Arctic Hamburg

Temperatures have hit as low as -17°C in the last few days, which certainly didn't help the cold I just had. Nonetheless I was seduced by the sunrise on the Elbe on the way to work on Monday morning and spent an hour first thing in the morning taking a few snaps...

Ice on the Elbe

Taken earlier this afternoon:

Wining & dining

Last Saturday I was invited to a dinner by my boss's son Carlino (who studies Law) at one of his acquaintance's house in which there were 11 guests in total. A quite exquisitely-prepared menu, including a cheese & mango drizzled in honey starter and a main of nocky doused in a herbed white sauce, was interspersed with splashes of various red wines and the opportunity to meet new people. After all had been delightfully consumed in candlelight we proceeded to play a couple of rounds of Mafia (in German of course, which notched the difficulty level up in terms of being able to articulate my opinion) by the end of which the red wine had all but actually sent us to sleep as the rounds progressed. It was a fresh experience having to up my etiquette as this was a dinner of fine taste and opened my eyes to the level of comfort people here in Hamburg experience. With my other group of friends busy with reading/exams/presentations this was a timely meet up for me and staved off some of the isolation I've been living in on the weekends!

Indian dining

Indian cooking with Thomas (my boss), Anna (boss's wife) & Carlino (boss's son), Fri.15.01.10:

The menu: Mango Chutney by me, Onion Bhajis by Thomas, Jalfrezi Curry by Carlino & some fish with some sauce-type-dressing (?) by Anna

Grinding away...

The scarcity of daylight in one's daily routine naturally makes one a little more introspective and melancholic in mood but so does the infrequency at which I interact with my peers...everyone's been busy with uni work/exams this period that last weekend was quieter than normal...nonetheless I was able to check out a couple of cool record stores in Hamburg, of which there are many, and wander through the Museum für Kunst & Gewerbe (which is currently showing an exhibition about the phenomenon of Ikea) and the Hamburger Kunsthalle (which houses a great collection of classical and modern art)...

There's a new work experience student in the office, 15-year-old Joshua, who has been my understudy for some tasks but also someone younger in the office I can chat with given that the husband and wife architect duo are often busy. Work has been hectic in the office often having to make models and sketches intensively right up until the boss has to leave for the meeting but it's kept me sharp. During the model-making process the boss and I are in constant dialogue about composition, forms, massing options when preparing items to show the client and it's invigorating to know that different solutions can be discussed.

Went to watch a new comedy film called 'Soul Kitchen' at the cinema last night with a few people I knew and didn't know, but it was refreshing to finally have some sort of social time outside of work...Hamburg city is well represented in this film about a restaurant in the under-developed area of Wilhelmsburg, so go watch if you want to know how cool Hamburg can be...

And so the snow persists...as does my frustrating attempts to converse in fluent German...

The bleak midwinter...

I returned to a deeply snow-covered Hamburg very early last Sunday and it has snowed every day since...the days are bitingly cold and due to my working hours I never see my home bathed in daylight during the week...

I live a peacefully quiet life during the week outside work, taking ample time with everything I do given that I have no means of computer and hence, internet entertainment. Without such means to kill my time it only sparks up the creative juices within me and I often find myself sketching Einstein the cat or the house itself interspersed with reading and listening to music in lowly-lit rooms. It's quite introspective but at the very least I'm reigniting what I used to do all the time - freehand observational DRAWING.

Work has been quite busy even in the first few days back and I've clamped down on wasting time on the internet allowing me to focus on every task I do...a new year's resolution perhaps? I've just completed a 1:20 model of a bathroom for a private house (even including tap fixtures!); the qualities of the space are driven by principles of feng-shui, which is integrated into architectural philosophy of the practice as championed by Anna, the boss's wife. So, my plan is to fully apply myself at work during the rest of my stay here...and play hard when the time comes...

Londoners in Hamburg