My last week in Hamburg for the year was truncated to just a 4-day week (due to frolics with the Londoners the previous weekend) but nonetheless was hectic in terms of finishing tasks. The last couple of weeks have seen me make working models like a madman and it has been a process of discipline and precision that I have thoroughly enjoyed. This fittingly leaves ample time on the weekends to let loose...work hard, play even harder so the saying goes...
Fri.11.12.09: Last Friday I harboured hopes of going to a club hosting three stonking DJs (Modeselektor, Kode9 & Ben Klock) from different genresof dance music but were dashed with the realisation of how much money I did not have. The night nonetheless started with an invitation to a Christmas celebration at the College of Europe Hamburg with Kasia who has a friend studying there. Despite the evening being very formal with a programme of speeches from the institution's professors, humorous storytelling, music recitals, folk singing and even a little bit of 'Plattdeutsch' it was a nice festive wind down especially with the buffet and mulled wine on hand to make things a little merrier. Nino crashed the party late and felt the urge to play on the grand piano much to the delight of the remaining guests as the party petered out; Nino was traumatised that she couldn't play the second half La Campanella by Liszt, Kasia and I were utterly spellbound by the fact that she play what she could...in many ways it made our night as such we didn't need to go to another venue to party the night away...
Sat.12.12.09: We also had hopes of going out to the same club on Saturday night where Digitalism where performing, but we firstly I met up with the Masters Peace & Security crew at Unscheinbar in the Schanzenviertel for a cocktail party...and once happy hour had ended we became the centre of attention on the dancefloor as old school hip-hop and funk/soul were radiating through the cosy and intimate interior of this basement bar...the grooves were so addictive that all our other plans to go elsewhere were put on hold and even when we did go searching for another venue to end the night the lust weakened and the group dissipated leaving just a few to chat over a final beer in Kulturhaus 73...
Mon.14.12.09: (I just had to have one more Schwarzwälder Bauernwurst before heading to Lübeck Airport)
I flew back to London on the evening of 14th December much to the surprise of my unsuspecting mum on the eve of her birthday...
Guten Nacht and bis bald 2010 Hamburg!
Wednesday 16 December 2009
Thursday 10 December 2009
Not one...not two...but three!
Last weekend I was the victim of a rather cunning plan executed to perfection. I was so gullible in the lead up to last weekend that the perpetrators must be congratulated. Lisa, Alvin, Anne, you deserve a round of applause...for weeks had I thought that only Lisa was coming to visit me in Hamburg...Alvin's hoax cancellation and Anne's evasive tactics meant that their apparition at Hamburg central bus station was a complete surprise. Roll on a weekend of fun...
Fri.04.12.09: The whole weekend was pretty spontaneous, as we friends like to keep it. Shortly after arriving into Hamburg we fortuitously met up with a couple of my friends here, Nino & Kasia, and took a stroll (if one can call it that) along the Reeperbahn (red light district). Seeing as it was my friends' visit, we decided to have a ganders in on of the sex shops - intriguing if a little unsettling...We headed back to Kasia's flat for a few rounds of Polish Wodka, a drink which takes some getting used to, for the next morning we were feeling a little rough...
Sat.05.12.09: We decided to move into a hostel on Saturday, as the house would be overpopulated for the weekend - and it worked out for the better. We were booked into different rooms for the first night and met a variety of characters as is per usual but no sooner did we move in that we were out again ready to scurry into the city. After having some scrumptuous crepes at a Breton Creperie we hit the Hamburger Rathaus Weihnachtsmarkt - the atmosphere was buzzing: traditional German market stalls, everyone huddling and shuffling like penguins, glühwein (mulled wine) and bratwurst aromas in the air, there was a genuine feeling of Christmas festivity about the place. There's nothing like sipping on the mulled wine with a bunch of others at a German Christmas market. So much so that we walked to Gänsemarkt Weihnachtsmarkt, which in my opinion, was even better - the stalls were selling more unique items and was also less crowded.
All this trekking around meant that our tanks were nigh on empty and it was only pretty late on in the night that we somehow (and I repeat, somehow) mustered up the energy to go out to the alternative district of the Schanzenviertel for a drink or two at Kulturhaus 73...we also invited along a roommate from the hostel who was from Singapore, who was travelling on her own throughout Europe for 2 months. Funk & soul grooving through the bar area, old skool hip-hop pounding in the basement club below. A last gasp party proper in the city proved to be worth our while in the end, though the bartenders served us their own versions of a Jägerbomb much to our amusement...Sun.06.12.09: We were determined to have an early day so that we could walk around the city properly and despite our intentions (and our shenanigans the previous night) it was already past noon before we did so. We ended up 100 odd metres high up St Michaeli's Tower with one of the best views of the city (and a view of a topless man in a flat below as spotted by Alvin) which only whetted our appetite for some German cuisine. Käsepfalzer with Sauerkraut, Schnitzel, and Winzersteak all went down a treat at a candlelit dinner Hatari/Pfalzer Restaurant on Schanzenstrasse...and for dessert? A 100km/h, 47m high ride at the Hamburger Dom (fun fair). Then the heavens opened up, we got drenched and headed back to the hostel to play card games...
Mon.07.12.09: We finally did get up early enough to enjoy the morning on my friends' last day in Hamburg. I wanted to bring them to a cafe looking over the River Elbe near where I work in Blankenese, the "Treppenviertel", which ultimately we couldn't find. Nonetheless a stroll along the beach and steep ascents and descents amidst the quaint houses upon the hills of this suburb of Hamburg showed my fellow Londoners an idyllic side to my second home...
It was soon the end of my friends' brief visit but we managed to squeeze in another Weihnachtsmarkt this time at Ottenser Hauptstrasse, with a final Currywurst/Schwarzwälder Schinkenwurst with Glühwein & Amaretto/Heißapfel & Mandeln drink...cheers to those who made it over to German soil and experienced a North European Christmas culture!
Pictures to follow...
Thursday 3 December 2009
Tuesday 1 December 2009
Sunset on the River Elbe part 2
I've just been spoilt to another glorious sunset, photos taken Tuesday 01.12.09 1535hrs-1605hrs:
Moving on up
After the disappointment of not securing the ideal flat last week, things have definitely taken a turn for the better...last Friday I managed to find a new room in a cosy house with two (albeit older) people. I just moved in yesterday and I couldn't help but have a cheesy grin on my face when I finally closed the door on a difficult initial tenancy at the family house...
Everything seemed to fall into place following the acquisition; I went to Berlin for the weekend via a "Mitfahr" (literally meaning "ride share"), in which a driver offers the spare seats in his/her car to those wanting to travel to the same destination - it makes so much sense environmentally, that I don't know why something like this exists in the UK. You definitely meet some interesting people along the way...
I met up with two friends from architecture, one who works in Berlin and one coming from London for a weekend rife with banter and shenanigans...we visited a number of well-known pieces of architecture (a particular highlight was David Chipperfield's Neues Museum, which is quite simply stunning) as well as check out some of the bars which make Berlin so unique (there was a game of table tennis in the middle of a bar called Dr Pong, in which people played a game of elimination, much like musical chairs, until the last two slugged it out for bragging rights). To cap an entire Saturday of sightseeing off we went up the Fernsehturm to have a cocktail gazing over the illuminated city, was quite sublime...
We also hit one of the big clubs in Berlin called Watergate - minimal techno, LED lights wrappnig around the ceiling and walls and a panoramic view of the river, need I say more? On Sunday we went for a stroll along the famous East Side Gallery and did a spot of perusing at a local flea market. Just what I needed after a month of trying to find another place to live...
Lomo pictures to follow...
Everything seemed to fall into place following the acquisition; I went to Berlin for the weekend via a "Mitfahr" (literally meaning "ride share"), in which a driver offers the spare seats in his/her car to those wanting to travel to the same destination - it makes so much sense environmentally, that I don't know why something like this exists in the UK. You definitely meet some interesting people along the way...
I met up with two friends from architecture, one who works in Berlin and one coming from London for a weekend rife with banter and shenanigans...we visited a number of well-known pieces of architecture (a particular highlight was David Chipperfield's Neues Museum, which is quite simply stunning) as well as check out some of the bars which make Berlin so unique (there was a game of table tennis in the middle of a bar called Dr Pong, in which people played a game of elimination, much like musical chairs, until the last two slugged it out for bragging rights). To cap an entire Saturday of sightseeing off we went up the Fernsehturm to have a cocktail gazing over the illuminated city, was quite sublime...
We also hit one of the big clubs in Berlin called Watergate - minimal techno, LED lights wrappnig around the ceiling and walls and a panoramic view of the river, need I say more? On Sunday we went for a stroll along the famous East Side Gallery and did a spot of perusing at a local flea market. Just what I needed after a month of trying to find another place to live...
Lomo pictures to follow...
Tuesday 24 November 2009
Bittersweet
Flat hunt update: 12 viewings down - the rejection from the 11th was the hardest to take especially as I was shortlisted as one of three potential tenants out of 15 or so...All seemed to be going well with the 10th and 11th viewing but, as someone succintly informed me at a birthday party last Friday, "It's harder to find a room in Hamburg than it is in London"...
On Saturday I went out with Kasia and Nina (who I met the previous week) for a beer at Kulturhaus 73 (an alternative bar in Sternschanze, an increasingly popular destination for partying tourists) followed by a dirty drum & bass night at Hafenklang club. Drum & Bass for the entire night is backbreaking so much so that my back is still hurting now...nonetheless we danced the entire night with utmost intensity and vigour, with some much needed breaks outside by the river...the rest of the crew came for a brief period before heading off to the Reeperbahn, whilst Kasia and I stuck it out until 6am when the fish market by the river bank was already in full swing...a quite unique clubbing and post-clubbing experience in Hamburg...
As things seem to get better here with meeting people and establishing a social circle in Hamburg, another failed flat acquisition seems to be lurking round the corner...
On Saturday I went out with Kasia and Nina (who I met the previous week) for a beer at Kulturhaus 73 (an alternative bar in Sternschanze, an increasingly popular destination for partying tourists) followed by a dirty drum & bass night at Hafenklang club. Drum & Bass for the entire night is backbreaking so much so that my back is still hurting now...nonetheless we danced the entire night with utmost intensity and vigour, with some much needed breaks outside by the river...the rest of the crew came for a brief period before heading off to the Reeperbahn, whilst Kasia and I stuck it out until 6am when the fish market by the river bank was already in full swing...a quite unique clubbing and post-clubbing experience in Hamburg...
As things seem to get better here with meeting people and establishing a social circle in Hamburg, another failed flat acquisition seems to be lurking round the corner...
Tuesday 17 November 2009
Nightclub dabbling
8 viewings down...no luck...it seems like finding a room in Hamburg is proving to be my main task here and working for the practice almost feels like a side issue...
Nonetheless I went out last Friday with someone I met a month ago on a night out, Daniel, who brought along his Masters cronies (Alex; Andy & his visiting friend Martin from Lausanne; Nino from Georgia, a girl btw; and a Polish girl, forgot what her name was!) for what was to be a night of music of all sorts...
1. Buttclub, Hafenstrasse 126 - what Daniel and I expected to be an Eastern Bloc/GDR party was in fact a DJ giving a talk about the 70s/80s punk music of East Germany before the Wall came down, with a quick spin of the vinyls and archive footage being played...an informative, chilled-out musical walkthrough with a couple of beers and salty/sesame stick snacks to boot too...
2. Daniel's friends came to Buttclub in dribs and drabs and once the talk ended we went to an Irish Pub (of all places) where a live band was belting out cheesy classics, which churned my stomach for about three-quarters of an hour...
3. Went next door to another club which played some FWUNKY 60s soul and rock 'n' roll followed by a surprisingly entertaining live band karaoke session...'Born to be Wild' was a highlight lol...
4. Briefly went to a German party songs club, 2nd time I've been there with Daniel, and even though he seems to be up for just about anything, it was a bit shit...tho air guitaring 'Can't Stop' by RHCP with Daniel's mate Alex was pretty fun...
5. Daniel and Alex departed the scene early, with the others catching the U-Bahn back home, whereas I was up for more, so I went on my bill to a club called Uebel & Gefahrlich where the Cocoon Birthday Party raising the roof, headed by old-timer Sven Väth...who in all honesty, was shit...the club however was pretty insane, you had to climb a spiral staircase to this concrete bunker at the top bearing over the city...
6. So I left disappointed looking to go home when these two girls, who were similarly as disappointed as I was, asked me where Ego (another club) was, so we got a taxi to the red light district, and discovered that the club was closed...and finally we ended up going to another alternative/underground club by the name of Golden Püdel right by the harbour-side...and after about half an hour of low-lying techno we decided to call it a night...
...such is the convulution one experiences on a night out in Hamburg...
Nonetheless I went out last Friday with someone I met a month ago on a night out, Daniel, who brought along his Masters cronies (Alex; Andy & his visiting friend Martin from Lausanne; Nino from Georgia, a girl btw; and a Polish girl, forgot what her name was!) for what was to be a night of music of all sorts...
1. Buttclub, Hafenstrasse 126 - what Daniel and I expected to be an Eastern Bloc/GDR party was in fact a DJ giving a talk about the 70s/80s punk music of East Germany before the Wall came down, with a quick spin of the vinyls and archive footage being played...an informative, chilled-out musical walkthrough with a couple of beers and salty/sesame stick snacks to boot too...
2. Daniel's friends came to Buttclub in dribs and drabs and once the talk ended we went to an Irish Pub (of all places) where a live band was belting out cheesy classics, which churned my stomach for about three-quarters of an hour...
3. Went next door to another club which played some FWUNKY 60s soul and rock 'n' roll followed by a surprisingly entertaining live band karaoke session...'Born to be Wild' was a highlight lol...
4. Briefly went to a German party songs club, 2nd time I've been there with Daniel, and even though he seems to be up for just about anything, it was a bit shit...tho air guitaring 'Can't Stop' by RHCP with Daniel's mate Alex was pretty fun...
5. Daniel and Alex departed the scene early, with the others catching the U-Bahn back home, whereas I was up for more, so I went on my bill to a club called Uebel & Gefahrlich where the Cocoon Birthday Party raising the roof, headed by old-timer Sven Väth...who in all honesty, was shit...the club however was pretty insane, you had to climb a spiral staircase to this concrete bunker at the top bearing over the city...
6. So I left disappointed looking to go home when these two girls, who were similarly as disappointed as I was, asked me where Ego (another club) was, so we got a taxi to the red light district, and discovered that the club was closed...and finally we ended up going to another alternative/underground club by the name of Golden Püdel right by the harbour-side...and after about half an hour of low-lying techno we decided to call it a night...
...such is the convulution one experiences on a night out in Hamburg...
Thursday 12 November 2009
Tuesday 10 November 2009
Patiently waiting...
Just like the start of every Formula 1 race waiting for all the red lights to go out, everyone here in Germany waits at the kerb staring patiently and intently for the green man to illuminate...being born and raised in London means that I automatically walk faster than everyone else here, and it also means that I reach the pavement on the other side first, almost without fail...but it's pretty admirable that people are very obedient to the rules here, as Germany is well-known for...
Looking for a new room is tough, but I've become accustomed to the implicit restrictions imposed upon me by the family...I was ranting my ass off in my last post, but both the family and I mutually understand that we're in each others' way and that my tenancy is only temporary...a waiting game, this certainly is...
Work has come to a momentary standstill this week...I await the briefing of new projects we seem to be acquiring almost every other day as well as resuming the ones previously...besides looking for a new room during lull periods I've found myself designing the practice's Christmas cards, so my role as "Marketing Chief", if you will, at least gives me something different to do...
Looking for a new room is tough, but I've become accustomed to the implicit restrictions imposed upon me by the family...I was ranting my ass off in my last post, but both the family and I mutually understand that we're in each others' way and that my tenancy is only temporary...a waiting game, this certainly is...
Work has come to a momentary standstill this week...I await the briefing of new projects we seem to be acquiring almost every other day as well as resuming the ones previously...besides looking for a new room during lull periods I've found myself designing the practice's Christmas cards, so my role as "Marketing Chief", if you will, at least gives me something different to do...
Saturday 7 November 2009
The hunt begins
So:
1. I'm not allowed to use the washing machine
2. I'm never sure of whether I can cook in the evenings
3. I stay in my room to avoid disturbing the landlord, who doesn't seem to have any time to help me settle, is always stressed, who refuses to eat any extra portions of food I cook, who doesn't seem to want to converse anything at any great length with me...and is in a family situation which is quite frankly, odd and complicated...
4. There isn't an opportunity to meet young people and make friends.
What does that amount to? A shit time at home.
What does one do? Grit his teeth and starts looking for another place. I've already viewed 4 places and intend to view more...as my boss aptly put it, I came to Hamburg not just to do architecture, but to experience Hamburg...
Apart from that, work is great - it's been the consistent highlight of being here so far. Now I just need to mend the other bit...my life. My landlord may be taking the smile off my face at the moment, but she will not take away my FREEDOM!
1. I'm not allowed to use the washing machine
2. I'm never sure of whether I can cook in the evenings
3. I stay in my room to avoid disturbing the landlord, who doesn't seem to have any time to help me settle, is always stressed, who refuses to eat any extra portions of food I cook, who doesn't seem to want to converse anything at any great length with me...and is in a family situation which is quite frankly, odd and complicated...
4. There isn't an opportunity to meet young people and make friends.
What does that amount to? A shit time at home.
What does one do? Grit his teeth and starts looking for another place. I've already viewed 4 places and intend to view more...as my boss aptly put it, I came to Hamburg not just to do architecture, but to experience Hamburg...
Apart from that, work is great - it's been the consistent highlight of being here so far. Now I just need to mend the other bit...my life. My landlord may be taking the smile off my face at the moment, but she will not take away my FREEDOM!
Tuesday 3 November 2009
Sweet like chocolate
My boss loves chocolate - there's never a day without him devouring the most exquisite varieties of chocolate...in fact he's actually designing a chocolate factory, how cool is that?
It's been a week since I moved into the family home and things haven't been as sweet as chocolate - personal space is turning out to be a restriction and not having my own laptop (and thus, internet) to entertain me in the evenings means that one resorts to reading...a lot. More importantly however, is not having ample opportunity to meet people of my age group...
Last Friday night I decided to go out to a club called Waagenbau in a vain attempt to meet new faces...what I did know for certain however, was that some minimal techno Scheisse was going down...and I have to admit, you haven't been to a rave until you've been to Germany. I've never seen such euphoria from the entire dancefloor anticipating each drop of a beat or bassline, but more pleasantly surprising was the camaraderie between strangers and the enthusiasm with which they enjoyed the music...everyone was just out to have a good time and it was infectious. It was sweet indeed.
It's been a week since I moved into the family home and things haven't been as sweet as chocolate - personal space is turning out to be a restriction and not having my own laptop (and thus, internet) to entertain me in the evenings means that one resorts to reading...a lot. More importantly however, is not having ample opportunity to meet people of my age group...
Last Friday night I decided to go out to a club called Waagenbau in a vain attempt to meet new faces...what I did know for certain however, was that some minimal techno Scheisse was going down...and I have to admit, you haven't been to a rave until you've been to Germany. I've never seen such euphoria from the entire dancefloor anticipating each drop of a beat or bassline, but more pleasantly surprising was the camaraderie between strangers and the enthusiasm with which they enjoyed the music...everyone was just out to have a good time and it was infectious. It was sweet indeed.
Wednesday 28 October 2009
Settling down...almost
I moved into a family home on Monday night, the 'landlords' being clients of the architects I work with. I was introduced to the room I was staying in but there was one problem...no furniture. I was however provided with the quintessential mattress, pillow and duvet which one may associate with a bedroom, which made my first night's sleep a little more comfortable...
Thomas (the boss) and I ripped out the timber-constructed storage room in the office earlier in the day in order to make room for my own desk. Up until then working had become a little constrained and so a visceral session of demolition involving crowbars and hammers put paid to that.
Today I took a little stroll around Blankenese the quaint hilltop area of Hamburg, where I work, to take photos of a couple of ornate metal-grilled doors the boss requested; I did however take more photos of the autumnal conditions and moments here, much to my delight...
We're designing postcards here in order to further promote the practice, whereby we select the photo of the day and pin it up...I may have to make an exception to that rule today...
Thomas (the boss) and I ripped out the timber-constructed storage room in the office earlier in the day in order to make room for my own desk. Up until then working had become a little constrained and so a visceral session of demolition involving crowbars and hammers put paid to that.
Today I took a little stroll around Blankenese the quaint hilltop area of Hamburg, where I work, to take photos of a couple of ornate metal-grilled doors the boss requested; I did however take more photos of the autumnal conditions and moments here, much to my delight...
We're designing postcards here in order to further promote the practice, whereby we select the photo of the day and pin it up...I may have to make an exception to that rule today...
Tuesday 27 October 2009
"Like A Hobo"
My weekend comprised of being hostel-bound like a hobo in an attempt to ride out this cold, so much so that I managed to be fit to see a gig at Hafenklang club by the waterfront late on Sunday evening. After having met Kaylin, an Australian doing the grand tour of Europe (no way?! I could never have guessed!), and Pablo, a Colombian studying German in Berlin, in the guest kitchen my appetite for something to report from my weekend only increased. Kaylin was going to see a few bands perform at the gritty, graffiti-laden venue by the Elbe and Pablo and I proceeded to tag along.
A night of folk, punk and experimental music ensued followed by a little chit-chat with the bands, all hailing from the USA...check them out:
Teenage Cool Kids: http://www.myspace.com/teenagecoolkids
Allgernon Cadwallader: http://www.myspace.com/algernoncadwallader
Polite Sleeper: http://www.myspace.com/politesleeper
Kaylin and Pablo were going to make their respective ways back to Berlin the next morning and it was my last night at the hostel so it was a fitting end in a way...the shady guy who stayed in my room over the weekend used my towel as a foot towel only curbed my enthusiasm for the hostel...it was time to leave...
So it turned out that what I needed was a bit o' live music to cure the illness...
A night of folk, punk and experimental music ensued followed by a little chit-chat with the bands, all hailing from the USA...check them out:
Teenage Cool Kids: http://www.myspace.com/teenagecoolkids
Allgernon Cadwallader: http://www.myspace.com/algernoncadwallader
Polite Sleeper: http://www.myspace.com/politesleeper
Kaylin and Pablo were going to make their respective ways back to Berlin the next morning and it was my last night at the hostel so it was a fitting end in a way...the shady guy who stayed in my room over the weekend used my towel as a foot towel only curbed my enthusiasm for the hostel...it was time to leave...
So it turned out that what I needed was a bit o' live music to cure the illness...
Friday 23 October 2009
Denglisch
I woke up this morning almost choking on my own phlegm...trying to fend off this Hamburg winter cold...the honeymoon period is over it seems...
Last night I met up with a friend, Chrissie who I met on Saturday night, to have a small bite to eat and a quiet drink at one of the bars in Sternschanze, the eccentric district of Hamburg (Soho-like but more rugged). I knew I was coming down with something but a chicken red thai curry soup coupled with a green tea did its best to ease the symptoms.
My approach here thus far was and is to speak as much German as possible, despite it sapping the life out of me once dusk arrives. Chrissie lived in London for a year and then in Sydney for another year so her English is very fluent - in fact she has an Austalian accent (?!); her boyfriend came along later to sort out a new flat they're looking to move into. She has been so useful (and nice at that) in that she corrects my German as soon as I make a mistake and it's exactly what I need, especially when during the day, there is often not the time to discuss the correct way to say things in German. It has been easier to talk to people with a relaxed state of mind as the words and sentence structures seem to flow more naturally...at work I'm bogged down with not knowing the technical lingo required to explain my ideas...soon though, soon I'll be fluent in the office.
Anyways, must return to whipping up a few more ideas on paper for this patterned wall before the boss comes back. How can you find a solution when the canvas is blank and there seems to be no constraints? Eek :S
Last night I met up with a friend, Chrissie who I met on Saturday night, to have a small bite to eat and a quiet drink at one of the bars in Sternschanze, the eccentric district of Hamburg (Soho-like but more rugged). I knew I was coming down with something but a chicken red thai curry soup coupled with a green tea did its best to ease the symptoms.
My approach here thus far was and is to speak as much German as possible, despite it sapping the life out of me once dusk arrives. Chrissie lived in London for a year and then in Sydney for another year so her English is very fluent - in fact she has an Austalian accent (?!); her boyfriend came along later to sort out a new flat they're looking to move into. She has been so useful (and nice at that) in that she corrects my German as soon as I make a mistake and it's exactly what I need, especially when during the day, there is often not the time to discuss the correct way to say things in German. It has been easier to talk to people with a relaxed state of mind as the words and sentence structures seem to flow more naturally...at work I'm bogged down with not knowing the technical lingo required to explain my ideas...soon though, soon I'll be fluent in the office.
Anyways, must return to whipping up a few more ideas on paper for this patterned wall before the boss comes back. How can you find a solution when the canvas is blank and there seems to be no constraints? Eek :S
Thursday 22 October 2009
Hamburg initiation
It's been a over a week since I've landed in good ol' Deutschland and I have to say that if half of my time here lives up to the past 7 or 8 days then I'm in for an absolute treat.
Freitag 16. Oktober 2009 - Pub Crawl on the Reeperbahn with globetrotters
Without going into too much detail I can safely say that meeting fellow globetrotters, all marking out their own paths, gives you an enlightening insight into the diversity in this world. One can only be inspired to do the same and experience the essence of different places. My decision to move to Hamburg for this year has only whetted my appetite for future journeys.
Dienstag 20. Oktober 2009 - lunch on the beach
Besides having Bavarian white sausage and a pretzel on the beach watching cargo ships drift into the harbour on a chilly, but sunny autumn day and scoring perhaps one of the best goals of my footballing career (refer to Paul Gascoigne's goal against Scotland in Euro '96...yes I kid you not), working at this humble practice and living the lifestyle my employers soothes my soul immensely.
Dienstag 20. Oktober 2009 - view from the office, afternoon sun on Blankenese
The design philosophy and interests of the practice seem to align with my own at this minute; I have been exploring patterns and organic themes for a private house which reference traditional and contemporary solutions (Victor Horta, Hector Guimard and indeed Herzog & de Meuron to name a few), in addition to sketching out different options for another private house further west of Hamburg city.
My ability to speak German has accelerated exponentially and I couldn't have asked for more stimulation in being plunged into the deep end - a reawakening of an old flame if you will...
I'm moving into a family house next week owned by a university tutor and a professional photographer who are incidentally, clients of the architects I work for. It's all about the connections...but hopefully I can move into the district of Hamburg renowned for its' nightlife and alternative scene with fellow German peers.
Bis nächstes Mal!
Tschüss!
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