Heidelberg

Yesterday I got back from a conference of all the students involved in the same program as me, RISE (Research in Science and Engineering aka Nerdfest). There were just over 300 kids there and it was a funfilled, busy 3 days! DAAD, the host of the conference, threw a nice welcome dinner for all of us at a German bar. It was buffet style so you can only imagine how long it took for all of us to eat! Of course, my table sat in a corner but we tried to wait patiently. Also during our wait my voice diminished to a sexy croaky-ness for the week due to my sinus infection/cold/allergies so that kind of sucked. Anywho… The next day was company visits. All the students were separated into groups depending on their project and studies. I was in a group that went to Frankfurt and we got to see a lot of cool stuff!! We started at a power plant that burns the garbage from the surrounding area to supply heat and electricity to the homes and businesses in the area. It was smelly at times but I’m not sure if it was worse than the waste water treatment plant I went to last semester for school. The results are in inclusive and further studies are being done.

Next we had a very delicious lunch and presentation about how Frankfurt is hoping to become Europe’s Green Capital. I won’t go into to details but they are doing different developmental things to improve their sustainability while supporting a growing population. After that we went to a natural history museum and I actually liked it! I know, I know. You may ask “Brian, you had fun at a MUSEUM?!” And my response is that I had fun because the tour guide was very good. He wasn’t just any old tour guide, oh no. He was a Ph.D. student that is a tour guide on the side. So he was very informative and knew where all the good displays were.

Wait a minute...

Then after that we went to the headquarters of a major bank here in Germany, Commerzbank. The building used to be the tallest building in Europe until Russia had to be all Russian and take all the glory. Geezzzz. The building is unique because it has open gardens every 4 floors and uses environmentally friendly technologies to reduce energy required for heating and cooling. After that very long day we got back to the hostel a little later than planned and almost had no dinner. But thankfully we did because we needed fuel for the fun filled night. Most of the kids at the conference all met at a nearby park and drank and just hung. I will say it is weird being allowed to have open alcoholic bottles/beverages in public spaces. But everybody behaves themselves so it all works out.

The next day was our last day (awwww) but we still had some presentations to go to. Once those were done and everyone had taken a nap during them, we had a tour of Heidelberg. It wasn’t the best tour but I still got some nice picture of some of the town.

Overall, it was a very fun weekend. I got to meet and hang out with cool people on someone else’s dollar (Euro?). It was nice to hang out with people my own age and who speak pretty good English. A couple of us have started to speak German-English which probably won’t last but is still funny. It was sad to leave and have to come back to work where I sit at a computer most of the day and don’t really talk to anyone. I’m looking more and more forward to going home and starting classes. I really miss Ann Arbor and all that goes with it. 

HafenCity

Last week I did an official tour of HafenCity. The tour guide had a lot of good information about the development of the area and the planning process. There was also a really cool building there that has information about the type of architecture in the area, the history of the ports, and how it will expand the city center. Here is a really cool building in HafenCity:

The layer on the outside is there to protect the building from wind and harsh weather. Work has been pretty much the same for the past week and a half. Just working on the case study of Amsterdam's regional and city vision/plan/scenario. There are so many ways they describe it that it gets confusing. Speaking of confusing, I got lost again last Friday. There must be something about Fridays because I get all kinds of lost on those days. They just be called Lostday! Right?!? Right?...

While I've been here I've realized when school starts back up I'm gonna have to start studying for the GRE. I'm glad I figured this out now so I can figure out my schedule and get prepared. I also realized I'm gonna have to take the FE in the winter semester so I have two standardized tests to look forward to in the next year!! Yippee!!

Last night I had dinner with a girl from the States that is doing research in Hamburg as well and we had some good conversations. We both are wondering what it is going to be like to understand the people around you and do regular everyday things without a language barrier when we're back home. I didn't realize how much I take that for granted. We also talked about how some days you count down the days until you're going back home and others you don't even think about it. There are definitely good and bad days.

Next week I'm going to Heidelberg for a conference hosted by the program I'm in. I plan on taking lots of pictures so keep an eye out for those!!

Until next time:

Keep it green!!
Brianne

Bieber Street

This past week was pretty routine. On Thursday I got to meet with a group of planning students from Prague that were visiting. My boss's boss invited me to join them since they would be discussing Hamburg in English and I'm very glad that he did. We talked about Hamburg and the benefits and drawbacks of planning in the city. We also got to walk around this area of the city that has been taken over by artists. There were buildings that weren't being used so they squatted in them and the city has made a deal with them so they can stay. There is amazing art on all the buildings in the area. I don't need to go to museums, just show me where there is some street art.

A couple of days ago I moved into my final apartment. It was a challenge to get here but I finally made it!! Thank goodness my boss was helping me. I unpacked all my stuff today and am all moved in. The place where I am is like a dorm for international students. The room is like any dorm room: small but bearable. The community kitchen is something to get used to so I've figuring that out has the days go by. I do feel very accomplished because I did laundry today all by myself!! The directions were completely in German but my clothes are clean and semi-dry so I'm saying it was a win.

At work I've been transcribing a few interviews that my boss did in Amsterdam. They are about the new structural vision for the city that they hope to have completed by 2040. Its a really cool project and I'm glad I get to learn about it and do some work on it. It seems that I will be able to work with some other people in the office once I have these interviews transcribed. But I that just depends on what Judith can find for me to do.

Another picture from the walk around the art commune. I just had to snap a picture!!

Almost forgot about the title of my post. The street I live on now is called Bieberstrasse, meaning Bieber Street. And I'm proud to be a resident on this street!!! O yea, I have Bieber fever!!!

Until next time:

Keep it green!
Brianne