Brasilia / Brazil

If this is Tuesday it must be Brasilia
What a voyage of discovery. Think globally, act locally and live in the moment!!

So glad you are having such a great time
Hi Welf, Thanks for the update. What an interesting place - but I have to say, what HIDEOUS buildings. It always amazes me what weird minds can produce such things. I need uplifting surroundings, these are designed to bring you down. Your new friend seems really nice, I'm very happy for you both. Frohe weihnachten und ein glückliches neues jahr Nicole

brasília has a good life quality
You know Nicole, I am not at all a fan of Modernist architecture (and Brasília has the largest collection of that kind of architecture in the world) - on the contrary I am a fan of Art Noveau, Neoclassical, Barroque and Gothic architecture. But I lived in Brasília from 1978 until 1998 (from 2 to 22 years old) and again since 2013. I say its architecture don't bring people who live there down (people are happy) and that's because the city has a good quality of life for those who live in Plano Piloto (the central neighborhoods of the city) and have a car. I always had a good life (not rich, but comfortable, with access to all): my father was associated to 5 clubs with sports, windsurf, pools, places for barbecues etc (a common distraction for those who live in Brasilia), took me to zoos, parks and stuff like that when I was little. I always went to embassies in events and parties and had the chance to talk to people from all over the world, the areas are very open (a city full of green, trees and great parks), restaurants and cultural options for all tastes and the most important: life more or less as in the countryside, since it is not crowded and with a horrible traffic as other cities as São Paulo and Rio. It is a city with a high cost for living, but also with the best salaries, cause public service here is what offers the best benefits, work rights and salaries in Brazil. I was public servant for several years and don't regret myself, except for some stress and disappointments I had, which I could find, in truth, in any other work at private companies (the secret is just know how to live with others, something we can learn over the years). My father was not a politician, but a public servant, very known and respected, since in his position he needed to deal with very sensitive issues, like IMF, laws regarding banks and private companies in Brazil and so on.... He was never rich, but thanks to his work he left me, my mother and my mother in a very good and comfortable condition - something most wish deep inside. I have the basic to a good life: I can travel, I have my apartment in a good place, my car, resources to buy the books I enjoy etc. but the most important: my father passed to me the real meaning of the word honesty, honor - and this is priceless. Not every public servant is corrupt here (and this I proudly testify entirely based on the educational background I had). As for Niemeyer, Lucio Costa and Burle Marx (this one whose family was related to the real Karl Marx by the way), they don't do the kind of architecture I admire, but I must admit life in a "Communist" residential block in Brasília is pretty good, with local commerce for each block and so on. The bad there is the public transportation, cause it is a city designed to have a car. They are respected, admired abroad (Niemeyer is the responsible for the headquarters of the French Communist Party, the Russian embassy in USA, several buildings in former USSR, the UN headquarters in NY and so on...). Not my cup of tea, but they definitely were good in which they proposed themselves to project as architects and engineers. I always defined Niemayer as "The Communist and Brasília version of Albert Speer", without exaggerations.