Revenge of Venice

I have a ‘few pickles to settle’ with Venice.  Venice is an enchanting city.  It’s Magical.  But that wasn’t my reasons for visiting Venice.  Neither was it for the food or drinks.  It was for a certain bridge.  Let’s backtrack to my fifth year at the School of Architecture, my final year.  For most architecture students, your final year consists of a senior thesis, in which the subject in question is chosen by the student.  But where I went to school, each studio or classroom, were assigned a project, the way it’s done every other year.  My studio was assigned a project in Venice.  The project called for a replacement bridge in front of the Gallerie Dell’ Accademia, which is a pretty big tourist destination.  The museum houses pre-19^th century Venetian art and the bridge is one of the 4 bridges that cross over the Grand Canal.  The project also called for an addition to the Gallerie Dell’ Accademia and a Trattoria (a small café, if you will) to serve tourists crossing the bridge and making their ways to the Venetian Museum.  I’m not going to talk about my project here, but I will tell you that during the course of this project, I disappeared from the face of the Earth.  My parents and my friends outside of school rarely saw me.  Sleep was put aside for computer renderings, structural analysis, conceptual development; the list went on and on.  Our studio literally became our families.  Coincidentally, it was also the year that our school was getting their accreditation renewed for the professional degree program in Architecture.  This meant that if our work, as Fifth year students, sucked, the school would lose its accreditation.  The bars were suddenly raised on the quality of our work; with higher expectations came more pressure to produce better projects.

Oh, and did I mention that each person was assigned a task at the very beginning of the project to provide information for the studio?  My task?  Site Analysis.  This is when architects literally analyze the site; the topography, climate, architectural language of the existing buildings, materials used in buildings, etc.  Not only was my final year robbed thanks to Venice, but I was forced to know Venice.  I knew everything about what stones were used to build the buildings, how often Venice flooded, how hot it got in the summer, if the Grand Canal ever froze over, Venice’s main mode of transportation, etc.  Not to mention, usually, students have to opportunity to visit the site of the project for a site analysis to take pictures for documentation.  You think I had an opportunity to visit Venice during my final year at school?  No, but my professor did, and he took the photos for us.

Now back to today.  The good news is I passed the course, safely graduated and escaped the hell of all-nighters with Venice.  But I had to go to the site where I had dedicated my entire final year to, go there and curse at it.  So that’s what I did.

Of course, we did our share of site seeing in Venice.  The Rialto Bridge, Piazza San Marco, Bridge of Sighs, and the beautiful buildings that lined the Grand Canal; we also visited the islands like Lido and Murano (the latter being famous for their glass blowing industry).  Murano was a fantastic place to visit, as you get to watch in the factories glass being blown into beautiful vases, bowls and sculptures.  One guy even put on a demonstration for us; he blew a small chunk of melted glass and by using nothing by industrial pliers, he made a glass horse sculpture.  It was like magic taking place in front of our eyes! 

We didn’t buy anything in Venice, because everything is very expensive and most souvenirs geared toward tourists are, let’s face it, pretty useless.  As pretty as the Venetian masks and glasses are, how useful are they really going to be?  And the odds of them not breaking on our way home to the US were really slim.  In Venice, we feasted with our eyes and minds, and left feeling a bit enchanted.

Oh, Verona

Our first stop in Italy was Verona; some may know it as the city where Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, “Romeo and Juliette” takes place.  I really didn’t care for “Juliette’s Balcony” though.  I just wanted to see Italy, eat delicious (and cheap) Italian food and drink wine. 

One of the prominent structures in Verona is its Arena, the Arena di Verona, capable of seating thousands and thousands of spectators.  We were supposed to catch a performance of “Aida”, recommended by Dominic back in Bavaria on the day of our arrival.  Of course, we mixed up the dates and missed our opportunity to see this fabulous opera.  Now we have to come back to Verona to see it in the Arena.

The strong currents of Asian tourists led me to “Juliette’s Balcony”; whether it’s real or not, no one really knows.  The walls leading into the courtyard are covered with graffiti of sworn love (or in some cases, a shriek of love for the Jonas Brothers and other teen pop stars).  In the courtyard, one can find the statue of Juliette; the so called legend is that if you touch her right breast, you will have a very happy marriage.  Where these legends come to life is beyond me. 

We made our way through the streets of Verona to the Castlevecchio, a fantastic 14^th century Roman fortress, now home of the Castlevecchio Museum (restorations were done by Carlo Scarpa, one of my favorite architects).  We cooled our feet in the waters of the river at the banks of the bridge and took in the view of the magnificent Gothic structure.

Of course, we headed to a scenic look-out point to take in the panorama of Verona.  It was unlike any city we’ve visited so far; each city had its own charm, and Verona had that Italian charm. 

When it came to a quick decision on food, it always came down to pizza, and you can’t go wrong with it.  It’s cheap, delicious and filling.  People have told me that pizza in Italy is different from the ones in the US, and that not many Americans like the Italian pizza, but Alex and I had no problems cleaning our pizza pie plate.  And of course, we had to try our first Gelato.  I decided on the Melon flavor, because the tub was nearly empty and I thought it was a popular flavor and decided to try it.  It was yummy, but I don’t think I’ll be getting that flavor again.  

Dinner was kept light, as I was still full from the pizza and gelatos.  And nothing beats a warm summer evening like a cool mozzarella and tomato salad.  Yes, I know, you can make that at home or get it in the US.  I just wanted to eat it at a sidewalk café in Verona, and feel Italian.

I tried a drink called the Spritzer, a very light cocktail, consisting of a mix of sparkling white wine, sparkling water and a choice of colored alcohol, like Aperol.  It was a bit too bitter for my taste, although it does look amazingly delicious and refreshing.  What I am absolutely hooked on are the Italian lemon sodas.  It actually tastes like lemons, not sugary at all like the sodas in the US.  At this particular café we went to one night, they brought over a lightly sweetened soda (tasted like the marble soda from Japan) and a small cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice.  The customer could then pour in the desired amount of lemon juice into his/her soda.  I know, it’s a very basic and simple way of making the drink; but I was just blown away by the refreshing taste, and disgusted at the realization of how sugary sodas in the US are.  Yuck!! 

Adventures in Switzerland

When your trip of three months in Europe is on a budget, you have to compromise a few things.  Like buying an expensive designer bag is out of the question (most Japanese tourists go to Europe to shop).  You won't be staying in luxurious hotels; instead you'll be staying in a more 'cozy' hostel.  This was the case when we were looking for accommodation in Zurich; most of the hostels were just too expensive for us.  So, we ended up staying in Basel, about an hour outside of Zurich.  This was made possible by our handy Global Eurail Pass that gives us unlimited access to many trains across Europe.  So, we stayed in Basel, which I was told is a beautiful city.  Unfortunately, we had no time to do any site seeing in Basel as most of our limited time was dedicated to Zurich and Weil am Rhein.  But our hostel was pretty cool; it was a complex of converted warehouses, some into restaurants, some into shops, and one portion converted into a hostel.

We were caught off guard when we arrived in Basel, as Switzerland is not a part of the European Union.  Which meant their currency was the Swiss Francs, not Euros.  Fortunately, most stores in and near the train station accepted both Euros and Francs.  We had a very limited time in Switzerland; one day was dedicated to Zurich, and another day was dedicated to Weil am Rhein (which is actually in Germany).

We decided to book a bus tour for Zurich because we had a limited time, and wanted to see as much as possible.  It took us around the lake (called Lake Zurich), up to a scenic look out, where we caught a beautiful panorama of Zurich right after a rain storm.  It brought us near the famous Swiss Federal Institute of Technology; among its famous alumni are Albert Einstein, Santiago Calatrava, Herzog & DeMuron, and Bernard Tschumi. 

For dinner, we ate Cheese Fondue!!  A bit over priced and I tipped the waitress (when tip is actually included in the meal in Switzerland), but it was good and fun experience.

Next day, we set off for Weil am Rhein, which has the famous Vitra Museum.  Buildings by famous architects are scattered all around this ‘park’; buildings by Zaha Hadid, Herzog & DeMuron (designed the Vitra House), Tadao Ando, Frank Gehry (designed the Vitra Museum), Alvaro Siza, Nicholas Grimshaw, and Jean Pouvre.  During our tour, we were told that the architects were conscious of the surrounding buildings and ‘did their best’ to unify the architectural language.  But in the end, it’s a mish-mash of different architectural styles; whether it works or not, is up to the viewer.  Although I was looking forward to seeing the fire station by Zaha Hadid, my personal favorite was the Vitra House by Herzog & DeMuron.  And the furniture designs by Vitra were interesting as well.

We left Switzerland through the Gottard Pass, to satisfy Alex’s (quite possibly) soul reason for coming to Europe.  The train goes over the Swiss Alps into Italy, offering spectacular views to the passengers.  We got off at a local station for a couple of hours so Alex could satiate his eyes with trains, while I took some time to enjoy the simple things around the station.

Germany Once Again: Bavaria

Blogging while backpacking through Europe is not easy.  Especially if you're lazy like me.  We just left Venice today and arrived in Rome.  And as much as I would love to type up about our most recent experiences, chronological order wins over in this case; I still have to write about my last stop in Germany.  Last, but not least.  We were able to stay with a friend/colleague of Alex's from work who lives just outside of Munich.  Not only was he and his family the most hospitable people we've ever met, he even took us around the Bavarian countryside, which can only be reached by car or a private tour bus.  From the very moment we arrived, he took us around Augsburg, showing us the main historical buildings and highlights.  My favorite was the Fuggerei, the world's oldest and probably the most aesthetically pleasing social housing.  I was blown away as to how pleasant it was to walk around in this area.

Dominic (Alex's friend) took us to the local beer garden for dinner.  I'm pretty sure the beer gardens in Germany are different from the ones in, say, New York City.  This place was the perfect place to get food and drinks on a warm summer evening; the food was cheap and delicious, and the Radler (a mixture of beer and lemonade) was absolutely delicious and refreshing!!!  (Dominic was the designated driver, so he has, in his hands, a 'smaller' glass of juice).

The next day, we set off for the Bavarian countryside.  We got to see the famous Neuschwanstein Castle, built under the orders of the Fairy Tale King, Ludwig II of Bavaria (because he loved fairy-tales).

We also visited Linderhof Palace, a miniature Versailles, if you will.  Ludwig II was so impressed with Versailles on his visit to France, that he decided to build a miniature version for himself.  I think one could appreciate the building and the gardens of Linderhof more than Versailles, due to the more reasonable scale.

Ludwig II even wanted his very own grotto, and had one built so he could watch operas being performed in the artificially conceived space.

Dominic also took us to the BMW World and the BMW Museum in Munich.  I'm not really into cars, but it was still nice looking at cars I would probably never be able to afford as an architect.  The boys definitely had fun; they even picked out interior color finishes for their future cars.

It doesn't get any more Bavarian than beer and sausages; Dominic was a real pal giving us recommendations on which local dishes to try.  We had the Bavarian white sausage at the BMW World, which was delicious; and my personal favorite was the sausage salad.  It was sliced sausage and sliced onions in a light dressing; absolutely delicious!!

On the days we didn't have our wonderful guide, we ventured around by ourselves.  We took the train to Stuttgart to see the Mercedes-Benz Museum, designed by UN Studio.  Aside from looking at pretty cars that I would never be able to buy, I was hoping the building would be as interesting as well.

Conceptually, the building is really cool; 'a unique cloverleaf concept using three overlapping circles with the center removed to form a triangular atrium space'.  Unfortunately, it's hard to appreciate the spacial qualities of the museum, as opposed to looking at a physical model of the building.  And it could be a bit disorienting walking on the ramps of the museum.  However, the cars are a real treat for the eyes, and the history behind Mercedes-Benz is really interesting.

Another highlight was our trip into Munich; a beautiful city with a mixture of historic buildings and wonderful architecture.  This city is the host for its famous Oktoberfest every year; perhaps one year we can come catch the event.  But for this trip, we walked around, taking in the beautiful architecture that surrounded us.

We stayed in beautiful Bavaria for about a week, and we still didn't get to see everything it had to offer.  It's definitely worth a trip designated just to Bavaria; delicious food and beer, really friendly people, beautiful cities and castles, what's not to love?  Our heart ached as we said good-bye to Dominic and his family, because we knew we wouldn't experience another city the way we experienced Bavaria.  But we put our backpacks on, held our heads high, and made our way into Switzerland.  But not before stopping in Baden-Baden, a town famous for its historical roman baths, as well as their fabulous spa!