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...

"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...

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

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!