tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55776076608582408672024-03-05T04:34:28.786-08:00Urban Explorer- GermanyI moved to Cottbus in eastern Germany in August 2011 and recently moved to Essen, Germany in western Germany, to live with my partner. This blog is part travel-blog and part philosophical-contemplation on how places become how they are.Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-39656065444471515232012-09-25T13:21:00.002-07:002012-09-25T13:28:50.420-07:00Great Skin and Aging Myths<div style="text-align: justify;">
Since living in Germany, I've been noticing that older people don't seem to have "old skin" here. Or, at least, they don't have what I think of as <i>old skin</i>. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Given, I grew up in west Texas and in Florida, so I thought that skin spots (dark or white) and lots of wrinkles was just how white people looked when they got older. </div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Last year, while living in Orlando, Florida, I didn't have a car, so I took the bus or rode my bike to run errands or go places. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The thing about public transportation is that you really get the chance to look at people. All kinds of people take the bus, for example. People you might not see in your walk of life. People you might not want to see, too.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Once, I remember this man, sitting across form me on the bus. I don't want to be unkind, but his skin didn't look good. He must have been in his 60's and I could tell that he had had light skin like mine when he was younger, but now his skin was kind of leathery. He had lots of big brown circles on his face and some smaller white spots. Not to mention wrinkles, he had those too. Little ones, like cracked, dry dirt in Texas, when it hasn't rained in a while, and big ones. He had blue eyes. </div>
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But I had just come back to the US from Europe, so I had a fresh image of what "white" people looked like there. </div>
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He looked so old, or like he had skin cancer. If you're from Florida, you know what that looks like. </div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, since then, I've been looking more closely at people's skin in Germany and in the sunny states of the US. </div>
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<br />
<a href="http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/article/258605/10/What-25-years-of-driving-a-truck-can-do-to-your-skin" target="_blank">First Coast News article with picture</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.firstcoastnews.com/images/640/360/2/assetpool/images/120602062150_truck%20driver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" id="ctl14_ArticleImage" src="http://www.firstcoastnews.com/images/640/360/2/assetpool/images/120602062150_truck%20driver.jpg" style="height: 360px; width: 640px;" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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~~~~~~<br />
<br />
I definitely remember an elderly lady I saw on the street in Cottbus, Germany. <br />
<br /></div>
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She was hunched over her cane and was moving slowly. While passing her on the sidewalk, I glanced at her before saying, "Excuse me." I was really close to her and noticed her skin. She must have had some eye-lines and the contours of her face looked "older" (looser), but her skin looked as good as mine! Her skin displayed about as much damage, maybe less, as I've had in my whole life. I can't describe it in scientific terms; her skin just looked good. I had never seen an older light skinned person, who didn't have "old skin."</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So what is "old skin"? <br />
<br />
Having light skin and living in a sunny place is a relatively new phonemenon in the world. So, surrounded by examples of premature aging, do many of us have a warped understanding of what aging looks like (in Florida)? Is living in a sunny place and having light skin dangerous?</div>
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</div>
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<br />
I wonder...</div>
Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-49775238309139195132012-06-01T13:53:00.001-07:002012-06-02T04:43:59.496-07:00Finally: Last post. Higher (Mis)EducationPart V<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Continued from Higher (Mis)Education Part IV</b></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
I mean, if all my observations reflect some kernel of truth, then what I have experienced at German universities is a simple logic error. </div>
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Difficult courses are being confused with difficult subjects. </div>
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I mean, if half of your class fails, as in the Stony Brook statistic from the last post (Higher (Mis)Education Part IIII) and if you can correlate failing rates with a larger lecture hall, then it is not that the material is so hard, it is that your courses are harder than they need to be.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Imagine this, just a few hundred years ago, most of the western world was illiterate. Reading and writing was considered really, really hard. Today, I write from my blog because I assumed correctly that you all can read. We consider literacy normal. Did the inhabitants of the western world become biologically more intelligent? I don't think so. I think we have just benefited from a series of educational and philosophical reforms.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Similarly, the educational system really bothers me here in Germany because the system wants me to feel stupid. I feel as if it is trying to tell me that the course subject at the university is harder than it is. The system wants only a few people to succeed. </div>
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Check out this ranking of universities worldwide. Fourteen of the top 20 universities are American universities. (UPenn is number 16, and I feel that the following principles were applied there, especially principle 4, believe it or not.)</div>
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<a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2011-2012/top-400.html" target="_blank">Times Higher Education Ranking</a></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
I think the philosophical foundation of the excellent American higher education system is the following:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>1. Anyone can learn and every subject is learnable, with the right tools. </b></div>
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Therefore, if too many students fail all together at once, there is a systemic problem, not a case of laziness or a lack of intelligence among students. A systemic problem means just that: a problem with the system, not the individuals within it. This principle also requires a lot of faith; it requires that you believe that most people are intelligent, not just a select few. </div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>2. An educational system or a course can be flawed. If it is, the problem needs to be fixed.</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This goes back to principle 1 as well. For this reason, a statistical average is a better judge of academic performance, at times, than the classical grade calculation. In Germany, a whole class can fail and the bell curve is irrelevant.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>3. There are different types of learners, but all learners can learn the same material. Diversity is important and valued.</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This may seem obvious, but a system that supports this principle will provide materials and resources for students with different learning strengths. Just like we wouldn't force someone nowadays to write with the right hand if they are left handed. Whether I learn well through reading, listening, or through discussion, to name a few preferences, all learning methods can be provided through a course. And, I want to reiterate: it is unfair not to provide these materials, especially for students who may have a hearing, speech or writing difficulties. A difficulty is something you can overcome, unlike a bad attitude. Like me, I have all of those difficulties in German. Ha ha ha.<br />
<br />
I actually think that most students do better given lots learning resources based on different learning styles. Like, read the chapter, hear the lecture, discuss it in class and work with your classmates afterward. </div>
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<b>4. Passion for learning is important.</b></div>
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Man, I can't really emphasize that enough. </div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
~~~~~~<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The most disappointing part of my efforts to catch up on high school
math is that I tried a lot of things, but nothing worked in Germany. The university didn't
offer the foundation I needed (as it would in the US) and the tutors I found outside of the university
didn't want to teach me.<br />
<br />
I have had two tutors. The first one was very kind
but lacked a structured teaching method (no plan and no textbooks). The second tutor actually had
a tutoring school, but he decided not to be my tutor. I think it was
too hard for him to try to adapt his teaching style, which was oriented
for children, to a full-grown adult with no knowledge of the terms in
German. I can talk to you about myself and about life in German, about
tomatoes and about the history of bananas (introduced to Philadelphia in
1886), all in German, but I can't talk to you about anything
mathematical in German, because I don't have the vocabulary yet. I just
needed a textbook. I needed the type of dictionary that would
translate the terms for me, but I haven't found that dictionary yet.<br />
<br />
I was even turned down from a program (the equivalent of the GED) for non-Abitur graduates who wanted to go
to university. The program said that I couldn't take the class they
offered in high school math (calculus, etc.) because I already had a
high school diploma. Rules are rules.<br />
<br />
<br />
In the end, I gave up on my efforts in Germany. I didn't feel that I had a choice. I enrolled in an online math
course at Brevard Community College, an accredited community college in the USA. I visited Florida this year in March and got to meet
one of my professors. She was happy to meet me. Everyone was happy to
meet me. And for your information, I got all A's. </div>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I look forward to your feedback, everyone.</div>Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-9367881486983737422012-06-01T12:01:00.003-07:002012-06-02T13:15:49.930-07:00Higher (Mis)Education Part IV<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Continued from (Mis)Eduation Part III</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, what happens at a university, in a university culture where
approaching a professor is considered inappropriate, if not daring?
What happens when absolutely no textbooks are assigned to the students
and students can only learn orally or in study groups with their friends
from the university. It is a very high-pressure environment. A <i>needlessly</i> high-pressure environment.<br />
<br />
Let me tell you another story.<br />
<br />
Once, I went to the teaching assistant's office because I
wanted to say hello and talk about the topic of the course. I love love
love these topics, after all! The attitude in the room was not exactly
warm; it was like walking into an artic blizzard. I got some blank
stares and some eye-rolling. They acted like I was brown-nosing, just
because I wanted to introduce myself. <i>Entschuldigung</i> (excuse me) that I wanted to talk about the course topic. Excuse me that I have a name and wanted you to know it. <br />
<br />
On
the other hand, I can understand how this might appear inappropriate. I
understand it because I have had similar problems trying to apply for
jobs in Germany. Going in to the workplace where you sent an
application seems to offend people, from my experience. Like, they
shouldn't be able to put a face to a name, because knowing who I am
might not allow them to objectively choose the best candidate.<br />
<br />
This
is a big deal for an American. It takes some time to learn. At risk
of always seeming inappropriate, some Americans are careful not to talk
to strangers (which is hard for an American to do). Others are proud of who they are;
slightly louder and more personal. <br />
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To
be honest, I feel like the German educational system is a lie. The
system conspires in many ways to make education no fun and to make lots
of people feel inferior- intellectually and socially. I like Germans,
so I don't mean that they are not nice people. Of course they are nice
people! I am talking about the educational system. And you have to
have respect for someone who can survive this educational system in one
piece. Respect for the students, yes, but not for the system.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Why is primary school education organized in such a way, as it is, so
that teachers decide whether a student is college bound or not before
the age of 12 (and the system is changing so that teachers can decide
even earlier!). And then, when they do get to college, make learning so
impossible, disorganized and difficult, so that they feel stupid?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I
mean, the topics may not be that difficult, but learning in a big
lecture hall, for every single class, without textbooks, syllabi, or
meaningful lab courses just seems like a joke. And then, the students
are only tested with homework assignments a couple of times a semester
(in the math course I was in) and have one big exam at the end of the
semester. So, if you are going to fail, you won't know it until it is
too late. That is a whole lot of unnecessary pressure on these young
people. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Lars, my partner, studied law in Berlin and
says that it was the worst time in his life. This, in addition to the fact that after studying four years of laws (to get a bachelor of law), he had just two chances to pass the law exam <b><i>for life</i></b>. Law students, of course,
do have to read books, so his experience is different than the one I've
experienced, but the overall message is the same: the university is
hard. I met a guy who was talking about a friend of his, who had already failed the test once. He said, "His life will be over if he doesn't pass it this time!!" in German. I said, "How can that be? Life isn't over until you're dead." He gave me a strange look. As if I had said something unbelievable.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Time after time, I talk to people
who tell me about how much they hated the university, even though they
liked the student-life and their friends at the time.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
~~~~~</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So
I was taking these university classes and experiencing culture shock in
a BIG way. BIG BIG BIG. I also hired a private tutor.....</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
TO BE CONTINUED in Part V of Higher (Mis)Education</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-21355977429261309752012-06-01T11:57:00.001-07:002012-06-02T13:11:19.382-07:00Higher (Mis)Education Part III<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Following Higher (Mis)Education Part II ....</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Umwelttag" class="aligncenter" height="390" src="http://www.solar-university.de/wp-admin/incl/libfile.php?path=Umweltwoche%2C%20-markt%202010%2F&filename=btu-umwelttag.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; vertical-align: middle;" width="293" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brandenburg Technical University</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Since I had not done well in the pre-university math review at BTU, I decided to sit in on lectures in mathematics at BTU and to hire a private tutor to help me with the material. I was also simultaneously signed up as a student in Urban Design, so I was taking those classes as well. Since then, I have attended some lectures at the Technical University of Dortmund in the department of Spatial Planning, since we now live in the Ruhr area.<br />
<br />
These experiences really formed the foundation of my opinion about higher education in Germany. I also talked to professors, teaching assistants and gathered stories about university experiences from my German friends and from Lars, my partner. <br />
<br />
The math course I sat in on was <i>Math for Business Majors</i>, more or less. It was supposed to be easier than the courses the engineering or physics students would take, so I figured it was my best shot. I went to the lectures every week and sat in on the course lab as well. So, altogether, I had the real experience of taking the class and I can honestly compare this course with a typical American university math course.<br />
<br />
The first difference I noticed is that all lectures consist of hundreds of students. There is no syllabus and no course textbook. There are no course hand-outs online or elsewhere. There are no weekly practice problems either, actually. The professor simply <i>recommends</i> some theoretical books on the topic at the beginning of the course. Every week, the professor just plans his lecture, gives it and that was that. The university bookstore doesn't necessarily offer the books that the professor recommends, but the library usually <i>holds</i> the books in the reference section. However, the professor doesn't have to tell you what part of what books are relevant or when they are relevant; that would be up to you, the student, to figure out. <br />
<br />
In one of my classes (Urban Design), I actually approached the tutor once and asked him where I could read about the topics we were learning that week. I explained that, as a non-native German speaker (duh), it was really hard for me to understand everything in the lectures and that I would understand more if I could read about the material as well. He said that all the recommended books should be in the course section at the library (no reference to which book or what section). I went to the library and looked and looked. I even had the librarian help me find the reference section for my course.<br />
<br />
Guess what? It didn't exist. There were no books on hold for my course. (Scheiße!) So, there was nothing I could do except try to become an oral learner. <br />
<br />
At a German university, courses usually have labs so that you can "apply" the knowledge you (orally) learned at the lecture. Sounds like a good system, except that it's not true. The problem with the labs I went to was that the the things we worked on were not at all related to what was taught in the lecture. So, maybe those two groups didn't really interact very much. Maybe those teaching assistants just really had no idea what we were learning in the lecture. <br />
<br />
For those of you who didn't happen to study at an American university, let me fill you in on what it is like there. (I really am just trying to be objective, for now.)<br />
<br />
At an American university, every course has a syllabus with a reading list. It informs the student about the grading scale and exactly what is expected from the student in order to get a good grade (See<i> Noten</i> as a footnote below). Also, the reading list is pretty much required and you can buy the books new or used at the university bookstore or at local used bookstores under the course name. You can buy the books online even, because there are so many books around. You can really get organized and buy your books way out in advance, say from Singapore, for a good deal.<br />
<br />
I'm not going to deny it, course books are super expensive. And usually they pay homage in some way to the professor of the course. Like, really? Is it legal to require that your own students buy your own book? On the other hand, why would you not recommend your own book? <br />
<br />
Coursebooks are also way more expensive than a regular book at a book store. But then again, so is a college education, which you could also basically get just by reading books at the library. The university helps the student by giving him/her an organization of the material and by telling the student what and how to study. If you don't get that, what are you paying for? (I assume that is what Americans think, and I certainly think so, but more on that later in the next post.)<br />
<br />
Lots of homework assignments are assigned and graded and there are usually two big exams per course and lots of minor tests. The student's class participation has actual weight; I mean, the student has to comment and participate in the class discussion for a "participation grade." This means that if the student doesn't ask a question or comment at all in class, he will get a 0 or a negative grade for participation, and this will affect his overall course grade.<br />
<br />
Because course books are assigned, courses are typically organized in a way that follows the sequence of topics introduced in the book. That way, the professor, the assistants and the students can maximize their time in teaching or learning. Also, these textbooks tend to be sold by big-time publishers with a team of educational and marketing professionals who constantly evaluate which books are the best sellers and apply the latest theories in education in their books. The books usually comes with a media disc (cd/dvd) and with on-page referrals to the book's online website, where the student can find more non-textbook resources.<br />
<br />
Most importantly, the quality of education among American universities is regarded as better if there is a low student to faculty ratio. Columbia University, for example, prides itself on having a 6 to 1 student to faculty ratio, and in the physical science department, it's gets as low as 2 to 1.<br />
<br />
Private universities justify their higher prices on this educational belief that smaller lectures mean better education. Why pride yourself on large lecture halls? The research supports this principle for quality education. "An experiment at the State University of New York at Stony Brook found that students did significantly better in classes limited to 35 students than in large classes with 150 to 200 students. For a calculus course, failure rates were 19% for the small classes compared to 50% for the large classes. The percentages of A's were 24% for the small classes and 3% for the large classes. These results suggest that students benefit from smaller classes, which allow for more direct interaction between students and teacher," reports a margin article in the textbook <i>Essentials of Statistics</i> Fouth Edition by Mario F. Triola.<br />
<br />
<br />
All the Americans are going, yeah, yeah, of course! That's normal.<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Actual, it's not so normal in many countries. (How many other countries teach using the aforementioned methods?)<br />
TO BE CONTINUED in Part IV of Higher (Mis)Education<br />
<h4>
</h4>
<h4 style="font-weight: normal;">
<b>Footnote on "Noten"</b></h4>
<h4 style="font-weight: normal;">
<b>Grades or "Noten" in Germany are
different in the US. They have a number system instead of a letter
system. The letter 1 is best, then comes 2, 3, 4,5, and 6. Basically, a
1 is about 92% correct or better. </b></h4>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<h4>
For
those of you who are unfamiliar with American "grades," a letter grade
can be an A, B, C, D or F. A letter grade of an A is about a 1 in the
German system. There is no E grade. The grade of A typically means
that the student got 90% correct on an assignment or test, or did work
about a qualitative nature equivalent to the best. So, Americans like
to say, "You get an A!" which means that you are awesome, or you had
less than a 10% error rate in this class. Obviously, not all work can
be quantified, so grades are flexible in this way. A letter grade can
equate to qualitative or quantitative success. </h4>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-42681926686840028822012-06-01T05:32:00.004-07:002012-06-01T12:37:01.702-07:00Higher (Mis)Education Part II<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Following Higher (Mis)Education Part I ....</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, I applied to bachelor degree programs in urban planning and urban economics, two of my new-found interests since getting a degree in Linguistics in 2010. I missed the application deadlines for a couple of schools, but got an acceptance offer from a few German-speaking bachelor degree programs. I got acceptance letters from the Spatial Planning program at the Technical University of Dortmund, the Urban Design program at the Brandenburg Technical University in Cottbus and the Real Estate Economics program at Regensburg University (Bavaria). </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was so delighted. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I turned down the Spatial Planning offer at Dortmund, but Lars started putting out job applications in the Ruhr area around Dortmund just in case I ended up transferring there after a semester or two. After much deliberation, I finally accepted the offer from Regensburg University to study economics. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There is so much to tell about this period of my life when I was preparing to study at a German university. But, in this post, I am instead going to tell you about my introduction to higher education in Germany and what I have learned about educational reform in the United States in general. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Basically, I am going to stick to the topic of what Germany universities are like from an American-educated person's perspective, and not get into all the little details about whether Lars started looking for jobs or how we planned to manage the move.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
First, let me tell you a bit about German primary schools and universities. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
First of all, college-bound German school-boys and girls don't have the choice of not taking <b>Calculus</b>.
That means that everybody at the university has already had
"high-school" math, aka Calculus 1 and 2. Also, universities in Germany
do NOT offer courses covering what you were already supposed to have
learned in high school. Period. That calculus stuff is <i>so high school</i>,
any baby could do it, right? High School students heading to college
get a special High School-level degree called "Arbitur," which means
that they passed all the state or national tests in the subject. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Second,
students are weeded out from the "college-bound" crowd before
high-school. If a child does poorly in middle or elementary school, the
child will be told that he/she should learn a trade and not go to
Gymnasium (High School), which means that the child won't be able to go
to the university. If the child does really well later, it should be
possible to switch to Gymnasium from a "regular" non-college bound
school, but it is unlikely to happen. </div>
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Before moving to a different city and enrolling at Regensburg University, I wanted to brush up on my math. I had one to two months time before the program would begin, so I figured that I had enough time to review what I had forgotten since my last course of "Advanced Topics of Mathematics," an alternative to College Algebra as a junior in high school. I took that course some, oh, eight years ago, so I really needed a math review! </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Let me add that I didn't think a math review would be so hard because I did really well on the math portion of the GRE (one of the tests you take to apply to graduate schools in the US).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I wanted to review what I considered to be basic High School math. I signed up for the general pre-university week-long math seminar and review session for entering students, which was being offered at the Brandenburg Technical University, or BTU, in Cottbus, where Lars and I were living then. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, there I was in Cottbus, Germany, and I was super excited to go to the math review at BTU. Maybe I kind of expected to have one of those experiences often portrayed in 1990's pop-culture movies where the more mature twenty-something-er gets the chance to pose as a High-Schooler or College Student and, due to his/her ultimate life-wisdom, shines like never before.<br />
<br />
What happened to me was less glamorous: I walked into a gray-concrete modernistic building and into a lecture hall full with 300+ students. The volume of noise must have been intensified in the lecture hall (felt like a concert hall), because it's something I remember very well. (As a foreign-language speaker, a foreign language can start to sound like white noise when your brain has language-overload. That is not my professional linguistic opinion, just an observation!) I picked a seat and waited for the fun to begin.<br />
<br />
The professor (a woman) walked in with her assistant and turned on a projector (!!!!) and started putting slides up (like in the 90's?) of complicated mathematical theories and logic formulas. First of all, I couldn't really understand what she was saying because my German immersion didn't prepare me for listening to German through a speaker system. And I couldn't really see what she was writing because I was too far away from the board. Naturally, I did not understand anything. </div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Well, I'm an American which probably means I am naively confident. We are just taught to be that way. "There's no such thing as a stupid question," and "Never be afraid to ask," my dad always said. So I figured I would just introduce myself to the professor after class, as I always did in the US, and ask her for help or find out what she recommends in order to catch up on things.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Don't get me wrong. I was nervous walking down the stadium-lecture hall and approaching the professor. My German also gets a little worse when I'm nervous. I was practicing what I would say the whole way down the steps. You could have seen my lips move as I rehearsed what I would say. I came up to where she was straightening up her slides. It felt like hours before she acknowledged me standing there. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I must have said in German, "Hello, my name is Rebecca and I didn't quite understand some things, like, for example XX." </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
She looked at me, assessed my accent, and answered, "All German students learn that in school," and turned away from me. I think she even frowned at me, disappointed that I would bother her holiness on the podium after a lecture. </div>
<br />
Then, she walked away. Apparently there is such a thing as a stupid question.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After the lecture, I went to the library and took out all the High-School math books I could fit in my roller JanSport backpack. I started reading the books in my apartment in the evening and tried to follow along in the seminar during the following days. Only after a few days did I realize that it would be impossible. Clearly, the material was more than I could learn in a week. After the final lecture, I remember standing in the courtyard outside the lecture and feeling envious of all the students around me. They were all so young and had never really made a big mistake in their lives probably. They all seemed so innocent and free.<br />
<br />
Later, I called up the admissions office in Regensburg and told them that I wasn't going to be able to enroll this semester. "Sorry for the inconvenience."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Well, that's ok, I thought. Rome wasn't built in a day after all. I can learn all this and then I'll apply for an economics program! Not to sound trite, but sometimes you can't afford the luxury of a negative thought.... And I wasn't really in a position to change my decision to come to Germany and go back to school. I felt like I <i>had</i> to learn math; I needed to learn math.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But even that turned out to be harder than it should have been.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
TO BE CONTINUED Higher (Mis)Education Part III.....</div>Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-58055433127878462922012-06-01T04:15:00.000-07:002012-06-01T07:43:16.231-07:00Higher (Mis)Education Part I<div style="text-align: justify;">
About a year ago, I had to make an important choice: either I could choose to wait for Lars to come to the US or I could go to Germany, where he lived. Whew! Let me tell you, I lost a lot of sleep trying to figure out which choice I wouldn't regret. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6C-0z8sB9op9LsWMaA6qASzApsaxr4SzrdxKgxy0MqqOCOILWBZn67E8WPI66tAQfS2Or133I-111J_6ducV-XLbIBKUozzDEo1vibtUYgLtTYCnRj51fFKSzsUq76E_Z1EI0_L0-q0/s1600/florida3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6C-0z8sB9op9LsWMaA6qASzApsaxr4SzrdxKgxy0MqqOCOILWBZn67E8WPI66tAQfS2Or133I-111J_6ducV-XLbIBKUozzDEo1vibtUYgLtTYCnRj51fFKSzsUq76E_Z1EI0_L0-q0/s640/florida3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> A place for contemplating life's decisions at the Florida Wildlife Refuge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I knew I wanted to spend my life with my partner, who is German. We wanted to keep it simple; we would live in the USA or in Germany, close to family if possible. I mean, picking a place could have <i>huge</i> consequences, right? What if we get stuck there <i>long-term</i>? </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, where did I want to raise my children? What do I want to do professionally? Where did Lars want to raise his children? (It turns out that some guys don't think about the latter very much.) These were pressing questions for me. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I had a problem though: I wasn't sure whether Lars would come to the US if I waited for him. Really! He is a German lawyer, so finding a job in the US would not be so straight-forward. Like many men, his job makes him feel valuable as a person, and I didn't want to take that away from him. (I recently read an MSN.com article, which noted that unemployment is the most prevalent cause of clinical-depression among American men, compared to divorce among American women.) In retrospect, I probably thought I could handle unemployment, but he couldn't. Was I trying to be a martyr or was I just tired of the job I had in Orlando? </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One thing was certain: both he and I would have to change professions in order to be successful in the <i>other </i>country. There's only a teeny market for German lawyers in the US and never really was one for super-academic-never-applied linguists in Germany.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, education or <i>re-</i>education, aka going back to school, became a really important topic in our conversation about choosing a place to live. Ask yourself, would you rather go back to school in the US or in Germany? </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Ahh, if only I knew then what I know now. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We decided that it would be easier for me to go back to school in Germany than it would be for Lars to do so in the US. We decided this based on the following facts. Tuition is comically inexpensive in Germany compared to the tuition at the out-of-state private university I last went to. Also, a bachelors degree only takes three years in Germany instead of the four it takes in the US. I scored very well on the TestDAF exam, which is the German-language
test for foreigners to study in Germany (like TOEFL or TOEIC in
English).<br />
<br />
Also, going back to school should be easier for me, since I'm younger than Lars. And, Lars already has a good job in Germany, so he could support me if I went to school. I can't offer Lars the same sort of financial support in the US. I certainly wouldn't be able to support him and pay his tuition while he went to school in the US. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We decided that it would be wisest for us both if I moved to Germany and applied to university programs in Germany. Lars would relocate to the city where I would study. He assured me that he could find a job pretty much anywhere in Germany. Hand-shake. Agreed! Let's go. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I put in my two weeks notice at my job in Orlando and we booked the tickets.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To be honest, I was sad, excited and relieved. I was sad to leave my family, who mean almost everything to me. My family is my home. But, I was excited to go back to school because I'd always had positive experiences at the university in the US (I studied at Florida State University and the University of Pennsylvania, to put it in perspective. Both are wonderful universities!). And most importantly, I was relieved to not have to live apart from my life-partner much longer. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Visa process took maybe five days in Germany, being married to a German and all. I was welcomed with open arms.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
TO BE CONTINUED PART II (Mis)Education</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-31085309889962148922012-05-21T01:29:00.002-07:002012-05-22T01:46:48.177-07:00Thoughts on Titusville, Florida<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sometimes, stepping back can give you perspective. Perspective: new thoughts about old subjects. And that is what I feel I have gained by living internationally- I am not only more critical of 'the way things are,' I am also more hopeful that things I don't like could change.<br />
<br />
After all, how could England have become so different from the place my ancestors left? How could Florida belong to the Native Americans, then to the Spanish (the Floridians who fled to Cuba), then to Americans, all in a span of a couple hundred years? How could the US have changed so much since World War II? How is it possible that the poorest parts of Germany 150 years ago are now the richest parts in Germany, probably also in Europe (excluding Switzerland)? How could almost a whole culture of farming, which existed in Western Europe and America for a very, very long time, disappear in a span of about 50 years?<br />
<br />
Two things seem true to me: change is certain and near but change comes in an unexpected form. Still, if we are not in charge of the changes in our world, then who is? (Excluding mother nature and a higher power, of course.) Perhaps the first step is to understand that things happen because we cause them to and not because "it's just the way things are." And, maybe the second step is to understand what we are doing in the first place.<br />
<br />
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br />
<br />
In a way, the distance allows you to really put your finger down on what is bothering you about where you grew up. I recently read an article about Titusville, Florida, where I grew up, published in the Florida Today, February 19th, written by Dave Berman titled, "Miracle City Mall Redevelopment Delayed a Year." After reading this article, which featured on the first page a picture of the new locally-initiated Arts Studio, I grew agitated. And I grew more agitated as I thought about the article's message: <b>an economic recovery requires corporate investment in Titusville. </b> Somebody decided this was true and the writer reported this. Maybe this belief is commonplace in Titusville.<br />
<br />
But, publishing this idea, while featuring an picture of a local arts studio, which is not at all corporate, seemed misleading and dishonest. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Thanks to my mom, below are pictures of the art studio featured on the cover of the article.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitACtiQPkVXSkLppIYEtet5y2WX2AKYXqczhWVPdaX0k7yDP5aVjMMNCNKGXKisYSy9koIv8x88x8SX6YNHalEVKJm5xfYdLpjtC-TWDKHdiW5Rra55DswztgKXO5HHbQ6tTwG51evF1I/s1600/parkinglot2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitACtiQPkVXSkLppIYEtet5y2WX2AKYXqczhWVPdaX0k7yDP5aVjMMNCNKGXKisYSy9koIv8x88x8SX6YNHalEVKJm5xfYdLpjtC-TWDKHdiW5Rra55DswztgKXO5HHbQ6tTwG51evF1I/s640/parkinglot2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art Studio where Firestone (Auto Shop) used to be, before going out of business or relocating elsewhere.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHWQrPC83d5Ri14QN71oVckB40ujNwTF21jRWsbXzR3g_1c3PL07D0CTtvmk5_E-vOaPe-gb7akGNZ_UctMZ8emyRcF_p7v3rPH_7r6cgU2jWZYq8xqw0s1459WJv9iIQEUIkviYKLRUM/s1600/front2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHWQrPC83d5Ri14QN71oVckB40ujNwTF21jRWsbXzR3g_1c3PL07D0CTtvmk5_E-vOaPe-gb7akGNZ_UctMZ8emyRcF_p7v3rPH_7r6cgU2jWZYq8xqw0s1459WJv9iIQEUIkviYKLRUM/s640/front2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art takes over.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2mUEoVnmiMtEPTFcW40XdK8fjLosAEcKlKrKtiO3QKWkIjN03X2W2yDpfFeb5-DLsb1pEhUvxBp9TBNRcD8_GrgDF10jTyo6MgG5zisLqYwqkY7GcgNj0KGO8A7IPz7HSqHDJeOYAgj4/s1600/photo(8).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2mUEoVnmiMtEPTFcW40XdK8fjLosAEcKlKrKtiO3QKWkIjN03X2W2yDpfFeb5-DLsb1pEhUvxBp9TBNRcD8_GrgDF10jTyo6MgG5zisLqYwqkY7GcgNj0KGO8A7IPz7HSqHDJeOYAgj4/s400/photo(8).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art Studio facade up close</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To pay to read the article out of archives and see the picture (about 8 dollars), you have to follow the following link. The article is called, "Miracle City Mall Redevelopment Delayed a Year." Here is the abstract,<br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: blue;">
<i>The Miracle City project is one of the cornerstones for an economic
comeback for Titusville, which has been hit hard by declines in the real
estate market during the past several years, coupled with thousands of
layoffs related to the end of the space shuttle program last year</i>.</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/floridatoday/access/2589592551.html?FMT=ABS&date=Feb+19%2C+2012" target="_blank">http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/floridatoday/access/2589592551.html?FMT=ABS&date=Feb+19%2C+2012</a><br />
<br />
<b>Problem # 1:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I don't like how the owners say they want Miracle City Mall to become the heart of Titusville. The Art Studio is not representative of Miracle City Mall and the heart of Titusville is the historic district, where there has been
so much public and private investment and many new store openings.<br />
<br />
There is a local street market in downtown Titsuville (the historic district) during the week and a Jazz-Night on
Thursday evenings. All the yearly parades go through Main Street. From
Main Street you can walk to the pier, where locals like to fish,
windsail, swim, lounge, etc. or walk to the local parks, where locals
often play baseball. The downtown and pier area is where Titusville
goes to be itself. <br />
<br />
My favorite bakery, Sunrise bakery, is located downtwon. It is full Monday through Saturday and is always a good place to see familiar places. The cafe has done wonders to the local vibe and "locavorism," just as so many cafe's are doing to downtown's all across the US. When I go there, I can also walk around the downtown's expensively manicured sidewalks and sit on a bench in the park, near the St. John's river. It's a place everybody likes. Beautiful, peaceful and special.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCmkyvOU8lSuafipF1wY-kqPDmxN9DG_0c0mC2uzKNc5s32SyYHjxRbhNBUuSzoZyajc5W7W2TZKpri-Ah0rsmEsGnHkEa0S-7OmliJsTaP8lwXuisacSDcgzuikCd1VZmfgThSHmmEA/s1600/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCmkyvOU8lSuafipF1wY-kqPDmxN9DG_0c0mC2uzKNc5s32SyYHjxRbhNBUuSzoZyajc5W7W2TZKpri-Ah0rsmEsGnHkEa0S-7OmliJsTaP8lwXuisacSDcgzuikCd1VZmfgThSHmmEA/s400/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+060.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The very beloved Sunrise Bakery, Titusville, Florida. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpsE8ktkaZNAn5_zr-vjB4EOOiCVoR6AzwrklqsSFRsCLI2rJ_RXWUx2TKnNtGgMuPk9A-M4OZnPOT_YXp0dz8yvu3E-sJ39pizGeunJdVjA3K4ZnAPaIZD55JB6swP6aZDu2apwCNm9I/s1600/Trip+to+NM%252C+Texas%252C+Florida+077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpsE8ktkaZNAn5_zr-vjB4EOOiCVoR6AzwrklqsSFRsCLI2rJ_RXWUx2TKnNtGgMuPk9A-M4OZnPOT_YXp0dz8yvu3E-sJ39pizGeunJdVjA3K4ZnAPaIZD55JB6swP6aZDu2apwCNm9I/s320/Trip+to+NM%252C+Texas%252C+Florida+077.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back side of Sunrise Bakery</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The back side of Sunrise Bakery displays a mural of a sunny tropical paradise. (Is this hopefulness?) In sync with my thoughts on art and local pride, murals of tropical scenes are very common at native-Titusville businesses. The murals at Dixie Crossroads come easily to mind.<br />
<br />
Above are pictures of Sunrise Bakery and the surrounding historic downtown district. Note, at the Garden St. I-95 exit, the "Titusville historic downtown" is advertised as a noteworthy historic and cultural gem. Nothing is mentioned about Miracle City Mall.</div>
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</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEwDNKYe5mliQWPgB_9Ov0z98ZPaB4nDF6O2Cqp7oOoN82FFG7i6hI9OZL0aWg2PDG9vk0J8yVDNlD9-6_hhh9sklEbqo1z6lvguPERqAcqxTSCKfDWYdIb-HP2Q5XbpLjy-DynQzV7y8/s1600/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEwDNKYe5mliQWPgB_9Ov0z98ZPaB4nDF6O2Cqp7oOoN82FFG7i6hI9OZL0aWg2PDG9vk0J8yVDNlD9-6_hhh9sklEbqo1z6lvguPERqAcqxTSCKfDWYdIb-HP2Q5XbpLjy-DynQzV7y8/s320/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+061.JPG" width="320" /><span id="goog_1228154881"></span><span id="goog_1228154882"></span><span id="goog_1228154869"></span><span id="goog_1228154870"></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The back entrances to Main St. stores. 100 years ago, the building was home to a grand hotel and casino on this spot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Traffic could be slowed down more, but generally the downtown is pedestrian friendly. It's nice and relaxing to sit outside. With all the local customers coming and going from the bakery, I run into old acquaintances almost every time I visit. It is small enough to be personal, unlike the other commercial place to see and be seen in Titusville, aka Wall-Mart. (As a side note, I once received a lecture from a Wall-Mart employee about how bad and soulless Wall-Mart is. I ask myself, how bad do you have to be before your employees start hating you and telling the customers about it?) Sunrise Bakery is a cafe, bread bakery and local hang-out for families, the elderly, young students, and drama performers from the nearby Titusville Theater in particular. Just a few years ago, the cafe relocated from a strip mall location on Garden St. And never looked back.<br />
<br />
It's decision to move to the central location of the historic downtown is, for many residents, an indication that the downtown can become more than just a caricature of the buzzing downtown it used to be. Other businesses benefit from the cafe's business. The employees at the cafe remain the same year after year, since as far back as I can remember, with no apparent "turnover", but many new faces. Too good to be true?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I even biked to the cafe once and was shocked to see other bikes locked up outside the cafe at the bike stand. Inside, I saw an old teacher of mine who told me that she would like to see Titusville add safe bike lanes everywhere because she and her husband want to make a bike ride to the bakery a part of their weekend routine (in the fall, winter and spring I assume). How wonderful is that? It's an urban planner's dream: residents, who want more alternative transportation infrastructure! </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Main St. is looking so nice these days. There is something to be said about outdoor streets and shops in Florida, since sunshine is why everyone is there. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
So, just because the owner of the mall, who lives in (!)Boca Raton(!),
thinks Miracle City Mall should be the heart of Titusville, doesn't make
it is so. Yeah, the mall used to thrive. I also don't like the look of empty stores, even in a mall. But, that doesn't make the mall the heart of Titusville.<br />
<br />
The real heart of any town can't be owned by a single
investor, let alone a non-resident.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Problem #2:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The art studio should really be the hit story: Titusville making lemonade out of lemons.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The mere mention of the art studio seems like a dirty trick by associating it with the mall's 'economic plans' in this article. The new locally-run and created art studio should NOT be the featured image and then lead into the story about the private mall owner's plans for corporate investment and redevelopment because- they two entities aren't related!! And, let me add: they don't really complement each other, in my opinion, other than sharing proximity.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And, the article kind of misunderstood the value of art by saying that art is good for the economy. That it might be, but that is usually not the artists' mindset, unless the artist is working in a tourism-marketing campaign. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I guess the thing the mall and the art studio have in common is, obviously, location and, less obviously, the potential indication of a Titusville renaissance. However, the mall renaissance would hardly be a renaissance becuase it means almost pure gain for the owner and non-Titusville corporations, who will take the profits out of Titusville. I say that because the article states that many chain stores and restaurants would open shop, and that would help make the redevelopment plan viable. How do more chain restaurants help Titusville, tell me? Is it helpful because more Titusvillians want to be waiters and waitresses? Seems unlikely. <br />
<br />
To me, the idea of the art studio seems to say, "Hey
Titusville, be who you are. Express what is special about you. Express what you are thinking, seeing, feeling. Take control of your town, of your politics, of your future." <br />
<br />
The art studio is symbolic of a real renaissance. It doesn't do a lot for Titusville financially, but at least residents of Titusville came up with a solution to turn an ugly eyesore of a past corporate evacuation or relocation (Firestone's) into a place to be proud of. Titusville needs something to be proud of.<br />
<br />
Corporations come and go. Quickly. </div>
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To me, I feel that the real value of the art studio is that it inspires and supports a unique Titusville 'placeness'. If the article wanted to comment about a potential renaissance in Titusville, they could have researched how art helped transform numerous cities into hopeful, thriving citiies. By inspiring its residents to create art out of the built environment, (like the Philadelphia Art Works, for example) from which the entire city benefits. Murals replaced destructive graffiti. Looking at the murals, you can see that there is something special about Philadelphia.<br />
<br />
And, think about Detroit's art movement and the development of urban agriculture there. Art may not be responsible for the change in thinking, but it occurred at the same time. <br />
<br />
Art helps lift spirits and shows local pride. I'm no artist myself, but this is my favorite kind of art. Can't you just feel the hope, the honesty, the pride and strength in the murals featured in the following links?<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://muralarts.org/" target="_blank">http://muralarts.org/</a><br />
<a href="http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1649278_1421197,00.html" target="_blank">Time Magazine's slide show of amazing murals in Philadelphia</a></div>
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</div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Who knows what kind of positive- economic, educational, spiritual- benefits and spinoffs are possible from such an artistic endeavor. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
My next point may not be very popular. <br />
<br />
I am really into this idea that "economical success' needs to keep in mind whether the investors or store owners live in the town and whether businesses help create more businesses and entrepreneurship, not just giving everybody a job and thereby taking away their ability to be their own boss. I mean, I guess not everyone can be their own boss- bosses need workers, after all. But more small businesses mean a higher owner/worker ratio. Given two towns with the same economic productivity, where would you rather live? If you could do the work you do now, but employ yourself, would you want to? <br />
<br />
Sorry, let me sum up: it sounds to me like the author is selling a point- that an economic recovery requires outside corporate investment in Titusville. Maybe he didn't realize what he was saying at all... because this kind of thinking is commonplace. I have nothing against successful companies going corporate and opening chains. I just don't think it should hurt smaller business.<br />
<br />
And that is the worst part: a town is really beat if they keep looking elsewhere for help. Can't a city with a population of 43,000, like Titusville, have it's own merchants? If you're an economist or like economics, fill me in. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wouldn't it be much healthier and better in the long run if residents, aka Titusvillians, worked toward making their town and communities their own and supported each others' businesses? Because, we need the profits at home these days. Yes, we do. Everyone in Titusville knows it. I'm not saying, cut the rest of the world off. I'm just saying, Titusville is more than a market opportunity for outside investors. <br />
<br />
To do this, residents have got to free themselves from believing that a corporation will save them. These days, you have to save yourself.<br />
<br />
Because I am a little homesick and want to show off how special Titusville is, I've included some pictures below of the historic district, aka downtown Titusville.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Rn8-uMm_O3DKa7PazJWRiPWIIKWwR032rg9KgobqoyXRWzP2N8z8ZQIgW8QssYEh-V_BRLdkQ6Ffvx-dN05_Ml0AXuxOlQhI0g8G5be2Tn9Y217XKF7HC5Otr5G03xyryiLkl1czqd0/s1600/Trip+to+NM%252C+Texas%252C+Florida+062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Rn8-uMm_O3DKa7PazJWRiPWIIKWwR032rg9KgobqoyXRWzP2N8z8ZQIgW8QssYEh-V_BRLdkQ6Ffvx-dN05_Ml0AXuxOlQhI0g8G5be2Tn9Y217XKF7HC5Otr5G03xyryiLkl1czqd0/s400/Trip+to+NM%252C+Texas%252C+Florida+062.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Titusville Parrish Theater</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg86KtI5s2_bsYmXk6xnyrjHKgkybYx8fjT2zdA_qGybSPTtIxUmXccUJwIo4FdfteWcYxjknV5uduHSUCPFCNpE2vH3bMEOLBYHoorNZlkPyiUqT5X4J-Cl4bWgGKHES3Rnlw9LOdVcOk/s1600/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg86KtI5s2_bsYmXk6xnyrjHKgkybYx8fjT2zdA_qGybSPTtIxUmXccUJwIo4FdfteWcYxjknV5uduHSUCPFCNpE2vH3bMEOLBYHoorNZlkPyiUqT5X4J-Cl4bWgGKHES3Rnlw9LOdVcOk/s400/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+068.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
St Gabriel's Episcopal Church was built in 1887 in Captenter Gothic Style and is on the US National Register of Historic Places.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB7AHpCIpiMnOnc_a_fmkHRR9FjsvBmDcrXRE5DEGCvLkHDANRmVjNwaopxlze6GttF5wO71g3ItmwWbNHfEOgmhwwRW-dct7XnXZmE02NUxjdxFibRGlck6eu8dq7VrqZIjFcUyKUPzU/s1600/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB7AHpCIpiMnOnc_a_fmkHRR9FjsvBmDcrXRE5DEGCvLkHDANRmVjNwaopxlze6GttF5wO71g3ItmwWbNHfEOgmhwwRW-dct7XnXZmE02NUxjdxFibRGlck6eu8dq7VrqZIjFcUyKUPzU/s400/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+069.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not sure what this was originally. Note Spanish revival architecture. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsapRqw8wTvALjsXxaPlpFfYy_w8kgdvcvMdwnrXofX6KJ9EMZLU0wlJYPxt_lfLXUzf6m8vuwsBDndDjBOJzN3SN7FNFo9H5ZvlKH6Gilh1t7GUkS7fe7Wtygjl6DMCGrs4gbHhgaXs0/s1600/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsapRqw8wTvALjsXxaPlpFfYy_w8kgdvcvMdwnrXofX6KJ9EMZLU0wlJYPxt_lfLXUzf6m8vuwsBDndDjBOJzN3SN7FNFo9H5ZvlKH6Gilh1t7GUkS7fe7Wtygjl6DMCGrs4gbHhgaXs0/s320/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+070.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Also Spanish Revival</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKfWHiR1PFfqXxkXnC_hy36IxWO-nP3Um5v9AECzLzROl6vOij5SXuLUgAWf87CxOtD_KgKoO1T7yNuPsDrCwB-8jny1YKfoj5J2P7nQGXaxyExO13DYbgijudciTouqR19bMHjAQP5hA/s1600/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKfWHiR1PFfqXxkXnC_hy36IxWO-nP3Um5v9AECzLzROl6vOij5SXuLUgAWf87CxOtD_KgKoO1T7yNuPsDrCwB-8jny1YKfoj5J2P7nQGXaxyExO13DYbgijudciTouqR19bMHjAQP5hA/s400/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+071.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Historic Brevard County Court House </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCUohQABgn0xaQZnPHesNiNo8I-GJEGb-7aR5tDSkz7Ss3JBaXWTrbqBEHwogSZ-hXm10LPV_E8fc8SU3UvyqcaP3Anfv70I4S0q50cuN8cvT_mU55RXTpJz4PwmPIbFect9NmZ44-2Y/s1600/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCUohQABgn0xaQZnPHesNiNo8I-GJEGb-7aR5tDSkz7Ss3JBaXWTrbqBEHwogSZ-hXm10LPV_E8fc8SU3UvyqcaP3Anfv70I4S0q50cuN8cvT_mU55RXTpJz4PwmPIbFect9NmZ44-2Y/s400/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+072.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pritchard House</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Pritchard House is also the US National Register for Historic Places. According to the house's website, <br />
<i style="color: blue;">"The Pritchard House is an outstanding example of the Queen Anne
architecture, a distinctly American form that was popular from
approximately 1876-1910. The house appears today much like it did when
it was built in 1891."</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.nbbd.com/npr/preservation/PritchardHouse/" target="_blank">Pritchard House Website</a></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><i style="color: blue;"> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="color: blue;"></i><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEfLXWbaSSMGh7CBiEAthAt-aOG4gWAiABkG1k74ODp3L4LDiR8kvWIXQmvsXYBXPWRJQFL0t5SfYIWfXhlAwBBYVARwtgD7OgbRfJKO_0wL7h_Lf4AeDqdVsNWhQQ_mBJXsrFae2_IpQ/s1600/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEfLXWbaSSMGh7CBiEAthAt-aOG4gWAiABkG1k74ODp3L4LDiR8kvWIXQmvsXYBXPWRJQFL0t5SfYIWfXhlAwBBYVARwtgD7OgbRfJKO_0wL7h_Lf4AeDqdVsNWhQQ_mBJXsrFae2_IpQ/s400/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+073.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pedestrian Walk in Downtown Titusville</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt2UtEfOc0Bp7aP7FBgHAQzpmjbXsCMp-pvO137MrgSmAy_BtjYYSLHH7GJGs13djrlgX5FpFZh_kX3jSw0bAfsCF72iWDwHefQYMEZVNbz7zqY35bcloO9hXLCY7LeyFzpUEpcGhm3ZQ/s1600/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt2UtEfOc0Bp7aP7FBgHAQzpmjbXsCMp-pvO137MrgSmAy_BtjYYSLHH7GJGs13djrlgX5FpFZh_kX3jSw0bAfsCF72iWDwHefQYMEZVNbz7zqY35bcloO9hXLCY7LeyFzpUEpcGhm3ZQ/s400/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+075.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Historic buildings on Main St.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Nice, huh? Makes you want to visit Titusville.<br />
<br />
To me, Main St. is interesting because it is pretty much the only place in town with traditional style- row houses on both sides of the street. So, when you are on Main St. for a couple of yards you feel like you are really in a "town" in the traditional sense. (You can visit Main St. and the architecture just feels good. In the book <a href="http://www.radicalurbantheory.com/misc/subnation.html" target="_blank"><u>Suburban Nation</u></a> by Andres Duany<a href="http://www.dpz.com/Discourse/Publications" target="_blank"></a>, he talks about how pedestrians feel more comfortable on streets where the buildings are higher than the street is wide because of the psychological effect it produces of feeling protected in a human habitat. It is called "people sizing," as in, the size of buildings and entrances, sidewalks and streets are designed to be viewed by an actual standing person.<br />
<br />
How else could you view a building, you ask? You could view a building as a whirr from your car or train window. Hence, big billboards. The next time you are driving or walking around, ask yourself whether the advertising on the buildings and the entrances, fronts, etc. are intended to be appreciated by car or by foot. Downtown Titusville still has this pedestrian feeling due to the buildings, even though more cars speed by than people on foot. )<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9AIr1hNeuauiszf49Lg86HmxhMp9pR2ixJ67sU2Jip4uOB8VN_oNmhw0UB1z_NDZTdS_7zjy7-JzBKdRhhg97BkWvyKa0R3HLw-gPqoWEuZNyusAgapAJwqda4uDxTk6yeDiGMbMzNFE/s1600/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9AIr1hNeuauiszf49Lg86HmxhMp9pR2ixJ67sU2Jip4uOB8VN_oNmhw0UB1z_NDZTdS_7zjy7-JzBKdRhhg97BkWvyKa0R3HLw-gPqoWEuZNyusAgapAJwqda4uDxTk6yeDiGMbMzNFE/s640/Trip+to+NM,+Texas,+Florida+074.JPG" width="480" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom on Main St.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My mom recently said, "Sometimes at downtown events, I can feel what the town <i>almost</i> is."<br />
<br />
Me, I am sincerely optimistic about Titusville's future. May it be what it almost is. Only those long-term residents in Titusville know what that is.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-45737507826801090202012-05-11T14:57:00.001-07:002012-05-11T14:57:13.414-07:00Karneval<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbokyPJ9-tQCMXDGC2Jlx1wVQjCQ7T22S9X-MjZ4vhooohLEnuqXDItOC8cDHu-SC6djzHXZjSY2U6FLinOtXMuxmlFtsZQHtSfCu64N3V7NIj2eZk6hsFMCzBBt4fn5m_Yqp2N4It6k/s1600/february2012+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbokyPJ9-tQCMXDGC2Jlx1wVQjCQ7T22S9X-MjZ4vhooohLEnuqXDItOC8cDHu-SC6djzHXZjSY2U6FLinOtXMuxmlFtsZQHtSfCu64N3V7NIj2eZk6hsFMCzBBt4fn5m_Yqp2N4It6k/s640/february2012+014.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bratwurst stall on the street near the parade.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxt0mYfrJoGoCPXKPqP1ZsNFk_gVshs7hUVPYjD47YRhlujh_KJ8pCKtoqJZ6-47QR0_KoOZ-b1XNS1VfOQZadk5OUUiw0dvmd5Gbd0RlnB1QPit22Iw-DhTLVnJLn9VfhNJrYq6nICKI/s1600/february2012+018.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxt0mYfrJoGoCPXKPqP1ZsNFk_gVshs7hUVPYjD47YRhlujh_KJ8pCKtoqJZ6-47QR0_KoOZ-b1XNS1VfOQZadk5OUUiw0dvmd5Gbd0RlnB1QPit22Iw-DhTLVnJLn9VfhNJrYq6nICKI/s320/february2012+018.JPG" width="320" /></a> <br />
This past February 2012, I went to my first <i>Karneval</i> (<i>Carnival</i> in English) parade ever in Germany. Carnival is a christian holiday usually in February and occurs just before lent. New Orlean's Mardi Gras is the equivalent of Carnival in Germany, minus the beads. In Germany (and in Brazil, for sure!), Carnival is celebrated in different cities with a local twist and people go CRAZY! In Cottbus, craziness was kept to a minimum, but in cities like Cologne, which is famous for its carnival, people don't hold back. I saw pictures of men dressed like blue smurfs and someone dressed up as cheese. <br />
<a href="http://www.koeln.de/cologne_tourist_information/events/cologne_carnival" target="_blank">English website to Cologne's Carnival</a><br />
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Carnival is Germany's halloween. Just, not so scary. Kind of strange... adults dressing up in costumes for no real reason to me. I mean, in the US we dress up in <i>scary</i> costumes. Scary, spooky, weird- because it's the Hallow Day before the spirits come out. <br />
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But carnival-- what does preparing to fast for lent have to do with dressing up as a barn animal. Is that perversion? Dressing up as a smurf: that's funny. <br />
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Cultural differences can be so strange. Just when you think that you don't notice differences anymore, the logic behind cultural events or traditions strike you as <i>unexplainable!! </i>And then, you realize the following: you are a foreigner living in a weird place and nobody is as normal as you and your fellow countrymen, of course!<br />
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But, to be honest, it is a pretty fun idea to have a crazy holiday in February. Winter is so <i>cold</i> in Germany, any funny holidays help to pass the time before Spring.<br />
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Also, don't miss the special treat for you in the last image of the post. ;) <br />
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The photographs pretty much explain themselves. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihZZjvdtIJvDbXCPMSC69GPKlUHBRI6BSQs-Ako5Lt0EMh4sNAxlV76hFRcKXE66qR49vcydHCMM6UroeMfI4-6pYzTSKSSLW_ZxeW-RKclCGpqUOmq7CpaMFXT0MkNmfkVsX8ezQeoiA/s1600/february2012+022.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihZZjvdtIJvDbXCPMSC69GPKlUHBRI6BSQs-Ako5Lt0EMh4sNAxlV76hFRcKXE66qR49vcydHCMM6UroeMfI4-6pYzTSKSSLW_ZxeW-RKclCGpqUOmq7CpaMFXT0MkNmfkVsX8ezQeoiA/s640/february2012+022.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Highlight: Barn animal costumes with vampire fangs. What was he thinking?</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDnF29m5CWvAc_Vv9uhwYrMrHLPA2nnJuE6Tkba4OwlWbbdTV9CMIhw7x3ib6u2co6SpVcDEcv0F_GGUAapvIrzDfa6slLbje0ZnRTVcFpxp0H4u9CMXYC7TFukEIFnXXgBsRxzH5oQn8/s1600/february2012+016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDnF29m5CWvAc_Vv9uhwYrMrHLPA2nnJuE6Tkba4OwlWbbdTV9CMIhw7x3ib6u2co6SpVcDEcv0F_GGUAapvIrzDfa6slLbje0ZnRTVcFpxp0H4u9CMXYC7TFukEIFnXXgBsRxzH5oQn8/s400/february2012+016.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitFIrkqZDxdOuJlRXkCBHBaDgAyJKvvevbrB6uSQYiOAgqxQru7SEFemq98-3RdBNLr2oLg8EmDtDCdgGdsmAz-ASnWNcXahfkbO86uZtlKSTqWJQntlpGlNiclOu7P4UuADLr5tKzvf8/s1600/february2012+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitFIrkqZDxdOuJlRXkCBHBaDgAyJKvvevbrB6uSQYiOAgqxQru7SEFemq98-3RdBNLr2oLg8EmDtDCdgGdsmAz-ASnWNcXahfkbO86uZtlKSTqWJQntlpGlNiclOu7P4UuADLr5tKzvf8/s200/february2012+015.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8hDfYfhPdn02NgsIANU-1VUkrvVwGKoJw05CfIypuRwHUxLirrAq9VV4C0ylOQ81j08aVPuMsd8uvyoKvX4UBJiSUu2wTr-ueGqu9C_WIxJe03SSbA9yZGHBhQXWiaRmhxlulJwR7dw/s1600/february2012+021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8hDfYfhPdn02NgsIANU-1VUkrvVwGKoJw05CfIypuRwHUxLirrAq9VV4C0ylOQ81j08aVPuMsd8uvyoKvX4UBJiSUu2wTr-ueGqu9C_WIxJe03SSbA9yZGHBhQXWiaRmhxlulJwR7dw/s640/february2012+021.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bees are actually handing out pickles. Really!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFNZrr22lMI-OiY6xnj_G6FTQhdWFUDw4z8Ais7eKA3oABRhnrg8wtvq5FciO_Q_Iv1jebBdR5u_VlkFSwR2dT6m7hBU1bXAiBsSY0oHyoThH2517cbjZX217_YVt4qs6G7vcYpEVDszE/s1600/february2012+023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFNZrr22lMI-OiY6xnj_G6FTQhdWFUDw4z8Ais7eKA3oABRhnrg8wtvq5FciO_Q_Iv1jebBdR5u_VlkFSwR2dT6m7hBU1bXAiBsSY0oHyoThH2517cbjZX217_YVt4qs6G7vcYpEVDszE/s320/february2012+023.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gingerbread heart cookies being sold</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsLvlRyJASyi7gib9TltThKG1urAbPWU3NHQ2gJxGiquhTvFSPF7ue6zoWKcXM-JjnrJ-Pz_jOAOG4PSMsWTBiS1bRwd5tYlToVsWhtFy9iGbrLRkdXEQCQLJyslZKn8PiOBT9bPrcDFo/s1600/february2012+024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsLvlRyJASyi7gib9TltThKG1urAbPWU3NHQ2gJxGiquhTvFSPF7ue6zoWKcXM-JjnrJ-Pz_jOAOG4PSMsWTBiS1bRwd5tYlToVsWhtFy9iGbrLRkdXEQCQLJyslZKn8PiOBT9bPrcDFo/s640/february2012+024.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0YNNvdkmLO7l3duRo-GCtNFwEVaI7Epvy6tDkQUItudtN656Pp6vYVi4QSvmV7FKa6ex57mnD8unx5zRwwzIZoSSuv-fFXmE4uKrKGdkhU0pHTEYHBpAotmqvQfHQxBobW1aKeIBzyQs/s1600/february2012+025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0YNNvdkmLO7l3duRo-GCtNFwEVaI7Epvy6tDkQUItudtN656Pp6vYVi4QSvmV7FKa6ex57mnD8unx5zRwwzIZoSSuv-fFXmE4uKrKGdkhU0pHTEYHBpAotmqvQfHQxBobW1aKeIBzyQs/s640/february2012+025.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They must have been really cold!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_XXC3SlOSYmMPMbnxzUU8DQscqnoIhoiSbb6L_n_4MXrRuLVM0IcXQJRcpe_mHsnELzC3hFZV_x0d9u0MaGBXOTUWKTC0IWyOWwlAjBZJNx7QqAt9GPBFCsyDO5klA0i4VoxOs2XLMs/s1600/february2012+026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_XXC3SlOSYmMPMbnxzUU8DQscqnoIhoiSbb6L_n_4MXrRuLVM0IcXQJRcpe_mHsnELzC3hFZV_x0d9u0MaGBXOTUWKTC0IWyOWwlAjBZJNx7QqAt9GPBFCsyDO5klA0i4VoxOs2XLMs/s640/february2012+026.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJPrwss8cPqVrHJ3BihGDrPCdOlX0hYrG9lzQiV6Aak3KlhTsR1gN5OoDnypFUhNEgwdyrCU6f19unaLrqEj4N07O0ADKoclceZXp2rFZyhoyFqDGzMCZD1q1zVfl_kJvekjqj2WRuDM8/s1600/february2012+030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJPrwss8cPqVrHJ3BihGDrPCdOlX0hYrG9lzQiV6Aak3KlhTsR1gN5OoDnypFUhNEgwdyrCU6f19unaLrqEj4N07O0ADKoclceZXp2rFZyhoyFqDGzMCZD1q1zVfl_kJvekjqj2WRuDM8/s640/february2012+030.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice people using their balconies for a good view.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look! An American-Football-Player costume. Hilarious.</td></tr>
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</div>Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-52985618259355610612012-02-08T02:08:00.000-08:002012-02-08T10:50:52.615-08:00Wir haben es satt!- Protest<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7KoQnzk5xiZyySYKcn9DdgXUdxhj4f8iy753pCgld-iqeik38Oh9iGO8MtApo31PUBjbRweuYiso5IhL9b7cci0iO-P2XVtgczM51cSlrfScqfpmheKEvbLidLOCF25yYjNF8R5IDAzA/s1600/IMG00055-20120121-1240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7KoQnzk5xiZyySYKcn9DdgXUdxhj4f8iy753pCgld-iqeik38Oh9iGO8MtApo31PUBjbRweuYiso5IhL9b7cci0iO-P2XVtgczM51cSlrfScqfpmheKEvbLidLOCF25yYjNF8R5IDAzA/s640/IMG00055-20120121-1240.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family at Protest against Agribusiness. The family were offering baked goods like cake and muffins to other fellow protesters. </td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">On January 21, 2011, Lars and I joined a demonstration to protest, for us in particular, animal abuse in agriculture. In Germany, the agriculture industry which controls and regulates the treatment of livestock for the mass-production of meat and dairy products to commcial-chain grocery stores is called 'agribusiness'. Just like in the US, many Germans are outraged by what they hear about the mistreatment of livestock with hormones and low-quality living conditions. Some are angry about the mistreatment of animals, others are angry because of fears that chemicals and antibiotics will risk humans' sensitivity to antibiotics- and negatively affect human immunity and ability to fight off disease. A link to the demands for politicians in regards to food policy, as written by demo/protest organizers can be found on their link below.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.wir-haben-es-satt.de/start/home/in-english/" target="_blank">Wir haben es satt!/We're fed up!</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hey, I mean, I knew that the animals don't get treated that well. Heck, we're gonna eat them soon anyway, right, so what's the big deal-- that was kind of my mentality. I had given the vegetarian lifestyle a year and half of my life back in college. I was an amateur and didn't know what to eat. I was always hungry and jealous of everyone eating meat and ate a lot of peanut butter.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But, the reason I wanted to be a vegetarian back then was because I felt like a hypocrite- I loved animals, but had no idea if the ones I ate were at least treated fairly before the slaughter and I knew that I couldn't bear to see a slaughter, so I felt bad about letting people do it for me, while I blindly closed my eyes to the process. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I stopped being a vegetarian after a trip to Germany, ironically, because I had heard that animals were much better treated in Europe due to legal standards in the agriculture industry. I also wanted to experience the German culture completely, and food is a big part of culture. I love bratwurst! When I got back to the US, I started thinking: I want to experience the foods of my own culture too. That was my argument.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I love food. I love how tradition and innovation are displayed through the social bonds we form over food gathering, preparing and eating. Eating can be a celebration. Besides, humans have long eaten meat. I think being 100 percent vegan is just too much to ask of a culture. Also, European groups developed lactose tolerance and can eat dairy products like cheese and milk. It's special and rare that many Europeans and Americans can eat and comfortably digest dairy products. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But then, one afternoon while riding back home on a trip to Munich, I picked up the <i>Suddeutsche Zeitung</i> to read in the car.( The Suddeutsche Zeitung is my favorite Newspaper in Germany and has a reputation for its high quality reporting and seriousness, with a section on science, international affairs and politics and diverse aspects of culture. To me, it's like the NYTimes of Germany.) There was an article in that edition about the mistreatment of pigs in agriculture. It reported that, although animal abuse is obviously illegal, there is so much of it in the industry, that policing and control really have no chance at stopping it. Not that politicians realistically can stop it; the pressure on farmers to produce mass amounts of meat is so great. German agriculture competes at the international, or at least at the European, level and prices must be forced DOWN. Cheap meat for everyone- it's our human right! Or is it... This is not a side of food culture that I wanted to experience as a born-again meat eater.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The article described the morbid use of tail-chopping. Tail-chopping is a method used to control aggression in livestock. Pigs are attacking other pigs because of the effect that their living condition has on their psychological health. Just like humans, without psysical freedom and with nothing to do, their boredom turns into agression towards other animals in adjacent stalls. You would think that the pig in the stall next door would just scootch over to avoid being mauled through the cage, but there is no space to move over. Withholding mental and physical stimulation for the animals and denying them their gregarious and curious nature, the animals become confused and bored into violence and aggression released on their fellow stallmates. Is it too anthropomorphic of me to wish that they would unite and start a revolution? Sadly, they are domesticated animals and rely on humans for protection.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The farmers' response is to unilaterally chop off their tails. Apparently, this induces passivity in the animals' behavior. It doesn't eliminate the cause of their aggression or make them happier. Scientists don't really understand why tail chopping even works- but it does. They become numb to their environment. According to the article, pain killers are rarely employed during tail-removal. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">With chickens, beaks are removed to reduce aggression. Peta Germany released a statistic that, on average, 24 chickens are caged per square meter. Wow. Milk-bearing cows are also abused and treated with antibiotics. I heard second hand from a friend who worked at a milk-production facility, that the pus has to be manually removed from the milk, because infection rates are so high. Or, they just don't remove it, because there is too much. This friend of mine only drinks organic milk now.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">***</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The animals are sick so often, that many or most spend almost all their short lives on antibiotics. Recently, the environmental organization BUND analyzed a random sample of meat on grocery store shelves and found that dangerous levels of germs were present on over half of the meat. The EU Parliament released the statistic that over 26,000 Europeans die yearly from diseases caused by these germs. Below is a picture of the article (in German).</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5cGM-CI2H36NV6SK_9n0nPjMh7hRBYi1dQye-yl6OSeQbQ0hk5RgKGmjNsNol5dwmOwE5JBGU1AAagWI_PV4aM9094yfB3h2VfVZdXPrutRuyCpvpP9hKaRne3z71Ur9qkoImGjQosY/s1600/keime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5cGM-CI2H36NV6SK_9n0nPjMh7hRBYi1dQye-yl6OSeQbQ0hk5RgKGmjNsNol5dwmOwE5JBGU1AAagWI_PV4aM9094yfB3h2VfVZdXPrutRuyCpvpP9hKaRne3z71Ur9qkoImGjQosY/s400/keime.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Article headline: Dangerous germs found on chickenmeat</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">So, who are we helping with these low meat and dairy prices? If most of us saw with our own eyes what was really going on --if all these studies and these reportings are true and not some conspiracy theory-- would we still feel ok about eating so much meat? Would we really not eat half as much meat or pay twice as much for the same amount? And in the US, aren't we being told that obesity is related to meat consumption, not fruit, bean and vegetable consumption, which is cheaper to produce anyway? There are so many reasons why the human race, and Americans for that matter, would not starve if we produced less meat. There may even be more resources available for more food production.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Charles Darwin observed that animals have the same capacity for emotions as humans. If we can't bear not to eat meat, shouldn't we at least let them experience social bonds and happiness during their lives, before we eat them? How can we believe in human kindness and generosity if we cannot at least achieve this one goal?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm not against eating meat. I still believe the things I came to believe after being a vegetarian for a year, mainly, that food is culture, and meat dishes are cultural items. I don't want to snub my nose at it. I love burgers, bratwurst, and roastbeef, especially when it's been cooking all day. I love cheese with a glass of red wine and sometimes I even like my barbecue with a burnt taste. But I don't eat all these things every day, mostly because it would be unhealthy. Now I have another reason to eat it on more rare occasions, i.e. on special occasions which warrant a special dish. If the food industry were more ethical because laws required it of them, meat would just cost more. But, I don't think that people would starve if our country also simultaneously made it a priority to help farmers switch to producing other foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, grains and other non-meat products. Let's face it, meat goes bad, but grains can be stored a long time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> This is what I believe: the end just does not justify the means. It's the treatment of the animals I cannot stand for. A low price does not justify torture, human or animal. I, at least, can imagine eating half as much meat weekly, but paying twice as much for it in the first place, given that the animals live more natural lives with more space and social interaction with their species, without being pumped full of antibiotics or steroids to quicken their maturity to full-grown, slaughter-ready stature. It is sad to eat an animal which is built like a mature adult in its species, when really it is still an immature and playful calf, for instance.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Humans never ate as much meat as modern Europeans and Americans can afford to eat today, but can we afford to do it fairly? Is it morally right to do this to animals? Who is paying the price for our overabundance of meat, to the point that, eating meat three times a day is normal for so many and eating meat is not reserved for special cultural dishes? Will we in the developed world wait until we have no immunity to some otherwise treatable deadly disease and an epidemic ravishes our countries before we finally stop treating livestock with antibiotics non-stop because we want to keep the price of meat lower than it would be?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, Lars and I decided to support the movement, which protests such conditions universally employed in the agriculture industry.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The following pictures are from the protest. The groups and protesters are urging the Agricultural Minister and the German Chancellor to raise the standard for German agriculture laws. Although it is already illegal to over-treat animals with antibiotics except when absolutely necessary, it is practically ALWAYS necessary to treat the animals because their living conditions are so poor. Laws must be passed to demand more space for animals and to allow more natural living conditions to counter animals' boredom. Practices such as tail-cutting, beak-removal and other inhumane standards must be banned. All these things may have economic consequences for Germany's position in the global food-production economy, but maybe local and higher prices are better anyway. <br />
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There is a potential problem that grocery stores and consumers would import from neighboring countries where such laws are absent, which is why the laws need to be passed at the EU level. Heck, pass them at the international level, if possible! Otherwise, I guess companies could just relocate to a country where the laws are less strict, and nothing would really change for the animals.</div><br />
Martin Luther King once said, "Injustice anyway is a threat to justice everywhere."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Power to the Bauer (farmer)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Contents: Women are leaders in small local agricultural production in much of the developing world. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do it for your children's health as well.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhUIH1yr7wd_OCG1jpfZEycL1HC75lkBqFszigBOh1S5MW8V5OnUmdV5IEafzAZckRteEDMX3C6LtZ2XfPaMDX9E6F03ohh1K52vRujmKCQ-nUPAmLWQojm-mw7AuZVmgCYgqrV2a3_M/s1600/IMG00063-20120121-1310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhUIH1yr7wd_OCG1jpfZEycL1HC75lkBqFszigBOh1S5MW8V5OnUmdV5IEafzAZckRteEDMX3C6LtZ2XfPaMDX9E6F03ohh1K52vRujmKCQ-nUPAmLWQojm-mw7AuZVmgCYgqrV2a3_M/s320/IMG00063-20120121-1310.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was a grey, drizzly and cold day for a protest.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3k9ZBX8T3BlJZv323zLbm2rGP2xsqIXeyMZa-l_282UBxNKZXxoDCisNl7JCIO3uQFO2eMdjCLxC2QNzpAQXriIFikXj8Eevn0IveYfk6fMulva47uOreJiM0oDwdasj_DKPNfIESst8/s1600/IMG00064-20120121-1310.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3k9ZBX8T3BlJZv323zLbm2rGP2xsqIXeyMZa-l_282UBxNKZXxoDCisNl7JCIO3uQFO2eMdjCLxC2QNzpAQXriIFikXj8Eevn0IveYfk6fMulva47uOreJiM0oDwdasj_DKPNfIESst8/s640/IMG00064-20120121-1310.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charlie and me on the lawn near the protest. </td></tr>
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since the protest, Lars and I have really tried to buy much less meat and dairy products and to only buy fair trade or organic when we do buy these products. We soon realized that we also have to pay more attention to items with eggs and milk, which we had forgotten, such as mayonnaise and butter. Finding organic cheese can also be challenging. Where we live, there are only two stores that supply free range, organic beef, and another that supplies free range, organic chicken. We try to eat a meat meal on the weekend and eat alternative protein sources such as beans, lentils and vegetables during the week. It is especially hard when we go out to eat because they are really no restaurants here promising free range and organic meat dishes. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just this week I tried to make my first dish with Seitan. This pictures below are from our meal. The Seitan (soy substance similar tasting to meat) dish is called Seitan Gulasch with creme fraiche on the side, seasoned potatoes and a chickpea-Parsley salad to go with it. I actually didn't like the texture of the Seitan, but the taste was ok! Lars liked it, which is a positive.</div><div><br />
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</div>Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-42119801355630592702011-12-09T16:05:00.000-08:002012-01-25T06:17:07.906-08:00Autumn trip to England<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyoCt8X03nir3XUK3S0rrHsQPtt7BEyGnbwsym9lBDbHLpNXJ_1wEh5oNLPULHRKJhiZh-Ai3tyKVSwQ4_9lljV411Ly2EJuFgyuzuJZemWqICcsyr4ySTuAT6B484-hBMwt57Fn4Qkc/s1600/kensington.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">At the end of September, early October 2011, Lars and I took a trip to St Albans and London, England. Lars wanted to visit his former coworkers at Veolia in England, and I wanted to visit England and see the places I had visited everyday last year while briefly living with him. We first when to St Albans to a pub for lunch. I had a wonderful time meeting his colleagues and enjoyed putting a face to the name.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The whole time I was in England, Lars told me that it was inappropriate for him to bring me to meet his colleagues or to accompany him to work social events. There were lots of events such as Christmas parties and happy hours, but, according to Lars, no one ever took their wife or husband. This custom is very different than in America, I thought. At the last place I worked, spouses and kids often dropped by the office, especially on Fridays. I'm not saying it happened all the time, and some people were more private than others, but I had the impression that being too private was bad for office relationships and caused distrust from your coworkers. And once a year there was a Christmas Party where everyone brought their spouses or partners. That seems normal to me; why go to a party and not be able to bring your partner? But Europe is famous for it's separation of private and professional spheres, to whatever good that brings, which is little in my eyes.</div><br />
<b>ST ALBANS</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4-utVwEq0jkJohoyXp5yDYsuB9lIcEtxpaG5vjNQKdlCjfOZNold4GjEh6ceQIQdBl29rkYY_pHJA9lsRUzcOmDKRrK7WDDy1dAWA7YOhDaLgOQrBORoFcOJnwWaFHPg3s2nxYeWk_q8/s1600/latest+pics+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4-utVwEq0jkJohoyXp5yDYsuB9lIcEtxpaG5vjNQKdlCjfOZNold4GjEh6ceQIQdBl29rkYY_pHJA9lsRUzcOmDKRrK7WDDy1dAWA7YOhDaLgOQrBORoFcOJnwWaFHPg3s2nxYeWk_q8/s320/latest+pics+001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lars walking the streets of St Albans on the way to the train station.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdgecxmpsZZpioolBTI4NnDml13OCce-yNY1J3KDMyWMq7BS3inHHScgCsmVtiKxv6w0XO47KZAwcTJM0XABMykMf_BmT_t9KKU5VGSowlLqIE9LPHkRLAdQdnnGt8ijyx4-F3Q9bkoQc/s1600/latest+pics+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdgecxmpsZZpioolBTI4NnDml13OCce-yNY1J3KDMyWMq7BS3inHHScgCsmVtiKxv6w0XO47KZAwcTJM0XABMykMf_BmT_t9KKU5VGSowlLqIE9LPHkRLAdQdnnGt8ijyx4-F3Q9bkoQc/s320/latest+pics+002.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I took the above picture because I wanted to capture how narrow the streets are. Also, to the left you can see half of an outer wall of a building (below) with interesting stonework. These stones appear all over town in the older buildings dating back to the Georgian era, I believe, or maybe earlier. I have seen the rocks in walls, in the abbey and in other clergical buildings. I also think I saw a similar pattern of stone building in the original wall of Cottbus, in Germany, so maybe this goes farther back to medieval building customs.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House built into the stone wall of previous building.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzSsXRX6CRxIzpaFMViCPgkYaYsDOpikwd7HVWkg4lHxSrCOgGWc3-N-Zx2OeGZ8CEQCnVp9nJdpn6gICbT0qp5RsLA7N4QWk4qnnLHXcVH8hAbEcN9xxEgFFeYuDWoZGIKlt09ZYqkBs/s1600/phillysteps" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzSsXRX6CRxIzpaFMViCPgkYaYsDOpikwd7HVWkg4lHxSrCOgGWc3-N-Zx2OeGZ8CEQCnVp9nJdpn6gICbT0qp5RsLA7N4QWk4qnnLHXcVH8hAbEcN9xxEgFFeYuDWoZGIKlt09ZYqkBs/s320/phillysteps" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Modest American style row house in Philadelphia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I liked this picture because it really captures how small these row homes are. this is much smaller than what I was used to seeing in the northeast of the US in Philadelphia, for example. Now, this real estate is very expensive. Did these buildings house just working class tenants/owners? It is interesting to note the walk-up difference between American and English style row-houses. In the US, even modest row houses include the standard stoop, which became a cornerstone of street social lounging and chatting. (See picture to the right from Amer. style.) <br />
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It seems like a better alternative to a suburban single family home or an urban apartment if you, for example, want to save yourself the cost of yard maintenance but still want the personal feeling of walking up to your front door. I can see myself raising kids in this kind of house much easier than in a single-family home with front and back yards. A small little patio or porch would be enough for me, because I love public parks where someone else does the yard maintanence and where it feels more social. Besides, kids don't like to play by themselves. I always used to play on the street or in the wooded area on the block-- just like a park! We didn't play in a closed off back-yard after a certain age, anyway. I know that the funnest games and best forts happened "out there" not "at my house". What the tenant here loses in yard, gains in access to public green space such as parks and nature trails. That is, as long as you have a smart urban planner and developers and local politicians who can imagine it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9SOWMQ3urVtTyDpsrZDSilshM9tNlabs1HTLD0RfRHZhN4qI24leOaG9pkvSC4QsSWT9H1qC2P48ACrGG0K6ht9dDw3zhTNGLo5OfQFzPNWxkNmdQoK2zma_WDivNM7jX3AhqE34xe04/s1600/latest+pics+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9SOWMQ3urVtTyDpsrZDSilshM9tNlabs1HTLD0RfRHZhN4qI24leOaG9pkvSC4QsSWT9H1qC2P48ACrGG0K6ht9dDw3zhTNGLo5OfQFzPNWxkNmdQoK2zma_WDivNM7jX3AhqE34xe04/s320/latest+pics+005.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful blue door.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvL76jl9oemBHy8Lk88rEod8sbpd_VjtDbcaao-oSYXLwtk0CiYfkwRqVGaIv44VaUB_XeLWehx3KIMLaRdlsdVXGaTO126yC587Z64aNEb5Fd7Q-o5juS7KK3h5AqbGsRo3lU6zjrcFs/s1600/latest+pics+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvL76jl9oemBHy8Lk88rEod8sbpd_VjtDbcaao-oSYXLwtk0CiYfkwRqVGaIv44VaUB_XeLWehx3KIMLaRdlsdVXGaTO126yC587Z64aNEb5Fd7Q-o5juS7KK3h5AqbGsRo3lU6zjrcFs/s320/latest+pics+006.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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</tbody></table>The above winding street illuminates the clash of modern and "old" England. I parenthesized "old" because I think that the idea of an older, historical and traditional village plays a big marketing role in St Albans tourism and real estate business. St Albans is in fact old, though, because it was a Roman trading point and then later a medieval market town. However, the real roman town is sort of outside of St Albans now, so few of the buildings visible here are probably much older than the last few centuries. Nonetheless, the sign advertising a car wash seemed a practical, yet somehow contradictory allusion to modern life. <br />
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Another invisible force not shown in this picture is the force of suburbanization of the area outside of London. Lars and I noticed very quickly that St Albans has some strange quirks. For example, people working in St Albans usually don't live in St Albans and must commute to it for work. Most people living in this and similar small towns actually work in London. A shocking number of men and women living in St Albans are not in St Albans during the day. The streets are, however, filled on market days and weekdays with women, children and the elderly, who, presumably live in St Albans. The men are eerily absent.<br />
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The inhabitants seem to have a real culture of stay-at-home moms, who shop at the fancy shops and push their babies in prams and pull their children around town while the men work in London. <br />
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Some businesses have completely moved out of London to accommodate the workers living in the suburbs, such as Veolia, which services the entire London area but is not located in London. Although these villages such as St Albans were once vibrant and economically self-servicing villages in their own right, now most inhabitants cannot afford the real estate prices in St Albans and choose to live in neighboring towns with less charm, where the prices are lower. Lars moved first to Hatfield in 2010, but decided that the town felt too depressing, so he moved to St Albans. He paid almost $1000 dollars rent per month just for a bedroom in a house!! And, he wasn't even living the high life in London; he was living practically in the burbs. <br />
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I learned much of this by talking with the owner of the local language school, St Albans School of Languages, Ian, by talking with little old ladies (I mean the term nicely) on the bus and by visiting the local history museum. I haven't done much outside reading though.<br />
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Nonetheless, the below picture highlights the beauty of St Albans. Notice the very expensive cars parked in front of the Victorian row houses below. How sad that the original front gardens have been turned into parking lots.<br />
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Lars says that the prices in St Albans are just as high as in London. Do these Londoners choose to live in St Albans just so they can live in a place with a small town feel? London already felt small time to me. I'd like to understand the psychology going on here.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVmn5OIBmRJ3v0DgN5XdNCqJ8jPrqAB8SPnECqwfceCXvCBxk1iggtmotUv_USaaudAHaSmwVuKrrwkFy3lg08yv1z6UiMGTLdImAK1HR49JnrC8pjUTUXiKJKVHOTNcnL1P8qEYwTOw/s1600/latest+pics+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVmn5OIBmRJ3v0DgN5XdNCqJ8jPrqAB8SPnECqwfceCXvCBxk1iggtmotUv_USaaudAHaSmwVuKrrwkFy3lg08yv1z6UiMGTLdImAK1HR49JnrC8pjUTUXiKJKVHOTNcnL1P8qEYwTOw/s320/latest+pics+007.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><b>LONDON</b><br />
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The rest of the pictures were taken in London. The first pictures were taken the following day in the borough of Kensington. Below, in the center of the picture is Harrod's department store.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me with Harrods in the background</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2CxYNkLkJl-ABGQJJTp2TJ7DBuxX2cqdeDRRr8fgvhDNONgQtT2Ym68S8E4ozFsK3FetqW8-mfavyl8M0KHid7Qqj_ZRZf6DNhZikNOFedT4Qw_mNzqZ-Pw2ulVK8Gsw1wnYzTn_1_WU/s1600/latest+pics+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2CxYNkLkJl-ABGQJJTp2TJ7DBuxX2cqdeDRRr8fgvhDNONgQtT2Ym68S8E4ozFsK3FetqW8-mfavyl8M0KHid7Qqj_ZRZf6DNhZikNOFedT4Qw_mNzqZ-Pw2ulVK8Gsw1wnYzTn_1_WU/s320/latest+pics+009.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bench sill with spikes in front of Barclay's Bank</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I took the above picture because I was shocked at the spikes on the window sills. Now, some people might say the spikes were surely intended to keep the birds off the ledge. I wonder though. That ledge looks suspiciously like a bench, which is not an easy thing to find in England on the streets. Just when you think you have found a place to sit, someone put spikes on it, so you can't sit. It seems so obviously aggressive. I hope it is just to keep the birds at bay, an no one else.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside Harrods; chocolate bar</td></tr>
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</span>The above picture was taken from within Harrods in the department for food purchases. I had read that the beginning of the international design philosophy called Art & Crafts, which eventually came to the US and was known on continent, aka Europe, as Art Nouveau, began in England by a man named William Morris. It was very awe inspiring to look at examples of this design trend in England, where it originated. Below is a link to information about the design philosophy, which I've mentioned a few times on my blog already.<br />
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<a href="http://www.burrows.com/found.html" target="_blank">Arts & Crafts Movement</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT27ybH13z2ka5goXL8sqbVFOPEAm2rDirmLAVbs-0n1UnB1xGdNze2fYlyKjZX3wdt5OhqWo7RLSX8oBQt-4vVolMMrg94RS4Lfk7R_H-sSak5XkWtyefaFMEsi_9WAQVje5FG3UGeqo/s1600/latest+pics+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT27ybH13z2ka5goXL8sqbVFOPEAm2rDirmLAVbs-0n1UnB1xGdNze2fYlyKjZX3wdt5OhqWo7RLSX8oBQt-4vVolMMrg94RS4Lfk7R_H-sSak5XkWtyefaFMEsi_9WAQVje5FG3UGeqo/s320/latest+pics+012.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Candy shopping at Harrods. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Above and below, notice the beautiful ceiling plaster work and the gold brushed lamps and painted columns. The picture doesn't do it justice!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arts & Crafts column with tile work.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Notice the organic shapes painted onto the tiles and incorporated into the plaster. Arts and Crafts design was a philosophical rejection of the effect of industrialization on workmanship. Of course the design philosophy first became popular in England, since England was the first country to undergo industrialization and introduce it to the world. <br />
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I love how complex countries can be, first creating something and calling it progress, then leading the counter-revolution against it! I think the US is like this in many ways, and I notice how different the US is in its ideologies from Europe. For example, like industrialization in England, consumerism in its modern form was practically invented in the US and spread out to the rest of the world. But, more and more, I feel that Americans are searching, sometimes nostalgically, for more meaning in our social, personal and professional lives, and we seek this sort of traditional sense of community that walkable cities and street markets can give us. I talked about this topic in a the blog about corporate America. I think the countertrend to this type of consumerism takes many forms and the desire for something more personal than the impersonal way we have lived is strongest in the US, where Facebook, hang-out cafe's etc have become common, but less so in Europe.<br />
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Interestingly, the Arts and Crafts movement also embraced oriental influences in its art form. That seems contradictory to me, because the movement supposedly embraced pre-industrial craftmanship and ideals. However, oriental makes sense if one imagines how the artist must have felt; he wanted to reject the contrictions of baroque and neo-classical, etc., and wanted something more organic. Sometimes we look far away from home to find what we have lost, I suppose. Maybe this is why I love the Arts and Crafts Movement in Europe. <br />
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Ok... enough about that! Just an aside as I look at these pictures. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Egyptian influence in Harrods</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lars in Harrods </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Har har. Lars loves Teddy bears. I caught him hugging one.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz30PcFHXYPRmbjIwdiNd6aJezfHUgQCze8HEq8BZtnRDNm7hFupaofQA2ZdayuUyyRg2exX4Tur9ko4xawJoAfc-32ShUz2fEfDoqNP6DbRpTwLOn-eXj_bBSD8T8EykOlyQe0S5W8SM/s1600/latest+pics+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz30PcFHXYPRmbjIwdiNd6aJezfHUgQCze8HEq8BZtnRDNm7hFupaofQA2ZdayuUyyRg2exX4Tur9ko4xawJoAfc-32ShUz2fEfDoqNP6DbRpTwLOn-eXj_bBSD8T8EykOlyQe0S5W8SM/s320/latest+pics+019.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lars on the elevator at Harrods</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3s5CCkXxsrPoRWvlIX3wnWsOrOv51RHPcUmj8IowYDU8wtStiKqvahNjHPBc9ulTlxvv140n5xoRw0zZNi16LmZJWGbfNHqG0efqBsWOhJjo9brfSL8E54YWiYkdKb9bC8IwbOdh78Qw/s1600/latest+pics+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3s5CCkXxsrPoRWvlIX3wnWsOrOv51RHPcUmj8IowYDU8wtStiKqvahNjHPBc9ulTlxvv140n5xoRw0zZNi16LmZJWGbfNHqG0efqBsWOhJjo9brfSL8E54YWiYkdKb9bC8IwbOdh78Qw/s320/latest+pics+020.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The above picture is the final picture from Harrods. In the picture, there is a vibrant painted plaster design of the constellations, but I don't recognize much, so I'm not sure. Does anyone know what this is?<br />
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The next picture was taken by Lars at the Natural History Museum. There was a shocking exhibit about the effect of pollution and other networks such as utilities networks (water, electricity, waste water, fresh water networks, etc.) on the environment. Since Lars works as a lawyer for utilities companies, he knows all about these issues and was so impressed to see an exhibit about it.<br />
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Acknowledgement is the first step to change. I encourage everyone to reflect on the things your throw away, the energy you use and visit energy and waste control plants in order to understand the immensity of the systems that allow us to live a high-energy, take-it-to-go culture. Plastic hasn't been around much more than a century and Tupperware was invented in the 50's or so, but already scientists are studying the "Great garbage patch" in the Pacific ocean and the "Dead Zone" in the Gulf of Mexico. The pictures are shocking. (Not here-gotta go google.)<br />
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The next few pictures were taken from the Thames River as we took a ferry ride from Kensington to London City and back.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Millennium Bride-pedestrian bridge with London Eye in background</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Globe from the Thames</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Gilden Hilde (More info below)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The above picture is of the Golden Hilde, a copy of the ship that Sir Francis Drake sailed around the world. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">London Tower Bridge</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of London south of the Thames</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tower of London (?) (north of Thames)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tower of London</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJjug5dzcH6sy_wP9eauLOX-pcuygBbXGt_EKHJLyuPQgWBZ1rAuffdR_jFF2ewAoVZ0JuP2q5BgoSqDb_KYnkIqaijw2mDoGI0Kucdx_bzpndqwvutcHGRfq5Wk-_6ZgWvgzw71fG2A/s1600/latest+pics+029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJjug5dzcH6sy_wP9eauLOX-pcuygBbXGt_EKHJLyuPQgWBZ1rAuffdR_jFF2ewAoVZ0JuP2q5BgoSqDb_KYnkIqaijw2mDoGI0Kucdx_bzpndqwvutcHGRfq5Wk-_6ZgWvgzw71fG2A/s320/latest+pics+029.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guys Tower and Guys Hospital (under construction)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The tower in the picture above will be the tallest building in London, according to the Tour guide.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNQvTyucSAEyZPGuPWPGTuRTVkl9C0ifOeOJur8PhTNFdGMQba8XogCpNwMuCHMGSOSiWJ0qfyyZOC7NeTJKqnBAcimYztpt1y7EY_C3xLi5tDlMPJNlWsBxJRw7oqcxODb93eZ4i5JGU/s1600/latest+pics+030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNQvTyucSAEyZPGuPWPGTuRTVkl9C0ifOeOJur8PhTNFdGMQba8XogCpNwMuCHMGSOSiWJ0qfyyZOC7NeTJKqnBAcimYztpt1y7EY_C3xLi5tDlMPJNlWsBxJRw7oqcxODb93eZ4i5JGU/s320/latest+pics+030.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big Ben aka Palace of Westminster</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlM7HlcmnnhWRkmDWAq3G3ijXjuiKLyqq13wAi-5qejnHsnHPR4UQDwOnFqJgEngdTs7cC81DcqKMLDmlZG8AIW5-7JFHvnEYLmLBY_lbFiG3oJ6UjqtFmwDZet-YyIP0kcnj77iH7IcE/s1600/latest+pics+031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlM7HlcmnnhWRkmDWAq3G3ijXjuiKLyqq13wAi-5qejnHsnHPR4UQDwOnFqJgEngdTs7cC81DcqKMLDmlZG8AIW5-7JFHvnEYLmLBY_lbFiG3oJ6UjqtFmwDZet-YyIP0kcnj77iH7IcE/s320/latest+pics+031.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The London Eye and Westminster Palace</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCSDUXfC7Ces7EFrbOrDvLa4uti8CXD-yOGShzNgGA77qISgw7L3hoddZ_lzB2H1a4M-1OolwM5U7L12vK8rUzZ0iZh5rYi1pinzozfv3rYklezx5IlewpD7ouKe91HyjsX2b6ATNR7w/s1600/latest+pics+032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCSDUXfC7Ces7EFrbOrDvLa4uti8CXD-yOGShzNgGA77qISgw7L3hoddZ_lzB2H1a4M-1OolwM5U7L12vK8rUzZ0iZh5rYi1pinzozfv3rYklezx5IlewpD7ouKe91HyjsX2b6ATNR7w/s320/latest+pics+032.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Westminster Palace (?)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The next few pictures were taken from Nottinghill when we went to the street market one day. The picture below was taken in front of private residence. I hope they don't get mad at me for taking a picture of their house! If you know me, you know I love row houses! I love the steps and the blue door here.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgir2e775DovluXuxu9n0QX66dt8tTKPTRoPAz7wVrCzKdQEpABYknw7F-HhQpaQ5s9OtDUlADdDCQoNYEc25GORj4NXB0UXWwaDTYpJeqjnM9UUgiYoKb-b1hCu1cbW_J6f3M5qXB0rgQ/s1600/latest+pics+033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgir2e775DovluXuxu9n0QX66dt8tTKPTRoPAz7wVrCzKdQEpABYknw7F-HhQpaQ5s9OtDUlADdDCQoNYEc25GORj4NXB0UXWwaDTYpJeqjnM9UUgiYoKb-b1hCu1cbW_J6f3M5qXB0rgQ/s320/latest+pics+033.JPG" width="238" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKrAP3qwMykIb-R6YEy_NAA7ThgP2E3vqh8qYMwM7azwiqLfVgzDi2imJAx9u8NfFRdyAx0HEooiYHuB_rk5zussPFflSwrJKLAPnZZwg4d8h3bvB4WKn_ajSdequV26IrHjeLDsQVPM/s1600/latest+pics+034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKrAP3qwMykIb-R6YEy_NAA7ThgP2E3vqh8qYMwM7azwiqLfVgzDi2imJAx9u8NfFRdyAx0HEooiYHuB_rk5zussPFflSwrJKLAPnZZwg4d8h3bvB4WKn_ajSdequV26IrHjeLDsQVPM/s320/latest+pics+034.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unsanitary garbage disposal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Lars pointed out the unsanitary garbage on the street. According to Lars, leaving garbage on the street would never be allowed in Germany. This is because garbage on the street attracts vermin and other unfriendly visitors, who transmit disease. My mom pointed out to me that maybe the sanitation employees were on strike.<br />
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Below is a picture of the Nottinghill street market. Cars do drive down the street, but have to go slowly because there are so many pedestrians. The cars driving along are mostly bringing in goods to the stores. You can buy food, antiques, clothes and everything else at the market here.<br />
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The antiques were so awesome. I love how the English love antique furniture too. This is not really the case in Europe, I think. Germans, at least, really like modular furniture, especially 70's style modern furniture from Sweden.<br />
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Antique appeal other than retro mod is just now coming back as a fashion trend in Germany and many call the style "Country Style." It doesn't matter if it is baroque or rusted iron, it's all "country" in Germany. According to a furniture saleswoman in Görlitz, this country style trend comes from Denmark, England and France, mostly. This seemed curious to me, because I saw stuff that looked to be directly taken off the wall of a Cracker Barrell store. Some items had faded English writing on it, like a sign that said, "Home Sweet Home", or something. I told Lars that I think the country style imitates the American preference for used-looking furniture, quilts, etc., all that stuff you would expect at a Bed & Breakfast, I guess. Is this a growing nostalgia for the past just like in the US?<br />
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But, I don't think many American companies are capitalizing on this. A quilt can cost 200 euros in Germany, if you can find it. There's so much demand! Pastoral designs on curtains, sheets, etc. and classic iron-frame beds are so popular, it is immediately sold out.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3YKcO0YBNReCuTQXsszX2B0cfJ_62o4on22HSLNavRpkIsNYeIj_AyjiY298tgcg4vQvK4Zy3Gmcwz_tZW66TUYx9MpKT_U6HorTYh2row0yMa32E8mus3UeYsfVOaAL1nicSGLge00/s1600/latest+pics+035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3YKcO0YBNReCuTQXsszX2B0cfJ_62o4on22HSLNavRpkIsNYeIj_AyjiY298tgcg4vQvK4Zy3Gmcwz_tZW66TUYx9MpKT_U6HorTYh2row0yMa32E8mus3UeYsfVOaAL1nicSGLge00/s320/latest+pics+035.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nottinghill Market</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyoCt8X03nir3XUK3S0rrHsQPtt7BEyGnbwsym9lBDbHLpNXJ_1wEh5oNLPULHRKJhiZh-Ai3tyKVSwQ4_9lljV411Ly2EJuFgyuzuJZemWqICcsyr4ySTuAT6B484-hBMwt57Fn4Qkc/s1600/kensington.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyoCt8X03nir3XUK3S0rrHsQPtt7BEyGnbwsym9lBDbHLpNXJ_1wEh5oNLPULHRKJhiZh-Ai3tyKVSwQ4_9lljV411Ly2EJuFgyuzuJZemWqICcsyr4ySTuAT6B484-hBMwt57Fn4Qkc/s320/kensington.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kensington, where we stayed in a Hostel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The following pictures were taken mostly from Kensington, where we stayed. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS0MxaGX1M_HZnzY6X7UGeTu9X-rB45zPt3IjDWr_0fPrY4dRIPpH_p7-5mTPp0qrt2Rs4NixcBUnIrQPL7caARKNyLH4aikuC1rlsKanNqG2JXRJZrCnS-O3bTKeG9zX0RKMEDeugALE/s1600/latest+pics+036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS0MxaGX1M_HZnzY6X7UGeTu9X-rB45zPt3IjDWr_0fPrY4dRIPpH_p7-5mTPp0qrt2Rs4NixcBUnIrQPL7caARKNyLH4aikuC1rlsKanNqG2JXRJZrCnS-O3bTKeG9zX0RKMEDeugALE/s320/latest+pics+036.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking out from the balcony at our hostel.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small-town London in Kensington</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">just another street market in Kensington</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fish stall</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flowers outside South Kensington Station</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> They trademarked me!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mxhOMndzp7w-evroI04RC6l3E94nRXs32yse9oX-_dZMe3bsndY0ekjKXOaiEKq1xJj4KoKAK4rqRwvnVzR6nv9kMWoZjl5uRXMrUjozkCCqyoAC0KUGOLZMoDw4YWIDCBDw0aCiQbc/s1600/latest+pics+047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mxhOMndzp7w-evroI04RC6l3E94nRXs32yse9oX-_dZMe3bsndY0ekjKXOaiEKq1xJj4KoKAK4rqRwvnVzR6nv9kMWoZjl5uRXMrUjozkCCqyoAC0KUGOLZMoDw4YWIDCBDw0aCiQbc/s320/latest+pics+047.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Viktorian Michelin Store...what were victorian tires like?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbW82E4yR_kP_rKfQ3FvRqY0GDSb6Enwu4728xCHwqyzcIkbHHeLod-QCAxLaVo34uhGbzmzxoosCO5x8t6ENqtpCQJEhvBac8lhL5DZVe51WdrBvWtQwWJ1R0BghUiGsa-sH58rp8SgM/s1600/latest+pics+048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbW82E4yR_kP_rKfQ3FvRqY0GDSb6Enwu4728xCHwqyzcIkbHHeLod-QCAxLaVo34uhGbzmzxoosCO5x8t6ENqtpCQJEhvBac8lhL5DZVe51WdrBvWtQwWJ1R0BghUiGsa-sH58rp8SgM/s320/latest+pics+048.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chelsea near the Spanish Embassy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKLI5UPX4UIFBj4X4cwNSU2fsbbJ0u9XI4k5y-ciZWiFTd4gYLQN6qH5WtRedHD48k60hCWg6r-9iGDPFlNEEMPtYbOZz0oqojKz3dot46eh2rC1OvkROga65d6E-IlU019awi7SAZ-Kc/s1600/latest+pics+049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKLI5UPX4UIFBj4X4cwNSU2fsbbJ0u9XI4k5y-ciZWiFTd4gYLQN6qH5WtRedHD48k60hCWg6r-9iGDPFlNEEMPtYbOZz0oqojKz3dot46eh2rC1OvkROga65d6E-IlU019awi7SAZ-Kc/s320/latest+pics+049.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rent-a-Bike Stand</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZy5-5vR0Okj4RPT_q-FSoTTrloyWNWAa4Sjr_vo7Gb1BP12scyBdvrxBdJrBuYX6BDnbKA6EjGlohuwuHUU_nlixkue5rKKCtdegaBVDu-guA3jLgW8xIWGHSNYoH2LL8CslKQyKp_o/s1600/latest+pics+050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZy5-5vR0Okj4RPT_q-FSoTTrloyWNWAa4Sjr_vo7Gb1BP12scyBdvrxBdJrBuYX6BDnbKA6EjGlohuwuHUU_nlixkue5rKKCtdegaBVDu-guA3jLgW8xIWGHSNYoH2LL8CslKQyKp_o/s320/latest+pics+050.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A market in Chelsea</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDmO_nw_k4RUxhhl7_3Dwm5ZVUPAxIJ9_i42Ej06XY6A3kc1owWaoOpXf0eHNEqHIKPwkIXPYqVQZl57Gi9cv5QM-LxDo87FiIrBZNRzul3wwYzewaC7j88_2sdSsVIQEmrjW3nFm8IZI/s1600/latest+pics+051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDmO_nw_k4RUxhhl7_3Dwm5ZVUPAxIJ9_i42Ej06XY6A3kc1owWaoOpXf0eHNEqHIKPwkIXPYqVQZl57Gi9cv5QM-LxDo87FiIrBZNRzul3wwYzewaC7j88_2sdSsVIQEmrjW3nFm8IZI/s320/latest+pics+051.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The image speaks for itself. </td></tr>
</tbody></table> The British may be conservative. They may be polite and reserved. But they are not afraid to use bright colors! Example in point, the Belgravia Police Station flaunts its blue-purple rail with matching barbed wire. How quaint. I'm sure the inmates appreciate the color coordination when they first peak over the fence during an escape. "Oww, barbed wire. Oh, look, (in)mates, what a nice color!" Sorry, maybe a bad joke.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfG3FH5nHXJgWkCI8MSIT5nC9Oo-JAMHo9USRfKWTlESXoHVeEFf9P37Qx-uDsN_BIaNEjp670iJ_TeJnTQxKPPfRAG_ZdSCsvFDh__gFfFoIWKCkUCV7eBSqAbq9_foWh1DFpYcmly2w/s1600/latest+pics+052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfG3FH5nHXJgWkCI8MSIT5nC9Oo-JAMHo9USRfKWTlESXoHVeEFf9P37Qx-uDsN_BIaNEjp670iJ_TeJnTQxKPPfRAG_ZdSCsvFDh__gFfFoIWKCkUCV7eBSqAbq9_foWh1DFpYcmly2w/s320/latest+pics+052.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New development near Marks & Spencer in London City</td></tr>
</tbody></table> Sometimes new developments are not very popular, I guess. We noticed this in front of the Marks & Spencers near London City (Londonium). There was hardly anybody out on the sidewalks compared to other streets or ped-zones of London.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Below are pictures of the Globe, a copy of the original theater called the Globe. Shakespeare's plays were originally performed here. I didn't go inside though, because tickets were pricey.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmpPXnsNH_OIg5ds4AQ5qfgKBRR5zzUWyEmYubHhoJoaUhyk_bVimwF7vljYHjcPAvFVW3-glJDa6Wrm1rP_iVo4ZXw2xeIhjB2lOxYUjxQ0keeeYqWAq4Uo-TVyCSPSsk_OmbNY86oM/s1600/latest+pics+056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmpPXnsNH_OIg5ds4AQ5qfgKBRR5zzUWyEmYubHhoJoaUhyk_bVimwF7vljYHjcPAvFVW3-glJDa6Wrm1rP_iVo4ZXw2xeIhjB2lOxYUjxQ0keeeYqWAq4Uo-TVyCSPSsk_OmbNY86oM/s320/latest+pics+056.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Globe</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ujFJSkQyGWmErnA5MLZembhJJSbrEKCpbT4y859q06r5bw1oVeSMAc1L6GAJLGxOj4io69fCEdtNvC-3Vgp-pXStpHo_LvZT4thyYkngQT5TLB85rWIvXhtZ83PSUdt_-nEQADcl7NI/s1600/latest+pics+057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ujFJSkQyGWmErnA5MLZembhJJSbrEKCpbT4y859q06r5bw1oVeSMAc1L6GAJLGxOj4io69fCEdtNvC-3Vgp-pXStpHo_LvZT4thyYkngQT5TLB85rWIvXhtZ83PSUdt_-nEQADcl7NI/s320/latest+pics+057.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Globe</td></tr>
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<span id="goog_1880493413"></span><span id="goog_1880493414"></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>The pictures below were taken off a side street on the south side of the Thames Bank near the Globe. It was a real surprise to suddenly see the archeological/architectural remains of Winchester Palace around Clink street (see map below). I found this interesting information about the palace on Wikipedia:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOIDGujTkzB_BpROYolxE3umsBsmOjAfSZgMeXqJmTxbzslWFqp1B8wF_asZxnfnEmLrMsv59ULGEBJMAUW2tIJpaeROCHuwMoiaE7VGi7bkPJ_fub6j-nW5cQpB70Ww8JXQKsoN3eElU/s1600/snap1-winchester.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOIDGujTkzB_BpROYolxE3umsBsmOjAfSZgMeXqJmTxbzslWFqp1B8wF_asZxnfnEmLrMsv59ULGEBJMAUW2tIJpaeROCHuwMoiaE7VGi7bkPJ_fub6j-nW5cQpB70Ww8JXQKsoN3eElU/s320/snap1-winchester.png" width="287" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>"Winchester Palace</b> was a twelfth century palace, London residence of the Bishops of Winchester.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Palace#cite_note-0"></a></sup>It is located south of the River Thames in Southwark, near the medieval priory which today has become Southwark Cathedral.</i></div><i> </i><br />
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</tbody></table><div></div><div class="thumb tleft" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 202px;"><i><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Winchester_Palace,_Southwark_by_Wenceslas_Hollar,_1660.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="141" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Winchester_Palace%2C_Southwark_by_Wenceslas_Hollar%2C_1660.jpg/200px-Winchester_Palace%2C_Southwark_by_Wenceslas_Hollar%2C_1660.jpg" width="200" /></a></i> <br />
<div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><i><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Winchester_Palace,_Southwark_by_Wenceslas_Hollar,_1660.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15" /></a></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i> Winchester Palace by Wenceslas Hollar, 1660.</i></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Southwark was the largest town in the old diocese of Winchester and the bishop was a major landowner in the area. He was also a power in the land (Winchester being the old Saxon capital), and regularly needed to be in London on royal or administrative state business. For that purpose, Henry of Blois built the palace as his comfortable and high-status London residence.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The palace remained in use until the 17th century, when it was divided into tenements and warehouses, but was mostly destroyed by fire in 1814. Part of the great hall, and the west gable end with its rose window became more visible after a 19th century fire and 20th century redevelopment. It is believed that the great hall was built c.1136 and that the rose window was added 200 years later. The hall had a vaulted cellar below with direct access to the river wharf for bringing in wares, and was richly decorated. It often entertained royal visitors, including James I of Scotland on his wedding to Joan Beaufort (niece of the then bishop, Cardinal Henry Beaufort) in 1424.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The rest of the palace was arranged around two courtyards. It other buildings within the site included a prison, brewery and a butchers. The bishops also had access to a tennis court, bowling alley and a garden."<span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Liberties"></span></i></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Remains of Winchester Palace</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lars in front of the only remaining walls of Winchester Palace</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJHs5nc8fPRJXG8fY_PnaNlgg3uFIuXjAmqaDGkK4joxAz99kIsnCSHRVF6qPYAE5PXwP6lJjiA2lELpv-ziKuDirUNB6IdrrBF5pyW7XeXqg0kcWjoTc1denidnb0_HBgoOE8NHcceM/s1600/latest+pics+058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJHs5nc8fPRJXG8fY_PnaNlgg3uFIuXjAmqaDGkK4joxAz99kIsnCSHRVF6qPYAE5PXwP6lJjiA2lELpv-ziKuDirUNB6IdrrBF5pyW7XeXqg0kcWjoTc1denidnb0_HBgoOE8NHcceM/s320/latest+pics+058.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winchester Palace is straight ahead- (large round window at top left)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ-z-BOWAYyNJ2Zgfxrp-FvNnZmFuXU1AJloBlTaUJxb2b-Eu75lQv53-PmyjvGC6VG6fnpx2cg0A8BEZoSdT3N0B2gy1-dCGVJIiKJ3QFGcTV8BlsM6UoCC24iHuHM4qtZ1awkE2SeAY/s1600/latest+pics+061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ-z-BOWAYyNJ2Zgfxrp-FvNnZmFuXU1AJloBlTaUJxb2b-Eu75lQv53-PmyjvGC6VG6fnpx2cg0A8BEZoSdT3N0B2gy1-dCGVJIiKJ3QFGcTV8BlsM6UoCC24iHuHM4qtZ1awkE2SeAY/s320/latest+pics+061.JPG" width="238" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;">Just a little further down the street, we encountered the Golden Hinde (also on the map). We checked out the boat for a while, then went south to the Borough Market. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaPPhub1DSKcADSt2ZAnt39lYmNx-8pF0TwicCrNXgZkifswBlTuRsY422l9mWM3XscwFtEiKmmQWAOd4uejVPV79zTyo-znycAZV8ofhRAGfTwdmU9-VPxOijPS8uSvrDzbRZtpbdeRU/s1600/latest+pics+064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaPPhub1DSKcADSt2ZAnt39lYmNx-8pF0TwicCrNXgZkifswBlTuRsY422l9mWM3XscwFtEiKmmQWAOd4uejVPV79zTyo-znycAZV8ofhRAGfTwdmU9-VPxOijPS8uSvrDzbRZtpbdeRU/s320/latest+pics+064.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here I am standing in front of the Golden Hinde- a copy of Sir Francis Drake's ship</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmZCiXPj_ypCY5zvu1ld7GtZBYs6mfqmdSukXR__Wo4NqvloqrXFBGrlsnBDY8Pae_Pzqy9FLHdXKMhVPEXFFrxhVs3c6I_EmUHFWsuD-G99yBhI49KiJFPbuvdILBPkT3stJoUMKAyA/s1600/latest+pics+066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmZCiXPj_ypCY5zvu1ld7GtZBYs6mfqmdSukXR__Wo4NqvloqrXFBGrlsnBDY8Pae_Pzqy9FLHdXKMhVPEXFFrxhVs3c6I_EmUHFWsuD-G99yBhI49KiJFPbuvdILBPkT3stJoUMKAyA/s320/latest+pics+066.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking up at her mast.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMrBEp5cHc9YTX_RX7WOWaByqilAgSXPq7XJjk8rkr5KCc-iYP_mEwruAxX1jE5pArYEmBbWxVNAPf1M6oFPXEIt8zONPKRYgxoj3ct7HMTbfpuRu6Tte9JSOyF96bqgUt-K4vlkI7dug/s1600/latest+pics+065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMrBEp5cHc9YTX_RX7WOWaByqilAgSXPq7XJjk8rkr5KCc-iYP_mEwruAxX1jE5pArYEmBbWxVNAPf1M6oFPXEIt8zONPKRYgxoj3ct7HMTbfpuRu6Tte9JSOyF96bqgUt-K4vlkI7dug/s320/latest+pics+065.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the Golden Hinde</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9DC8DOA0ECXEengI-siGapM8vhoBcXJP4bIN435sCcGQ33X5FxKfKADkgy4K6AcEbDCOmligPeWxmFpFlNLOHzVKj3ktutRptBxEIbovMqdAisxSsg-iEw-2NWQE4edOBbdHvxGubQl8/s1600/latest+pics+069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9DC8DOA0ECXEengI-siGapM8vhoBcXJP4bIN435sCcGQ33X5FxKfKADkgy4K6AcEbDCOmligPeWxmFpFlNLOHzVKj3ktutRptBxEIbovMqdAisxSsg-iEw-2NWQE4edOBbdHvxGubQl8/s320/latest+pics+069.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All Aboard! Round the world we go.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhoDuNkYeScSk2w2oGnBEo-GZ2ACS0xbwRgcKR98gQ3-je1nARGmyHgUZLZ09rIjGaAAJcwQZ19aapSSz318vYbDisdZoc6ikO70gIqgoMvbMa7kyGMjbES2A8G7NrtWYrAJoGRvD_Ug0/s1600/latest+pics+070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhoDuNkYeScSk2w2oGnBEo-GZ2ACS0xbwRgcKR98gQ3-je1nARGmyHgUZLZ09rIjGaAAJcwQZ19aapSSz318vYbDisdZoc6ikO70gIqgoMvbMa7kyGMjbES2A8G7NrtWYrAJoGRvD_Ug0/s320/latest+pics+070.JPG" width="238" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_eSIpD8L5sFbCTYwcM-LNEiM0BzC-LP5_oJ9nYmaQsst2yXKGmlYwI6VNKApQ76fCV2Unlgd1bygwaYN4Xnu9LuDU4d8RJwREmM-CL9M4OpgZhQPuk82_uxJpiPbjXvJIFNmJhP7vg8/s1600/latest+pics+071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_eSIpD8L5sFbCTYwcM-LNEiM0BzC-LP5_oJ9nYmaQsst2yXKGmlYwI6VNKApQ76fCV2Unlgd1bygwaYN4Xnu9LuDU4d8RJwREmM-CL9M4OpgZhQPuk82_uxJpiPbjXvJIFNmJhP7vg8/s320/latest+pics+071.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Southwark Cathedral</td></tr>
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<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Anthony_0-11"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potty_parity#cite_note-Anthony-0"></a></sup><br />
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</div>Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-5230198947420437042011-12-09T15:39:00.000-08:002011-12-10T00:21:48.522-08:00Potty ParityThis short post is about a topic related to urban planning/land use. Lars and I had a wonderful time in England, but there is one thing that really bugs me about England: waiting in the cue for the WC.<br />
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<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Are you laughing yet? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6AfpMjF0mXgqDvfUm1gJ3JNHaw9vPFl8Ap1GuHavzu31tVGkiMFzrBmJ2iMAJfnsg61CT1cpUXUKcGelfgVCItcq0pAGh6yVbJaZerDJ4M4tZXZqMMY5fOLEO-ge9CZpJEqy7FUDjVxE/s1600/latest+pics+073.MOV" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fv13.nonxt6.googlevideo.com%2Fvideoplayback%3Fid%3D9d2217efe127ee7a%26itag%3D18%26source%3Dpicasa%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1323526512%26sparams%3Did%2Citag%2Csource%2Cip%2Cipbits%2Cexpire%26signature%3D13938CC9F71D710C3E10BD2BC21F3489BB22E4D3.36894CE045130753FE04FF94B68458FFC56C0F28%26key%3Dlh1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fv13.nonxt6.googlevideo.com%2Fvideoplayback%3Fid%3D9d2217efe127ee7a%26itag%3D18%26source%3Dpicasa%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1323526512%26sparams%3Did%2Citag%2Csource%2Cip%2Cipbits%2Cexpire%26signature%3D13938CC9F71D710C3E10BD2BC21F3489BB22E4D3.36894CE045130753FE04FF94B68458FFC56C0F28%26key%3Dlh1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is Potty DISparity- something I hate about London: the above picture speaks for itself. If you can't tell what is going on here, let me tell you: this is a picture of women standing in line for the toilets. Also, if you can't tell, no men are waiting in line. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The voice you hear is Lars saying, "Ist geil!" or "is funny," loosely translated, as I turned the video setting on. Lars knows how much I abhor the queue for the washroom/restroom/WC/toilets or powder room, depending on your dialect.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am not exaggerating; this is a real problem everywhere I went in England. I can't tell you how annoying it is to stand in line for 15 minutes and watch 15 men or so walk by into the men's room giving you the pity smile. They are thinking, "oh man, glad that isn't my line." </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ever noticed that men never stand in line? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As a woman, I feel that I have two choices, I can either hate the women in the line because there are too many too many of us, or I can hate the men, because they don't have to wait. What do you choose? The correct answer is neither. Someone else is responsible for this. The planners, engineers and lawmakers are responsible. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Well, the US has improved a lot in this regard due to regulation and parity laws. I talked to Brant, my stepfather, about this. He works for the Florida Department of Transportation and told me that this issue is called, "potty parity." The fact is that women need more toilets than men for various reasons. It takes us longer to use the restroom because we have to do more than pull down a zipper. It also takes longer because, for physiological reasons, we use the restroom more often. Apparently, incontinence and urinary tract infections are more common in women, confounded by menstruation, which partly explains this. There are technical differences to the way men and women use restrooms too; women use the same stall for all uses whereas men have a streamlined separation of use system: urinals and toilets. The result is, men need less time to use the restroom because of zippers and urinals, and need to go less often. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There is a third factor and that is that the elderly need to use the restroom more often than the young for biological reasons again, and most older people are statistically female. So, if you are a person, who needs to use the restroom, you are most likely going to be a woman, and you are going to need more time than the minority of men going to the bathroom. This is why equal stalls for men and women is not fair. Equal is not fair in this situation. It is counter-intuitive, sure, but engineers can calculate what the ratio of toilet facilities should be for women and men. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There's no shame in being a woman! I feel insulted waiting in line. Time standing in line is time wasted for me, and there is nothing I can do about it, even if I try not to drink at all, I'll never be a man, so I'll never get the fast line. It was all planned this way. No one cares that me and the little old ladies are waiting in line and we really gotta pee!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Maybe I don't need to continue on this point, but here is a little factoid: the term "potty parity" became popular when a California lawyer, a man- by the way-, started a movement by saying that an equal number of toilets for men and women is not fair. His motivation was not entirely selfless; he admits that he was tired of waiting on his wife while she waited in line to use the restroom.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2010/05/lawmakers_ponder_potty_parity.html" target="_blank">Potty Parity article from the Washington Post</a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">From Wikipedia</div><h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Regulations">Regulations</span></h2>Current laws in the United Kingdom require a 1:1 female–male ratio of restroom space in public buildings.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potty_parity#cite_note-6"></a></sup>The International Building Code requires a 2:1 female–male ratio of toilets.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-nyclaw_7-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potty_parity#cite_note-nyclaw-7"></a></sup> New York City Council passed a law in 2005 requiring this in all public buildings.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-nyclaw_7-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potty_parity#cite_note-nyclaw-7"></a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-nyt2005_8-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potty_parity#cite_note-nyt2005-8"></a></sup> An advisory ruling had been passed in 2003.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-nyt2005_8-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potty_parity#cite_note-nyt2005-8"></a></sup> U.S. state laws vary between 1:1, 3:2, and 2:1 ratios.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Anthony_0-10"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potty_parity#cite_note-Anthony-0"></a></sup> The Uniform Plumbing Code specifies a 4:1 ratio in movie theaters.Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-54668203552145613772011-12-08T00:17:00.000-08:002011-12-08T00:17:58.833-08:00Urbanized FilmCheck out this film about urbanized life around the world and the role of urban design in place. Follow the link below to rent the movie. I also appreciate you using my link because I get member benefits if you do so.<br />
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<a href="http://muvi.es/w607/9041" target="_blank">Urbanized Film to rent:</a>Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-54823430177873463452011-11-29T05:26:00.000-08:002011-11-29T05:30:44.632-08:00Daytrip to Goerlitz/Zgorzelec<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lars and I spent an afternoon in Goerlitz, a city in the region called Lusatia of former Silesia, in order to scout out antique furniture. We had a pretty good time window shopping for antique furniture in the city, a lot of which is Art Nouveau, which is known as Jugendstil or "Youth Style" in German. This type of architecture was popular at the turn of the 19th-20th century and incorporated organic shapes, lines and occasionally figures into its motifs. The most famous city for Americans with a preserved and enormous amount of Art Nouveau buildings, furniture, houseware ist Prague. Art Nouveau art and architecture was embodied by the Arts and Crafts Movement in the US and Great Britain.<br />
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The following pictures really highlight what a beautiful town Goerlitz is. Many of the buildings are older than Art Nouveau and are medieval or baroque instead. Goerlitz is a Saxon city, as is Meissen, Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz (previously known as Karl-Marx-Stadt). There is a saying in Saxony, Germany: In Chemnitz, one works in industry; in Leipzig, one makes a profit. In Dresden, one spends the money (royal seat) and in Goerlitz, one can live comfortably in retirement. Maybe this is why Lars refers to Goerlitz as a retirment city for all the rich. The furniture we found was all very classy.<br />
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Here's a little bit of history: Goertliz was an important city in Silesia, before Silesia was almost entirely taken away from Germany after WWII, causing a mass exodus and human migration to other parts of Germany. This is a very sad history, the effects of which are still felt in Goerlitz. The border for the new Germany was the River Neisse, which runs through Goerlitz, thereby resulting in a split German-Polish city. The polish side of town is called Zgorzelec. Can a town be one if it has been split between two countries? If you have an opinion on this, come and look at Goerlitz. It is an interesting question. Residents here refer to their city as an "international" city, and it truly is! Maybe a more appropriate word would be "binational."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View looking out from a furniture store.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM3c9y0kNmuSdhc3q5bXDqU6Dgp2mFalDYX_ITa_X8tjwz7cA-jtp38jv5cw7ZXo3BOrh4NE7ouUXJRR_YuFK-a4dSm5F2nbUV9_KDD9L6HsxrHgHBkzzZ-kWzXshlVHklwfGxXv_mnRw/s1600/Sept282011+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM3c9y0kNmuSdhc3q5bXDqU6Dgp2mFalDYX_ITa_X8tjwz7cA-jtp38jv5cw7ZXo3BOrh4NE7ouUXJRR_YuFK-a4dSm5F2nbUV9_KDD9L6HsxrHgHBkzzZ-kWzXshlVHklwfGxXv_mnRw/s320/Sept282011+003.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medieval city tower in center next to Art Nouveau row houses.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5-8Q20rv1j4g-KQpUmBu0ARkVEHV5tlmniMBO7RW7EWlPwkg18zgaEgQ0EuL6DShEV9F4km_GYrcU_dnP1Xx05FwxelDktsySg2zCeVIMWlSoTeV5udNGERT_AapeDTOauuxRt6VnOmI/s1600/Sept282011+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5-8Q20rv1j4g-KQpUmBu0ARkVEHV5tlmniMBO7RW7EWlPwkg18zgaEgQ0EuL6DShEV9F4km_GYrcU_dnP1Xx05FwxelDktsySg2zCeVIMWlSoTeV5udNGERT_AapeDTOauuxRt6VnOmI/s320/Sept282011+004.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Massive church with gothic? windows?</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlPkLu7-OMP9pXUivbAwjtJpDBoEOIcUkHpbK-pWwM7clIukXKA2fTPgnsvcv3S0pVqdL1z7M7-aZGn80FyvF2LnMWrhBq_JsDwMG5M6rcU_mIoYEn0u64r5UGEEnsCFok2qQpOMgVR0/s1600/Sept282011+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlPkLu7-OMP9pXUivbAwjtJpDBoEOIcUkHpbK-pWwM7clIukXKA2fTPgnsvcv3S0pVqdL1z7M7-aZGn80FyvF2LnMWrhBq_JsDwMG5M6rcU_mIoYEn0u64r5UGEEnsCFok2qQpOMgVR0/s320/Sept282011+005.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjcZa7jUNXJSvfIUVEix2S9jgCSk9Iefhh3q9G4uEuZnWV7iS1FppgPkfHM8vCFueae1OXJOplg86zKllyxdNv3l68wbYl0NFVnUcJNhbr1tPnfJSvR8WephikZBWPR80IoOdAd9auUQ/s1600/Sept282011+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjcZa7jUNXJSvfIUVEix2S9jgCSk9Iefhh3q9G4uEuZnWV7iS1FppgPkfHM8vCFueae1OXJOplg86zKllyxdNv3l68wbYl0NFVnUcJNhbr1tPnfJSvR8WephikZBWPR80IoOdAd9auUQ/s320/Sept282011+006.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Medieval streets and alleys are precious.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JAHDENmJV9-j8z8ewQwq-Gw3W8KL1WSoHCHt_6fCB7JOnOfK2Prvdm30FAruLkUnIs2QHWBMpTNNTmgLpb6gkfUyJLBMknxPj_XKxwspikmnRWTFrgKWA2Ii5draaukLHtO8QQRsRHc/s1600/Sept282011+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JAHDENmJV9-j8z8ewQwq-Gw3W8KL1WSoHCHt_6fCB7JOnOfK2Prvdm30FAruLkUnIs2QHWBMpTNNTmgLpb6gkfUyJLBMknxPj_XKxwspikmnRWTFrgKWA2Ii5draaukLHtO8QQRsRHc/s320/Sept282011+007.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lars is taking a break, already tired of shopping</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyyDrhOdDVXOT6C9j1pVdfp2vMt1gnsSL0-aD0XoNE_suaLEbZfQE3ZCayIg8rQQxsVOzqLdlWQptZ2nYwBqkeFiqcopQicVKNodfyLobis9hYUwxNElzaOwRwRRvwd57zafs4qXow3ug/s1600/Sept282011+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyyDrhOdDVXOT6C9j1pVdfp2vMt1gnsSL0-aD0XoNE_suaLEbZfQE3ZCayIg8rQQxsVOzqLdlWQptZ2nYwBqkeFiqcopQicVKNodfyLobis9hYUwxNElzaOwRwRRvwd57zafs4qXow3ug/s320/Sept282011+008.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steps to old Town Hall?- Baroque or Neo?-Gothic</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf28GUdlD4U2XyOMHDdsSF81uNozLkmfD5vpx5WXQ8cUbhWpP-k_9RTeFpxTB81qOzjqbIkwAWn8s70OyayhlpZ5EZRzRARnSMn0F0jxFYQ5eJMtVsfF5yfiufdNpPkDL2NzyBWymfzpo/s1600/Sept282011+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf28GUdlD4U2XyOMHDdsSF81uNozLkmfD5vpx5WXQ8cUbhWpP-k_9RTeFpxTB81qOzjqbIkwAWn8s70OyayhlpZ5EZRzRARnSMn0F0jxFYQ5eJMtVsfF5yfiufdNpPkDL2NzyBWymfzpo/s320/Sept282011+009.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cooking pumpkin, spelt breakfast roll and Poppyseed cake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>This last picture is the odd picture in this post. I took all these pictures in September, when Fall was just starting to set in. I could feel the change in the seasons, but I could see the change in produce and local food being sold at markets, grocery stores, restaurants, cafes and bakeries. The Poppyseed cake is a Autumn favorite because, apparently, poppyseed is a fall crop, just like pumpkin. I didn't know this. Spelt is called "Dinkel" in Germany, and is used to make a variety of bread items. Here, it isn't back in vogue, because it was never was out of vogue. I think food is culture too, and I wanted to share my food experiences as well. <br />
<div><br />
</div><div>The bread rolls are for breakfast and are eaten with cold cuts, cheese, Leberwurst, eggs, marmalade and meat salads. Cakes are eaten at Vespars, or coffee time, around mid-afternoon, especially on weekends. Pumpkin is popping up everywhere here, in soups, main dishes, and in vegetable medleys.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Fall is a wonderful time. I like how the light seems a bit yellower. Maybe that is just because the sun is going down sooner, creating longer shadows and creating the yellow-orange tint associated with dusk.</div>Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-68559203871585485112011-10-25T02:24:00.000-07:002011-12-11T06:24:04.131-08:00Modern Problems- Is it all just about the car? (edited) I have to edit this blog right now so that no one misunderstands my rant, which should have been proofread. I actually really like Florida and the US, so I don't mean to be too negative or offend anyone. <br />
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The topic is: Where did all these modern problems come from?<br />
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I don't understand why we, people today, see sustainable living as something dependent on a technological revolution. We consumed less energy and produced less waste a hundred years ago. Certainly we have some of the solutions to the energy crisis already. For example, air conditioning and don't need to be as prevalent as they are (in the US). Food production could be more local, cutting down transportation costs and pollution. Food production itself could be more environmentally friendly. The list goes on and on. The modern technology of the past 100 years has caused a lot of problems. Why is technology the exclusive solution? What if we have to go back, partly, to how we used to live? Walk more, shop in your block, Travel using public transportation. Pay more for food and more for your home. Less packaging, because food doesn't haven't to travel the whole world for retail. Take baskets and cloth bags shopping, just like people have for thousands of years.... It's not a new idea!<br />
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Let me give an example of how people are unaware of the effect that new technology has has on their own production of waste and pollution: the human north-to-south migration to naturally hot areas requires air conditioning. Lots of people in Florida like to say, "I love the heat in Florida!" I'm like, "Oh really?" I didn't have air conditioning in Philly because I didn't need it in an insulated town house. <br />
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Those people tend to be the northern American immigrants, to be specific. I have to be specific because there are a lot of people in Florida from Vietnam or Puerto Ric, for example, and they don't really talk about how wonderful the heat is, because it's already normal. <br />
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When hearing northerners talk about the wonderful heat in Florida, I'm thinking in my head is, "You don't like the heat at all. You like air conditioning- is more like it- and now you have a reason to turn it on. You don't know a thing about the heat in Florida." None of us do, really, except for that horrible day when the electricity goes out because a hurricane blew a tree over the powerlines. And maybe you're crying too because the gator ate your dog, Snuf. (For a scenario) But, when was the last Summer day that you could bear to be outside all day, without rushing inside to "cool off", as they say or run away from alligators? As far as I'm concerned, there is very little about Florida "heat" and weather that people like, so instead they hibernate inside all summer and most of the rest of the year, and travel around in air-conditioned cars otherwise. There is nothing "green" about that.<br />
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As a side note, city-construction/city planning and architecture methods of previous centuries discovered ways to build buildings that creates a drought through the buildings. Building height (more than just one story obviously) and awnings can also strategically be used to create shade from the sun. Also, older Florida homes were built longways and parallel to the sea, in order to get the breeze from the ocean. <br />
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I have an anecdote to complement this topic: my mom, while visiting historic downtown Orlando, said more or less something like, "Wow, it's so breezy and shady. It's so nice to be outside here. It's hard to believe it."<br />
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That is the problem, it's hard to believe that we already have all the answers we need for so many of our modern problems. Only, they aren't necessarily all going to be new solutions; a lot of them will be what has been time-tested and true in terms of urban design.<br />
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I want to say, "We are too dependent on air conditioning!" These modern technologies have become a crutch for Florida living. I am not particularly nostalgic, I just don't think that current energy usage can sustain the kind of Florida-lifestyle that is almost exclusively available now. <br />
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But, there is another problem confronting urban design: where will we put the cars?<br />
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It seems to me that our problem is just our mobility with the car. <br />
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I know, I know; I'm simplifying things too much. It isn't just the car. But the car is at the bottom of a lot of our new, modern problems, which have been encouraged or exacerbated by car-living, car-design and the industries which strive to make it possible for the accompanying car-based infrastructure and economy.<br />
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Given, the trend began with the train; with its advent, people rushed out to settle new areas, resulting in lower population density in our cities and fueling a popularity of small-town living. And, even before that, thinkers like Thomas Jefferson were already espousing city-life as decrepit and corrupt, dirty and unnatural. I understand why they felt this way. Most of those Americans were tired of London and idealized the simplicity of smaller towns. But those smaller towns were in every way more urban than the car-designed small towns and suburbs we have today. The older small towns, like Cottbus until 1945, were as dense as many modern walkable cities are today. But, since the revolutions leading to car affordability, we are even more likely to live in low-density communities, which defy all historic precedent. <br />
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The evidence for this is on record: small towns and cities used to be dense.<br />
Low-density is new. Today, we have lots of new problems. Therefore, low-density may be related to our modern problems. Could it be a root cause?<br />
<br />
Is low-density <i>the </i> Problem? I mean, I just discussed air-conditioning, but maybe the car is the elephant in the room, so to speak. No everyone wants to talk about their car usage and the participation in creating the hole in the ozone layer. But, isn't that, like, the main cause of it? Or a big cause of it? I heard that Americans consume 30 percent of the petroleum supply (in the US) on personal automobile travel. That compared to like five percent or something in Europe... and other countries don't manage to use that much at all. <br />
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We worry about a lot of things, and it might all be random and disconnected. But, let's play the game of asking ourselves whether our modern problems could be caused or related to the isolation or social/economic structure of low-density living.<br />
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We have modern energy problems, physical-health problems, modern mental-health problems, economic problems, a dependence on large corporations (for our employment and for the supply of products), food access and food quality, global warming, access to nature, etc, education, etc.<br />
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1. Physical-health problems? Obesity? -- People used to use their legs for transportation. This problem could be car related.<br />
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2. Mental-health problems? Isolation? Lonliness? Are we left to learn what is right and wrong only from tv? How many people today go into the gas station just for some human interaction? In a dense environment, people walking on the street and shopping in their own neighborhood had a community. In residential, car-friendly developments, businesses are against zoning ordinance and people jump in their car because walking talks too long. No easy human interaction here. Car-design could be the problem.<br />
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3. Economic problems? Lars said to me once after looking at the US Department of State's fiscal budget pie chart, "Whoa! The US doesn't have a debt problem at all, just a Military problem" He said that because the budget showed 30 percent allocations to the military, excluding police etc. And, not to simplify things, but aren't we at least partly involved in the wars in the Middle East because we need peace in that area, or we'll have an energy collapse in supply? And isn't the oil for cars mostly, and plastic secondly? Maybe that is just gossip...<br />
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Besides the oil business higher density with proper mixed use design is good for business. That is because we all know what our community needs, and business owners can react more quickly to local demands if they have a fighting chance to compete with chain stores. Big box stores do better in surban settings than in dense settings... because there just isn't the space for a Wall-Mart type thing in a city. If you don't know what I mean, go to a really dense city street in any big city, and you'll see all kinds of things. The more the better, right? Isn't that the free market? <br />
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Another thing, what if bad urban design strangles out the small-time business shop owner? Malls are an option, but how natural is a mall? The whole issue is super complex I think, but my feeling is that malls aren't flexible enough because they can't really shrink or grow with the demand for space. And, you always have to problem of inconvenience. <br />
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In a dense neighborhood (it doesn't have to be in a city) we would have an even stronger feeling of what residents in our town need. We could be the one to supply it. We would know, because we would sort of see our neighbors more if we traveled less by car and interacted with our neighbors more, in a mixed use designed/permitted neighborhood.<br />
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If Zoning and real estate prices make it unattractive or impossible to open a business in our neighborhood, then less people can open their own businesses. Big Box is the easy solution. The economy is then dominated by MBA's who run big stores and think in numbers and have no relationship with us. <br />
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Do you ever feel like there is nothing personal about shopping anymore? If all we have is those big box stores or shopping malls with comercial chains run out of NYC or wherever, then this is a sad sort of modern world. It is similar to the stories I have heard about communism in East Germany and Poland. Except it's worse. The stores decide what to put on the shelves based on "market studies", but it is impossible for us to meet our own communities demands. We are just a number, a consumer. This is not the nice-communism that makes sure we all have health insurance, for example, and some type of employment, haha, but something else, something unintentional. This is a big issue, and I couldn't begin to argue about this without some additional/concrete facts... but maybe I'm on to something. I'm sure I'm not the first person to think of this.<br />
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Another issue is insurance and healthcare. Those big insurance companies don't care about you, even if the individuals who work there might want to care about you; they have no time to do so. They are stressed out, don't see a face. And the lawyers, they profit on the problem (but most not that much), and can you blame them? Besides, there's a new trend of turning law offices into corporations, where even the lawyers get abused, and who can they complain to if the whole system works that way? They're under pressure to take on more and more and more cases. It all comes down to economics, which is somehow related to how we run our communities...<br />
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A good way to counter all these new modern problems is to focus on phsyically creating/allowing small walkable neighborhoods where we interact on a personal basis and shelter ourselves a bit form the cold, impersonal modern world. I think it is necessary to build higher density, walkable towns and cities.<br />
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I know this seems too simple. Experts, politicians, engineers, lawyers: they should all be concentrating on making a simple solution possible: How can we live without the car. We don't need more complicated answers and solutions. We need communities; we need to care about each other in a personal way. I think the reason we sense something amiss is because something is amiss. Our basic instincts tell us this. As they say, "Keep it simple, silly." The car is a problem. It starts with the car, leads to car-based design, and a whole domino effect follows.<br />
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The Baby-Boomer generation especially thinks of higher density living as stressful, but what if you took the car out of the equation? Are they just stressed out about traffic? Cities can be denser, but density doesn't equal traffic jam. Traffic jams only occur with cars!!! Lots of people on foot can be hectic, but you are still moving! If traffic is caused just by moving about the city, then planners have already failed. Traffic is often about getting out of the city. But if you live in the city, you don't have to leave it and sit in traffic.Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-43389780155525542011-10-25T01:51:00.000-07:002011-10-25T03:22:47.192-07:00Thoughts on Food DesertsWhen I worked on the Activity and Food Landscape Project at Penn (August 2010-October 2010), I learned a lot about the "Food Desert." It is a very very complex issue with interesting causes, terrible and surprising results and innovative solutions. One cause of the food desert is that grocery store chains deem inner city neighborhoods of a certain demographic as "too risky", so they don't open shop, even though there are people this is the demographic, which tends to travel the most on foot or with public transportation, and traveling to a far away grocery store is an all afternoon affair. <br />
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But it isn't just inner-city neighborhoods. The high-end, yuppy neighborhood I lived in in Orlando (which I like, by the way) has been the antithesis of a blighted inner-city for at least a decade, yet hadn't had a grocery store in a square mile radius for, like, 30-40 years!! It was impossible to live downtown without a car, but a compact downtown isn't possible if everybody has a car, so the whole venture was doomed, until Publix opened a grocery store on Central and Eola Dr..<br />
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Also, I know this because I lived in a food desert in Philly. I lived a couple of streets away from a poorer part of town, but my neighborhood was all college students (no cars) and professors. Corporations can be really blind sometimes when it comes to knowing where to invest. I took me a half an hour usually to take the bus to the nearest grocery store, that or I had to walk two miles or so, also taking a half an hour. My solution: I bought a backpack with wheels! Two miles doesn't seem like a lot to some car-driving executive, but without a car it's a long way. At least the walking was nice and I could walk down a recreational trail on the river on my way to the grocery store. I guess I was privileged.<br />
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A surprising solution to the food desert problem is that the residents in these areas supply their own services for their own demand, and the result is a very non-corporate America in it's most authentic form, in my opinion. There are parts of America that McDonalds, Wallmart's, and big chains don't care about a bit, so they don't open shop. Access to fresh food suppliers for small scale and corner stores must be difficult though and could explain why lots of food-stores in inner-cities don't have good quality food, or if they do, it can be expensive compared to the chains. At least a local resident had the pride of being his/her own boss. <br />
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I mean, it is not as if all grocery stores need a pharmacy, bakery, meat counter and wine store within it; That is potentially six different stores, potentially run by six different small business owners. The grocery stores might have to be smaller, but if there are lots of small stores, it comes out to the same amount, just spread out between a lot of hands, a lot of entrepreneurs.<br />
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But what do I know; I'm no entrepreneur or small business owner. Or is this common sense?<br />
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Another solution are food markets on the weekend (from local farmers or imported, whatever), food trucks, and smaller grocery stores spread out more often (like every corner, darn it!). Suddenly there are a whole lot of people in Generation X and Y, who want to have a farm, raise cows and churn out organic cheese. That, or small family farms might have an alternative to selling en masse to some retailer. Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-77880584102177651352011-10-25T01:31:00.000-07:002011-10-25T01:48:49.998-07:00New Apartment, Same Town<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Lars and I recently moved into our new apartment. We now live practically in the town square, in the center of town life. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh86bIOB18aDyv47qB7ukGm1TDHMDw3Iw5Xo_Ga4nmxX8b7lQk2kSaqlPmu-0HkVmdrBYzEQHayOcF8wsPJfk65H-NqZbWWFbff-j1NKyxWwbmThnWxpM7RNlkvMpMfHZ8c6zqmfEQyHps/s1600/zAptcottbus+032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh86bIOB18aDyv47qB7ukGm1TDHMDw3Iw5Xo_Ga4nmxX8b7lQk2kSaqlPmu-0HkVmdrBYzEQHayOcF8wsPJfk65H-NqZbWWFbff-j1NKyxWwbmThnWxpM7RNlkvMpMfHZ8c6zqmfEQyHps/s320/zAptcottbus+032.JPG" width="320" /></a>Lars is my hero. He found our apartment while I was visiting Agata in Poland. Before my trip, we looked everywhere, but were faced with few options. We saw an apartment in a Plate Development (with even a higher rent, but same space) in the south of the city, which seemed to be our only alternative to the loud apartment we had then. Without a car, I would have been stranded after 7 PM in the Plate Development, when the last trolley serviced our area. Our problem with finding an apartment was that we only want to rent short-term and we have a dog. This time of year, with students going back to school, there's nothing left at all.</div><br />
Miraculously, Lars found a two-room plus kitchen apartment for a lower price than even the Plate Apartment, and in the Old-City! When I got back from Poland, he showed it to me and we moved in immediately. Apparently, it was all luck; the last owner had just moved out. Lars was the first person to commit to the apartment. So, finally, Lars and I can say that we are settled in Cottbus, at least for the next 3-6 months!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlKMJlHqV_LKMWuU96khX7PuNyUro82OiGayhUCO56fPi1lUtfiq4xOz9uoIIk1UNXGeLh60KwZ5KVUYCWIU5fJv8O26Fe2Pc2f7nNtsWG6mi20TQPn6cAc8vYb1K2cjGw6X0yztT2Gc/s1600/zAptcottbus+031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlKMJlHqV_LKMWuU96khX7PuNyUro82OiGayhUCO56fPi1lUtfiq4xOz9uoIIk1UNXGeLh60KwZ5KVUYCWIU5fJv8O26Fe2Pc2f7nNtsWG6mi20TQPn6cAc8vYb1K2cjGw6X0yztT2Gc/s320/zAptcottbus+031.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Above is the view from the Foyet looking into the bedroom on the right and living room on the right.<br />
Below are two pictures looking out of the bedroom window. In the first picture, one can see a mixture of older buildings, Gründerzeit buildings and Plate-buildings. In the second picture, you can see a "Gründerzeit"building on the left, otherwise known as "Jugendstil" or in English, <i>Art Nouveau</i> style, a style connected to the American Arts and Crafts movement for its emphasis on organic and human form and decoration. To the right is a building, similar to the own we live in, of Plate construction, or "Plattenbau." A lot of the Old-City looks like the Plate building.<br />
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I learned that the reason for this is that much of the Old-City was destroyed during a bomb raid from the American-allies during WWII. Since then, really nothing had been rebuilt until the Wall came down in 1989. At that time, the town planners took a very conservative approach to rebuilding the Old-City: the decided to recycle the Plate-material they had on hand, but, instead of building large Plate building common to East European, they built building that fitted into the local buiding style and tradition. That is why the Plate-buidling across the street doesn't really look like a communist Plate-building, even though the material is the same. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look to the Town Center "Alt-Markt", or Old-Market</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfTHfoSyd9V71h2MZePVV0vEqMhPpaPnmVshW5FqtDWQGmfzfl9xfkLxzZAqgFRblseJXlOU_hRW1G7kenMbCQI5jDTMZLYjNTODhqYyJo_tP_zN5v35LidNf4kpDJOLbTn8Cbl9fPY34/s1600/zAptcottbus+035+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfTHfoSyd9V71h2MZePVV0vEqMhPpaPnmVshW5FqtDWQGmfzfl9xfkLxzZAqgFRblseJXlOU_hRW1G7kenMbCQI5jDTMZLYjNTODhqYyJo_tP_zN5v35LidNf4kpDJOLbTn8Cbl9fPY34/s320/zAptcottbus+035+-+Copy.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View out my window, looking down a side street. Plate-Building on the right.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_rB3_WLsBtDg7Syd-ht2o5SYPT0I3qRXfm8CM3_1nRkcGHwvXmDL2Yws2GU0Pkbfq8KlkytyXcvnzJD1RTZdA4lPB1DqDKA1SGdJ3gJsmai05FI4FXUBKngM4EmLfeVxgmF4Y01mMZA/s1600/CottbusSept21+022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_rB3_WLsBtDg7Syd-ht2o5SYPT0I3qRXfm8CM3_1nRkcGHwvXmDL2Yws2GU0Pkbfq8KlkytyXcvnzJD1RTZdA4lPB1DqDKA1SGdJ3gJsmai05FI4FXUBKngM4EmLfeVxgmF4Y01mMZA/s320/CottbusSept21+022.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Former site of City-Wall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Above is a interesting picture of the site of the historic City-Wall. The stones mark the spot. To take the picture, I stood in the middle of the street and looked south. The street is also historic and was a main access into the city until 1500. After 1500, the area around the wall became more settled, and I'm not sure what purpose the wall served then. Still, the wall marks the boundary of the town until industrialization and the coming of the railway system, which caused an increase in wealth and an expansion of the city in all directions, especially southward.<br />
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I have been learning all of this in a class at the university, in which I get to look at really old maps of Cottbus and have to redraw maps. One map I made shows the settlement pattern of Cottbus. The city stayed the same size from its settlement in the 3. or 4. century AD. (according to wikipedia) until industrialization, and then again after WW2. So, in the last 150 years, the city has exploded in size! By looking at the maps, I'm guessing that one could fit 12 Old-City size Cottbuses into the current Cottbus. Basically, there was an exposion of growth with the advent of the railroad, and again with the arrival of the personal car. Does that also count as urban sprawl.....? <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXE4UNYmRl_3ka8Bsjdt-ApH52ymsz-7a-Eb59yig7NWhZNHAl8Ly-lbtsPZ9Guc6TeRYCN0gNoPatKUgGfTG4Cf2yqbk2uZhYNN8TPT3Tc9vydp5__41CHoJnWwUMRFb5p7X5fL6u9W0/s1600/CottbusSept21+025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXE4UNYmRl_3ka8Bsjdt-ApH52ymsz-7a-Eb59yig7NWhZNHAl8Ly-lbtsPZ9Guc6TeRYCN0gNoPatKUgGfTG4Cf2yqbk2uZhYNN8TPT3Tc9vydp5__41CHoJnWwUMRFb5p7X5fL6u9W0/s320/CottbusSept21+025.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">City Gate and entrance to the left and house built into the old City-Wall</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House built into the City-Wall</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz5edhM1DTM0cDNNQoSCdxRQUfMY2UD6s4W6cAaoWZsnmK7s741NpddzYpb53813-d5ATN3k7pqG-s1wQLiUz3VuAm90JUwP9sKPbDPVEDMlgYsiCMjRklIlk_s9pMLidB9HLmpRH8qpc/s1600/CottbusSept21+027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz5edhM1DTM0cDNNQoSCdxRQUfMY2UD6s4W6cAaoWZsnmK7s741NpddzYpb53813-d5ATN3k7pqG-s1wQLiUz3VuAm90JUwP9sKPbDPVEDMlgYsiCMjRklIlk_s9pMLidB9HLmpRH8qpc/s320/CottbusSept21+027.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old City-Guard station on the wall.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieDyol7Du9PLXNYHqFyhwzaCDA9_Pi5bNw5L4LNr2cj0IueQRf9iHLyPKJXpiqnmCTeiOr7R7x2qsL1DCwEiyQLFlVcTzxlgtyqwfw3rmdatzOPxr3w28uhQQNy27FBppy_zhhA6KLI50/s1600/CottbusSept21+028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieDyol7Du9PLXNYHqFyhwzaCDA9_Pi5bNw5L4LNr2cj0IueQRf9iHLyPKJXpiqnmCTeiOr7R7x2qsL1DCwEiyQLFlVcTzxlgtyqwfw3rmdatzOPxr3w28uhQQNy27FBppy_zhhA6KLI50/s320/CottbusSept21+028.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Market street leading toward the Alt-Markt. My apartment is further down on the left.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx7n8QeGvMzMG4SSw9KphXNzseOrTxmHDz5xvi41lxkDZPclQYxde4NrVhRRT76uWJEw9ruExPsxrVBBSGCbITLHNhkmT5Y3k3wupiqlWaZI9SRD-OpgUrHIsyUK2sU78QJAasJZD4EmA/s1600/CottbusSept21+029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx7n8QeGvMzMG4SSw9KphXNzseOrTxmHDz5xvi41lxkDZPclQYxde4NrVhRRT76uWJEw9ruExPsxrVBBSGCbITLHNhkmT5Y3k3wupiqlWaZI9SRD-OpgUrHIsyUK2sU78QJAasJZD4EmA/s320/CottbusSept21+029.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1RTShmrRuP_VgCIV4vE0MuHEpnVkyQWEfGB0J47-d1239sfziH7a9Aettok6qrKZAUBJLBdgzMQ7GKwbrzLRzv0_L5C3gvAi62bDMCH3xBtGmVffS5HylYdFlaZo3LvDUVMd7li9ePc/s1600/CottbusSept21+031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1RTShmrRuP_VgCIV4vE0MuHEpnVkyQWEfGB0J47-d1239sfziH7a9Aettok6qrKZAUBJLBdgzMQ7GKwbrzLRzv0_L5C3gvAi62bDMCH3xBtGmVffS5HylYdFlaZo3LvDUVMd7li9ePc/s320/CottbusSept21+031.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
Above is the Plate-building I live in, designed to fit into the local building style. The entrance to my apartment building is on the right. Number 12, Marktstraße.</div>Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-3395528900286455412011-09-28T00:18:00.000-07:002011-09-28T00:40:48.774-07:00Market Days in Cottbus<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZC-4xTAruGxUzuPPx31wSIaGmqOJRsaDcAIcK_b3Y7nV2sIkqsUH3YTaAw4PNoXvYVYxpaG23EULcFPBCN-Oh0QPBUiG9ujL_No9IQUQjbp_03MY10Hhq5AWL6e-DlwRDuMAbhm29NnM/s1600/CottbusSept21+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZC-4xTAruGxUzuPPx31wSIaGmqOJRsaDcAIcK_b3Y7nV2sIkqsUH3YTaAw4PNoXvYVYxpaG23EULcFPBCN-Oh0QPBUiG9ujL_No9IQUQjbp_03MY10Hhq5AWL6e-DlwRDuMAbhm29NnM/s320/CottbusSept21+003.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walk near University</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In this post, I want to talk about some of thoughts as I walked around town last week on Wednesday, which is a market day in Cottbus.<br />
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For the next few months, I will be taking some classes at the university. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm freaked out. I signed up for classes so that I can figure what kind of profession I want to go into, and can catch up on some requisites. The picture taken below is on my walk back from the university along a side street after matriculating. Below is the building in the above picture, seen more closely. The building was built using plate material. It doesn't look like a typical Plate building now though because the "green" in front of the building has been turned into parking.<br />
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That reminds me of the "Office Parks" in the US, which, when first developed, were supposed to offer workers a view of rolling hills and green surrounding their offices. In actuality, the green was sacrificed for rolling, meandering parking lots and roadways. But, I digress. The picture speaks for itself. It was a beautiful day!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>The next picture, below, really shocked me! It was taken as I approached the Old-City, on a very vibrant street with lots of cool restaurants and bars. The shocking thing is that there is a wooden star of david tied to the little balcony toward the top of the house. I tried to zoom in, but I don't think it turned out. Whenever I see anything Jewish in Germany, like the remains of old synagogue, a jewish graveyard or a star of david (should that be capitalized?), I always pause to think about the situation. I mean, it isn't common to see Jewish things in Germany.<br />
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Interestingly, Lars always remarks when he hears or sees a last name which is Jewish-German. Be it in a film or book, be it an American or a German, or a name on an advertisement, he seems to know if the name is Jewish-German. I asked him, "How do you know the names are Jewish?" He answered, "The Jewish names are prettier." "Really???," I ask. "Yeah... I don't know why." It seems strange to me that the names should be "prettier." An example is "Rosenblatt", or <i>Roseleaf</i>, the name of the craftsman we met yesterday, who showed us some antique furniture. Roseleaf is a very pretty name!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlvuZ-2nmE9VETTNrwghM6iLY6JxISqfJy_mBPsLIBhscMXND73hBtJXhsj6eXg3P6hteSGwFDCFjuyAUA03lS7TUHqV6jVllManAdAVju5RydnrHFgkqJ9LKVps1AUukwtyB2QyMhHg/s1600/CottbusSept21+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlvuZ-2nmE9VETTNrwghM6iLY6JxISqfJy_mBPsLIBhscMXND73hBtJXhsj6eXg3P6hteSGwFDCFjuyAUA03lS7TUHqV6jVllManAdAVju5RydnrHFgkqJ9LKVps1AUukwtyB2QyMhHg/s320/CottbusSept21+006.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House with Star of David on the balcony</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The picture below is of an Art-Nouveau house directly across from the house with the Star of David. I love Art-Nouveau and liked the look of the posters on vacant store front. I also liked how one can see the fading lettering on the building, left from a past tenant a century ago. The house will probably be renovated soon if it follows the trend of renovation on the street.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House on vibrant street, near Old-City</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Later that day, I stopped by the street market to buy some groceries. Mmmm. I bought a delicious loaf of bread called, Crusty-Bread, no joke. And it was! I also got some cured-ground pork, which I cooked anyway-I am distrustful of ground meat-- and cured slices of ham. I also bought lots of vegetables and a strainer.<br />
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These market stalls appear and disappear on the day of the market. It's hard to believe how big a space can seem when it gets crowded! I mean, this little plaza seems so small most days, but so many little stalls can fit in here for the market; you would think it is a very big place!<br />
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I guess that is how downtowns and dense cities work and end up seeming so big. The space can be so small, but can fit so much, that you think it is much "bigger" than it is! (On a side note, I remember the first time I walked across Center City in Philadelphia. It only took 30-45 minutes! So much in such a small space. I couldn't believe how small it is, when it always seemed so big.)<br />
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There are numerous markets in the Old-City. This one is only Wednesdays and Fridays. Another one is on Tuesdays, and another on Saturdays. The market square is in front of the Town Hall "Stadt Halle" and Courthouse "Rathouse." Directly next to the square is a shopping mall, so to speak, but it is more of a glassed in shopping passage. Isn't that an interesting idea? Instead of a parking lot in front of the mall, have a market!<br />
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Street markets are so common in Europe. I took the pictures below to show the types of things bought and sold at the market. They are so particular, that I chuckled from time to time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wednesday Market in Front of Stadt Halle</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vendor selling kitchen supplies- I bought a strainer!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flower Bulbs for sale</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir9Lt3j7VSPpzn8Hf7rdiYjzraAn7L9O_gsq_Ia74LyXqB3mSePeO-TOrZmKSxW5RX2yt8nkXZTaZMskftHvIq5J6kIknz-h0u0KjJ1ahexKYJmTgBNxLL73ephI8R2WyuoQbzk4HXvr4/s1600/CottbusSept21+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir9Lt3j7VSPpzn8Hf7rdiYjzraAn7L9O_gsq_Ia74LyXqB3mSePeO-TOrZmKSxW5RX2yt8nkXZTaZMskftHvIq5J6kIknz-h0u0KjJ1ahexKYJmTgBNxLL73ephI8R2WyuoQbzk4HXvr4/s320/CottbusSept21+012.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fruits and Vegetables for sale</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75MINFSDFXtnw_koE0w42rr07EftWdVPJVFdKk61iA2KS37q9PwnQEGEH4lG-uG0jdUgMHKFKq6KVQam0oBRhdzUTiW3E7iKDMt-U8b4mo42QQApKQ8L3PwLKmbsFoL-rKAVsd_KZgjs/s1600/CottbusSept21+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75MINFSDFXtnw_koE0w42rr07EftWdVPJVFdKk61iA2KS37q9PwnQEGEH4lG-uG0jdUgMHKFKq6KVQam0oBRhdzUTiW3E7iKDMt-U8b4mo42QQApKQ8L3PwLKmbsFoL-rKAVsd_KZgjs/s320/CottbusSept21+014.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shoes and Slippers for sale to the right</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDod43P_ZnAhHAOnl9hh8BO-eC3oF2oirdUf8QKUlnDbVOM0j4f9zxGVYrkTlqoQfqux8c-4zDtvdpup23_rrZ4gQbub4KvKdGdEaMmswPDCbLgu8czh79T_mlSJ7zc8wQNzqu7o-P__U/s1600/CottbusSept21+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDod43P_ZnAhHAOnl9hh8BO-eC3oF2oirdUf8QKUlnDbVOM0j4f9zxGVYrkTlqoQfqux8c-4zDtvdpup23_rrZ4gQbub4KvKdGdEaMmswPDCbLgu8czh79T_mlSJ7zc8wQNzqu7o-P__U/s320/CottbusSept21+015.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Autumn Plants and Flowers/Grasses</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLjT8d0JQ7TOumsHgQ0XOT3yp3rZauA2Gc57WAfOEEtOHAcfmz4uBw3bi7t1LEf_mqtKxJPT9XxOkzdnJpqfF0XrEuN2O7CL03TQyoNEOBfaM_z6JJx8MiRP7Gm9YnfXHMwW-5-Vm7Pjk/s1600/CottbusSept21+016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLjT8d0JQ7TOumsHgQ0XOT3yp3rZauA2Gc57WAfOEEtOHAcfmz4uBw3bi7t1LEf_mqtKxJPT9XxOkzdnJpqfF0XrEuN2O7CL03TQyoNEOBfaM_z6JJx8MiRP7Gm9YnfXHMwW-5-Vm7Pjk/s320/CottbusSept21+016.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Currywurst and .... Pantyhose? Ok!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The picture above needs more than a caption. To the left is a Bratwurst Stall, where one can buy a hot <i>Currywurst </i>with <i>Brötchen</i> (hard roll) or a steak, or a stuffed potato, perhaps. Bratwurst is the most common thing to find at the food stalls, ready to eat. I have never seen such a Currywurst Stall before, but we are close to Berlin, and Berliners love Currywurst! To the right is a stall for pantyhose! Check out the mannequin legs. The tough guys, who love their wurst, won't be scared off by a few mannequin legs, or even think twice.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEELxOZaD-mOFWnHMGTQUIGSZoRW-PVQ9ZHroV8O9mItgR48Rqa4OGEZFnUZLc1EBf3nwx14BZ5pYAWkr0bYrk9_D7BjxfzV8rTUftPU_HEBJS73fxowic4eFKbJNSa2TkD1JaB1JzAak/s1600/CottbusSept21+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEELxOZaD-mOFWnHMGTQUIGSZoRW-PVQ9ZHroV8O9mItgR48Rqa4OGEZFnUZLc1EBf3nwx14BZ5pYAWkr0bYrk9_D7BjxfzV8rTUftPU_HEBJS73fxowic4eFKbJNSa2TkD1JaB1JzAak/s320/CottbusSept21+017.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meatwagon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The above picture shows a Meat-wagon, for lack of a better word. Here you can buy all types of non-vegetarian, mostly pork vittle, and cheese. In comparison, Americans are way conservative when it comes to how we like our meat cuts and cheese. In Germany, butchers (an actual profession) mix cheese and meat with all kinds of vegetables, fruit, cheese, meats or spices. After all, meat cuts and cheese play a central roll in breakfast and dinner here and is eaten on top of sliced rolls for breakfast or sliced bread for dinner.<br />
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Sausage, ham, and all kinds of bologna, sometimes also some pickled meats like pickled fish, or some type of spiced pate or <i>Leberwurst</i> are commonly on display for buyers. Beef and chicken is not so common. It may seem strange to see so much pork for some Americans, but at least you don't see heads, legs or other less appetizing animal parts, as is common in lots of the world, I hear (certainly in Spain!). Below is a Stall selling Spices, 250 Sorts to be exact.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipABOBxcC8oUXNy0zZg70oiZXHZbOxE0pFuSO4Jgljuyqt4Ak3O4x5kOU5OT0EyWEToZepHsL0z-tJIknHEm5tVreM09Xmb7UDPx5Ynl7JLIvCIXLfj4pKknPuTuHwgNRSmp1jOGTr7Lo/s1600/CottbusSept21+019.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipABOBxcC8oUXNy0zZg70oiZXHZbOxE0pFuSO4Jgljuyqt4Ak3O4x5kOU5OT0EyWEToZepHsL0z-tJIknHEm5tVreM09Xmb7UDPx5Ynl7JLIvCIXLfj4pKknPuTuHwgNRSmp1jOGTr7Lo/s320/CottbusSept21+019.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kqpyPhliKlSanUrUqyrWZQDbUDleyn7mpR0r5_ruN6ReKrrN4KikBVTrAcJSqTvJSatNNPMBgJCkvojQ_5Gb4ES_6xk9sY4n2AbSRVx5pJOIOIX4iYcf-m6QQWkmpzwn70KA9zpvOAE/s1600/CottbusSept21+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kqpyPhliKlSanUrUqyrWZQDbUDleyn7mpR0r5_ruN6ReKrrN4KikBVTrAcJSqTvJSatNNPMBgJCkvojQ_5Gb4ES_6xk9sY4n2AbSRVx5pJOIOIX4iYcf-m6QQWkmpzwn70KA9zpvOAE/s320/CottbusSept21+018.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spree Gallerie (Shopping Mall)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Next to the Street Market is the entrance to the shopping Mall. Shopping Malls in Germany tend to feel like outdoor shopping streets with a glass ceiling overhead. They are called "Arcades" sometimes.<br />
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Overall, I think it is really fantastic that, at a street market, many people can still make a living selling one particular thing at different markets. Aren't all markets the same the world over, whether in Jeruselum, Lyon, London or Philadelphia? Is this not the epitome of entrepreneurship, the foundation for how the modern free-market economy evolved into it's modern self? I think so, but I'm no expert. But I wonder why markets hardly exist in the US, but are abundant in the social-market economy in Germany? Is the root of the problem more economic in nature or is it a problem of urban design?<br />
I am reading a book online called <u>Unplanning: Livable Cities and Political Choices</u> by Charles Siegel. He commented on this relationship between non-traditional home choices (outside the city) and real estate prices after WWII. <br />
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<i>"We often hear that suburbia expanded so quickly only because people wanted to live there. It is true ...that many people wanted to take advantage of postwar prosperity to buy their own houses. But there is no reason to think that they wanted houses in postwar suburbia, designed according to the planners' principles, rather than similar houses in neighborhoods designed like old-fashioned streetcar suburbs. </i><br />
<i></i><br />
<i>In fact, the data we have shows that most of the people who moved to the new postwar suburbs did not particularly want to live in this sort of neighborhood. When Herbert Gans interviewed the residents of Levittown, a name that was symbolic of the mass suburbs of the fifties, he found that 72% of them had moved there for reasons that had nothing to do with its suburban setting. ...But streetcar suburbs were not being built at the time because they were not allowed by zoning laws."</i><br />
<i>-Charles Siegel </i><br />
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So what came first: the economic problem or the urban design problem? It is food for thought.<br />
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Speaking of food, I realize that a lot of the food at the market is imported from other countries, especially the vegetables, so the market isn't a market for local goods, necessarily. Street markets don't have to be local, and they aren't anti-globalization, per sé. Moreover, my favorite market experience was when the french marketeers visited St Albans in England for a week (such delicious cheese, bread, olives and sausage!!) But still, I like markets because I feel as if the person selling me a product is profiting from my business, and cares about my business. No offense to workers at chain stores, but sometimes they have a glassed-over look in their eyes, and I can tell they aren't thinking about me at all, just thinking about how long until they can clock out. It is a nice feeling to know that my business at the market is helping someone become a small business owner. Unfortunately, the prices can be higher. But they aren't are the German market in Cottbus. The market is just an alternative to the mall.<br />
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I ask myelf sometimes what kind of world my kids will grow up in. Will there still be small markets, small businesses and the option of a personal connection to where our food comes from in Germany <i>and</i> in the US? Lars says that he thinks so, at least in Germany. We talk about economics and quality of life a lot. Germans don't make as much money and pay very high taxes, after all. But, so many basic things are lacking n the US, like small markets. They are becoming fashionable in American dense residential areas, but these dense urban centers are so expensive, that only "richer" people, for lack of a better word, can afford to live there. That phenomenon is called gentrification.<br />
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Oh well. I enjoyed the market very much! I plan to become a regular at the Baker's Stall with the crusty bread.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicpdlIaTJW4JoUhcDw4wV8FSSBXJrlJAEGlJBJ-DrrTO3QTjAxJG0qqw9zNdyfnreHUm462qZHLPeeRSUf-HCzo3iWBBkBW_6uI5Fue_XOsYCUqqHqQGHz75nOFIbogaNrz9K5xYfSWX4/s1600/CottbusSept21+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicpdlIaTJW4JoUhcDw4wV8FSSBXJrlJAEGlJBJ-DrrTO3QTjAxJG0qqw9zNdyfnreHUm462qZHLPeeRSUf-HCzo3iWBBkBW_6uI5Fue_XOsYCUqqHqQGHz75nOFIbogaNrz9K5xYfSWX4/s320/CottbusSept21+020.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mall that feels like a street.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-11910203355205373422011-09-19T06:21:00.000-07:002011-09-20T01:25:41.728-07:00Poznan, Poland with Agata!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIGRtr4n8uYFFZygeF6oF6ERiVoHT90tVxCQ4PKVm1oHTQAUTAxw3S0EVZ2uLNU_UtLx79jYJ419jqhYw9A8bPLDPrV1MHvzEBDnmM-tCzkJowJ_JVnyckRlpXi1fkwUdkUK5kXMUyNLA/s1600/Agata1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIGRtr4n8uYFFZygeF6oF6ERiVoHT90tVxCQ4PKVm1oHTQAUTAxw3S0EVZ2uLNU_UtLx79jYJ419jqhYw9A8bPLDPrV1MHvzEBDnmM-tCzkJowJ_JVnyckRlpXi1fkwUdkUK5kXMUyNLA/s400/Agata1.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me (left) and Agata in the town square of Poznan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Agata D. is a friend of mine I met during my studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She did a semester at UPenn while working on her thesis, and we met in one of our professor's classes. She has done a lot of interesting work on creole languages and even spent some months in the Caribbean doing field work. We hit it off right away and had a blast discovering the Philly bar scene and talking our heads off about all types of things: linguistics, sociology, philosophy, .... and all the linguistics gossip!<br />
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She has just finished her Ph.D. in Sociolinguistics at the University of Edinburgh. I was thrilled to come visit her in her home town, Poznan, Poland, while she was on holiday there. I stayed with her family and enjoyed their hospitality (Poles are very hospitable!) while she mostly translated Polish-English so that I could talk to her parents. I even had the chance to learn a little bit of Polish and would love to learn more. Tak, tak! (Yes, yes!)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj5bBrgeoqR0AKBIB1INdbOYeGQZIcHlXWHb0R639N_MrXClY9uFUNdmxQoxkgpq6cqwxoj9RJpgxQMOsVRK8LH22iTvW8PuW1fOpOQxpn7kMHJgcjzYdhabcmz2_ycOUvfS87_YL3JQc/s1600/Agata2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj5bBrgeoqR0AKBIB1INdbOYeGQZIcHlXWHb0R639N_MrXClY9uFUNdmxQoxkgpq6cqwxoj9RJpgxQMOsVRK8LH22iTvW8PuW1fOpOQxpn7kMHJgcjzYdhabcmz2_ycOUvfS87_YL3JQc/s320/Agata2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Agata in front of new Retro-Classical fountain (only a few years old)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Agata told me that the town square has been under renovation and the old fountains, lost at some point, have been reinstalled in their original position for everyone to enjoy.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLqdqwh3aeWLA8cxYOooS6SicDxro9PCFh1Ep4lAbDRhQ6WdHSz2-80OtJSjUsdT_Nhcv7U3_EEP_QTubCVMRmUpI3v10TRNzGwxbe4iZUaoyU3cuS8hyphenhyphenooaDhhcN5DgNfx5wJFdxEEcU/s1600/Poland+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLqdqwh3aeWLA8cxYOooS6SicDxro9PCFh1Ep4lAbDRhQ6WdHSz2-80OtJSjUsdT_Nhcv7U3_EEP_QTubCVMRmUpI3v10TRNzGwxbe4iZUaoyU3cuS8hyphenhyphenooaDhhcN5DgNfx5wJFdxEEcU/s320/Poland+011.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqEJLTD8NO9cPaEETofYpAi1PxDR2v7sPOh3vzbrPTvGK96HQWGhScB4FM01Juo38SRVDFHTYLBZldgGjo1-LjVqiYaIOy4ZS7nrdjW9sPDTKphGMt1uzvLBhoKOpPucHXNV4ZLSlM-vU/s1600/Poland+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqEJLTD8NO9cPaEETofYpAi1PxDR2v7sPOh3vzbrPTvGK96HQWGhScB4FM01Juo38SRVDFHTYLBZldgGjo1-LjVqiYaIOy4ZS7nrdjW9sPDTKphGMt1uzvLBhoKOpPucHXNV4ZLSlM-vU/s320/Poland+008.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijqpfRKxmXIuQczSvla46NzQRbkomyvNPTcteU1ocnZ_7TZyAebx4Oh751h0JuIIZHoXM-5VBCv69E2ZeE45-qvio6SAJ27I9N4qw4bOuSSw5Is_ySMahitWg8GuLs2_LGhVFZmrsaLKE/s1600/Poland+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijqpfRKxmXIuQczSvla46NzQRbkomyvNPTcteU1ocnZ_7TZyAebx4Oh751h0JuIIZHoXM-5VBCv69E2ZeE45-qvio6SAJ27I9N4qw4bOuSSw5Is_ySMahitWg8GuLs2_LGhVFZmrsaLKE/s320/Poland+012.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I learned that each off these little houses, repainted with special graphic style, were designed and built by a different builder. I wonder what they are like inside!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOvm3k3bMYkK19YR4VSGVeLOuVV7xz80eBHezxDAiHd1pKIwm9eTeWPnmFe9hoDV31pJwCZvSInYPC9-Dydmv7X9j7eH3KsLDTcqQ7awvU6xvPpCX78i_ADsVN73K-DcRYkQHg2W_Q4Do/s1600/Poland+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOvm3k3bMYkK19YR4VSGVeLOuVV7xz80eBHezxDAiHd1pKIwm9eTeWPnmFe9hoDV31pJwCZvSInYPC9-Dydmv7X9j7eH3KsLDTcqQ7awvU6xvPpCX78i_ADsVN73K-DcRYkQHg2W_Q4Do/s320/Poland+014.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Here, Agata poses outside her favorite Cafe. One has to go through the building, through the cafe seating area, to come to the outdoor garden. This is similar to stuff I've seen in Germany. I think this is a common European way of building, but I didn't look closely at all the buildings I've seen in Europe. I know I saw similar back-gardens for pubs and cafes in Nottinghill, London. <br />
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In the US, I don't recall ever seeing a back-garden (Innenhof in German). In the US, we enjoy sitting in front of the cafe or inside, but behind it? ... Maybe this is the future for suburban cafes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGP1q95tdoLRfkXgh5E6aNeezUdkhkpcxOQ25i9KkPNer78GkKXP6yTENfCBh5XluDii9MpqlVuPttx9x8e84yXHS-OGGKvK_a4qo1rb5fg63iHwrIG7hadLsYRG31Z5LlgJWu2ReBvAw/s1600/Poland+016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGP1q95tdoLRfkXgh5E6aNeezUdkhkpcxOQ25i9KkPNer78GkKXP6yTENfCBh5XluDii9MpqlVuPttx9x8e84yXHS-OGGKvK_a4qo1rb5fg63iHwrIG7hadLsYRG31Z5LlgJWu2ReBvAw/s320/Poland+016.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brewery in the town Square</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Agata showed me a great brewery in the town square. We went inside to look at the brewing machinery, but we sat outside in the front. I had a honey beer. Delicious!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmVx5ezXocrXfIRapXFXKZn1csuqpT7kSOwPuJAdu66A45xHyvxtV0ppZGFgM2xl17dK3LRivB6iwqSeM5hW4-zcYAWHx3Ur2A7n10sTc3dm4W0FnbtmMI-5q-V6KnDK7bvmsNfKGlF_E/s1600/Poland+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmVx5ezXocrXfIRapXFXKZn1csuqpT7kSOwPuJAdu66A45xHyvxtV0ppZGFgM2xl17dK3LRivB6iwqSeM5hW4-zcYAWHx3Ur2A7n10sTc3dm4W0FnbtmMI-5q-V6KnDK7bvmsNfKGlF_E/s320/Poland+019.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2DSjTm0PViLVFoDdisdd5azpugXzaUr9IubhwCIujdgAWR25wPOJU-wSI305-sv7Lz1qpyXgSsFGTUBuroyNgsy6gNt5yEg8uwJeW1AtJsAxRAMsI_WcktNcFbF7vPZiSlzb0E8PDNTU/s1600/Poland+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2DSjTm0PViLVFoDdisdd5azpugXzaUr9IubhwCIujdgAWR25wPOJU-wSI305-sv7Lz1qpyXgSsFGTUBuroyNgsy6gNt5yEg8uwJeW1AtJsAxRAMsI_WcktNcFbF7vPZiSlzb0E8PDNTU/s320/Poland+020.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our honey beers- brewed on-spot!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzBy7xtZNTiAUzyTUF-7TuhTw9mARuCl44AxQc0zamXfC6mbBpq3A9rPVpNbqjqz7i_V_LjMM-BnXYbrJI32RAys4D2lsdNhJeM-isKVqKo5qXQwD3OcF8CiO_yIUBR9aVlHwlasw96zg/s1600/Poland+021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzBy7xtZNTiAUzyTUF-7TuhTw9mARuCl44AxQc0zamXfC6mbBpq3A9rPVpNbqjqz7i_V_LjMM-BnXYbrJI32RAys4D2lsdNhJeM-isKVqKo5qXQwD3OcF8CiO_yIUBR9aVlHwlasw96zg/s320/Poland+021.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From atop a hill, looking down at the narrow streets.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNoUMnwXdvYzYy9Z9OgTJNCUnjxBqyRRIpeHN1XH0ZHI90Q_81Gb2GcxqtNZ7WcY6DYP2aoPu-oAUXgtjJh18v8MB_IJrjCR2-nTRHJrJkk8xRwRtLR2bEHOtokSC5VbZJ2Gq9hPYveM/s1600/Agata4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNoUMnwXdvYzYy9Z9OgTJNCUnjxBqyRRIpeHN1XH0ZHI90Q_81Gb2GcxqtNZ7WcY6DYP2aoPu-oAUXgtjJh18v8MB_IJrjCR2-nTRHJrJkk8xRwRtLR2bEHOtokSC5VbZJ2Gq9hPYveM/s320/Agata4.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHMeZEMWD1VtbjvSB2FkScedBulkHtG1aFuyVxmCyNyOCwtcN1kp8QZ6aMcBttacedN6rp9mZEfLw9HkjCZ3pUrXw69y6kUMJ53xMed1cUqo-ifOTnct3WrP28ydwPalJXKuCv5-X-IBk/s1600/Poland+022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHMeZEMWD1VtbjvSB2FkScedBulkHtG1aFuyVxmCyNyOCwtcN1kp8QZ6aMcBttacedN6rp9mZEfLw9HkjCZ3pUrXw69y6kUMJ53xMed1cUqo-ifOTnct3WrP28ydwPalJXKuCv5-X-IBk/s320/Poland+022.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAflBvru-VytAS5iWJ0Jj8x0oM-O8MqbotdGGvvJ_hKqNxlDactc10Aem8r2908MblQSYVHmvgejqQ9LIBpdAEsZul7DUHhzxV1lh-htMm0CFzsK8AKO_4wzMWc1vIzDxRbt2_G664RkQ/s1600/Poland+024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAflBvru-VytAS5iWJ0Jj8x0oM-O8MqbotdGGvvJ_hKqNxlDactc10Aem8r2908MblQSYVHmvgejqQ9LIBpdAEsZul7DUHhzxV1lh-htMm0CFzsK8AKO_4wzMWc1vIzDxRbt2_G664RkQ/s320/Poland+024.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCC15LT5Db2PKHnL3VwpHULVlwVUJNf8_fGGu6ArqZO-cCD5iuUhhIcuuiV7IDGBesvnVsY_8yjjLoalTi1zahC5LjFH6rKYJxFpuPzZB5cyN6qnrtX7nemBUBNP9Hfu1NSLU2L9P00PU/s1600/Poland+025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCC15LT5Db2PKHnL3VwpHULVlwVUJNf8_fGGu6ArqZO-cCD5iuUhhIcuuiV7IDGBesvnVsY_8yjjLoalTi1zahC5LjFH6rKYJxFpuPzZB5cyN6qnrtX7nemBUBNP9Hfu1NSLU2L9P00PU/s320/Poland+025.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Above is a picture taken from the hill in front of the cathedral. I could see the town square from here.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKPNYn2O22s8zCLlnuZp-hItRuWcUh8Y8Fhc7oK-EYvOVHeG6M48bzCxYu8yLbfT9FKYDOKdXFhz6WuHmmNgZDTxhs0Dc21heRGT5UrgbmphgsC4FRPh8nTuUXKgJFhfiBBfZKoaZIeEU/s1600/Poland+026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKPNYn2O22s8zCLlnuZp-hItRuWcUh8Y8Fhc7oK-EYvOVHeG6M48bzCxYu8yLbfT9FKYDOKdXFhz6WuHmmNgZDTxhs0Dc21heRGT5UrgbmphgsC4FRPh8nTuUXKgJFhfiBBfZKoaZIeEU/s320/Poland+026.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The tower ahead is the top of the main building in the town square, which were in the first couple of pictures on this post.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVnpZqLGw9hal9R6bl83v15zqfWc1qvgRQCc0ktlZKm0tgaW4khhEr0Ui7-3ICzmOuNk_Cq_Jcq6muAynKQkV-T7Erl90u1lwCu4ianREtfnTXpwGnoypf5sfNw1HEwbmELPCsfwR89d8/s1600/Poland+027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVnpZqLGw9hal9R6bl83v15zqfWc1qvgRQCc0ktlZKm0tgaW4khhEr0Ui7-3ICzmOuNk_Cq_Jcq6muAynKQkV-T7Erl90u1lwCu4ianREtfnTXpwGnoypf5sfNw1HEwbmELPCsfwR89d8/s320/Poland+027.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh88Hne0dra4hKKU28IP3C9B2-5bJy1ja8q_DfooBM0hBgQ6AWZHFIbaLnutlJ8YnyLTuWPJZQF0GOOnXJhyphenhyphenUK3oJ_JeceDSklF8n0zs7-jIglZeuDZnTKbypEi6_27qD5yVqdgAtjG2EE/s1600/Agata5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh88Hne0dra4hKKU28IP3C9B2-5bJy1ja8q_DfooBM0hBgQ6AWZHFIbaLnutlJ8YnyLTuWPJZQF0GOOnXJhyphenhyphenUK3oJ_JeceDSklF8n0zs7-jIglZeuDZnTKbypEi6_27qD5yVqdgAtjG2EE/s320/Agata5.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAbbCCaHOAidT7QfBQaKbJd1k5SDA_XzwkM7WhirA5-3VOe-HHOum1RJvb3ZwK_Ln0YR3q9e3ClFY2q-72Hi_34_PC3U2NagneNu_Zmn-zQT8EJSnZfTlMZJILj0B0qmNP6GaVj8vj0fk/s1600/Poland+028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAbbCCaHOAidT7QfBQaKbJd1k5SDA_XzwkM7WhirA5-3VOe-HHOum1RJvb3ZwK_Ln0YR3q9e3ClFY2q-72Hi_34_PC3U2NagneNu_Zmn-zQT8EJSnZfTlMZJILj0B0qmNP6GaVj8vj0fk/s320/Poland+028.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>And then we spotted a man running on top of the roof in front of us!! Agata told me that there is even a sport, in which the competitors race across rooftops! Losing must be fatal!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoF9DMfToa8LlMCEakv6-rzVG67uV_geapFwPKMIR170uR0a15uZ21ssEbLrwrSwJvmSh7B44ly0MvqXqMSPdiRS3Lj6Qik6HRHK5eFwfMKe2msW4avC3o5wqpu1_gnZOVb6NFQqfe1I/s1600/Poland+029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoF9DMfToa8LlMCEakv6-rzVG67uV_geapFwPKMIR170uR0a15uZ21ssEbLrwrSwJvmSh7B44ly0MvqXqMSPdiRS3Lj6Qik6HRHK5eFwfMKe2msW4avC3o5wqpu1_gnZOVb6NFQqfe1I/s320/Poland+029.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_bAQaPBSmQn1R2WxJelFZI8v1QcctH597xsBRYXzaTDBloXPUyceR2qBJuofXWxASXvRxZRIjrf2zsaj3KXZjUhUxtwt3A6Mhyq-rP-BhD9s-9dBCm3WBkENgn-Rl8n9Cl04_tFZXTks/s1600/Poland+030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_bAQaPBSmQn1R2WxJelFZI8v1QcctH597xsBRYXzaTDBloXPUyceR2qBJuofXWxASXvRxZRIjrf2zsaj3KXZjUhUxtwt3A6Mhyq-rP-BhD9s-9dBCm3WBkENgn-Rl8n9Cl04_tFZXTks/s320/Poland+030.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I love these roofs</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzuaysDhYDpwyo_Dj1qflTb5vD5s_32IALG0IQbvPRaE5Mp5eJDaNn9a0KtqUJI6_yYZFXYSMjqOt1iwRXG_QBL5541DgqYKXUEyCSFCrX4Q4F90o3RhQ7Q-MyeeTvup3vSC7EBWH-6uo/s1600/Poland+033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzuaysDhYDpwyo_Dj1qflTb5vD5s_32IALG0IQbvPRaE5Mp5eJDaNn9a0KtqUJI6_yYZFXYSMjqOt1iwRXG_QBL5541DgqYKXUEyCSFCrX4Q4F90o3RhQ7Q-MyeeTvup3vSC7EBWH-6uo/s320/Poland+033.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>At some point, we got hungry. Yes, we had our beer before lunch! Only in Europe. ;) We went to a Rustic-Polish restaurant, which features polish specialties. Guests enjoy their country-food in a rustic atmosphere. The chairs, tables, walls, decor, everything looked like the inside of a country home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj562E-FMkN5n0_quMIDD_X2KiPFruZROdJ1_K8cs0IDdmggibJGudP7oWssrrNw39oN1c1iqmeYyuMWFfdli2eL1aA8f8fz631I4GAjBO7nAHkBV59kq9nhwj3Q3Vs34fSx9TXecQ2WfU/s1600/Poland+034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj562E-FMkN5n0_quMIDD_X2KiPFruZROdJ1_K8cs0IDdmggibJGudP7oWssrrNw39oN1c1iqmeYyuMWFfdli2eL1aA8f8fz631I4GAjBO7nAHkBV59kq9nhwj3Q3Vs34fSx9TXecQ2WfU/s320/Poland+034.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Appetizer: Bread with chive-creamcheese (left) or salted lard (!) with bitts of ham</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHqXobuxHM89TBoEAEPS9EtD0S211Nv5pGbYDPv-BwT_fBE3XqsMGdVgZMjLuWrTa4H-YIIunNWil4TpMLoPxwwWD2TGLNZIwHaEhHVDp86fXsCaE6h2wS667pf6uOEudp-vPBRL8Z6bY/s1600/Poland+035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHqXobuxHM89TBoEAEPS9EtD0S211Nv5pGbYDPv-BwT_fBE3XqsMGdVgZMjLuWrTa4H-YIIunNWil4TpMLoPxwwWD2TGLNZIwHaEhHVDp86fXsCaE6h2wS667pf6uOEudp-vPBRL8Z6bY/s320/Poland+035.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Country-Polish decor</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGOJq-G9RUvw-ifd1JUepMT9Z65B3opshKZdqcSFpfXhFjDhrErzZUguKPpMJkCxGLumeMCoEE3BxbHL7s-RAhBx2-GiJEvKYZhmq4ZEJxvigvHcJxo6oDO4UbnxoBxVDSeWHd8yYkHs/s1600/Agata6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGOJq-G9RUvw-ifd1JUepMT9Z65B3opshKZdqcSFpfXhFjDhrErzZUguKPpMJkCxGLumeMCoEE3BxbHL7s-RAhBx2-GiJEvKYZhmq4ZEJxvigvHcJxo6oDO4UbnxoBxVDSeWHd8yYkHs/s320/Agata6.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our table looks like a bed! Notice the folk stitchwork on the comforter and pillow.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkBK-CzPc9QxNJMT4KJzw0vab6S7cwDMzN0Mkt35EgVAVMZE4aSFl5gEf84InPG7z0QQOB4cUHT5mIuGrk-0MyiE86ZrZsGrWCKqU5O2ErS8AZ5hyVFdjcZAP906iQk7NSZ2fLBmFck8Q/s1600/Poland+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkBK-CzPc9QxNJMT4KJzw0vab6S7cwDMzN0Mkt35EgVAVMZE4aSFl5gEf84InPG7z0QQOB4cUHT5mIuGrk-0MyiE86ZrZsGrWCKqU5O2ErS8AZ5hyVFdjcZAP906iQk7NSZ2fLBmFck8Q/s320/Poland+002.JPG" width="320" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plate-buildings and look out of Agata's living room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The above picture and below two pictures were taken from Agata's parents' condo in a Plate-development. Plate developments were commonly built during the communist era. They house a lot of people and depart from the traditional street-grid building pattern. The advantages of such a development is that many people can have affordable housing with a balcony overlooking green. This type of building isn't always popular, although, according to Agata, 70 percent of the town resides in such a building.<br />
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Renovating older pre-WWII building and building larger villa-style apartment buildings is coming back en vogue, I believe. It turns out that renovation of the Plate-buildings is costly and, besides that, it reminds many people of communism. In Germany, Plate-buildings are described in planning books as being more difficult to retrofit for other purposes (shops, industrial buildings, lofts, etc.), which makes the area resistant to the natural evolution of use that occurs in all city buildings.<br />
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I think it is important to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the built-environment. The Plate-buildings were built based on ideological principles, but how could I live with myself (if I were a developer or planner) if I devalued them based on some other ideology? The truth is that there is no point in regretting the way we built in the past, and there's no point to tear everything down and try to forget it didn't happen. I guess I fall into the category of urban thinkers who believe that a city can heal itself, if planning is democratic and constructive (not destructive). I found Agata's neighborhood very pleasant and green: green, a common good for everyone to use, even if under-utilized. I judge it to be better than suburbia, becuase the green is a shared good, like a park..<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm9ZmeHBEgP0QVJ9hCIwJ-rm2kNJyWJsGIM35iziKh3rB3_rp_Zzdlm5-neeCIWgSX6btkhJ0ULKWxOBuzYII4_C7qn3VRoWcYqn7aULlamWe7BXuJI-fDQ4KYxAzxIcGyJYfSPGTxZRM/s1600/Poland+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm9ZmeHBEgP0QVJ9hCIwJ-rm2kNJyWJsGIM35iziKh3rB3_rp_Zzdlm5-neeCIWgSX6btkhJ0ULKWxOBuzYII4_C7qn3VRoWcYqn7aULlamWe7BXuJI-fDQ4KYxAzxIcGyJYfSPGTxZRM/s320/Poland+004.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Green between Plate-building: soccer field to the right and elementary school to the left.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPS7_P7Ww05I1eK5Gt1zRUGXrR_KB1jP5pOhyphenhyphenWXyWCMJ2_DBFyohIF6Bo-GED8lwFSmqx-BKcUNlneTRQ1WL9WDbmLDZ6KU4NIat_NBHsEpyu8dljnll61E3dv6c5xy-u81uNhg1ujWSg/s1600/Poland+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPS7_P7Ww05I1eK5Gt1zRUGXrR_KB1jP5pOhyphenhyphenWXyWCMJ2_DBFyohIF6Bo-GED8lwFSmqx-BKcUNlneTRQ1WL9WDbmLDZ6KU4NIat_NBHsEpyu8dljnll61E3dv6c5xy-u81uNhg1ujWSg/s320/Poland+003.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking out of the balcony over the flowers</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Below are some pictures taken on our tour of the city. I forget exactly what the buildings are below. The picture on the left may be a police station.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnfkHZTDNor8nxMapoBLacVZRGw38syZ6LrTT5GvQ5d6CtjcyHBmQ0pX-3QGUF7IkDQNgs5f5Kda1jHspeQsKV2l1pS9wLGIukyywZLTTrBopqDx4UfgZIHSl9mCel6FUo3_FIi8iqeE/s1600/Poland+037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnfkHZTDNor8nxMapoBLacVZRGw38syZ6LrTT5GvQ5d6CtjcyHBmQ0pX-3QGUF7IkDQNgs5f5Kda1jHspeQsKV2l1pS9wLGIukyywZLTTrBopqDx4UfgZIHSl9mCel6FUo3_FIi8iqeE/s320/Poland+037.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYY4jwtKUri4RHs5fLU0L8n5EkyetE37HaJA8yX4d0kZU2U1IPvyBF_dGIyVIZo93oU-FCZaD0a12QKFkfdo_eyrfsKFQY2oOgj8KRnet56EF_h5d0nKX4qcaLIvAdcpDrtFw7hULBVM/s1600/Poland+036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYY4jwtKUri4RHs5fLU0L8n5EkyetE37HaJA8yX4d0kZU2U1IPvyBF_dGIyVIZo93oU-FCZaD0a12QKFkfdo_eyrfsKFQY2oOgj8KRnet56EF_h5d0nKX4qcaLIvAdcpDrtFw7hULBVM/s320/Poland+036.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcOQ6nbqYqj5NunpC_CU1HkIblVE6FvcJOnI1XYfArBp5gbNKAbTSInArrhelZNmlUyYuSAb168UL_2CHYrLaff9cUcU30hm3MFiiArRYN0-AQUF8HRibVfbls9ygGFwOv_IY09gj5Dg/s1600/Poland+038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcOQ6nbqYqj5NunpC_CU1HkIblVE6FvcJOnI1XYfArBp5gbNKAbTSInArrhelZNmlUyYuSAb168UL_2CHYrLaff9cUcU30hm3MFiiArRYN0-AQUF8HRibVfbls9ygGFwOv_IY09gj5Dg/s320/Poland+038.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wall and building-needs renovation, but beautiful</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I really liked the contrast of the wall and this building above. It contrasts very nicely with the buildings in the other pictures, which had already undergone renovation. Fixing up older "Altbau" buildings can be very costly, but seem to be well worth it, if you have enough money. I wish I had the means to do that!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKw_6E0nzEa41i-XDplHtyDvXKcbex6hSMBBIVXIuowZSDDT_zkNYTkv9SBLRJAEM3w2j5WqOpq9U0Sg1K69NmriO9iQs7cxRnms6xvgTgs6ll11wKcDazi-z29AdkG94to3IsFenwWXU/s1600/Poland+039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKw_6E0nzEa41i-XDplHtyDvXKcbex6hSMBBIVXIuowZSDDT_zkNYTkv9SBLRJAEM3w2j5WqOpq9U0Sg1K69NmriO9iQs7cxRnms6xvgTgs6ll11wKcDazi-z29AdkG94to3IsFenwWXU/s320/Poland+039.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The picture above is of a red tower and the left side of the building in the previous picture. I believe that both buildings below to the university. The red building is the economics building. I never really like lonely towers, but the view must be nice from inside.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoLmN8qDDuOQ4h7sj2qTWDySmiiqwJ-hcqKG1YgvC0roW24RTYHyqKXVyF-lTBufl-oSLSsyaQVJi1AKIOdRpqclYh2Qj51wCt9o6HSym91rFOLNU5LkEqkPr0_6MCJicoLBHke9IM1s0/s1600/Poland+040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoLmN8qDDuOQ4h7sj2qTWDySmiiqwJ-hcqKG1YgvC0roW24RTYHyqKXVyF-lTBufl-oSLSsyaQVJi1AKIOdRpqclYh2Qj51wCt9o6HSym91rFOLNU5LkEqkPr0_6MCJicoLBHke9IM1s0/s320/Poland+040.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Retrofit brewery-now shopping and cultural center </td></tr>
</tbody></table>The following pictures are of a renovated brewery converted into a huge shopping center. The building is supposed to also include a cultural center, but I don't know what that was. Maybe the cultural center was supposed to be the food eateries.. haha. I met a girl at a bar in the last night who just graduated with a degree in architecture and had been working on the building. I should have asked her about that!<br />
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In any case, I was immensely impressed by the architecture of the building. The combination of red bick, glass and blue/purple steal reminded me of King's Cross Station in London, which is one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen, and is modern.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDS3KxF3YJusAIXJEAgQVl0v28P9t3MD2SnsvdVgVbxqYsygJOfYLjEs_nPlsyuNs9E5F9ah5hBbyCO0J-isXz-bpfZrhkC5e2VSJfUPOZP7Hw-S4iHmZqedioZxSOzdS84QxcseHs-EI/s1600/Poland+041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDS3KxF3YJusAIXJEAgQVl0v28P9t3MD2SnsvdVgVbxqYsygJOfYLjEs_nPlsyuNs9E5F9ah5hBbyCO0J-isXz-bpfZrhkC5e2VSJfUPOZP7Hw-S4iHmZqedioZxSOzdS84QxcseHs-EI/s320/Poland+041.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdoVgsRxNk_iU0icrD2LZI9CiCCbYQaXTGB-kvsavzG-0BsNLNeKaT-BCfWPN3XubKTsBReOSBLSptme9Crx2Kov-gSj8vwszcp5pIrbsmpI907Pu9_tdFzwslheyjoknDRVN38gFrs9g/s1600/Poland+042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdoVgsRxNk_iU0icrD2LZI9CiCCbYQaXTGB-kvsavzG-0BsNLNeKaT-BCfWPN3XubKTsBReOSBLSptme9Crx2Kov-gSj8vwszcp5pIrbsmpI907Pu9_tdFzwslheyjoknDRVN38gFrs9g/s320/Poland+042.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Seats inside glass walls. Where's the entrance? Interesting to look at, anyway!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7w1RJMtrqY-JMmYRd0pMuxjIDVSfWI-Pk43Qg9rVEyDPUJDj-0PzLxRaukhV5YhGUbpioAYEQnGypXCHPkPI2I7Jvoo75ylwujaHpCQR-CJmtlDn3NZYvZz58PoXMddcdn_xtLtlbrUU/s1600/Poland+044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7w1RJMtrqY-JMmYRd0pMuxjIDVSfWI-Pk43Qg9rVEyDPUJDj-0PzLxRaukhV5YhGUbpioAYEQnGypXCHPkPI2I7Jvoo75ylwujaHpCQR-CJmtlDn3NZYvZz58PoXMddcdn_xtLtlbrUU/s320/Poland+044.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-Dn-JEC8OCkSmAX9x2XvRaaBVk3zbc-CG722tgzkgLO_vwZAvkXEzO3gNco4eFgiTMfmhvDmb_bdKHRgXRiLPvwwZ4gpo3ZT64yn252p_Qd53zdoJ5OHa2g1pZrgEREzirrCJH6fuR0/s1600/Poland+043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-Dn-JEC8OCkSmAX9x2XvRaaBVk3zbc-CG722tgzkgLO_vwZAvkXEzO3gNco4eFgiTMfmhvDmb_bdKHRgXRiLPvwwZ4gpo3ZT64yn252p_Qd53zdoJ5OHa2g1pZrgEREzirrCJH6fuR0/s320/Poland+043.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Yes, shopping malls exists in Europe too.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHaWS0jrcKmWO-GUJ15kUOsRb9TzL4PW3sW27vWGZ-iHYn3dYnkarICnyDDXIfGqPHxVBoxuc8Gizh1C9UHGHXT1MB7-6taEjxwQ1eia4C2g0rJSuSzMCT-UWgd-LG1ow3Y2RXKrsD12w/s1600/Poland+047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHaWS0jrcKmWO-GUJ15kUOsRb9TzL4PW3sW27vWGZ-iHYn3dYnkarICnyDDXIfGqPHxVBoxuc8Gizh1C9UHGHXT1MB7-6taEjxwQ1eia4C2g0rJSuSzMCT-UWgd-LG1ow3Y2RXKrsD12w/s320/Poland+047.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZTYFZRQj8N1QSAaMg_y0hpUV4nFuL6iYtL3ioN_I-ho3j_BYVc7xwjqWEOj6U8FqDhR-XoMD5JHsGQn78y44mTpZNba8zWdRmchLlN3dSF-KeA_4iZBd7dU1jderamK_yPeDT9xgq6eQ/s1600/Poland+046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZTYFZRQj8N1QSAaMg_y0hpUV4nFuL6iYtL3ioN_I-ho3j_BYVc7xwjqWEOj6U8FqDhR-XoMD5JHsGQn78y44mTpZNba8zWdRmchLlN3dSF-KeA_4iZBd7dU1jderamK_yPeDT9xgq6eQ/s320/Poland+046.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjckoOfhCBPDJSd4YD77aU2qp5FPEzf5QKXT7sopmGNOoSR91s_fC5o4nLKRQNVMHlxclxy3v_TFyaWQrmrFv6yIBaS_b8TlroPJVNPplXV16kNOkjwZMVb6HUp_VAoYEJo6IchjNgqdN8/s1600/Poland+048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjckoOfhCBPDJSd4YD77aU2qp5FPEzf5QKXT7sopmGNOoSR91s_fC5o4nLKRQNVMHlxclxy3v_TFyaWQrmrFv6yIBaS_b8TlroPJVNPplXV16kNOkjwZMVb6HUp_VAoYEJo6IchjNgqdN8/s320/Poland+048.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The above building contrasts very nice with the previous highly-modernized shopping mall. Agata and I came to this "Innenhof" or inner courtyard behind a building (remember the back-gardens?) in order to find a second-hand shop. It might have been there in the little orange building in the center. We didn't find it, or it had moved site, so we had to keep looking for other second-hand shops.<br />
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A cool thing about Poznan, or maybe all Polish cities, is that sometimes you see a door with little signage, and it turns out to be an underground one-room store. Agata took me to one of these in her neighborhood when we needed to get computer paper for printing. (No picture)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyXnlRm6yEUbuMq2Cxu-p4XdCoofWw4X0QFkGXtpA2pL1hvRRgBxtROJV2DrpsJ4uCqT5d58fk7VKXKMcCvYc7_R8JE4Sc9S7xcb13owuJR6UNw5O9K_lZcVbQphnsYAC9xLNM4sIiK6s/s1600/Poland+049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyXnlRm6yEUbuMq2Cxu-p4XdCoofWw4X0QFkGXtpA2pL1hvRRgBxtROJV2DrpsJ4uCqT5d58fk7VKXKMcCvYc7_R8JE4Sc9S7xcb13owuJR6UNw5O9K_lZcVbQphnsYAC9xLNM4sIiK6s/s320/Poland+049.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A mainstreet-only Ped-Zone</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I really liked the above museum's architecture. I like the clean facade, even if it is a bit flat. I guess that was 50's or 60's style. Old enough now, it must come back into fashion. I read in some book (can't remember which book now) that building are in the most danger of their whole life between 30-50's years after their construction. That is when they are old enough to be out of fashion, but too young to be consider old, and worthy. That is when most buildings get torn down.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Aren't cities fascinating! Thank you, Agata, for showing me your wonderful town. I will never forget our night out to the Ukranian folk-concert with bon-fires and our walk through the cobblestone streets. Our last bar was one to remember, with three stories of hidden courtyards and a free shot of Vodka on the house. I have made some wonderful memories. :)</div>Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-32936196577626312102011-09-19T03:17:00.000-07:002011-09-27T09:16:14.779-07:00Berlin NextBike<div>Lars and I had quite the experience dealing with our neighbor a week ago.<br />
<br />
Our former neighbor is inconsiderate. He had left to go to a bar and forgot to turn off the tv. It roared!! Lars and I couldn't sleep at all and knocked on his door to turn it off. No answer. We were at our wit's end. We even dragged our mattress into the bathroom because, with the door closed, we couldn't hear the tv anymore. The thought of sleeping in the bathroom disgusted us though and we couldn't fall asleep. At some time around 3:30, our neighbor came home. He turned off the tv, thank god. We started to drift to sleep. <br />
<br />
Lars turned to me. "I have a bad feeling. That guy always plays rap music when he's drunk, right," He asked me. <br />
<br />
Well, about 10 minutes later, right when I was falling asleep, the guy started playing Jiggy Jiggy and played it for about an hour straight, on replay. No kidding. Lars and I hammered on his door, but he wouldn't answer. I asked Lars to call the police, but Lars didn't want to. (I don't understand why he didn't think we had a good enough reason to call the cops.) Another neighbor screamed from the street (in German), "Hey you! Turn the music down! I'm gonna call the cops if you don't!" Yeah, well, that never happened. I guess the yelling neighbor was bluffing.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Lars, Charlie and I loaded into the car, exhausted, and headed for Berlin. We drove to a hotel in the part of the city called Charlottenburg, in former West Berlin. And we tried to get some sleep, even though it was already morning. I think we still got a lot out of our trip to Berlin and made the best out of a bad start to the weekend.<br />
<br />
Below is a description of the things we saw and did in Berlin that weekend, with my comments.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3erUUBZnDT3KqZESnU0t0J5qbyRwjjfJGuF3yc7Bk_tWNu8mxblxZIsfBeb8yEqCLUKrrs-UCbeU2In85zjyljAzetT8gs0zLJ1ZoIL8gMhd4QcoZo0u7t1X-1fkNBHPZ3hULlpFELZg/s1600/Berlin+September+2011+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3erUUBZnDT3KqZESnU0t0J5qbyRwjjfJGuF3yc7Bk_tWNu8mxblxZIsfBeb8yEqCLUKrrs-UCbeU2In85zjyljAzetT8gs0zLJ1ZoIL8gMhd4QcoZo0u7t1X-1fkNBHPZ3hULlpFELZg/s320/Berlin+September+2011+001.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hotel Upper Room in Charlottenburg</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The hotel exterior and interior are Art-Nouveau. I think the hanging lights in the foyet/entrance to the building are the original light fixtures because the whole foyet and stairway was really dark. The lights were so dim. It reminded me of of a Victorian house in Kensington, London, that Lars and I toured last year, when we lived in England.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lars in front of dim turn-of-the-century light fixtures.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrHWtBd-jrKX9td3HvPur7Ts0UNMWSixYnSdfEOIRZkt0-uLJq7MWHe5-Up-cwDaABUpJKFVZYTC2YOOivb96eQeqLmaVlhGWCptv-2gNYMVNcqSbRaT3olHZnDL50eWM7kDR_BbSBZn0/s1600/Berlin+September+2011+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrHWtBd-jrKX9td3HvPur7Ts0UNMWSixYnSdfEOIRZkt0-uLJq7MWHe5-Up-cwDaABUpJKFVZYTC2YOOivb96eQeqLmaVlhGWCptv-2gNYMVNcqSbRaT3olHZnDL50eWM7kDR_BbSBZn0/s320/Berlin+September+2011+003.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entrance to building with Hotel Upper Room- Art Nouveau dark colors</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj79JDepNtuIg64eRK_-igVMdecBxCD7pJTXAd9SHUU-IYddSTTrXH6RujB0AbZ3cxvPLoY52zvDlZ965uhqJcmjHBhXgXCiaUeMF4aQtyli_YR47YBXTg4GzM1Kk-LO_hThuVlWdPRLXU/s1600/Berlin+September+2011+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj79JDepNtuIg64eRK_-igVMdecBxCD7pJTXAd9SHUU-IYddSTTrXH6RujB0AbZ3cxvPLoY52zvDlZ965uhqJcmjHBhXgXCiaUeMF4aQtyli_YR47YBXTg4GzM1Kk-LO_hThuVlWdPRLXU/s320/Berlin+September+2011+004.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtwmm-wn-MhCnaVlmoGZ9foYm-Dbp2s7sZg2hTpGBfirvUmHUqz3S17pPcVQb-KBiS952DCNPydReMTfjMh8LUKEcsVm65LwbXCDGbvq914gAfH2tAklxkqD5ALeffPG3_lRdvTZJi-2Y/s1600/Berlin+September+2011+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtwmm-wn-MhCnaVlmoGZ9foYm-Dbp2s7sZg2hTpGBfirvUmHUqz3S17pPcVQb-KBiS952DCNPydReMTfjMh8LUKEcsVm65LwbXCDGbvq914gAfH2tAklxkqD5ALeffPG3_lRdvTZJi-2Y/s320/Berlin+September+2011+005.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tierpark</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Later that day, after sleep and food, Lars and I rented some bikes by the hour (!) with the rental company NextBike. All you have to do is call the company on your cell phone and they give you a bike lock combination for a bike at a specific location. Then, you ride the bike as much as you want and can even leave the bike at a different location, on the other side of the city and only pay a rate of one euro per hour! Lars and I biked over to the parliament buildings and train station, taking a short cut through the huge Tierpark, the largest garden in Berlin.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3TUCCTSUSRJYqaahWTfYkIR4r1WCmzOQLoN86Zuiz0abVXWu7Jkb_O-jw3bPcayWz7li3JhReKnrRX8wBi2HfBeJki_UmIs4RVk9miFBhXsMlKGKEo1YJNJ4KKFZTYFgKuPeDv2DucMA/s1600/Berlin+September+2011+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3TUCCTSUSRJYqaahWTfYkIR4r1WCmzOQLoN86Zuiz0abVXWu7Jkb_O-jw3bPcayWz7li3JhReKnrRX8wBi2HfBeJki_UmIs4RVk9miFBhXsMlKGKEo1YJNJ4KKFZTYFgKuPeDv2DucMA/s320/Berlin+September+2011+006.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tierpark and NextBike</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5Pnf_4bmZWU5zYdOi2y7PoRtCvub3mkyVuq-M60e1D2hjiBBk27CvPm9axlaRBD18bzv79fD6ULdrLUha6QNYBVdcJNZkD7pBOu5AeZMl-v4gG_pB-4_v0fT8Ln2DqjRgGv040Y5Tvc/s1600/Berlin+September+2011+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5Pnf_4bmZWU5zYdOi2y7PoRtCvub3mkyVuq-M60e1D2hjiBBk27CvPm9axlaRBD18bzv79fD6ULdrLUha6QNYBVdcJNZkD7pBOu5AeZMl-v4gG_pB-4_v0fT8Ln2DqjRgGv040Y5Tvc/s320/Berlin+September+2011+007.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reichstag Berlin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We passed the Reichstag as we rode to the Train Station. You can see in the next picture how picnickers were picnicking out in front of the public building. Can you imagine people doing that in front of public buildings in DC or London? I can't because there are always guards shooing you away there.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGsA_SO2k8irlEjPasXhN-UEvVdh3UEJ2dNgTtUixoQqRVjxuFFurtVPAudPN7y1q8w-LdDbFqfUdY0CSR0KUiDY4Cj_7zeJ9NsNpyThyphenhyphengUnS7nnDHt3Wm5NXz7Z3hHE22WJIhDNGpp8/s1600/Berlin+September+2011+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGsA_SO2k8irlEjPasXhN-UEvVdh3UEJ2dNgTtUixoQqRVjxuFFurtVPAudPN7y1q8w-LdDbFqfUdY0CSR0KUiDY4Cj_7zeJ9NsNpyThyphenhyphengUnS7nnDHt3Wm5NXz7Z3hHE22WJIhDNGpp8/s320/Berlin+September+2011+008.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
The glass dome built on top of the Reichstag was built after WWII. It represents the transparency of government. From above, one could look down and see politicians at work.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SHcr70JaZP7-5oNAKh4ONcwxPvSELCmfSdOF8-DO_-Z90hG70f7uY_KNiCVaOTG3D2RolLFpXjIiqtpZdFq5BTmDoNYt0Lys7rWk37bp34xhTfI1T8S_hRG6uJk6X7m5cU_kgl506PQ/s1600/Berlin+September+2011+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SHcr70JaZP7-5oNAKh4ONcwxPvSELCmfSdOF8-DO_-Z90hG70f7uY_KNiCVaOTG3D2RolLFpXjIiqtpZdFq5BTmDoNYt0Lys7rWk37bp34xhTfI1T8S_hRG6uJk6X7m5cU_kgl506PQ/s320/Berlin+September+2011+009.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyUs_13dQXVycKn7bli1zahUdpRrPgcb9jNGPeOiWSpjyHnBcCoJOhc-u-dXa2atQ0xHzQ9LeB74cgYKPiKvKMIl44XnCjM3jC-WiLwNs9fuFpNRfgi3g3t75SM0uQAyLIRmvufO_BkGQ/s1600/Berlin+September+2011+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyUs_13dQXVycKn7bli1zahUdpRrPgcb9jNGPeOiWSpjyHnBcCoJOhc-u-dXa2atQ0xHzQ9LeB74cgYKPiKvKMIl44XnCjM3jC-WiLwNs9fuFpNRfgi3g3t75SM0uQAyLIRmvufO_BkGQ/s320/Berlin+September+2011+010.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I believe this is the building where the politians have their offices.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1heC_617yVuiV6eITifouMgBHv5-E5anedMeSzxZF-yfma5iTmo2cedIIf58FJj7SWo8sqHcelXX0W54fiYtLmlknz0mY1ax51mQqfod8LQ_IiupXHLqV70W9ntqpgj-IdMOv0Q5kams/s1600/Berlin+September+2011+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1heC_617yVuiV6eITifouMgBHv5-E5anedMeSzxZF-yfma5iTmo2cedIIf58FJj7SWo8sqHcelXX0W54fiYtLmlknz0mY1ax51mQqfod8LQ_IiupXHLqV70W9ntqpgj-IdMOv0Q5kams/s320/Berlin+September+2011+012.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr3G1w7eBzKde1z-f2fa9Tw2Qk4G5VsBd-Tzlhtj2hjLTGD5F_7co6PysGDqNSw1QMsCKZu8iIOM9cmBnO7xImw1p_MncpoM2tIHwqXw677eHRe408Kq3zAmKo_5jhwOWDIgZXVgu-mXU/s1600/Berlin+September+2011+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr3G1w7eBzKde1z-f2fa9Tw2Qk4G5VsBd-Tzlhtj2hjLTGD5F_7co6PysGDqNSw1QMsCKZu8iIOM9cmBnO7xImw1p_MncpoM2tIHwqXw677eHRe408Kq3zAmKo_5jhwOWDIgZXVgu-mXU/s320/Berlin+September+2011+013.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCemPs9fWVPNSds9FqcaPI9zQAvkhGdoDI-p16bymVOY7iEgvoPRQVlg42W6g2vVwpWuueEcR_cH95zh1r-PhsSLYgbfTPhC34-ABEqP7oTOB2ezteRm4tkPYpJtyZMGWFfZR0rAgUZN8/s1600/Berlin+September+2011+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCemPs9fWVPNSds9FqcaPI9zQAvkhGdoDI-p16bymVOY7iEgvoPRQVlg42W6g2vVwpWuueEcR_cH95zh1r-PhsSLYgbfTPhC34-ABEqP7oTOB2ezteRm4tkPYpJtyZMGWFfZR0rAgUZN8/s320/Berlin+September+2011+014.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silver line- Original location of the Berlin Wall</td></tr>
</tbody></table> East meets West. Remember all those fears about the Red East? Above, Lars is standing in former "East Berlin", about to cross over to "West Berlin". The silver line represents the original location of the Berlin Wall, before it fell in 1989. This area must have been a sort of dangerous, sad waste-land until the wall fell. Now it is the seat of the most powerful politicians in Germany.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl5hOdcZBGFzIoQGCccdV5zPo0erTLnzpXoZbzNC0J4SIG4hOVTjdwpO-0nNFsMfqvN5Nz6q0W6UY0aAmNKNNUlTiWjZQl6f3JPG-lxBDS7lj133oDaXtVBoDtXyigaVWWzPEf_l8LtzU/s1600/Berlin+September+2011+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl5hOdcZBGFzIoQGCccdV5zPo0erTLnzpXoZbzNC0J4SIG4hOVTjdwpO-0nNFsMfqvN5Nz6q0W6UY0aAmNKNNUlTiWjZQl6f3JPG-lxBDS7lj133oDaXtVBoDtXyigaVWWzPEf_l8LtzU/s320/Berlin+September+2011+015.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Berliner Hauptbahnhof: Berlin Central Train Station</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Above is the Berlin <i>Hauptbahnhof</i>, or central train station. <i>Haupt</i> means "central" or "main". <i>Bahn</i> means "train" or "lane". You don't want to confuse the <i>Bahn</i> with the <i>Zug </i>(train) though, because one is light rail in the city and one is fast rail for transportation between cities. The <i>Hauptbahnhof</i> in Berlin has three types of trains that stop at the train station: the <i>Zug (</i>from Prague, Hamburg, Munich, Paris, Rotterdam, etc) from other cities stops here, the elevated city train (S-Bahn) stops here, and the subway (U-Bahn) goes through too. The whole thing is like six stories with a shopping mall and fast food, bars, restaurants, etc in between.<br />
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A <i>Hof</i> is a difficult word to describe: it has meany meanings in English but the idea is easy to understand. At home, the <i>Hof</i> is the porch. In the city, the <i>Hof</i> is the central area shared by all the tenants in the middle of the building on ground floor and is usually where the trash is kept, bikes are stores, and an occasional garden is built or picnic organized. That is because German buildings in cities (not in the village though) are built like a square donut with a hole in the middle, similar to Spanish or arabic houses with a terrassa in the middle, so that all rooms overlook a green area in the middle and every room has a window. The <i>Hof </i>can<i> </i>also be barn, and I wonder if barns used to be kept in a central storage place, surrounded by pastures, so that it is also a storage or meeting place of sorts. Anyway, <i>Hof</i> is difficult to translate in English, but it seems to me to be a place of traffic, trade, life and storage. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenqZUG8XdEZplo07t8lLiG56axGVKmTvSmpPrdKDuAvRjvRSoY06kLQc3ncZT23xYM425xpZUGrGkR4cibu_0Xm5-WzR4vFkcrvwNEc1tlez9E1TfNT1GKKqCq8E9IlIuqtqVeLQrxYU/s1600/Berlin+September+2011+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenqZUG8XdEZplo07t8lLiG56axGVKmTvSmpPrdKDuAvRjvRSoY06kLQc3ncZT23xYM425xpZUGrGkR4cibu_0Xm5-WzR4vFkcrvwNEc1tlez9E1TfNT1GKKqCq8E9IlIuqtqVeLQrxYU/s320/Berlin+September+2011+017.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Cafes for those who want to have a drink or eat and sit in the sun with a view of the station. I guess the appeal here is that one can relax and watch other stressed people hurry to catch a train. I get it. This would be very appealing to me too and I have sat at restaurants in downtowns and enjoyed watching the business suits go in and out of the buildings with a sort of healthy curiosity and laziness. It's good to relax and watch it all go by.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtQAKOmcV7MlojFPeHB6E4pAc9SPaCOMErZT5N5i9TioafHr1h1nIQd96EFybPDc6z_gJ4QyGgjbICiza5qbk4KvBOiw6IXmXg13ASmSJpSlEcoT0jgTU54TzArn6FrjINKoqKrP8adoY/s1600/Berlin+September+2011+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtQAKOmcV7MlojFPeHB6E4pAc9SPaCOMErZT5N5i9TioafHr1h1nIQd96EFybPDc6z_gJ4QyGgjbICiza5qbk4KvBOiw6IXmXg13ASmSJpSlEcoT0jgTU54TzArn6FrjINKoqKrP8adoY/s320/Berlin+September+2011+019.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Views from the bridge between the parliament buildings and train station. Lots of traffic of all kinds: pedestrians, cars, bicicles. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tempelhofer Park- Site of American Airlift</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Lars and I needed to do some laundry during our trip to Berlin, but on Sunday most places are closed. I knew of a laundromat in New Cologne, a different neighborhood than where our hotel was and it is in formerly East Berlin. We decided to go over to the Tempelhofer Airport while we waited for our laundry to finish.<br />
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Tempelhofer Airport was the airport where the Americans dropped supplies after WWII. Now it is a recreational park. The picture above shows a little garden colony which has been built on the former runways of the airport. <br />
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The Airport has a very interesting history. The Airport was built by the architect Albert Speer. He is a very important modern German architect, and a Nazi at that. Hitler intended the Airport to be the entrance to the world capital "Germania". Before the airport was built (1920's?), officials used eminent domain to displace many residents and even relocated the bodies from graveyards. How horrible! I know moving cemeteries and bodies is common-place, but I find it very sad. <br />
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Today, the airport is a boundary between the yuppy and up-and-coming neighborhood of Schoeneberg and the largely immigrant-neighborhood of New Cologne. I hear that New Cologne is becoming a trendy neighborhood for artists and traveling ex-patriots, even Americans. I lived in New Cologne for about two weeks last January, while looking for English jobs. I never found a job, and it was too cold to explore the neighborhood in January. My impression was that it was safe enough (though I may have been ignorant of my own danger), the prices were low, there were lots of low-priced amenities, which were harder to find in the trendy neighborhoods like Kreuzberg, Freidrichshain or Prenzlauerberg. I liked that nobody gave me a hard time for being an immigrant, and I was treated well. Still, the neighborhood seemed dirty and poverty was apparent. I missed the trendy bars and cafes and felt out of place. My own apartment still had it's original coal-oven for heating (no environmental upgrades) and my shower was in the kitchen (Electric floor heater kept the room luke-warm). To it's advantage, the Tempelhofer park was the sunniest place in Berlin in January, I thought.<br />
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All in all, Lars and my weekend in Berlin was pretty fun. The next week, we had to stand up to our punk neighbor. I called the police on Sunday night, when the guy starting playing Jiggy Jiggy loud again. The police came, told him to be quiet and threatened him a little. As soon as the cops left, the guy slammed on our door, threatened us and turned on his music again! Lars called the cops then. Nothing happened to the guy in the end because when the cops came, he heard them and turned off his music. Lars and I moved out the next week! Whew!</div>Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-77393873949757333832011-08-25T05:53:00.000-07:002011-08-25T05:53:31.477-07:00My vantage of Cottbus (pictures and explanations)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijzW3ThBk7vq5YZAaXkdVSG7quEi4LWfwDiRtj25gs7KrTUsdm3azTDwcZpWuZv9CZT6A_IYePL_pD9pGMlGcfppdAKqirKR70MMC_rIKPgHduzf4DvhRSAyUtt9VGUUKnc488RSuwZxg/s1600/107_0255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijzW3ThBk7vq5YZAaXkdVSG7quEi4LWfwDiRtj25gs7KrTUsdm3azTDwcZpWuZv9CZT6A_IYePL_pD9pGMlGcfppdAKqirKR70MMC_rIKPgHduzf4DvhRSAyUtt9VGUUKnc488RSuwZxg/s320/107_0255.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old and New-Acupuncture Infill at it's best.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>For this post, I have inserted pretty much all of the pictures I have taken of Cottbus since I arrived in the beginning of August (2011). I don't really like taking pictures, because I don't like carrying a camera, so I walked around my neighborhood one afternoon with the intention of taking pictures of cool buildings and streets I had seen. There really is a lot more to see than what I have here. There is a river and an extensive biking route. There is an old chateau on the edge of town with an expansive garden and walking route called Branitzer Park. There is an historic district with parts of the medieval wall intact. There are lots of cool little alleys and architectural curiosities all over! But, those pictures aren't going to be on this post. This post just highlights some interesting views from my neighborhood, in this small town.<br />
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The picture above was taken from my street, Karl-Liebknecht Straße. I read once about an interesting development Infill method which allows remaining/standing buildings to survive among new development. I believe, the need to build anew must resist the desire to demolish an entire block to build a whole area of new buildings. Above you can see three row-houses. All three are different in time built, architectural style and function! I think the one on the right is a law-office, the one in the middle is residential (of course--anyone would want to live in this one, right?) and the one on the left is an architecture studio. Such a great way to preserve place by replacing what was lost, but not replacing what remains. But then I wonder, what was the fate of the buildings here before?<br />
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In all likelihood, these new buildings replaced row houses over 100 years old, which were dilapidated due to neglect during the GDR (German Democratic Repulic/ aka East Germany). Did they need to be torn down? Whose choice was that? Before the wall came down in Germany, East German urban planners made it nearly impossible for normal citizens to gain the financial resources or investment tools to maintain older buildings. Many citizens saw the need to battle the city and her wrecking-ball type of urban planning. Despite this, not everything was saved from demolition and "Re-Development". Lots of Le-Corbusier type buildings, tower in the park-type buildings, were built to replace the older street pattern of row houses common in Europe everywhere. I will try to take a picture of one of these buildings soon.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Demolished lots, previously row houses, now recycled for industrial space</td></tr>
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Here you can see the vast emptiness that has ensued after whatever urban decay or demolition was permitted. These empty lots are very common in Cottbus. However, it isn't entirely a loss because lots of smaller start-ups, smaller businesses and small manufacturing companies profit from the low-rent and use the buildings for their own purposes.<br />
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I haven't really experienced any visible zoning patterns in most of Cottbus. For the most part I see industry, residential and other economic activities going on all at once side by side.<br />
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For example, we live in a building which is partly residential, partly small manufacturing offices and also provides space for a chemistry laboratory for the local university. Across from my window is storage for a paint-ball gun company, an small insurance company office, and an organic food co-op. In the same area, accessible from the same entrance, are two pizza-delivery companies and a all-women's gym. At any given time, there is a very strange mix of people wearing either over-alls (blue-collar industry-workers), hippies shopping at the organic grocery store and cafe, geeky university students, young teenagers hanging out at the pizza places (usually drinking a beer outside; it's Germany after all) and middle-aged women going to spinning class or yoga or whatever at the gym. Talk about diversity! Then there are the residents. I think we are the minority though and it is very quiet here in the evening, when everything closes.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful row-house, still gray until renovation</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another investment opportunity- Row house needed some care</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This row house has been renovated and is shares a wall with un-renovated row-houses</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To me, a strange building: the Opera House, also under renovation</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Row-houses, now looking very loved and no longer neglected, if they ever were.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Appears to be a recent renovation-just finished.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhatyuH2FvyKSyEvE-GBp3PBMLP7Hrz7y4184IXdZOA1UgxiaoG5kPiSeFb9bwcPfzAXXBEfOvfl9oQLo5vLEhH2S2o-R3aoSS2cIniSrRixn4bIv1mDzeKkLF33jH8WV3SXYZ6hwekNL0/s1600/107_0266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhatyuH2FvyKSyEvE-GBp3PBMLP7Hrz7y4184IXdZOA1UgxiaoG5kPiSeFb9bwcPfzAXXBEfOvfl9oQLo5vLEhH2S2o-R3aoSS2cIniSrRixn4bIv1mDzeKkLF33jH8WV3SXYZ6hwekNL0/s320/107_0266.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unique artchitecture, probably Gründerzeit Style, but I'm not sure.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0irrPa7CM7Hs4ZCv22qy2XEHSU0haiighyphenhyphenyFUudpwC8bhUABhlk4zlr5IAFxjINmYEmTl-G1ellgzu9ZRLMQJsnUzbKplWfsFr3ARY4aXuqbPW-1-3VmbqzKhobhGxD0yE2kcVa1nHw/s1600/107_0267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0irrPa7CM7Hs4ZCv22qy2XEHSU0haiighyphenhyphenyFUudpwC8bhUABhlk4zlr5IAFxjINmYEmTl-G1ellgzu9ZRLMQJsnUzbKplWfsFr3ARY4aXuqbPW-1-3VmbqzKhobhGxD0yE2kcVa1nHw/s320/107_0267.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lonely row house, sitting all by itself. </td></tr>
</tbody></table> The above row house apparently used to be surrounded by other row houses. Now it is last remaining house and can't really be called a "Row-House" because the row has disappeared, or was demolished. What was the history of this street? How sad, in a way. Commercial buildings are hidden behind the building and the sign for it is in the right side of the picture. Mostly parking lots fill the empty lots left behind after the previous buildings. Not my PREFERRED use for this land, if only becuase it encourages people to drive around instead of bicycling.<br />
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Lars told me that there is a new law requiring many stores to offer parking spaces relative to floor space. I understand this logic, if I assume that people must travel by car. But, I cannot assume this if I don't want the ensuring consequences: air pollution, demolition of bildings for parking space, etc. Besides, a lot of people here enjoy the bike paths and it is quicker to get around like that anyway, than to park. Plus gas for cars and car insurance are super expensive. So why this law for parking spaces? <br />
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By assuming that people must travel by car, we also have to get rid of valuable real estate to accommodate the possibility of car travel and parking, which is not a necessity, as I just said. Once we give up real estate for parking though, the demand for real estate goes up if population density stays the same, but we have less space for development/real life use (not car storage). This is probably essentially a driving mechanism of suburban sprawl. I wonder if I am right. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xFLiloGQYhCJNvrmet3ey2QYfAhjecafqMG464JDaJDRV9HWqiabl1qG3qfV3AHnjmPwjqvcXg0qt6-VGwtlM_KomF0Ay6rU-NrOsiEQBtLJgPgZ1NoUTVHGdDwlE_VI-7jhSM-s9Ck/s1600/107_0268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xFLiloGQYhCJNvrmet3ey2QYfAhjecafqMG464JDaJDRV9HWqiabl1qG3qfV3AHnjmPwjqvcXg0qt6-VGwtlM_KomF0Ay6rU-NrOsiEQBtLJgPgZ1NoUTVHGdDwlE_VI-7jhSM-s9Ck/s320/107_0268.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Industrial vantage point from the street.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table> This is an interesting picture and one of my favorites!! I was standing on the street with some remaining row houses, looking into a side allow, not a street, to take the picture. I looks as if this is a street, but it doesn't have a street sign, so I don't think it is one. It just appears to be an entrance to a lot of industrial buildings. To the left is a building where lamps are manufactured or assembled and below is the store. To the back appears to be a storage and loading facility for industrial or building materials. Certainly with all of the renovation and new development going on in Cottbus, this new building economy is thriving, and business profits and tax-revenue are staying in-town, since the businesses appear to be mostly locally-run. I am glad the residents have found a way to recycle space for industrial purposes as well. In the US, I rarely saw residential buildings being reused for industrial purposes, but I often saw industrial buildings being reused for residential purposes, as in loft-living. Where is all the industrial space in the US?<br />
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I have been reading in <u>The Battle for Gotham</u> that it is a hard fight for small start-ups and smaller industrial firms with 25-100 to not be zoned out of their industrial areas as the demand for loft-living in northeastern cities grows even trendier each year.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9p13vNjwrS1BflipHf_2b7PGycKIVV9stZ5ynPBwTo2OmxScm70M9gSXSSjLvEsSrmOnn74y5X8Qr9EmKOWEwvrgYaui70WxqoqL43zpsCs4-USJ9I3-sEqHEitSvrSbt_pPJnm-9Nk/s1600/107_0270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9p13vNjwrS1BflipHf_2b7PGycKIVV9stZ5ynPBwTo2OmxScm70M9gSXSSjLvEsSrmOnn74y5X8Qr9EmKOWEwvrgYaui70WxqoqL43zpsCs4-USJ9I3-sEqHEitSvrSbt_pPJnm-9Nk/s320/107_0270.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lausitzer Straße, parallel to my street. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>The Red brick fronts of the row houses on the left face the plaster and brick fronts of the houses on the right in this mixed residential and commercial street. The street isn't heavily commercial, though there is a bakery, a pet store, a Second-Hand store, a jewelry shop and restaurant on this short block. The trees are young here, so the initiative to spruce up the aesthetic quality of the street must be a recent one. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9eyRvZOpm9V7Hnzvfc1wpbMHfUrR8pexbfwQmV-Q8x_rB6FbWWoD4URFgy3-NrDH3EUEe2svGtBrLJ0qOZfv6mSaCkzxNFVAAqjYQ7ZPLu_EnWDlXMjT1Rhyphenhyphen2Gehing-rY-qJnW88qn4/s1600/107_0273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9eyRvZOpm9V7Hnzvfc1wpbMHfUrR8pexbfwQmV-Q8x_rB6FbWWoD4URFgy3-NrDH3EUEe2svGtBrLJ0qOZfv6mSaCkzxNFVAAqjYQ7ZPLu_EnWDlXMjT1Rhyphenhyphen2Gehing-rY-qJnW88qn4/s320/107_0273.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lars at "Franky's"-the American-Diner style restaurant in the old market square</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Although it is hard to see, Lars is holding up a little American flag, which came on top of his burger at this Diner-style restaurant called "Franky's", as in Frank Sinatra.<br />
<br />
The love of "American-style" this or that never ceases to bewilder me. On the one hand, I never feel very far from home because images and cliche's of the US are always at hand. However, I am also regretful for the residents here because the typical style German-restaurants can be quickly replaced by American-style ones.<br />
<br />
On the positive side again, these restaurants aren't chains. The residents of this town really love American-style restaurants and coffee shops, so they opened them up. Lars and I have found three such Diners already, equiped with checkered linoleum floors and red leather booths. Pictures of American celebrities (and presidents, oddly) look down at you from the walls and hung next to the black vinyl of classic rock-n-roll music records, also on the wall, just like in a real-diner, or so I have heard. I wouldn't even know what a real-American diner should be, since I have never experienced it. So common an experience in Cottbus doesn't appear to me to be common in America. <br />
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Sometimes I think to myself, wow, I would like to visit this America, which others can recreate. I guess, I'll only visit it in Germany, where some long-lasting nostalgic remembrance of my cultural heritage has been copied and preserved, for all to experience.<br />
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Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-53233577007775868632011-08-23T05:45:00.000-07:002011-09-20T01:12:11.330-07:00Life's Choices and other thoughtsLars goes to work everyday and I contemplate what it is I want to spend my days on, generally. How much income do I want to have (which can also limit our choices of what we want to do professionally) and how important it is to do something of real value to me. Some people say, make the money, then do something good with it. Other people (and scientific studies) say, doing something you enjoy makes you better at it, which makes you more marketable and may increase life span. (!) Well, I'd like to live a long time. Best case scenario would be that I find something I like that allows me to make a lot of money, live between two countries (which requires a sort of financial freedom) and which is rewarding work for me personally.<br />
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So, that brings me to another question: What do I value; what is rewarding? The obvious list of things to value comes to mind, i.e. family, love, honor. Then the less obvious list, i.e. beauty and place, equality and justice. Those are important to me. Most days, for the last two years, I have thought about the effect of the built environment on our lives; specifically, on the economy, on our social history, on our health, on our <i>mental</i> health, on our personal energy consumption, on our <i>vehicles and buildings' </i>energy consumption. I am consumed by my interest in these topics and would love to work in a related field.<br />
<br />
For a long time now, I've been considering whether it is worth it to turn myself into some kind of expert in infrastructure, economics, architecture, real estate, land-use law or planning (combination of them all, but not as lucrative in itself as a profession as any one of them). I have really struggled with this option. I could choose one of these and make a good living, possibly have some job security and financial security for myself and my children if I choose anything, which means good money. When I came back to Germany to live with my husband, Lars, part of my thinking was that it would be a good idea to take advantage of Germany's affordable university programs. I passed the German-language test, an agency converted my former GPA into the German equivalent, and VOILA! I'm free to sign up for courses.<br />
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But what should I study? Is being an expert in any field a guarantee of professional success in achieving the goal of, say, ending urban sprawl? The most influential thinkers in the literature on the topic are themselves avant-garde rebels, who reject the establishment and the Experts.<br />
<br />
Here's an interesting quote: <br />
<br />
<i>The problem with planning is that it has been overtaken by mathematical models--traffic, impact assessment, public costs and so on, discarding common sense and empirical observation."</i><br />
<i>-Andres Duany </i><br />
<br />
and,<br />
<br />
<i>"The pseudoscience of planning seems almost neurotic in its determination to imitate empiric failure and ignore empiric success." -Jane Jacobs</i><br />
<br />
And I want to be a planner, or some expert? ..... Well, not really!!<br />
<br />
It bothers me that destruction can be called "development" and change and preservation can be undervalued. Demolition under the guise of "urban renewal" projects has been for American and German cities the biggest fiend since WWII. I am reading a book by Roberta Gratz called "The Battle for Gotham", which reviews the harm done by Development crusades in NYC and the grass roots fight to stop the destructive trend in planning in all American cities.<br />
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The trend in planning after WWII has been (and still is in many places in many ways) to <i>hammer and chisel </i>the car-city out of the cities people lived in, which was very pedestrian and of a small-livable scale. These older businesses made it possible to go to 10 shops in walking distance without getting in a car, so there was no need for a big box-chain store like Wall-Mart. Wall Mart's only competitor in most of America's cities today is another Wall-Mart type store, a K-Mart, Target, Lowe's whatever. A small, locally run store can never compete with the prices of a huge international discount supermarket, like those big box Wal-Marts. But, these small stores continue to exist in city neighborhoods where density reaches a certain number.<br />
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This doesn't mean that small towns can't be dense and thereby nurture locally-owned smaller stores, just that it has been easier for planners, developers and everybody else to convert, through zoning ordinances and other mechanisms, the dense urban fabric of human habitation into a car-mobile settlement, not really a city in any classical sense of the word, as far as I can tell, if cities are characterized by commerce and social interaction, and not just by drive-by hello's and big box shopping.<br />
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Planners after WWII made it legally possible to change cities and build so speedy automobiles had access in and out of the city, and this was more important than life <i>in the city</i>. But where will drivers (from out of town) park the cars? They need space for parking lots too, of course!<br />
<br />
There's a racist component to re-zoning for suburban like living, but I won't go into that here, in this post. <br />
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The renewal projects resulting in an amazing amount of New Yorkers dislocation from their neighborhoods as the homes and businesses were demolished to make way for highway ramps and tall "towers in a park", (think Le Corbusier). Fortunately, many of the planning projects were defeated through a very long historical battle between citizens and planners/developers. Roberta Gratz gives some startling statistics from her book to describe the effect of the "urban renewal projects".<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">"Title 1 of the 1949 Housing Act was the primary vehicle for building middle-income housing on cleared land. Projects removed 100,000 people from Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn, and ... created a diaspora of at least twice that number. Site clearance forced out at least 5,000 businesses of all sizes. Municipal experts declared that these losses... were negligible. But in Central and East Harlem, Bedford Stuyvesant, and other minority ghettos, these enterprises nurtures a sizable portion of the black and Hispanic middle class. In other neighborhoods, redevelopments wiped out larger businesses or forced their ruinous shift to other quarters. Job loss as a direct result of redevelopment was between 30,000 and 60,000 in the postwar period. " -Joel Schwartz</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br />
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"Many poor neighborhoods simply collapsed from the spatial concentration and temporal peaking of these modes of housing destruction. Health areas of the South-Central Bronx, for example, lost 80 per cent of both housing units and population between 1920 and 1980. About 1.3 million white people left New York as conditions deteriorated from housing overcrowding and social disruption. About 0.6 million poor people were displaced and had to move as their homes were destroyed. A total of almost two million people were uprooted, over 10 percent of the population of the entire Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area." </span></i></span><br />
<div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>-Deborah Wallace and Rodrick Wallace in <u>A Plague on your houses.</u></i> <i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>~~~~~~~<br />
"If the ends don't justify the means, what does?"</i><i><br />
"When you operate in an overbuilt metropolis, you have to hack your way through with a meat ax."</i></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>- Robert Moses, Master Builder and most influential American City Planer of all time, Democrat and New Deal Development expert.</i></span></div><br />
After reading the last two quotes, I feel angry at Robert Moses, who taught a lot of planners though example and encouragement how to be terrible planners and overstep their jobs. We live in the shadow of the land-use changes they helped bring about by radically changing the way we finance construction of new buildings, renovations of older buildings, zoning and all sorts of other things. I feel totally immobilized- I don't want to be one of these experts for fear of doing it wrong. Just being an expert doesn't mean that you will do good things. If anything, as an expert, you should always listen to the democratic voice....and try not to screw up too many things.<br />
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So I really understand the riddle of it all. I get it. I don't want to make changing the political machine my main job. How would I make money? Planner have to compromise. I don't want to compromise.<br />
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Also, it is probably boring. I understand that planning requires an understanding of law above all else, which can be boring and dry. Planning requires a sort of commitment to a city or place. You can't be a traveling nomad as I have been. You have to understand a place truly deeply.<br />
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I don't think I want to be a planner. I might want to be a designer of sorts, or maybe an analyst, but I don't want to push anything on anybody. And if I do, and fear that side of myself.<br />
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But, I do believe that what we need, all over the world, now more than ever, is more of a personal-connection and responsibility for our "places" we visit in our daily lives.<br />
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Most of us live in a car culture in American and European suburbs, which keeps us isolated and carries us from Point A to Point B with efficient speed (or so our Transportation Planners assure us), come home to a TV, which only delivers information to us, prepared by other people.<br />
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Speaking from my own experience, I have noticed that many of us work in a downtown or some office building and don't have any real personal responsibility or concern for the place we work or the neighborhood the building is in. I have experienced so-called "Corporate America", which demands that workers park in parking garages or parking lots, perhaps crossing a parking lot bridge from lot to tower (so as never to set foot on the street unnecessarily), where workers work in a cubicle and have no time for lunch, so there is little time spent in the downtown or office park, except in the cubicle. Many workers are not connected with the clients except through email or telephone, which makes it easy to care very little about the client.<br />
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We need a more democratic society, in which people know their neighbors, and don't just circle around it secluded in a car, isolated from everyone else. I remember the frustration as a teenager of just wanting to go somewhere, anywhere, but not having anywhere to go because "loitering" was not permitted anywhere in town. There was no where to go TO, just roads to drive ON.<br />
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I understand the internet, telephone, tv, cars, etc. are now ubiquitous and only a a certain naiveté would allow me to hope that we would not embrace it all. But I don't embrace it all, and I am not unique. Many productive people I know simply have no time for tv and watch what they want on computers: an activity, which requires a certain amount of user-friendly interaction. Many people dislike driving cars or can't afford to or are unable to. Eventually we do get old, can't see much. Some of us are too young to drive, or some of us are sick and disabled. We can't ALL be drivers!! Unless the definition of "ALL" in our culture only means "person with car", as it might, since our form of personal identification is currently equivalent to a driver's license. In a more civilized country, the sick, old, disabled and young would continue to live normal lives without feeling like they have no freedom of movement because they cannot drive. <br />
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I digress. Surely planes and trains could replace long-distance travel, and walking or biking (or light rail/bus) for short-distance travel is a healthy alternative to driving for those of us who are not yet too old, too young or physically unable to drive. It also saves us money. We surely do invest a lot of energy and worry on "Energy-politics" and alternative energy developments, but what if we just don't need so much energy in the first place? Why do I need to walk on a treadmill, instead of the street? The treadmill requires lighting in the gym, gas for my car in order to go to the gym, electricity to run the machine, and paid employees to make sure I am a gym-member? Who pays for the road to take me to the gym? I have to pay car insurance and maybe health insurance. I have friends who went bankrupt from medical bills following a car accident. Who pays the cost of the car-culture?<br />
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I would rather just go for a walk in my neighborhood and frequent a locally-run shop or eatery, magazine shop, cafe, whatever, run by a neighbor or local, who I might know by name, and get get out of the house, without endangering my life. I might find out more about what is going on in my town/city and we might, together, start to care about each other and about ourselves, in a meaningful way.Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5577607660858240867.post-33145009048809480512011-08-14T23:48:00.000-07:002011-08-15T05:15:06.625-07:00Cottbus, GermanyLife in Cottbus, Germany is not the beginning of the story. No, the story for me began with a passport, some $2000 and assurances from friends that it would be easy to find a job as an English teacher in Dresden, Germany in 2007. About a year later, I was back in the states living in Philadelphia, but my relationship with Lars, who I met in Dresden, was just beginning. We continued our long-distance relationship and have been together since September 2008. That was almost three years ago, but a lot has changed for us in our lives. I was studying at the University of Pennsylvania at the time and the job outlook for him as a German lawyer in the US would require him going back to school for an American JD degree or LLM. So, I was the one who sold all of my furniture and most of my possessions to come to Germany in order to pursue our relationship together. Luckily, I was equipped with my German language skills and a love for traveling. In May 2010, I subleted the rest of my apartment lease in Philly, got all the paperwork to bring my dog Charlie along, and boarded an Air-Berlin flight non-stop from JFK Airport, New York, to Shönefeld Airport, Berlin.<br />
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Since then, I have moved a couple of times. After not finding any work at all in Germany, I came back to the US about three months later, as required by German law since my Visa Waiver only lasted three months. I moved back to Philly and back into my own apartment actually, and worked as a part-time research assistant the university in the Department of City and Regional Planning. I had hoped that I could broadly apply my skills in quantitative research methods to another field. What happened was that I became fascinated by urban issues ... even though my part-time position became no-time, after the project was done with the stage of research I was helping with.<br />
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In November 2010, I moved back to Europe, but this time to England since my then-boyfriend, Lars, was doing a short-time placement in St Albans near London. I lived there and we cramped into a little room in a house-share. Charlie came too, of course!!! Let me tell you: It's not easy to bring a pet to the UK!! It is even harder to find a job as a non-EU citizen in the UK. My experience was pretty shocking. The border control harassed me "quite" fiercely, as the Brits say, when I entered the country from Germany after Christmas vacation. They wanted to know why I was unemployed and what my intention was in the UK. Fair enough, although the reason I am unemployed in the UK is because the UK's ban on hiring foreigners made getting a job there impossible! They probably didn't appreciate that answer. I wanted to say, "Hey, my great-grandparents were British. I'm like, 3/4 British-American. If any country in the world should be American-friendly, it should be the UK!! What do you have against me?" Alas, I think that would have gotten me a tight-lipped frown at best; at worst: entry-denial!<br />
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After living in England for two and a half months, I came to Berlin in January 2011 to look once again for jobs. I threw in the tool for my loftier career goals and decided to just try to work as an English Teacher, freelance, like I did in 2007-2008 when I lived in Germany before. I put in my application at, I believe, every language school in Berlin, except at the primary schools (I don't want to work with kids again... sorry). After two months, I had completed a training in English teaching with an online language Company called LearnShip. I have nothing good to say about them. I had completed the online training, studying full-time for three days, only to be told that I wasn't teacher-material. Ouch!! So much for back-up plans!<br />
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At that point, I was flying back and forth between England and Germany in order to visit with Lars and look for jobs in Germany. I knew that if I didn't find a job in Germany, I would have two choices in order to stay in the EU with him: marry Lars in order to have a marriage visa with all rights afforded to me, or find a job so that I can have a work-visa, with limited rights, but essential ones afforded.<br />
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Somehow during this time, I got the sneaking desire to return to the US, where border officials favored me and finding a job would be easier, despite the recession. I missed my family terribly and wanted to live closer to them, for once. Lars was ok with this because he also dreamed of emigrating to the US eventually, probably with me. I found a job in Orlando, Florida USA in February 2011 as a paralegal and worked for Morgan & Morgan, P.A. for five months.<br />
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I ended up quitting my job to move back to live with Lars in Germany. I decided that living in Florida was a dream that I could postpone in order to live with Lars and simultaneously pursue a career that suits me better (and is paid better) than being a paralegal. An advantage to Germany is that education is very affordable, tuition being about 500 EURO a semester. If I was going to start over, best to do it in Germany so that finding a job internationally would cease to be such an annoying effort, someday.<br />
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So here I am, living in Cottbus with my NOW husband Lars. I am applying for the Spouse Visa and have been accepted to some university programs. I am not working, but I am very happy.<br />
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Rebecca Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03788299324301058595noreply@blogger.com0Cottbus, Deutschland51.7607292 14.32748849999995951.6388282 14.109838499999958 51.8826302 14.545138499999959