-catching. Very shiny, and I like how they included the Farci script around the frame for the entrance.

Saudi Arabian Embassy (2008)

Let the Nordic Embassy tour begin! Well, the plaza was pretty cool. We actually weren't allowed to enter any of the separate embassy buildings expect for the lobby building and the Norwegian Embassy (because our guide was a Norwegian intern there). In fact, she actually hadn't been in some of the other embassies herself either.

Anyhow, the one that stood out the most to me was the Norwegian embassy anyway because of the huge pillar in front of it. Louisiana Tech actually had a principal from the architectural firm who designed this embassy come and talk to us before earlier in the year, and it was quite fulfilling to finally see the building in person. The stone is one complete piece, unbroken and completely solid. It was cut from the side of a mountain. I can't find, nor do I remember the type of stone it was, but very impressive nonetheless.

Norwegian Embassy (1999) (Nordic Embassies Complex)

Lake within the Nordic Embassies Complex (1999)

Finland Embassy within the Nordic Embassies Complex (1999)

I can say something cool about the Icelandic Embassy: The stone used on the facade is super, super smooth and is made from a special stone only found in Iceland. Such a rare stone in fact it is supposed to be illegal to use as a building material; I suppose the government is above that rule though.

Iceland Embassy within the Nordic Embassies Complex (1999)

And with that I'll wrap up this super extended blog post so you may get on with more important things. More to come soon though; There's still all of Southern Germany to explore!

Thanks for reading,

-Riven