Berlin Study Abroad Experience

 Cooper Robards  Blog 7     A couple weeks ago my program did an  excursion to Dresden. It was my first time traveling within Germany while I was abroad and something I am defiantly grateful to experience.  Going into the trip I knew very little about Dresden or its history. I was shocked by the events that took place there during World Word Two.  You could still see and feel the impact that moment had on the city. What was also interesting was the controversial nature behind the attack as it had little to no military advantages for the Allies.  Although I'm not confident on all of the history surrounding the event and what followed, my professor did mention more controversy involving responses to the attack. For instance, while under communist control, as it was in East Germany, people in Dresden used the attack to point to the west as the bad guys during the Cold War for their necessary bombing (I'm not articulating the story/point he was making well, but it was very interest

Cooper Robards April 2. 2023 Blog 6   This past week my girlfriend Ella came to visit me. The week was without a doubt a highlight in my trip so far, as I was just starting to get homesick.  What made her visit even more fun was doing some of the touristy things I had pushed off or simply not gotten around to doing. I felt like I was experiencing parts of Berlin for the first time with her.  Until her being here, I had not yet gone on top of the tv tower. Not only did we go up but we had dinner- which was amazing.  It was interesting to see the city from above. Although I had seen it through the window of a plane or on top the Berlin Royal Palace, neither compared to the rotating view of the tv tower. Having been here for a while it was cool being able to recognize many areas from above and see how some were much closer than I thought.  It also gave me a greater sense of the horizontality of the city.  Most buildings have a uniform height of 22 meters, with the occasional high-rise mix

Cooper Robards March 17. 2023 Blog 5      Since coming to Berlin my German has improved a lot and come in handy in many situations. However while it is nice to have some German skills here in Berlin, I have found that just about everyone in Berlin speaks fluent English, or at least knows a few phrases.  It is often humorous watching Berliner's reactions to my strong American accent and somewhat weak German. For instance, I often try to order or pay for things in German (like at my favorite Donner place), but in most cases the workers will immediately recognize my American accent and switch to English. Many Berliner's I have met or interacted with seem to be proud of their English skills or even eager to practice, often using me for practice or to flaunt their skills. one German word I have grown to enjoy is "genau".  It is essentially an affirmative response, like exactly or precisely. If you walk down the street or through a train station you are bound to hear it at

 Cooper Robards March 4, 2023 Blog 4     This past week our program went on a week long excursion to Paris.  We all had a great time and were able to really enjoy the city. We obviously saw all of the big highlights, like the Louvre and Eiffel Tower, but were able to see many other unique and slightly less touristy things on the trip as well. My personal favorite part if the trip was going to Villa Savoye.  I had studied the building and Le C orbusier's architecture before but it was an entirely different experience to be inside and study the home. It was actually one of the first buildings I ever had to draw in an architecture class, which made doing on sight sketches even more fun. We visited another house designed by Le Corbusier in the same day which was also amazing. While I enjoyed the aesthetics of Villa Savoye, it was not incredibly functional. There was a good flow and relatively intuitive use of the space but the home failed at its main goal. It was created for the Savoye

 Blog 3 Feb.19. 23     Our semester project in my studio class has us building an architecture to fit within a set site. As implied by the title, it spans the whole semester and starts with site analysis and will eventually end with a fully developed structure that we believe best suits the area. The site is part of Berlin’s Kulturforum, a collection of interesting architectures that include Mies van der Roh’s Neue Museum, and the Berlin Philharmonic. It is a great display of iconic Berlin architecture. The Berlin Philharmonic is a modernist building designed by Hans Scharoun. It features an interesting yellow facade and organic structures that seemingly wave with the wind. Directly across from the Kulturforum is the Sony Center. This post modern building has become a highlight of Berlin’s architecture, thanks to its reactive glass ceiling. While the building is without a doubt unique and thought provoking, it pales in comparison to the Philharmonic and Neue Museum. Mies essentially pe

 Blog 2 2/18/23 Having had time to get acquainted with Berlin I have began to notice and enjoy some of its more subtle quirks, particularly within our area Kottbusser Tor.  While our area is certainly not one of the nicest I have grown to appreciate it. It has large Turkish and Vietnamese populations which can be felt throughout the area. The streets are lined with pho and doner restaurants. While I am yet to make it to one of the many pho restaurants, I have grown to love the doner kebabs. Although it is not what I anticipated eating or even enjoying, I can confidently say a good doner is delicious. Another interesting characteristic of our neighborhood, but also Berlin in general is the graffiti.  The streets and buildings are lined with graffiti, ranging from simple tags to artful masterpieces like the giant spaceman I frequently pass. (I would attach a picture but for some reason and unable to- google Berlin spaceman graffiti if you are curious). While the graffiti is not necessari