The entirety of last week we spent in Italy. We spent 4 days in Rome, 2 in Naples, and 2 in Florence.

In Rome we saw tons of ancient architecture, from the Colosseum, to the Pantheon (not Parthenon), to the Market, Column, and Forum, of Trajan. We also saw the Vatican including St. Peters, The Musei Vaticani, and The Sistine Chapel. We also saw tons of Bernini and Michelangelo, (and other ninja turtles) sculpture and fountains.

In Naples we took the train to Pompeii and spent a day there exploring the 200 acres of ruins, and the next day visited the Isle of Capri. We also visited a sweet Spanish castle where we took some awesome pics (to come).

In Florence we spent the whole first day on our RENTED SCOOTERS flying around the Tuscan hills. We visited a cool town called Greve, and ate lunch, and of course took pictures. On the way back town we ended up having to get on the highway and then dart in and out of traffic (AWESOME) in downtown Florence. I finally felt like a real European. Luckily I spent several years in high school training as a professional getaway driver. How else do you think I pay for all of my shoes? My driving skills prevailed and we made it back to hostel safe and sound.  The next day we spent seeing Florence, most importantly Santa Maria Della Fiore and the surrounding area. Sweet Action.

When I organize all my pictuers, I will post some. You’ll have to come back.

Köln involved a visit to the Ludwig pop-art exhibit, a city tour, a visit to the Lindt chocolate museum, and a guided tour of Köln Cathedral. The chocolate museum was amazing, due to my love of chocolate, and the fact that they were giving it away. Awesome. There was a ‘history of chocolate’ section, as well as a small manufacturing area that we got to play in. Sweet action. Apparently Sav’s likes chocolate too:

The coolest part of the trip, however, was our tour of the cathedral. It took 800 years to complete, and was the only thing left standing after WW2. We were shown around the interior, and saw the standard parts of an enormous Gothic cathedral, but then we were led up a sketchy elevator to the roof where they let us climb around ABOVE the vaults, on the catwalks, and in the towers. Vivian Paul would be so proud (haha):

	Paul, Vivian
	Professor
	Location A104 Phone (979) 847-9283 Email vlp@archone.tamu.edu Website: archone.tamu.edu/architecture/faculty/paul/mainframe.html
	B.A., (Art History), University of Oregon, 1964 M.A., (Art History), University of California-Berkeley, 1966 Ph.D., (Architectural History), University of California-Berkeley, 1975
	Dr. Paul’s area of specialization is architectural history, emphasizing medieval architecture, history of construction technology, and computer applications to the study of historic architecture.

As we walked around the outside and I was looking DOWN on flying buttresses and clerestory windows, I was amazed by the scale at which these people were able to build.

And then my dreams were smashed. As we entered the space between the vaults and the roof, I realized IT WAS SUPPORTED BY IRON. WHAT? Those post-Gothic liars.

After I got past my shock and anger, I saw some really awesome architectural elements that I won’t bore you with, being that most of you don’t give a rip about architecture (a post for another day). Instead I will distract you with shiny objects and pretty pictures.

Moving on, I have also made two trips to Aachen. One was a class trip where we visited the Palatine Chapel, and our studio prof’s university to watch some final presentations. In German. Whatever. The Palatine Chapel is of special interest to me, being that I am doing an extensive presentation on it for my online course. I thought it would be a good idea to load myself up with coursework during my semester away. In short, it is the octagonal center of Aachen cathedral that was built as a private chapel for Charlemagne. It has cool polychrome stonework, some dried up bones they claim are Charlemagne’s, and some cloth that’s supposed to be Mary’s cloak, and Jesus’s loincloth. Holy underwear, sweet action. Cue the photo:

On a completely unaffiliated note, this past Sunday, Jacob, Gavin, and I took a second trip to Aachen to visit Carolus Thermen. Aachen is known for its spring water, and its Roman baths, but we are not so easily convinced! As advanced students of architecture, we know better than to take people at their word! One must go, and see first hand! So we did. A massage, and two hours in baths and saunas later, we decided that, on this particular occasion, they weren’t lying. Touche, Carolus Thermen, touche. This whole ‘study abroad’ thing is killer. Visiting all these countries, eating all this food, and investigating spas… I hope I make it back (lying).

This is all, you can stop reading now.

Last week (February 12-15) was spent in a strange, underwater nation known as “The Netherlands.” We spent one day in Rotterdam, and three in Amsterdam. It was a grand time filled with classless days, freezing cold outdoor tours, and a language that no one in their right mind still considers useful. This is beneficial to us, because everyone speaks English.

*sidenote*

We were told before we came “Oh, everyone in Europe speaks English!” This is lies. Except for in The Netherlands.

I digress… We spent some good time in Rotterdam, which is considered the architectural center of The Netherlands, is the birthplace of Rem Koolhaas, founder of OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture), and is home to the Dutch Architecture Institute. We saw a sweet cable stay bridge, and some cool modern stuff from OMA, Renzo Piano, and some Dutch people whose names I cannot pronounce. We also visited West 8, an urban design firm that just won the competition to redesign Governor’s Island in New York.

Rotterdam:

Begin crash course in color theory:

Light is really just electromagnetic waves that our eyes can perceive. Different wavelengths are seen as different colors ranging from red (around 380 nanometers) to violet (around 750 nanometers). You should have learned this in high school, ROY G BIV, etc. However, your deranged, middle aged physics teacher probably lied to you and told you “Indigo” was the “I” in ROY G BIV. Indigo is not a color, nor is it part of the spectrum, it was made up because English teachers demand there be a vowel in all words found in the English language, and that fool Isaac Newton wanted 7 colors instead of 6. Hooray, public education. That rant having passed, the standard colors are Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet.

There are two basic color creating principles. RGB (additive color), and CMYK (subtractive color). RGB is “Red, Green, and Blue” which are the primary colors of LIGHT (not yellow, don’t argue with me). The theory is that black is the void of color, and you can add these (R, G, and B) in different quantities to create any hue until finally all three are completely saturated and it becomes white. CMYK is “Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black” (yes I know ‘black’ doesn’t begin with ‘k’ I didn’t come up with it.) This method is used for ink, which is why your HP deskjet has three funny color cartridges, plus black. It is the opposite, stating that white is the absence of color, and C, M, and Y can be added until you finally reach black.

Here’s a Visual. I love Visuals:

I also did some talking about prisms and other fun physics things, but this is getting boring. Basically what I did was build these crazy floating flashlight buoys with colored film, and shot light all over the tank.

Ooooo…. Ahhhh….

That’s really it. This has nothing to do with architecture, but I love physics… and color. The end.

Jeez, I miss music.

Note: Please read all lines marked ‘Uwe’ in a thick German accent.

Uwe: Hallo!
Me: *pant* Hey. *pant*
Uwe: *confused look* Uhh… You make sport?
Me: Yes, I was jogging.
Uwe: OH! GOOOOD! How much?
Me: *haphazard mental conversion to metric system* 7 kilometers.
Uwe: Very gooood! You look very…uhh…bad. NO! Tired. You look very tired.

I laughed and made my way upstairs to shower and recover from my weak minded physical pursuits. I have been itching for several weeks to do SOMETHING athletic. Last semester was certainly the most healthy of my college experience. I made myself run around 20 miles a week, a far cry from years past, but improvement for sure. I was surprised by the exponential returns of three dedicated hours a week of serious conditioning. It was the first semester I made it all the way through without even a cold. I slept better, worked better, found myself wanting to eat better, and just FELT GOOD. The last six weeks of sitting around and eating bread and bratwurst has done nothing for me. Sure, I walk a lot, but that only goes so far. I made the mistake of leaving my good running shoes at home, and have been unable to liberate myself from fatty foods bondage. I investigated having them shipped to me, but at $90 US, I just couldn’t justify it. So after two weeks of debating, I decided last night that I would give in and buy some shoes to last me the next two and a half months. This morning I woke up and went to Kaufhof with the burden of knowing I was about to grossly overpay for a pair of ill-fitting, uncomfortable, imported running shoes. For years I have been buying the best shoes on the market from Run-On, the best shoe store in the world. The first time you go, they develop a profile for you, so on subsequent visits they can pull up your profile, see what you have run in in the past, and choose the best shoe for you. For an extremely high-arched under-pronator like me, this is of utmost importance to prevent foot pain and shin splints (the #2 most painful experience, coming right after “Burning alive” on the ‘Worst pains ever’ list.) I found the shoes I run in at home for a mere €159, and decided to go a bit cheaper, and get these:

All that having been said, I have decided to start triathlon training. I have toyed with the idea for a few years, and am now officially dedicated. BEFORE THE END OF 2008, I WILL COMPLETE A SPRINT DISTANCE TRIATHLON. Sprint distance includes a .5 mile swim, 12.4 mile ride, and 3.125 mile run. This is my realistic goal, however if I can get to this point by the end of the summer, I will move on to a ‘half-tri’ which is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile ride, and 13.1 mile run. THIS IS INSANE.

I know for a fact that, at this moment, I could ride 12.4 miles (20k), and run 3.125 miles (5k). I also know for a fact that I am a terrible swimmer. Herein lies the challenge. Don’t let me cop-out.

Now that I have committed myself to insanity, here’s the point of this post:

People here aren’t fat. They do not eat overly healthy, but their portions are moderate, AND THEY GO OUTSIDE AND DO STUFF. When I was running in the park on a sunny (yet freezing cold) Saturday afternoon, I had to employ my ninja skills to successfully dodge the hundreds of people walking dogs, jogging, ect. This was frustrating at first, being that I am used to having the whole sidewalk to myself, but after a moment of enlightenment I realized… these people care about themselves too. How refreshing.

So friends, lay down your saturated fats, and your high fructose corn syrup. Get off of your second hand floral print sofa, and enjoy some fresh air.

This post has nothing to do with Germany, I apologize. I will update about the Netherlands soon.

The Crew.

A common thread of the weekend.

‘…are we seriously about to do this?’

The glacier we boarded. Yes, those tiny things are lifts, and the big thing is the gondola down.

Looking into Austria from the Zugspizte.

‘It’s go time.’

The three boarders after a long day 2.

I said I would add stories, and I am no liar, so here we go:

Commence Story #1: Dinner

At the end of our first day, we decided to have a hardcore Bavarian dinner. We went to some crazy German restaurant where I ordered a Currywurst and Pommes. For desert I ordered the ‘Hot Love’ which was a phantasm of ice cream with raspberry goodness on top. The food was great, but the entertainment was better. The whole time there was a man and woman playing traditional music on an accordion and guitar, respectively. They were wearing lederhosen, and drinking beer from huge steins. Good times. After we got our food, a well-fed looking, older woman (who I assume was the owner) came by our table and said something in German to the effect of ‘how is it?’ We just smiled and said ‘güt.’ She laughed at us, and went on with her rounds laughing and rubbing elbows with the locals. Germans rock.

Commence Story #2: Pain

On day two, we chose to board the glacier on top of the mountain (see pictures). This was great fun, but I was already pretty beat up from falling… A LOT. About halfway through the day I was minding my own business, and was boarding across a run on my ‘toe-side’ meaning i was facing the mountain. Some schmuck on Snow blades ran over the end of my board, made me do a back flip, and end up on my back 20-ish feet downhill. Thanks for nothing. I landed hard on my left shoulder, which in turn has hurt for 10 days now. It’s almost healed up, and only bothers me if I sleep on it. Note to self *don’t sleep on bum shoulder*. Some people are jerks, but a little pain is part of the deal when snowboarding. It is just your body telling you that you are stupid for having so much fun in single digit temperatures.

All in all, Alpine boarding = success. That is all.

Si vous plait:

Sainte Chapelle:

A small royal chapel of the Rayonnant style of Gothic architecture. The aim of Gothic architects was to allow light to penetrate into the space. Rayonnant developed about 140 years into the Gothic period, and exemplified the idea of “holy light.” Unlike the three storied elevation of High Gothic, Rayonnant chapels have windows for the entirety of the vertical plane separated only by necessary buttressing. (See below)

The Eiffel Tower:

Designed as a temporary structure for the worlds fair in 1889 by engineer, Gustave Eiffel, and was the world’s tallest structure for 40 years. It is constructed of wrought iron, and was the first massive use of rivets in this sort of application. There are actually three colors of paint used – darkest on bottom, lightest on top – so an observer on the ground views it as being uniform.

Le Louvre:

The museum is an old palace, but we don’t care about that. The ultra modern, glass and steel pyramid that serves as the entrance to the Louvre was designed by I.M. Pei, a master of modernism based in New York, who designed some of Dallas’s finest buildings, including One Dallas Center, Dallas City Hall, and the Meyerson Symphony Center.

Notre Dame Cathedral:

The introduction of Gothic architecture, which is exemplified by the flying buttresses. Restored and preserved by Viollet-le-Duc, and one of the most famous churches of all time. The enormous rose window and tower facade at the base of the cruciform plan are standard for the Gothic style. And its just freakin’ huge.

[edit]

The Centre Pompidou:

Built in 1977 by Renzo Piano and Richard Rodgers, it houses a public library, a modern art museum, an exhibition hall, a fantastic bookstore, and a huge public lobby with free wi-fi. All of the structural and service areas are located on the outside “skin” of the building allowing the interior to be a completely open, monumental space. All of the systems have were painted a specific color (HVAC – blue, electrical – yellow, plumbing – green, movement – red) and can been seen both inside and out. (see image) It is a building as a machine. Fantastic.

Abbey Church of St. Denis:

Part of a former monastery, and simply a gorgeous piece of Gothic architecture. The church standing now is the last of several that have been built here from the 7th – 13th century. The one here today was built in the 1250′s and is considered the first church to move into the Rayonnant style (previously mentioned). Most of the kings of France are buried here.

Versailles and its amazing gardens:

Versailles started out as a hunting lodge and ‘retreat from Paris’ and became a permanent residence of the French Royal Family. The palace standing today is attributed to Jules Mansart, who was the Royal architect of Louis XIV. It includes ridiculous living areas, a throne room, and the ‘Hall of Mirrors,’ which runs about 60% of the length of this facade. The gardens (see below) are probably more impressive than the palace. See a plan of it here. To walk all the way around it would take about two hours. Woah.

Thus ends your French architecture history lesson. Hope you enjoyed it. The test is on Monday, you will need your student ID, #2 pencil, and the large gray scantron.

Tomorrow night, Gavin, Sierra, Rachel and I are taking an 11 hour overnight train ride into the Alps to go snowboarding for 2 days. We get back at 6 AM Monday morning, have class all day, and then Tuesday we leave for four days in The Netherlands. I will get back to this thing later to tell you about today’s trip to Bonn, and everything else I have done by then.

Adieu.

Here is a video made by Barrett, Gavin, and I to tide you over:

These are the kinds of things I get to see as I walk to school. At home, I drive everywhere. Look at what I would have missed out on.

Friday night and all day today I wore my infamous “toe-shoes”:

I have decided that these may be the best invention in shoe history since the Jesus sandal. For those of you that do not know, I have a bit of a problem when it comes to shoes. In much the same way junkies need crack, I need shoes. “But you are a guy! Certainly this can’t be true!” I hear you say. In response I can only refer you to Exodus 20:17. That having been settled, lets proceed. These shoes tend to attract a lot of strange looks, though I cannot imagine why, and despite what you think, I do not enjoy these looks. Nay! I do not enjoy them nearly as much as I enjoy catching those giving them. All it takes is a direct look in the eye, and the tiniest smile, and they know they’re busted. The best part is that in this country I don’t even speak the same language as those I bust, but they know it all the same. How joyous.

Speaking of language: I have decided that the strangest part of returning home will be understanding what is being said by those around me. I have grown accustomed to not knowing what the person next to me is talking about, or how to read street signs, or advertisements. In my room I have satellite television. 80+ channels of gibberish. Last night I watched a movie in English, and it already seemed foreign to me. Sure, those who I came with speak English, but to only be able to converse with a small group of people-THE SAME PEOPLE-everyday is strange. I tried to strike up a conversation with a girl on the bus yesterday, and she just laughed at me (which, oddly enough, didn’t seem abnormal… ). I am assuming she had no idea what I was saying, but who knows. I fear this lack of auditory interaction may be killing off the few social skills I previously possessed, though I have no way of knowing for sure. On the contrary, this conundrum has been enlightening me to the incredible possibilities of nonverbal communication. I have always had a respect for body language, particularly with good friends. There have been people in my life who, with only a look, knew exactly what I was trying to communicate. During the days of the rock ‘n roll phantasmagoria that was Not Quite 7, we communicated through eye contact, musical inflection, and body movements, making previously undiscussed musical decisions on the fly. All of this came naturally due to the impossibility of verbal communication brought on by Stix’s incessant crash cymbal use. We seem to always choose to converse verbally if the opportunity is there. Only when speaking is not an option (whether due to high decibel levels, or being in a foreign nation) do we take advantage of our silent speaking skills. Whether it be a smile on a subway, or pointing to the panini I want for lunch, sometimes we say things most effectively by saying nothing at all.