Oh, and chocolate.

Final night in Europe

Final night in Europe
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

L to R: Becki, Kurtis, Eric, Ryan, Paola, Julie, and Scott.

Drinking Hungarian wine and smoking Cuban cigars

Some palace in Buda

Some palace in Buda
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

With Ashley starting to laugh in the foreground.

Chain bridge crossing Danube

Chain bridge crossing Danube
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Really cool bridge that crosses over a very large river. It only has two lanes of auto traffic with wide pedestrian lanes on either side.

Ashley with hills in background

Ashley with hills in background
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

There are a lot of buildings on the hill in the background - it's hard to tell from this picture.

Parliment from Castle Hill

Parliment from Castle Hill
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Castle Hill

Castle Hill
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

This was a really amazing sight. The top of this hill is home to all kinds of historical structures: castles, churches, look-outs, etc. I tried to get a few of them in one frame.

Hungarian Parliment

Parliment
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

One of the first things we saw in Buda. The boat in the foreground is on the Danube.

Near the former waste incenerator

Near the former waste incenerator
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

It looks like this building is bleeding.

Former waste incenerator

Former waste incenerator
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

This is the work of an artist called Underwasser (spelling?). We saw it a few times on our journeys through Vienna. It is very near the university.

Apartments on top of old brick structure

Apartments on top of old brick structure
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

The brick object below is protected under a sort of landmark ordinance. So the developer built this around it.

Co-housing with smokestack

Co-housing with smokestack
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

The smokestack in the center is from an old coffin factory that used to occupy this site.

Gasometer, part deux

Gasometer, part deux
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Another gasometer project. This time there were four towers, they were connected and converted into apartments and a shopping mall.

The City Hall

Poor attempt at night time photography
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Or, another poor attempt at night time photography.

Old church at night

Some old church at night
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

I think Claudia's mother remembered the name of this church, but I forgot. Sorry.

Vienna from the hills

Vienna from the hills
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

A little hazy, but a spectacular view nonetheless.

Monument at top of hill

Monument at top of hill
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

There is a nice little cafe in the center section.

Schonbrun Park with the city in background

Schonbrun Park with the city in background
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

The building in the middle is the summer palace. Claudia's mother works there and promised me a special tour next time I'm in Vienna.

A beautiful day in an enormous park

Ashley and a fountain
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Ashley is sitting in front of this gigantic fountain. There is a very large bird cage in the background

Front of Museum Quarter

Front of Museum Quarter
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

There are several museums inside of this complex. There is a large courtyard behind the front structure which contains the Leopold and Museum of Modern Arts.

Street shot, Vienna

Street shot, Vienna
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

I got an 8"X10" made of this shot. I really like how the colors and composition turned out.

Outside the Albertina

Outside the Albertina
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

This glass and steel structure reminded me of something out of Jules Verne.

Dome on top of Hofburg

Dome on top of Hofburg
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Example of the ornate detail on Vienna's monumental buildings.

Hofburg and your tour guide

Hofburg and your tour guide
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

The 'winter palace' and current home to Austria's president. This is only one wing of an enormous structure in the heart of Vienna

Stephansdom

Stephansdom
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

The cathedral of St. Stephen was the first really iconic structure we saw in Vienna. It sneaked up on us - the way the streets are aligned to it makes it suprising.

The inside is also magnificent, but my photos were blurry and grainy.

Hard Rock Berlin, 2

Hard Rock Berlin, 2
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Kurtis and your tour guide

Hard Rock Berlin

Hard Rock Berlin
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

L to R: Eric, Becki, and Kurtis

Blue Man Group

Blue Man Group
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

We saw them at Potsdamer Platz. It was an amazing show. Their special effects are some of the most stunning and mind bending things I've witnessed.

Hotel Astor

Hotel Astor
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

This was one of the few surviving buildings in this district (near the Brandenburg Gate) after the war. It was promptly turned into a hospital.

Top of the Brandenburg Gate

Top of the Brandenburg Gate
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

This monument is really spectacular. It's difficult to capture how well it works with its surroundings in a picture.

Quadriga in B&W

Quadriga in B&W
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Bode Museum

Bode Museum
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

I believe it was closed for some reason. In any case we wouldn't have had time to see it.

Reichstag

Reichstag
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

You can walk inside the glass dome on top of the building. However, the German professor who was traveling with us said we would have to get in line very early to do that.

German Technical Institute/Museum

German Technical Institute/Museum
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Yes, that is a DC-3 suspended above the building. No, we didn't see the inside.

Cool graffti on a bridge

Cool grafitti on a bridge
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Like I said earlier, there is a lot of graffiti in Germany. Rarely is it this artistic.

Bridge and TV Tower

Bridge and TV Tower
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

This bridge was the only urban rail link between East and West Berlin during the cold war.

Architectural Object?

Architectural Object?
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

The new development in Berlin is unlike anything I've witnessed. It's fiercely independent and restrained simultaneously.

The Wall from the Spree

The Wall from the Spree
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

A good sized stretch of it still remains along the river. This would be looking into the former Soviet sector.

Indicative Photo of Berlin's Development

Indicative Photo of Berlin's Development
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Old and new. Sights like this are not hard to find in Berlin.

Two Bratwurst with Saurkraut, Mustard, and Potatoes

Two Bratwurst with Saurkraut, Mustard, and Potatoes
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Eating in Berlin

Eating in Berlin
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

L to R: Becky, Ryan, Ashley, Eric, Paola

Another beach bar on the Spree

Another beach bar on the Spree
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

This is a pool in the river. The lighter blue is the pool water.

Beach bar along the Spree

Beach bar along the Spree
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

There are a lot of these in Berlin. They're like squatter commercial developments - low cost spots that seem to generate enough revenue to pay the rent.

The Wall

The Wall
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Further along on our bus tour we came to a large remaining section of the Berlin Wall. This part only cuts off access to the river, which is part of the reason it hasn't been torn down. All the graffiti along this side is post 1989 since we are in the former Soviet sector.

Your tour guide

Your tour guide
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Old Soviet-style apartment buildings

Old Soviet apartment buildings
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

From a good vantage point you can see these sorts of massive structures all over East Berlin. The political symbolism is evident in these clusters of identical towers.

Grungy Interior

Interior space once used for club
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

This was at the first site we visited on our redevelopment tour of Berlin. According to the guide it was once a real hot spot for the club scene. The new owner wants to lease it out for special events.

Reichstag with cranes in background

Reichstag with construction in background
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

The cranes are working on the new central train station project. Seeing as the city was divided for the latter half of the 20th century, there was no true 'center.' This project has serious symbolic importance to the reunification of Berlin

Renovated transformer station

Renovated transformer station
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

The first site on our redevelopment tour of Berlin. This will become an office building for a software firm. We went to the top of the building (by a set of winding, steel stairs) and took a bunch of pictures of the city.

Close up with several landmarks

Model in the Development Office
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Several of Berlin's major monumnets and memorable structures are visible in this view. The TV Tower to the right, the Bode Museum in the center, Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag toward are at the rear.

BERLIN: Urban Development Office

Wide shot of the official maps
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Yes, these are big models. They are both scale models of the central districts of Berlin. The level one is more detailed.

Scott, Ryan and Eric

Grad Students
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

They had stupidly cheap pilsners at this bar and you can see our grad students taking advantage of that in this photo.

Rike, Birthe, and Kerstin

Rike, Birthe, and Kerstin
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

On our last night in Dortmund we visited this great bar. This was the German contigent of my workgroup and my hosts (middle and right).

Baloo

Baloo
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Rike's dog. I forget what breed he is.

A great sign

A great sign
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

The two drainage streams were a big concern to our proposals on the site. This sign was warning people not to drown in one of the pools that collected water to be piped under the canal.

Grounded boat

Grounded boat
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

There were a few strange details about the site. This was one. The boat was probably used by the brick factory in some capacity. But how it wound up about 100' away from the canal is anybody's guess.

Deterorating Brick Factory

Deterorating Brick Factory
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Here is one of the walls of the former brick factory. We discovered that Germans (in general) prefer to preserve the character of these industrial sites whenever possible. While this structure was far beyond any repair effort, there was still a strong will to at least build any new buildings on top of the existing footprint.

Workshop Site

Site with German Students
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Here you see the small harbor and canal that were the western border of our site.

Like I said earlier, this was a very complicated piece of land. Not only is it situated along a canal and a highway, there was an abandonded brick factory, several marginal commercial operations, some residental and agricultural uses, and an abandonded rail line that will be turned into a pedestrian pathway. If that weren't enough the site is home to a "red listed" (endangered) spieces of frog.

Buildings in glass shell

Buildings in glass shell
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

A very cool project we saw on the second day of our bus tour. The glass shell covers several freestanding buildings. The shell also contains photo-voltaik cells that generate more power than the entire site needs.

Note on landscaping: that's intentional. Our group seemed to notice that throughout our trim there was a lot less time/energy spent on manicuring the grounds outside of buildings.

Gasometer

Gasometer
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

A site we visited on the first day of our bus tour in the Rhur region. We ate lunch at a nearby mall - I had a bratwurst from a place in the food court.

Begining of our two-day bus tour

Office Building
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

This was the first site we visited - a large scale residental and office project near a canal that has experienced heavy industrial use over many decades.

Our tour guide, Peter, was informative, even if he did seem to generate some controversy among the German professors. In any case, he was very familiar with all the sites we visited.

The major industries in the area were steel production and coal extraction. After the 1980s, a lot of these operations were shut down. Their impact on the landscape took the form of enormous heaps of extracted soil and abandonded infrastructure. Massive reinvestment was necessary to find new uses for these big, dangerous, and expensive sites.

Limericks

Limericks
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

Central Dortmund

Central Dortmund
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

View from our host's flat

View from our host's flat
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

A single step

I forgot to charge my iPod before I left - so I used an outlet in a phonebooth at Detroit Metro. Unfourtanetly that only provided about 30 minutes of music. Not nearly enough for a trans-Atlantic flight. Regardless: I couldn't sleep on the plane and it seemed to drag on forever.

We arrived in Frankfurt early in the morning and met Strauss in the airport a few minutes after getting through EU customs. After a few phone calls two VW vans showed up to take us to Dortmund.

The first things I noticed were the windmills and their settlement pattern. Grandpa's description of their tiny farming villages seemed to be entierly accurate based on my "windshield survey" of the areas alongside the autobahn.

After a couple of hours on the road we arrive in Dortmund. A bit of shuffling between buildings and we meet our German host students. They took us to their cafeteria but for some reason after the long day of travel I was not particulary hungry. I munched on some brocolli and french fries. We were handed some of the materials we needed for our project and tours at this time, too.

An on campus train (dubbed the Iron Dragon because of its similarities to the roller coaster at Cedar Point) and an S-bahn train took us back to the flat we were to occupy for the next several days. The entire ride lasted about 25 minutes (if I remember correctly).

One thing I was not expecting that all the American students had noticed at this point was the amount of graffiti in Germany. According to one of our hosts there is a strong sub-culture directly linked to this sort of expression. Recently the penalty for graffiti was made more strict, more than a fine as far as I could tell. Compare this to Chicago where 'Mayor Daley's Graffiti Blaster' patrols the streets with a 500-gallon vat of chemical solvent.

Scott and I took a nap at Birthe and Kerstin's flat. We got up late in the afternoon and eventually met up with the rest of the students at Limerick's, an Irish pub in central Dortmund.

An apology for my assumptions

I assumed that since I would be at a university my ability to access the internet would be good. I was wrong. I assumed that both hostels would have some sort of reliable, cheap way to use the internet. I was wrong.

I am in the process of getting my pictures organized - They will be ready for public consumption soon.

My travel exploits will be paraphrased from my journal entries. The events will be presented in the order they took place. Since I'm back in Michigan, there should be no problems getting this all together.

Again, sorry for getting your hopes up.

I'm still alive

Hello everybody,

Sorry I havent had more posts. Really. Nothing takes my camera card out here so youll all have to wait on the pictures. I know. Another big let down. Wow, what a downer post...

Im in a dunkin donuts in Berlin. Having a great time and getting some wonderful snapshots. The beer is good. (Props to Jeff Hunter on the dark wheat beer!)

Until later,

Prost!

Starting the Project

We started working on the project Yesterday. I am in a team with Birthe, Kerstin, Riche, and Ashley (all females). It's really exciting.

I bought some cuban cigars yesterday, too. Germany is very smoker friendly. You can smoke everywhere except a few train stations.

I will post some pictures as soon as I can find a computer that will take my card.

I Made It!

Greetings from Dortmund,

The flight was uneventful and long. No delays and I got to see the Life Aquatic again. We arrived at Frankfurt and customs was fast (even though I ended up being almost the last person to get through from our flight.

Our hosts, Kerstin and Birthe are very nice and generous. They both drink coffee (they made the coffee I'm drinking right now! (the kezboard is a little different here so I apoliye for anz spelling mistakes.)

We visited three sites today in the Rhur River area. I won't bore you with the details here, but it was very interesting. The steel and coal industry here are enormous - it is as big or bigger than Gary Indiana. We were at the top of the Gasometer tower and could see smokestacks all over the place mixed in with cities. This may sound strange - but I'll get the pictures up fast enough.

Not knowing German is not a problem. Our hosts are helping us along very nicely. (Although there is a small hangup with the word elevator.)

I don't have enough time for pictures, but I saw a car hanging from a cable inside an old boiler building.

Probably the last post from Michigan

Since it's going to be a long weekend - what with the MuldyCoch party, Brennan flying in, etcetra - this will probably be the last post from Michigan.

I think I've got everything I need for the trip. I bought a power adapter and a couple more luggage tags on Monday.

So, if you've been slacking off and not reading this site - now's the time to stop. It'll get interesting real fast, I promise.

Great Article

International Herald Tribune has a great article about Berlin. It's like a snapshot of the city through the eyes of current Mayor Klaus Wowereit.

Broke But Dynamic, Berlin Seeks New Identity.

One Week

Next Sunday I'll be on my way.

I don't think there's anything else to buy for the trip. Just packing and organizing a few things.

The people I'm staying with in Dortmund are named Birthe and Kerstin. Their apartment is near the city's center. That's about all I know about them.

Hostel Information

I found out the names and addresses of the hostels we're staying in. After extensive searching I've come up with almost no information about them. However, because of this site (all in German) I've located the Berlin Hostel. It's in a district called "Schöneberg" which is real close to the main commercial areas.

Also through looking around online I found a place called "Kaffee Burger" (Coffee Burger). Again, it's all in German, but there are some nice pictures and the name sounds interesting!

Making Arrangments

Patrick and I have been trying to establish some sort of rendevous in Europe. I don't know what we'll do but it will be interesting to see my roommate on the other side of the world.

I was thinking about the (sorta corny) "A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." quote last night. After a google search I learned that Lao-zi, a Taoist philosopher had it attributed to him. Another site described his intention in this passage as to describe how action rises from inaction. How movement comes from a void of nothingness.

I found that fascinating so I did something I hadn't done in months - I drew.

Got an email from the student's I'm staying with in Dortmund. More details as they arrive.

Good Bye Lenin!

Good Bye Lenin
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

I rented and watched 'Good Bye Lenin!' this afternoon (on account of the snow outside). It was a great movie. I knew the premise before watching it, but it still surprised me.

Basically, it's a very entertaining story about a brother and sister who care for their mother after she's been in a coma. The family lives in East Berlin, and this coma takes place during the fall of East Germany. The children try to recreate East Berlin for their mother in order not to shock her.

The apartment this family lives in is very near the fernsehturm, that big TV tower. Television plays an important role throughout the film.

Short version: Very cool visual movie with a great story.

Meeting with Strauss

Okay, so we got some details about this whole trip.

The Flight:
Lansing to Detroit to Frankfurt, Depart at 130 PM Arrive at 750 AM
Vienna to Amsterdam to Detroit to Lansing, Depart at 11 AM Arrive at 8 PM
We'll meet Strauss in Frankfurt.

The Project:
A design charette for a big site (by German standards) in Dortmund. On an abandoned mine near a river and with highway (autobahn?) access. Technically we're preparing what's known as a preparatory Land Use Plan. We are also expected to write about Berlin and Vienna redevelopment practices.

The Accommodations:
In Dortmund we'll be staying with students. Because its a newer university there are few dorms. There was an attempt to get all of our host locations relatively close together.

Closer and Closer

I bought a watch from Eddie Bauer. I decided that I won't get any new headphones for two reasons. 1) The ones I have work okay and 2) I might be able to get some for cheap/free on the plane.

I also met somebody else who's going to Germany. He's a grad student named Ryan who has been working in the lab over the past several days.

I was down by Goodrich (the grocery store on Trowbridge) paying the electricity bill when I remembered something my English professor said last fall. Our coursepacks were at a little print shop in the Goodrich plaza. The class was all about orientalism so the professor made sure to point out that this hole-in-the-wall printer was between Woody's Oasis (Mediterranean Food) and Korean House: Between the Near East and the Far East. I thought that was funny at the time.

Plain Beat.

I'm exhausted. The Chicago Practicum paper got to Kinkos last night around 1:30 AM. Let's hope we got all the typos and problems out of it. It is nice to know that we can't make any more changes even if we want to. It's finally done.

(Optimistically, last night Ken and I joked about how our paper would be a model of a total salvage job that got done in half a semester. I imagined Rex and Z telling future planning students, "Now this is what your report could look like even if you don't start until March!" Now that'll strike the fear of God into them!)

The final presentations are Monday in the International Center. I'm pretty sure anybody can come. Email me if you want more details.

(You're probably wondering where the Germany stuff is by now...)

This morning I got new wiper blades for the Paseo. Since they're predicting thunderstorms and such today I figured it was high time to fix that. So I walked into the gas station and realized I had no idea what size of blade I needed. I tore the rubber blade (which was already 85% detached) and used it to find the right size. After 20 minutes of finagilaing around like a jackass I asked the gas station attendant to give me a hand. She pulled my old blade off in seconds and got the new one on. Then she went back to selling gasoline.

(Now here's the Germany update.)

I found out what sort of plane I'll take across the Atlantic. The Airbus A330-30 sounds pretty nice. Here's the wikipedia article it.

Northwest 52

I kept drifting off to sleep in my Ecology class. Luckily this whale next to me had coughed about every 15 seconds. So I didn't get any good sleep.

I finally got an email with the flight number. We're flying from Lansing to Detroit then to Frankfurt. I don't know the time. You can go to NWA.com and enter the flight number (52) to see some of the details.

Our big meeting is Thursday so expect a big post then.

I also bought a small notebook at Office Depot.

To Do: Week of 18 April

Find out the details about my flight.
Financial stuff at credit union.
Buy notebook and watch.
Haircut.

Maps

Maps
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

I bought the maps I plan to use while abroad. The Dortmund map (left) was sent to me from their tourism board. The other two were purchased from bookstores. I am a big fan of these Streetwise maps. They're laminated and small enough to keep in the back pocket.

First Orientation Meeting

Last night was the first real orientation meeting I've had about Study Abroad. There were about 100 to 150 people there from all different programs to all different places. They gave us a few handouts and handy tips. Nothing too spectacular, but necessary information nonetheless.

The one thing I hadn't thought about was being ready to discuss current affairs and US history while I'm away. Foreigners will have questions about our history that they expect us to understand. Worse comes to worse I'll start blabbing about the civil war or some nonsense.

Another handy fact: everybody on a MSU study abroad program is covered under some short-term health care plan for emergencies. That's good to know.

Nick's Desk

Nick's Desk
Originally uploaded by Helmers.

To help the reader get an idea of the current state of affairs, I've included a picture of my desk.

Stuff I still need

Pocket size notebook
Streetwise maps of Berlin and Vienna
Electrical outlet adapter
New headphones for iPod
Cheap watch

Other Titles

In Roger Hamlin's Real Estate Finance class I thought about some names for this website.

Nick Helmholdt Never Goes to New York
Robots Aren't Carry-On Luggage
Will My Razor Work Here?
Last Minute Plans
Oh, and Chocolate. You'll eat lots of that.

I also though of some combination of Dortmund/Berlin/Vienna but that wasn't going anywhere.

T-Minus 27 Days

The purpose of this weblog is to provide the exploits of Nicholas Helmholdt's travels abroad to a wide audience of friends and family. I will update it as often as humanly possible using all imaginable sorts of media: pictures, sounds, and tastes.

Between now and my departure I will update with any news about my plans and what I'm bringing along.

(also: if you're wondering why the time is so off it's because I changed the time zone to Berlin's.)