These are more pictures from Prague….Jessica, my little “Oriental” woman, and our new friend that we met at our sketchy hostel, Ian. Also another picture of the Dancing House designed by Frank Gehry, and this really old clock in the middle of a square in the Jewish Quarter of Prague. The tale behind this clock is that it was so beautiful and technologically advanced at the time it was built (the doors above it open on the hour and these little men and a skeleton dance around), that the ruler had the designer’s eyes gouged out so that he could never make anything so beautiful again. Pretty intense society, huh?

This is a really old bridge in Prague, kind of a touristy site, but I am not really sure about its actual significance. These pictures are of the typical sites seen from the bridge, including the castle on the hill and Jessica looking cute as always, even in the below freezing weather.

This is an early building designed by Frank Gehry, one of my favorite architects (even though he is solely sculptural and i know that it is not so cool for an architecture major to appreciate that). It is a business building on the river in downtown Prague.

I just now realized that the major advantage of computers, websites, technology, etc. is to be able to transmit information very quickly. Therefore, it doesn’t make sense for me to hold back pictures from my website to arouse suspense, or space them out, because I am defeating the purpose of having the technology. So, in conclusion, you guys better get ready to be bombarded by pictures, because once I get all the Prague pictures out of the way, I can begin to post pictures of Quinn’s last week in Paris (that is if I come home on time. if i stay here forever he might have to make a few more trips…just kidding hun). I can’t wait to show all the embarrassing footage that I have of this boy……hee hee (just kidding again hun). Well that is all for now. I am finally going to sleep. Phew!

The first picture is of the Brandenburg Gate. Instead of giving my own brief (but really not) history of the significance of the gate, you can check it out here : http://www.centsoft.com/VirtualBerlin/English/Brandenburger_Tor_Info_1.html . The most interesting part is on the second page, so just skim the first one. The second picture is a night-sky view of Patsdamer Platz, a new development that is being constructed in Berlin. It has been designed by well-known architects and addresses many current questions about architecture, urban space, blah blah blah. The bottom left picture is Jessica taking a picture of me taking a picture of her; but more importantly, the building in the background is by Frank Gehry and we didn’t even realize it when we were there. The lobby is the most sculptural part of the building, that actually looks like Gehry’s work, but the front facade is very chic as well. The bottom right is Carl and Candace standing in front of “The Thinker” that is sitting in the middle of the square in-between the Brandenburg Gate and a Starbucks. We did not realize that we (we as in Paris, since we are Parisian enough now to be included in the term) loaned the statue to Berlin from Musee Rodin, so we were a little surprised to see him sitting there.

….and me making a fool of myself. I don’t know what possessed me to post pictures of myself in this pitiful condition on my website for everyone to view. When it was sooooo cold outside and I had no one to impress, this ensemble was the result - my Carl hat, hair pulled back, and glasses. It reminds me of the last time I had plastic-rimmed glasses…..the fourth grade (I wasn’t exactly a charmer then either). Anyway, you can’t use these pictures as blackmail since I have already shown them to the world. The Parliament building in Berlin wasn’t used during most of the twentieth century, but it has been restored and Norman Foster was commissioned to build this new glass dome on the top, which allows a view into the actual meeting space. The public can walk on these ramps that lead to the top of the dome and overlook the city. The ramps are only supported by cables that hold it from above, a very cool structural form.

This was definitely one of my favorite parts of the visit to Berlin. This museum was designed by Daniel Libeskind, the same guy who has just been commissioned to rebuild the world trade center. This was one of the best museums that I have been in. It even almost made me cry, because the material was presented on such a personal level. Anyway, besides the content, the building itself was absolutely amazing. I guess by now most of you can figure out what style of architecture I like by the buildings I display and talk about the most. You can check out Libeskind’s design for the World Trade Center at
http://www.arcspace.com/architects/Libeskind/wtc/.

Checkpoint Charlie is the place where people could cross borders between East and West Berlin, and where many people were able to escape East Berlin. As you can see, the signs and security box have not been removed since the wall fell. It is a little creepy when you see it for the first time. The bottom two pictures are of Jessica “in East Berlin” and Jessica “in West Berlin.” Very fascinating, we know.

A couple of weeks ago, we had our winter break, when most Europeans go skiing. But Jessica and I decided to go to the east instead. We started our spontaneous adventure in Berlin. It was a lot of fun. This set of pictures includes some of the artwork on the Berlin Wall and my roommate Carl standing around beside it. He and Candace just happened to be in Berlin at the same time as us, so we followed them around for awhile.

I wanted to space out these new pictures so that you guys wouldn’t get bored over the next week or two when I don’t have any more pictures to put up, but I have a french presentation tomorrow, so you know what that means….procrastination.

So anyway, these are a few candid photos of my fellow irish travellers. Becky obeys well; when I tell her to be silly in front of the camera, she does it all - dancing, eating snowflakes, you name it. Casey isn’t as good of a follower, but we still love her anyway. Oh, by the way, the picture of them yawning wasn’t a command at all. They were just that enthused at the sight of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where we actually went to the end of a church service….Catholics are interesting people.

The first picture is of the river and the line of buildings along it. The second picture is of the main square on the north side of the river. It is where all the college kids, and consequently tourists, hang out. The third picture is of a median that is preserving the outline of an old viking hut. And the fourth picture is of a church that was near our hostel.