Berlin ist der Ort schlechin! Believe the hype, if you have been you know.
This young city is bubbiling over with its evolving urban form and creative milieu. This is the magnet city for free thinking artisits, designers & musicians. But before I get into all of that...
Having spent the previous three days in London, and before I dove into Berlin I welcomed a day trip journey away from cities and through the wintery Brandenburg countryside to visit the small town of Dessau.
I traveled solo to Germany with this mission:
visit the Bauhaus.
Now lets put on our thinking caps and place these dates 1919-1933
These dates are one year after WWI and three years shy of WWII. In nearby eastern europe Czar Nicholas II of Russia reign has collapsed and communism becomes an unprecedented power.
This rebirth in time creates a cultural revolution of new thoughts and ideas. These fourteen years are in which the Bauhaus school radiated a new social edifice lead by Walter Gropius and a slew of talents.
Putting a period of time in context to what one is seening and being here in January virtually alone can cause something of an of an understanding.
The two dimension of books pales in comparision to being engulfed in the real deal.
Naturally if this does not relate to, or understanding of the magnitude of how ahead of time this is, one could forgo the effort put in visiting such a place. Why one must think to travel during such bleak time of year?
It lent better to the effect.
Before this visit german expressionism// international style felt a bit too removed from nature for my tastes. I was wrong, these structures elegantly pay tribute to the surrounding landscapes.
I could go on about the nuances of large glass being similar to water, the linear beams as surrounding trees, oh the subtlety of color... But better to leave it since I have Berlin to get through.
* the battered Bauhaus after WWII
In the meantime while I gather more of my thoughts and get (actual) film developed you can read about my trip to Münich back in '08.
Auf wiedersehen!