LONG STUDY TOUR - PART TWO

Greetings friends; on to part two of my long study tour. I believe we left off at the Kolumba Museum. We left Cologne and headed for Duisburg. We stayed at a hostel connected to the Landschaftpark. This was an old factory that has since been converted to a creepy yet wonderful playground for adults. There is a climbing wall inside, and outside there are two amphitheaters. We arrived in the evening, and after dinner went to investigate this crazy factory. The lighting was a fantastic green and purple, too dark for pictures at night. It reminded me of the Bodner Building in Indy. Tom used to drag me around that place checking out all the nooks and crannies; scared the living daylights out of me. Not unlike haunted houses, it made you want more.





On Monday morning, it was off to Essen to see the Ruhr Museum, the Red Dot Museum, and the Zollverein School of Management and Design.

The Ruhr Museum is also located in an old coal factory. This one is far fancier than the other in Duisburg. The Ruhr Museum has an interesting collection of German history that, not surprisingly, lacked a great deal of info on WWII.

All areas of movement up and down were done in orange. Pretty great.

Ya got some competition on the eyebrows there, Poppy! ;)

Disturbing. I tried translating it with little success. If you know German and can help a gal out, please send me an email.

Entrance to the Red Dot Museum. I enjoyed this museum, but it really could have dealt more with either social equity or what these designs say about our global culture as a whole . . . instead it was just a grouping of cool designs that could be featured in any cool design category.

This was a well done collage made of different currencies.

On site of the Ruhr and Red Dot Museums.

Bigger-than-life-sized canary in a coal mine! The Zollverein building is in the background.

This is on the fourth floor of the Zollverein building. It must be noted what a disaster this building is. There is really only one of the 7 floors is that is in use, it leaks, they ran out of money to finish it, and it is formed concrete throughout. I would have thought an engineer could have done something about the pole in the middle of the open space. . . there is something wrong design-wise on every floor. With that being said, the corner on the right side would make a lovely yoga studio - good light.
On to Amsterdam!!! My new favorite place!

So this pulley system is a common feature in Amsterdam. They throw a rope out there and haul stuff up to the third and fourth floors this way. It is also why the buildings lean out towards the top. This way whatever you are hauling up doesn't run into your house! Smart cookies. Now if the city were just above sea level.

Notice the concrete spacer between the buildings. That is a pretty decent lean.

This is the architect giving us the low down on how this house is being remodeled. The place was built in 1693. The large triangle support is keeping the house from collapsing (and no, I signed no waiver prior to being in this building. I will come back to safety in Europe at a later point.)

This is looking down into the basement. They had to drill down 20 meters to solid ground. Everything had to be handled with care as it could easily impact the foundations on either side. Let me just say how grateful I am not to be in charge of this project! I asked about the budget and the only response I got was, "They are working on more financing now". Um, yeah.

Oh the swans. Sure is pretty.
Down to the nitty-gritty of Amsterdam. I promptly grabbed a tour guide from the hotel to read over dinner. I went to the Police and Safety section first. It's good to know the laws in such a place. Here are some of the highlights.
"Urinating in Public:
A dirty habit, and always committed by men. If you are caught, the fine is 90 Euro and must be paid immediately at the police station. Do not ruin our houses or monuments. Go instead into one of the bars and tip a bartender for using the toilet, or use one of the public toilets. You also can go to the police station and use the facilities there." (How friendly.)
"Prostitution:
If you visit one of the women, we would like to remind you, they are not always women. Do not take pictures of the women. Out on the streets, do not shout or use bad language towards these women. Show some respect. If you have any problems with a girl or a pimp, do not hesitate to ask a police officer. We know why you are there and you can hardly surprise us. it is against the law and very dangerous to solicit prostitution on the streets." (This whole thing is amazing!)
"Soft Drugs:
You may visit a coffee shop to buy a small amount of soft drugs for your own personal use. If you are under 18 years old, you are not allowed to enter a coffee shop or to buy anything. If you feel sick after smoking or eating space cake, drink lots of water with sugar. Something sweet will make you feel better. Do not use soft drugs in regular bars or establishments, as not everyone likes the smell of a joint. It is not recommended to mix alcohol and soft drugs, or any other drugs." (Sound advice)
I was waiting at a tram stop when a cop van pulled up to chat with a black man (uncommon in these parts of the world) who was wearing a black karate suit with a samurai sword on his back. The cops walk over, shake his hand and introduce themselves. They chat for minute. I guess they figure he is okay so they shake hands again, smile, and leave. Portland police could certainly take a cue from the Amsterdam police department.

At the Rembrandt House.

The best part about this photo is that I stood at this intersection waiting for the light to change. A guy walks up, pushes the button (as demonstrated in sign), and then turns to me and says "The light changes if you hit the button". Um. Yep. Sure does.

Amsterdam train station on our way to Utrecht University.

Elevator in the Utrecht Library. All areas of movement and information were red.

We were then off to the Schröder House (thought of you Nici!) I could not take pictures in the house, which was a real shame because it was the most utilitarian house I have ever seen. Designed and built by Gerrit Rietveld for Mrs. Schröder in 1924. The photo is of the doll house sized furniture available for purchase. The same man designed the chair pictured.

Cool playground in the city.

Public square in Amsterdam. Sure wish it was nicer out and it was open. Next time.