Organic Design Seminar

Olympia Park

---

Housing in Olympic Village. Did you know that the original plans didn't call for nearly as many building as are there now? The apartments all rented and sold so fast and there was still such a demand for them, that they had to add a few buildings (which don't look nearly as cool from the outside, but are the same floor plans inside). And again now, more than 30 years later, Munich is having another housing shortage! 'Echt? Was?'

Olympia Park

---

Ukraine: the best Alyona, Ira (yes, a girl), Artyom, Kostya, nazar, Spaceman

Olympia Park

---

y'know, you can look at pictures in books, or on the internet (like right here) for all you want - it just does not describe properly how it feels to see this in person and walk through it. but, hey, that's what my semester's s'posed to be about, right?

Olympia Park

---

a bike race was taking place the day we were there. An appetizer for my next blog, folks...

Olympia Park

---

pause for a cool, refreshing (and modestly sized!) beverage at the biergarten

Olympia Park

---

a little more cool-tensile-structure for the senses. Gunter Behnisch, architect

Olympia Park

---

I went up there...

Olympia Park

---

and got to see this (which you may recognize from... 5 pictures or so earlier). those high-rises far right are what the late-addition houses ended up as.

Olympia Park

---

and this - old city center of munich... ugh. this is turning into one of those much dreaded dry slideshows, huh?

Olympia Park

---

a bunch of us at the top of Fernsehturm (TV Tower)...

Olympia Park

---

ok, one last picture for the architecture geeks: BMW's new museum (old one's being replaced, it's the hunk o' silver in the right bottom) is called BMW Welt, and was designed by Coop Himmelb[l]au. kay, i swear I'm done. Onto the mountains -->

Day 4 - Munich: eve

---

oops. i'm a big liar. After we all went to Herr Bodack's house for dinner where Frau Bodack made a meal (for 20, a cool lady!), Liv, Tina and I went up to Liv's 'high school' (Grundschule), where they were having a small benefit concert. She graduated from a Waldorf school, a system of schooling that has some pretty neat ideas about teaching. Anyway, I digress. Cool concert, Liv gave us 2 a tour of the school, cool building, and the music was also rockin, but I didn't find out the naem of the band I liked so well!

Day 5

---

Herzlich Willkommen in Mittenwald! Destination: abenteuer. Look at dem alps, whew!

Day 5

---

A true little Bavarian mountain town... ain't it cute?

Day 5 - Mittenwald

---

OK, now here, right here, we have a couple of true blue German girls. Tina on the Left and Liv on the right, and they ordered a Schwein Haxsen (roasted leg of pork) with Sauerkraut and Knödel, and don't you dare hold the grease. And they polished it off like champs... I had to take a picture!

Day 5 - Mittenwald

---

On the way to the hiking trails throught town.

Day 5 - Mittenwald

---

about half the way up the steep part of the hike

Day 5 - Mittenwald

---

also about half the way up the steep part of the hike. i was an honorary german this day, i went with Aaron, Tony, Tina (pictured), Liv (behind the camera) and Herr Bodack. The Ukrainians all took the cogwheel up to the top of one of the many surroumnding peaks.

Day 5 - Mittenwald

---

we arrive at the Lautersee lake's level, about 1015m (3330ft)

Day 5 - Mittenwald

---

swimming - i didn't go. because i left my swimsuit back in coburg... very sad, it was *such* a perfect day to go, warm, and the water was just right! instead i took a nap on the blanket in the sun, which was pretty nice, too.

Day 5 - Mittenwald

---

on the way back down the other side we got a glimpse of Mittenwald from afar and above.