København!

So I've always wanted to go to Copenhagen because of their renowned design! On the long long journey there we had to take a ferry to cross. So the train DROVE right onto the ferry and then we sailed off. We were ordered to get off the train and so we were on this huge boat that had concessions and shops and everything. We sailed for about an hour before we made it to Denmark. It was quite a different experience.

Copenhagen is a rather interesting city. Another biking city, lots more Asians--so good asian food! Best Asian food I had in Europe, especially the home style cooking. Saw the fort, a spirally church (from which we had an amazing view of Copenhagen), Christiania (an interesting squatter area which I was not allowed to take pictures of), a farmer's market, and the Danish Design Museum.. I think that was it, but obviously I forgot many things.

Ok after uploading pics, I remember now! One thing I absolutely love about some parts of Europe is the amount of green space and parks! I love that people are very into their outdoor living, they take public transport or ride bikes, don't use air conditioning. It's that kind of sustainable lifestyle that I think Americans need to adopt. Copenhagen was a little more diverse as a city, so I was able to eat some good ol' home cooking, however, things are REALLY expensive. So if you do visit, bring a lot of money. Think it was about 60 usd for TWO people to eat lunch.

Deutche Bahn has a vending machine
in its train

the ferry!

tourists flock to this mermaid

Danish Design Museum, look at them chairs!
This is for my chair loving friend.

typical Danish food. Doesn't look like much, but the
bread is super filling. also WOODEN utensils!

Copenhagen Opera House

University of Copenhagen

omg good Chinese food

Lego Store! 

One of the gardens/parks of Copenhagen!

the cutest ducks ever. This mama duck was taking care of
its 3 ducklings, and two of them were stuck behind
that concrete barrier. It took them a very long time
to join their sibling on the other side. 

mural before Christiania

inside of spire church

view from above! 

canals!

sooo many bikes

mini model of old Copenhagen

awesome graffitis, love it.

fort!

DeutcheBahn meal!! pretty good for
a train ride.

Sassnitz!

Went to Sassnitz, a small vacation town with my friend. We saw Jasmund National Park with all these beautiful chalk cliffs, while walking through the dense forest (since it was so dense, it was quite cool actually, even in the hot summer). Also saw the nearby town, Stralsund, where we saw an aquarium and a beautiful church.

So I'm still really behind on my posting, so I'm going to leave out most details..

boy, was I happy to see vegetables!

Church at Stralsund

Ozeanum in Stralsund

Stralsund streets!

DeutchePost: they even bike around to deliver mail!

trails of Jasmund National Park

dense forests indeed

successful animal picture!

The Wanderer

the water was so clear and clean looking. 

chalk cliffs

zomg Bauhaus.

Sorry, all my posts in Germany are going to be about architecture! SO, my program took us to Dessau! It was suuuch an archie field day and very unreal to be standing in front of the Bauhaus since we learned all about it in school.

But first we went to the Umweltbundesamt, the Federal Environmental Agency in Dessau. It is this sustainable building, mainly in the areas of lighting, heating and cooling with geothermal energy. This was also a very archie nerd moment to see such a beautiful office. A criticisms I would have is the uneven shadows cast into the windows of the office spaces made by the triangulated steel structure of the roof. Though it creates this fascinating shadow, I can't imagine working under it. But other than that, I love the interior promenade that gives its inhabitants a strong connection to nature.

Then we walked to the Bauhaus and we saw the very beginnings of modern design!

interior!

library

book exchange

public crossword puzzle

Bauhaus student's dorms

Watler Gropius's Desk and chair

famous Bauhaus chair

big door details

looking up all the stairs

Klee and Kandinsky's home!

famous view

train station at Liepzig

Berlin!

Sorry, no pictures.. only some links!

I arrived in Berlin at 8 am. There was hardly any security kind of thing. The guy just looked at my passport and asked me what I was doing here and let me go. No customs or anything either.

Took a nice bus + subway ride from the airport to my apartment and just absorbed the surroundings as much as I could, with the help of our resident director who picked me up. Napped for about 4 hours and got settled. Apartment has huge windows, furnished with most things you could need and balcony! Views are great-in my bedroom window I can see a tennis club. From the balcony There's a small playground!

After my nap, I embarked on a mission to get toilet paper and a cell phone cause those were two things I did not have. Found that they have Yang Le Duo! (Yakult) and some interesting foods.

Also saw a Turkish protest? I'm thinking it had to do with these protests. Well even if I'm a little clueless, it was interesting to witness.


So here's a list of things I noticed about Berlin or Germany or Europe that I think is great:
   -huge windows, operable for ventilation  (think this is Germany)
   -SO MUCH green space, lots of parks and public spaces--and they're not empty either (think this is Berlin)
   -lots of bike lanes (Germany?)
   -lots of recycling. we have 5 different bags for trash, compost, paper, glass, plastic.... etc (Germany)
   -lots of food on the streets!!! Small shops. just like Taiwan
   -tons of graffiti--sometimes can be nice
   -transportation is quick. you can get a monthly pass for 77 euro and use it on buses, trains? and subway
   -subways are fairly nice too. Biggest difference was that you have to push a button to open the door

Here's an article that my roommate showed me of differences between US and Germany- was quite interesting to read.