Ode to Couchsurfing

During 119 days of travel, my accommodation needs were covered by:

24 Couchsurfing hosts - 68 days

3 friends/contacts - 14 days

16 hotel/hostels - 9 in Morocco, 3 in Spain, 4 in Italy

21 days of apartment rental

After doing this breakdown, I have to thank the Couchsurfing project. Not just because the financial hole in my pocket did not run so deep, but also for the members whom I met for coffee or drinks and those who hosted and spent time with me. Thank you for sharing your lives and keeping me safe and sane.

Please do click here to see my latest profile on couchsurfing and to get an overview of my hosts/friends and the references they shared.

Cheese + Clogs+ Tour busses = ?

In Canada, people live in igloos and are protected by mounties in red. In Holland, the Dutch wear clogs, while eating cheese, picking tulips and milking cows. When the opportunity was presented before me to experience such a typical Dutch lifestyle, I jumped at the chance and extended my stay in the Netherlands.

From July 3-24, I did eat alot of Gouda cheese (pronounce "Houwda" with a raspy tone to the "H"), but also managed to avoid tulips, clogs and cows. Instead, while based in Amsterdam, I enjoyed so much more than clichés. Upcoming blog posts will speak for itself in portraying not just the lifestyle and culture of Holland, but also the immediate ease I felt being there.

A very special thank you to the people whom I met, many now friends, who put so much time and energy into ensuring that my time was as positive and enjoyable as could be. Unforgettable!

Central parking

Amsterdam Zuid Station

Jeg er i København

Even in Berlin, the road to Copenhagen lay before me

March 26, 2008 I left Canada. On July 23, after 119 days of travel, I finally arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark...to stay? Yikes! Please send me your best wishes. I will need it for surviving in this expensive country.

Train station from the past

Following an abandoned set of railway tracks in Görlitzer park, Dylan and I came across the Görlitzer Banhoff, the old railway terminus for the mainlink between the capital Cotbus in Brandenburg and Görlitz in Saxony. In 1951, the GDR closed the station to passenger trains. Today, the area and surroundings encompass a huge span of well used public space with an unbelievable laisser faire atmosphere. A superb place to relax, take a break and have Berlin's famous roast chicken dinner while watching the sun fall.

Seven choices

Which path do you choose? The one closest to the Berlin wall or the one by the edge of the road?

This is the life

Building layers

After years of war destruction, the result is a series of apartments where sections of structure appear to be missing. The images show a mass of windowless concrete structures, an indication of a place where buildings once lay side by side.

The Sky is the limit

Dylan Reid, not just the associate editor of Toronto's Spacing Magazine about understanding the urban landscape and public spaces but also a fabulous and insightful person and friend. During 5 days together in Berlin, we really experienced a place where the sky is the limit. Thanks for the push for early morning starts!

Crooked

Straight

Find the flag

New Construction

The 1991 decision to make Berlin the capital and to move the parliament and government to this city resulted in many new buildings in Berlin being built and modern architecture given a role.

Office of the Federal Chancellor

Many of these include government and office buildings.

Damsel in distress

Welcome, please come in

Kapelle der Versöhnung

The Kapelle der Versöhnung, or "Chapel of Reconciliation" was create to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The church was built upon the site of an old church that had been inaccessible since the division of the city in 1961 and which was also demolished in 1985 to keep firing line open.

The structure of the 7m high oval of the chapel was constructed using a rammed earth technique. Brick rubble from the old church was blended into the rammed earth mixture as as symbol of remembrance and the homogeneous horizontal layers allow for an interior atmosphere of tranquility and seclusion.

The combination of wood with the rammed earth material reinforced only at certain points, was intended to project an "open cage" concept to reflect upon the fragility and vulnerability of peace and reconciliation.

Elegant, simple and beautiful!

Outdoors museum

Berlin War Memorial at Checkpoint Charlie

Since the fall of the Berlin wall, several key landmarks have been set up to commemorate the significance of this event. Temporary wall structures such as the one in the photo act as information panels to recount the historical context and facts in a chronological order. They are also placed along sidewalks, thus encouraging full use of public place for educational purposes. Brilliant and effective!

Speedbump

Dominos

Asian influence....

... with a German touch (only for 1€)

Secondary School

Yes, this prison-like buildng really is a place to get an education.

Green Berlin

Yellow V - The Landing

Gehry Strikes

The DZ Bank designed by Frank Gehry

Due to restricted public access, this amateur photographer can only provide two photos. For additional images, you can you can go to this website and for building details, arcspace has a good overview.

The Reichstag

Between 1884 and 1894, the Reichstag was built to house the first parliament of the German empire (today called the Bundestag). The building was designed in a neoclassical style and spanned 137m long and 97m wide. However, the building suffered much damage during a fire in 1933(the Communists were blamed and Hitler's party, soon to come into power, was boosted in popularity) and also in later years due to the war.

The central dome of the Reichstag was removed during the reconstruction after the war. After a decision in 1991 to move the Bundestag back to Berlin from Bonn after the reunification of Germany, a final construction phase began. This included a glass dome over the plenary hall, designed by Sir Norman Foster and completed in 1999. [Source]

The walk up

The dome offers a 360 degree panoramic view of Berlin and if you look directly up, a full view of cloud patterns.

Since April 1999, the dome has also become Berlin's most recognized landmarks, open to the public and thus frequented by many...all at my feet!

The Bundestag website.

Yellow IV

Yellow III

Libeskind strikes III