What a busy day...
The day started off with some rain. Jessica and I met with Herr Wolfram to learn more about architectural planning for city landscape. I was impressed to see how much care and attention goes into the environmental aspect of planning. Then, we went to visit his hillside vineyard. It's a project in the making. The view from the top is absolutely stunning.
Afterwards, Herr Wolfram took us to visit three chateaus/castles--each with their own sense of personality and color. They are hillside as well. The gardens are filled with flowers; hedges and trees are perfectly trimmed.
In the afternoon, we visited the Schiller House, a famous author and correspondent of Goethe's. The Schiller Home was one of five residences for him, but only one survived the devastation of World War II. He lived in this house from 1797 - 1799. It is said that the correspondence letters between Schiller and Goethe are one of the great works of German Literature.
In the evening, Kristian and Stefanie, my host family, showed me a book of black print artwork of New York City. "Vom Rhythmus Der Neuen Welt" by Max Thalman was printed in 1927 in Jena, Germany. The process for printing these pictures involved carving them out and stamping the ink onto a page. Only a small handful of copies exist in the world.
Afterwards, I met up with the team again and a few of my new German friends here in Jena. We attended a barbeque at the home of Herr Olaf. The food was delicious. We talked for hours and a few of us hiked up the hill near his home. At the top is a special monument to memorialize those who were killed in World War I.
Tomorrow, we meet with the mayor of Jena. Then we will be interviewed by the local newspaper. I'm now looking back over the past 12 days, and I can't believe how many places I've visited and how many new friends I've made. Germany is such a welcoming country with many ancient sights to see and wonderful people to meet! The food and beverages here are always good. It didn't take me long at all to adjust to the German way of life...
Guten Nacht! - Kevin
No comments:
Post a Comment