Home Sweet Home

After a twelve hour flight, a two hour layover, another two and a half hour flight and a one hour drive, I am finally home! It was a long day but I couldn’t be happier to be here. To all who read my blog, thank you for your patience and support and I am sad to say that as my trip came to end so must this blog! Thanks again, and I hope one day you all will be able to travel to all the places I have been and more and I look forward to hearing your stories. One last time …

FROM HOME SWEET HOME (U.S.A.), WITH LOVE GRACE

Roman Around

About 29 km outside the city of Rome is Hadrian’s Villa. A complex that was used as a retreat and eventually became the permanent residence of the Emperor of Rome, Hadrian, and his court. It is now, obviously, a pile (for lack of a better word) of ruins. Rome is one of the bigger cities we’ve been in, but much more pedestrian friendly than Paris … or maybe I’ve just gotten used to walking by this point. We started out our day in the city with a walking tour visiting small piazzas and churches, but the first major thing I did was go to the Coliseum. Although it was very large and much taller than I thought, somehow it still seemed smaller than what I was picturing. Later that evening we visited the Trevi Fountain at night first and later in the day. That was also very different from my expectations, from the pictures I’d seen I’d expected it to be in a large flat plaza however it seemed like buildings were cramped around it and there were stairs leading to it … not that I was disappointed in the least, it was still the Trevi Fountain, after all. The next day was spent at the Roman Forum, where the Emperor’s actual residence should have been/was prior to the Villa construction outside of Rome. That could have been more enjoyable if it wouldn’t have been for the rain. It rained every day we were in Rome, except for the last, and it was never a drizzle and it always happened first around 2:30pm and second at 5:30pm … kind of put a damper in our day/week. On Tuesday we spent the whole day at the Vatican, in St. Peters, the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. St. Peters and the Museum lived up to my expectations but, I regret to inform you that the Sistine Chapel was a major disappointment. There is not an accurate enough description of how awfully disappointed I was, but I don’t blame it on the work of Michel Angelo, but on Mrs. Gilpin: former art teacher of the 6^th and 7^th grade at Southwood Middle School in Miami, Florida cried during our lecture on Michel Angelo over how brilliant he was. Anyways my disappointment was quickly cured by the work of Borromini in S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. Somehow I didn’t think it would be as great as it actually was, and I wasn’t even planning on visiting it until it happened to be on the way to the Spanish Steps. The Spanish Steps along with the Piazza del Popolo, were great plaza and provided such different views of the city that they were both great, I probably preferred the Piazza del Popolo more actually. My trip in Rome, Italy and Europe ended with one last visit to the Trevi Fountain (one more wish couldn’t hurt) and with a final cup of Gelato. Ciao!

FROM ROME (ITALY), WITH LOVE GRACE

Sienna

On our way to Sienna we stopped in Tuscany! It was a perfect fall day; everything was yellow, orange, and dark red. The people were loud and you couldn’t tell whether they were yelling or laughing. It completely lived up the expectations I had built up from Under the Tuscan Sun (the movie, of course.) Once we got to Sienna, we immediately went to Piazza del Campo; it is a very famous plaza at the center of the city where a horse race is held twice a year. Its shape is between a circle and an ellipse and the city ripples out from there. A bit further from the Piazza is the Sienna Cathedral, designed in Italian Gothic, meaning that the materials were used as a form of ornamentation rather than adding sculptures. On the outside the Cathedral looked a bit like Candy Land from all of the pink stones, but on the inside everything is black and white striped marble. Sienna was unexpectedly a pleasant little city.   

FROM SIENNA (ITALY), WITH LOVE GRACE

Florence

Most of our time in Florence was occupied by leather products and Il Duomo. It is four-hundred and sixty-three steps to the base of the dome and regardless of age or health you sound like a panting dog by the time you get to the top. However, it provides one of the best views of the city and happens to be the perfect place for a photo opp. Another great place is the Ponte Vecchio it is unlike most bridges because from the outside it looks like a block of houses, but it is actually filled with jewelry shops and has a really pretty view up the river towards the mountains.

FROM FLORENCE (ITALY), WITH LOVE GRACE

That's Amore

Although I did not get to go on a gondola ride, Venice was definitely Amore. It’s my favorite Italian city so far! Everything about our time in Venice was perfect, it was fall and the weather was blue sunny skies and cool air. The colors everywhere were amazing … the red and yellow leaves, the blue water, black and red gondolas, the terracotta and gold colored buildings, the rainbow masks. Getting into Venice was probably more difficult than most any other city, except for London, we took a monorail into the outside of the city and then we walked a few blocks and two bridges (which are stepped and not ramped-don’t know who came up with that idea) over and were in our elevator-less hotel. Once we got settled in the days were amazing and getting back out was not as bad. I was actually sad to leave Venice, I could have easily skipped out on the other cities and spent the rest of my semester there! Buttttt, what would my life be like without some leather ... Florence is next.

FROM VENICE (ITALY), WITH LOVE GRACE

Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone

It's a love story baby just yes .... or We're in Verona! On our way to Verona we stopped at the Olympic Theater by Palladio and Villa Rotunda. The Olympic theater is known for its set which has three different forced perspectives and Villa Rotunda was very influential for Thomas Jefferson when he found the University of Virginia. The coolest place we went to in Verona was a Scarpa Museum that was actually an old castle/fort that was renovated into a museum. Scarpa's approach for the design was quite clever; never allowing the new materials (concrete and steel) to come into contact with the brick from the old castle, a clear separation between the two. And last but not least we went to Juliet's House, obviously it's not really her house since it is a fictional story but you would be surprised how many people actually second guessed whether or not that was a true story.  Anyways there's not much to it, except for graffiti from star-crossed lovers and Juliet's statue. It is supposed to be good luck to touch Juliet's chest when you visit, but since it's only the most tragic love story of all time I refrained.

FROM VERONA (ITALY), WITH LOVE GRACE

Como Si, Coma Sa

So although we were staying in Como we actually saw very little of Como. We spent two days in Switzerland and one in Milan. Our first day was spent in a small town called Montecarreso, in what seemed to be the countryside of Switzerland … but then again I am not sure what a city in Switzerland looks like. The best part of that little town was its castle, located at the top of a little mountain in the middle of the town center, providing great views of the Alps, the town, and the sky. In order to get to the castle you have to walk through a tunnel that is carved into the mountain and take an elevator up. Since you can’t see the castle from the ground, it is a great surprise when you finally step out of the elevator and are surrounded by castle walls. The next day we spent in Milan! It was Sunday so there was not too much to do but we did get to see the Milan Cathedral which is beautiful from the outside, but not so great from the inside (in my opinion anyways.) The most shocking thing about Milan was the number of pigeons in the cathedral plaza, there are gypsies and little kids everywhere palming a dozen or so kernels of corn to feed the pigeons. The only thing there was more of in Milan was fashion! The following day we spent in Reva San Vitale visiting students from Virginia Tech … it was refreshing to see some new-old faces. You think The Real World is crazy try traveling around Europe with the same thirty-five people for two and half months. Our last day was the only actually spent in Como, Italy and unfortunately it was pouring rain the entire day. I am sad to say that Como was not the best start to Italy, but I am looking forward to Verona!

FROM COMO (ITALY), WITH LOVE GRACE

Only nice things to say about Nice

On our way to Nice we stopped at Le Thornet Abbey for some sketching, picnicking, and playing ball (not baseball.) And finally upon arriving in Nice, we walked along the beach around sunset. The beach is a pebble beach so it would probably have been uncomfortable to layout in but the water was very blue and had the most beautiful backdrop of the city. Since Nice was a one day trip and really only served as a stop between Avignon and Como to prevent a long bus ride, the next day we drove up the coast of Nice and into Monte Carlo. We got to see some of the most beautiful views that I have probably seen throughout this trip.

FROM NICE (FRANCE), WITH LOVE GRACE

Avignon

In Avignon we went to Maison Caree, one of the best preserved ancient Roman temples in the world and important to many architects (not me really) because of its proportions. We also visited a park with a Roman aqueduct with some really great views of the French countryside. The theme of ancient Roman architecture got our professors more excited than usual and they brought up a good point: Romans were building an empire so most of the stuff they designed and built was meant to last thousands of years, whereas, most buildings currently under construction are only made to last forty to sixty years . Depending on how you look at it though there are beneficial components from each.
FROM AVIGNON (FRANCE), WITH LOVE GRACE

Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole

Hola! We are in our last city in Spain. We started off our week in Barcelona by going to a Barca soccer game against Santander. Obviously, Barcelona won with a final score of three to zero with two goals from Messi and one from Xavi … other than that I can’t tell you much more about the game since my soccer playing boyfriend refuses to teach me anything about the sport! On another note, we went to the BARCELONA PAVILION! The Barcelona Pavilion was designed by Mies Van der Rohe in 1929 for the International Expo as a representation of the Weimar Germany: democratic, culturally progressive, prospering, and pacifist. But the best thing we did in Barcelona was Gaudi, Gaudi and MORE Gaudi! We went to the Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell. From the outside Sagrada Familia seems gloomy and dumpy, but from the inside it was well-lit and exotic. The inside was finished in 2007, but the projected completion date for the exterior is in 2026. Gaudi uses columns, arches and vaulting to give one the impression of a rainforest … which is quite an odd thing to want for a church but it is exactly what I thought of when I walked in before I read about it. Parc Guell is rather LARGE, first off it’s at the top of a massive hill that you have to climb half way up before escalators appear and thank god for those escalators! Once at the top though, you are presented with a great view of the city and the park is great. All of the palm trees and flowers are the perfect complement to the crazy Gaudi buildings and the beautiful mosaic. It was the perfect end to my week in Barcelona and my time in Spain! Adios

FROM BARCELONA (SPAIN), WITH LOVE GRACE

Calatrava Vomit



  We were in Valencia for two nights, one full day and all I saw was work done be Valencian born architect, Calatrava. The city of arts and science is a cultural complex compromised of a science museum, an opera house, an IMAX theater, a planetarium, two bridges and covers an area of 350,000 square meters all designed by Calatrava. It is located on what is now a dried up river bed spanning seven kilometers and is designed around a promenade, housing a garden on the top and a parking garage underneath, and reflecting pools, which are supposed to not only mirror the architecture but serve as a reminder of the site’s fluvial past. Speaking of water, some of us were lucky enough to spend a few hours at the beach again, it was much smaller and a little colder than the one in Alicante, but still very enjoyable for October.

FROM VALENCIA (SPAIN), WITH LOVE GRACE

Viewer Discretion Advised

Alicante was our weekend off from architecture, and trust me many of us took it off! We spent our day at the beach; it started with sipping cocktails and laying out and turned into chugging bottles and laying out naked (DONT WORRY MAMI AND PAPI, I KEPT ALL MY CLOTHES ON.) There is not much to say about Alicante other than it was fabulous and now blurry. In addition, I would like to apologize for my lack of pictures on this post as my camera was in my purse while I was in the water.

FROM ALICANTE (SPAIN), WITH LOVE GRACE

Hide and Seek

Imagine you are the son or daughter of one of the kings who lived in the Alhambra and that this whole complex was built for you, your friends, and cousins to play hide and seek in. Gardens filled with peacocks, nightingales, birds, flowers, trees, and fountains. The castle full of tiled patterns on the walls, massive windows allowing the wind, sun and moon into the rooms and corridors providing the most amazing views of the city. In Granada we went to the Alhambra, a Moorish castle and fortress complex. It was built for the court of the Nasrid Dynasty and has been described as “a pearl set in emeralds” or “paradise on earth.” It’s hard to believe but both of those are pretty accurate descriptions.  It is located at the top of a mountain-hill overlooking the city of Granada and at the moment has become its own little town filled with the most amazing clay castles and flower gardens in Spain.

FROM GRANADA (SPAIN), WITH LOVE GRACE

Cordoba

The Cordoba Cathedral started out as a pagan temple, became a Christian church, was claimed by Moors and turned into a Mosque and then reclaimed by the Catholic Church. What’s standing there today is evidence of the different religions and different times that Cordoba has seen. The most contrasting is the placement of the cathedral in the center of the Mosque. I completely disagree with the insertion of the cathedral in the middle of the mosque; there is no transitional space between the two and the Catholics made it clear that they did not consider the Islamic history of the building. The Cathedral-Mosque is best known for its double arches of alternating orange and white. The arches were not all built at the same time as each Islamic ruler kept adding square footage to the mosque; this becomes evident in the different materials used: some arches are red brick and concrete, while others are just painted concrete. The Cordoba Cathedral-Mosque has the potential to give you goose bumps upon entering but the loud and obnoxious tour groups make enjoying the space seem impossible.

FROM SEVILLE (SPAIN), WITH LOVE GRACE

Yes! Lisbon

Lisbon is the new favorite! We took the easiest and fastest mode of transportation there: a plane. Even more important, we stayed in the bessstttt hostel I will probably ever stay in. It was called Yes! Lisbon and they had sangria every night for dinner and free shots for everyone at 11:30pm, in addition to a wild and crazy staff and really delicious home cooked meals. Fortunately we were in a great location right next to a main boulevard, the Bairo Alto, and the river. Although we were there for four full days we spent quite a bit of time wandering the city and LAYING ON THE BEACH. The water was a bit nippy, but the sweat dripping down my face made running in seem like a great idea. We did however spend one whole day sketching and studying some of the more architectural feats Lisbon has to offer. Located in the more modern part of town is a Calatrava train station with a connecting mall, the Portugal Pavilion, the Oceanarium, the Portugal House, the Museum of Science, and Parque das Nacoes all within a fifteen minute walk (total) from each other. One great thing I noticed about Lisbon is that due to the hot climate, most buildings offer a lot of shading and an interesting water feature to help cool off the surrounding space outside. To end our trip in Lisbon and our week of being independent from our professors my friend, Chris, and I enjoyed some amazing views of the city by hopping on a ski-lift over the water. Lisbon had so much to offer and made me wonder what the rest of Portugal is like …

FROM LISBON (PORTUGAL), WITH LOVE GRACE

Luck of the Irish

We took a train and ferry into Dublin and I must say it turned out much better than our journey into London. The ferry was basically a cruise ship with restaurants, bars, shops, and cabins … it was quite a luxurious arrival. Dublin was a little more relaxing than other cities, we decided to take the time and do touristy things only. We took a walking tour through the city and did a pub crawl too, but my favorite part of our trip was our day spent in the countryside. We spent a whole day visiting an Irish farm, Galloway and most importantly the Cliffs of Moher. Although it was cold, the Cliffs of Moher were beautiful and we were lucky to have been there on just a cloudy day, no fog and no rain. The luck of the Irish was definitely with us.

FROM DUBLIN (IRELAND), WITH LOVE GRACE

Cheers Governer

The start of our independent trip was a little rough. We took an overnight bus to London from Paris; it may have been the sketchiest six hours of my life. We had to get off of the bus at the Paris border with our luggage, get back on the bus, drive about fifty feet and get off again at the London border, and then we were put into a crate and either ferried or trained over the channel, no knows because there were no windows and we were not told what was happening. Finally, we made it into London at 6 AM but we couldn’t check into the hotel … or hostel rather until 3 PM. After about eight hours of wondering the city on about two hours of sleep and one grande coffee we were finally able to get some rest and see the rest of the city. Other than our awful welcome into the city I have nothing but BRILLIANT things to say about the British. We were in London for two full days and in that time span I had four bloody delicious cupcakes: Raspberry Lemon, Vanilla Coconut, Red Velvet and Oreo, all from Convent Square Garden and/or Harrods. I am happy to say that I loved London and can’t wait to go back and work on my British accent. Cheers.
FROM LONDON (ENGLAND) , WITH LOVE GRACE

EIFFEL FOR PARIS

I fell for Paris. Of all the places we have been to so far this is the only city that I have been to previously and I cannot wait to go back to again. We started our trek through the city at The St. Genevieve Library. The library is older and had a great reading room. The reading room is different from many other libraries, in that the reading tables are in the center of the room and surrounded by the book stacks on the perimeter. We also saw the National Library which is much newer, located on the opposite side of Paris, with a large plaza leading up to four towers that house the archives of the library. Most of the library is actually underground and the four towers create a forest sized courtyard on the ground floor. We continued to the Pompidou Center a museum by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers. Basically this building is inside-out; the structure, HVAC, stairs and elevators, and any mechanical services are on the exterior of the building and the museum space is on the inside. Another museum we went to is the Louvre; it was wayyyy toooo big to be enjoyable but I did like the Lobby addition by I.M.Pei. Some of the more touristy things we did were the Eiffer Tower, the Galleries Lafayette – an insane mall/store that is seven floors of high end retail, and Sacre Coure – massive beautiful, white church, at the top of the highest hill in Paris. Paris has so many amazing things to offer, art, architecture, fashion, history and fooooood. My time here was much too short and I look forward to my return trip.

FROM PARIS (FRANCE), WITH LOVE GRACE

Aufwierdersehen Germany

On our way to Cologne we visited a Frank Gehry Museum with a great Buckminster Fully exhibit. Something I’ve noticed is that a lot of these small towns have some great museums designed by well-known architects … Blacksburg should take note. Once in Cologne we visited the Cologne Cathedral, the tallest gothic cathedral in the world. Oddly enough for me it didn’t compare to the cathedral in Prague, maybe it was because it was just there for me to enter and I didn’t have to climb up a million stairs or possibly with its reputation I was expecting much more. One interesting thing about the cathedral is there is one stained glass window that is not a biblical depiction but rather multi-colored squares, it seemed so modern but I actually enjoyed it. Then we went into a Peter Zumthor Museum. Part of the Museum was built over Roman Ruins and the way light punctures through the wall and trickles down towards the ruins feels very spiritual . The main space is definitely in my top three favorites. We saw two other buildings in Cologne that are worth mentioning. One was a very colorful and environmentally friendly building that looks like it would be a great place to work in. The other was a Sanaa building located in an old coal mine district that is now being infiltrated by the arts and this specific building was intended to be used as an architecture school. Cowgill could definitely use a similar upgrade. Aufwierdersehen Germany, Bonjour Paris.

FROM COLONGE (GERMANY), WITH LOVE GRACE

Ich Liebe Dich

I Love You. Among hopeless romantics, Cologne is famous for only one thing: the Love Lock Bridge. People travel from all over the world to come to this bridge and declare their undying love for that special person in their life. Tradition states that when you love someone, you should buy a lock with a key, fasten it to the bridge and toss the key over into the Rhein River. Though I love all my friends and family and wish I could buy a lock for each of them, during my time in Europe I have really been missing my boyfriend and best friend: Scott Evan Fundling and so this post and of course my lock (and heart) is dedicated to him. MUAHHH  

FROM COLOGNE (GERMANY), WITH LOVE GRACE

Would you like fries with that?

On our way to Hamburg we stopped in Volksberg, a city actually created by Hitler to be the headquarters for the VW cars. VW was started by the Nazi party as a luxury car that was meant specifically for the upper middle class. In Volksberg we visited a Zaha Hadid Museum for Science, the building was really great and the museum was sooooo much fun, it felt like I was in a playground for older kids. When we finally got into Hamburg I was pleasantly surprised by how trendy and chic it was. The Harbor City felt like the city planners just took a design studio, gave each student a building and plopped them all down within a two to three block radius from each other. It was such a fun city and next time I hope to spend longer than two days there.

FROM HAMBURG (GERMANY), WITH LOVE GRACE

Berlin ... One of a Kind

On our way to Berlin, we stopped in Dresden. Dresden is such an interesting city because it was bombed during the war and completely destroyed but the town residents cared so much about the city that they decided to fund a complete reconstruction of it. So although the buildings look like they date back to 1800s they have all only recently been built back up again only twenty years ago. After a few hours in Dresden we were on the road to Berlin. Berlin is definitely one of a kind. I cannot think of any other city that has been through as much as it has and is still striving. A city that has been forcibly split up, asked its residents to redefine their identities and culture, relocate their jobs, schools and favorite stores and caused famalies and friends to have to wave to each other across a wall from balcony to balcony. Due to the split of the East and the West, Berlin is unique in that although it is one again it still has at least two of everything, most notably two city centers. The presence of the wall, though no longer physically there, is still noticable mostly in the real estate closest to it. Most of the area surrounding the border has either become a memorial or prime space for the next new exciting building. A few of the buildings we saw in Berlin include: the Nordic Embassies, the university library, and the crematorium ... in addition of course to everything else we did. Although I wasn't terribly excited about Berlin, the history behind the city alone is worth the visit.

FROM BERLIN (GERMANY), WITH LOVE GRACE

CZECK ME OUTTTT

On our way to Prague, we stopped at the Loisium Hotel & Winery for lunch. It was a fabulous hotel, definitely a must revisit. A few AWESOME things concerning the hotel and winery: it was designed by STEVEN HOLL, they had the most awesome chairs and swings, and of course the WINE. The one thing I have taken up on while in Europe is the WINEEE, in the last three weeks I have probably consumed more wine than in my entire twenty-one years of life ... just saying. Unfortuneately we had to leave after only 4 hours but we were lucky enough to get one day in Prague. Prague is full of hills and everything is layered so no matter where you are in the city you have a view of a lot. There is a main river dividing the old town and the new town with bridges spanning between the two points. The old town is pretty much completely at the top of the biggest, steepest hill I have ever climbed in 80 degree weather wearing jeans, a blazer and a scarf (obviously I didn't check the forecast that day) but it was totally worth it, it provided the most amazing view of the city and had one of the most beautiful cathedrals I have ever seen. I wish I had more to say about Prague, but being there for only one day I didn't get to experience as much as I would have liked. Guess that means I will have to go back soon. Up next Berlin!

FROM PRAGUE (CZECH REPBULIC), WITH LOVE GRACE

P.S. To give you an idea of how much we do in one day: In Prague a kid decided to run his pedometer, we walked a little over twelve miles in about seven hours.

STOP! In the name of Vienna

On our way to Vienna we a made a pitstop in Salzburg (think Sound of Music.) It was a larger town up in in the Alps and despite the rainy weather it was lovely. We got the chance to enter a famed music school known worldwide, Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum, and view their concert hall. The performance hall is very different from anything I have ever seen, many musicians come from across the world to perform here and we even got to witness a few impromptu performances. Doe, a deer a female deer; Ray, a drop of golden sunnnn. Our first evening in Vienna we went to the coolest bar I think I have ever been too. Sixth floor, double height ceilings and windows, small, chic, dj, with the best view of St. Stephan's Cathedral and last but not least a french connection in my hand (yummmy!) A few of the things we saw on Tuesday are the Bahnorama tower: a wooden structure offering an EPIC view of the city like no other. Its on the site for the new train station coming up in Vienna and also one of the biggest construction sites in Europe. The Danau City Kirche is located in UN City and is a modern church that basically gave birth to the city that is growing now. That evening we went to a typical Austrian restuarant in the country side, despite the fact that it took an hour of standing in a line to get my food and it was microwaved, I did end up having to sit with the professors and they did keep filling up my wine glass and I did get silly drunk for free (DEFINITELY MOST IMPROVED NIGHT SO FAR) On Wednesday we took a walking tour of the city and it became very noticeable how much older of a city Vienna is compared to Munich. Half way through our tour we passed by the Spanishe Hofreitschule, the home of the famous Lipizzaner horses. We got really lucky and got to see them being walked out of their stables through the building and it was the highlight of my day. Today, our last day in Vienna, we visited Karl's Kirche which was under reconstruction but the scaffolding was open to the public to go up into the dome of the church and despite the shakyness of the structure it was cool to be able to be at arms length away from the ceiling and get such a good luck at the paintings. We ended our day with a trip to the National Library of Vienna, which was started by one of the illegitamate sons of the kings due to his massive collection of books. It was a beautiful library and as odd as it may sound I instantly was reminded of Beauty and Beast when I walked in. My time in Vienna has been great, but I am so ready to get to know Prague.

FROM VIENNA (AUSTRIA), WITH LOVE GRACE

Auf Wiedersehen Munich

Today was my last day in Munich. Tomorrow we are off to Vienna with a stop in Salzburg for a few hours. About the last 2 days: on Friday we visited a beautifully done modern catholic church Jesus Kirche it had the most amazing blue ceramic glazing on the front facade in the pattern of nails (which one would never guess from afar) and we also went to the Soccer Stadium which has an awesome curtain wall. I would not usually be excited to see a Soccer Stadium, but ever since February I've taken up a serious interest in the sport. On Saturday we saw two buildings done by Herzog and de Meuron, one a mall FUNF HOFE created from existing building in which five courts were designed and used as a way to unite the center, the other a museum similar to the MATTRESS FACTORY in Pittsburgh which depending on your taste in art that could be a good thing or a bad thing. And Today we spent our day at the museums of Pinakothek, the first an older one which was bombed during WWII had a great facade because parts ruined from the war were reconstructed in a brick. The second housed modern work, they had exhibits on chairs, antiques, sculptures, paintings and an architecture hall with AMAZING building models. The last Museum Brandhorst had a very COLORFUL exterior and had mostly paintings full of vibrant colors from much newer artists. Till Tomorrow!


FROM MUNICH (GERMANY), WITH LOVE GRACE

I feel the need ... the need for speed

This morning we took a walk through Olympia Park and I must say I enjoyed it much more this time around ... the weather was really nice (UNTIL IT STARTED RAINING) and the lighting made for better pictures. We also passed through the Olympic Housing and I found those to be extremely cute, especially since students  are encouraged to paint the apartments to their liking!

BMW. Today we visited BMW Welt. From the outside I wasn't so sure it was a building I would enjoy, but boy was I WRONGGGG. The building I think was a great showcase for the cars and as I found out was designed with the intention of also test driving some of the cars in the building. Unfortuneatly I wasn't allowed to press the pedal to the medal but I've got my eyes on few of those babies (*note to future husband).

FROM MUNICH (GERMANY), WITH LOVE GRACE

Danke Schӧn!

To the Heider Family for housing me for the last six days. I have learned so much about this beautiful city and feel really lucky to have been able to experience it from a local's point of view.

On Sunday we visited Ludwig's Kirche and without a doubt, it has been the most beautiful church we have been to thus far. On the outside it looks quite ordinary for a European church, of course, but on the inside the walls were a perfect combination of brick and painted patterns, creating a kaleidoscope of biblical stories. Where the English Garden meets the city center one can see the "surfers" of Munich on the Eisbach River. The bedrock of the river creates a standing wave and a few (CRAZY) people are daring enough to ride the freezing cold water from the Alps.

On Monday, we made our way to the what used to be the winter residence of the royals in Munich. It was a rather large and unique castle. It was occupied by at least twelve different famalies over a four-hundred year period, with each family adding their own style to the castle, it is quite an eclectic collection of architecture through the years.

Today, Eli and I went to Olympia Park where the 1972 Olympics were held and took a 15 minute hike to the top of a hill (*THE HILL WAS FORMED BY DEBREE FROM WWII AND COVERED IN GRASS) for an awesome view of the city. This evening we enjoyed dinner with her family at a local restaurant. At the end of the meal we were treated to a Limes: a shot of vodka with crushed strawberries, basically the best kinda way to end my stay with the Heiders. Cheers!

FROM MUNICH (GERMANY), WITH LOVE GRACE

American beer is like having sex in a canoe ... its freaking close to water!

I have arrived ... in Munich. This week I have been staying with my friend, Eli, who visited me a couple years ago in Pennsylvania and it was definitely time for me to come and see Bavaria. My first day was the hardest and busiest. We saw and did so much all while I was super jet lagged, landing at ten in the morning with about 3 hours of sleep on a plane, little did I know I was in for a lonnngggg day. First we made it over to the Marienplatz which is the town square in Munich. We went to visit a few churches and I am fascinated by the fact that one can take a bus or metro, walk a block or two and turn the corner and there is a Baroque church dating back to the 1700s.

Also I was lucky enough to be able to try on a traditional dirndl and I may have to come back for OKTOBERFEST one year just so I can have a reason to buy one. Anyone want to join?

Later we spent the evening at the local BEIR GARTEN and ordered some pretzels which after trying a few traditonal bavarian dishes may become my main source of nutrient while in Germany. I also tried a Ridler which is drink that is half lemonade, half beer and although I am trying to acquire a taste for beer while in Germany I still haven't found something I like, but I am willing to "SACRIFICE" my tastebuds for the moment and keep trying.

Yesterday we paid a visit to Nymphenburg Castle which was maybe a 20 minute bus ride from the residential area of the city and in the very center of everything. The last living descendant of the family is actually still living in a small part of the castle and it is a beautiful residence. Touring the castle I felt very much as if I was in my natural habitat ... just sayin.

Today we went on a small hike to Plengberg a small part of the Alps and it was very pretty and definitely something I will never do again. We mistakeningly took the wrong trail up and had to step over rocks, mud, cow poop, fallen trees and it was thundering and raining the whole way up. I actually was wearing my winter coat and although I was the most inappropriately dressed for hiking I was the only who stayed dried the whole time ... you would never think I would be the one to outsmart MOTHERNATURE. I felt like a true hiker my friends even gave me a wooden stick to use while going up the mountain and the only other thing I would need to seem GERMAN would be a cigarette ... only in Europe do people smoke while they are hiking.

FROM MUNICH (GERMANY), WITH LOVE GRACE

Out of Sight, (BUT NOT) Out of Mind.

In the next seventy-eight days I will be visiting twenty-three different cities in nine different countries (see schedule) ... AHHHH!!! Lucky me, I am starting my travels a week earlier than most by visiting my friend, Eli, from Germany. In my time abroad, I am looking forward to seeing amazing architecture, eating delicious and new foods (mostly bread, cheese, pasta, and gelato), and seriously acquiring a taste for wine and beer (a.k.a building up my tolerance).  Lastly, I would like to give a shout-out to those who I will be missing most while abroad. Out of sight, (BUT NOT) out of mind.

FROM HOTLANTA (GEORGIA), WITH LOVE GRACE