Washington, D.C. - history, architecture, politics

Outtakes - no comment

2008-12-28T09:08:00.013-06:00

An Opportunity to say "Thank you"

2008-12-21T10:02:00.003-06:00

People, with some delay I want to open the board to everyone of us who wants to thank Meike and Christof for their tremendous effort makin' the excursion one event to remember.
I would like to go ahead and express my gratitude to both of you, Meike and Christof. I had a great and exciting time in D.C. and I feel kinda proud being part in this course. And boy - did I learn much! Old Swede! ;-)

But I also wanna address the rest of the group: Guys, I think we all got along greatly and got to know each other a little better. Special thanks are goin' out to Marta and Annka, my TOP-roommates who sweetened my days with their full-service-package. That includes the indispensable coffee in the early mornings, the not less important bagels and cereal, as well as their fearless commitment to my Vengaboys-affinity! Garage-Partey @ aight pm in room 538!

Furthermore, I wanna thank United Airlines for not charging us for food, I wanna thank Mt. Vernon's camel for stepping on my toe, and I am thankful for every banana I had in D.C.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE !!!

P.S. I am planning to create an "Outtakes" post within the next couple of days. Please let me know (peter@camsky.de) if you want to have a picture (that might show you in an inappropriate way, haha) removed by the admin of this blog :)

Day 10 - In the end to where it all began (12-08-08)

2008-12-10T12:03:00.012-06:00

You gotta admit: George Washington got style. His country-side residence is located at the banks of the Potomac River about seven miles south of Alexandria (remember the penguins?). And his choice to build it there was just right! A beautiful landscape opens to the viewer and makes him forget the noise of D.C.'s busy traffic downtown area.

Kenneth Bowling continued his friendly manner by taking us along with his group of students in a med-size bus to Mt. Vernon where we heard a presentation by one of his colleagues on pictures and portraits of George Washington and their interpretation.

The two groups of students divided when the US-students remained in the conference room to proceed with their seminar as the German one did by taking a little exploring through the elaborately designed museum and the area's exterior. Watch out for the camel that's grazing on Mt. Vernon's range land. On the first picture of the museum's interior please note the Mt. Vernon model entirely built out of gingerbread. Yummy!

Inside Mt. Vernon Museum

By midday it was about time to get on the bus and head back to the hotel. During the ride, a very brief view on the Pentagon was possible:

At the hotel our Mafia-style Limoservice awaited us. We were good in time as the Lincolns & Cadillacs smoothly pulled into Dulles Airport departure zone where the excursion had started on Nov 29th. After a unspectacular flight and only about 8hrs later we touched down at Munich Airport: truly a 'foggy bottom'.

Personally, I wanna express my gratitude to the pilot who - maybe because so advised or by himself - did a couple of turns in the soft morning light before landing. (Now you can call me freak!) :-) I liked the view though.

Day 9 - Penguins in Alexandria (12-07-08)

2008-12-09T10:43:00.017-06:00

First of all: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAX!!! All the best from all of us!

Did you see "March of the Penguins"? If you did, you might remember how the penguins manage to survive under severe conditions with temperatures as cold as -80°F. Well, it's quite simple: They gather and stand close-packed, forming a huge pack. As you can see on the picture - the behavior of the human race is quite similar. So thanks to the penguins nobody fell victim to the rough, icy winds soughing through the streets of Alexandria, just 10 miles south of downtown D.C.

In Old Town Alexandria restaurants range from high-end to pizza joints and streets with the million-dollar-plus homes (from the 18th to the 21st centuries) are charming and close to the Potomac. All silently watched by the area's high point, the Masonic Tower (where the mysterious masons still meet). The Alexandria Trolley brought us to the shore of the Potomac River, where the Torpedo Factory not only offered shelter from the cold but provided interesting insights of its military history as well. A great area just to walk around and/or shop until unconsciousness.

The local Fire Department was giving a little neighborhood open house event, supplying us with coffee & donuts and - for some of next-generation-firefighters among us - helmets. Ain't that right, Michèle?!

Afternoon's main happening of interest: extensive shopping in Alexandria's outlets and the big, fancy mall a few Metro stations north @ Pentagon City. For some of us, the number of suitcases to be taken home the next day magically increased today... No further information necessary. Except maybe this one: if you got your ID at hand you can enjoy nice magaritas a few blocks up New Hampshire Ave. That's what we did. Muy bien - hola ricura!

Day 8 - Santa Clones: Holy Crab! (12-06-08)

2008-12-07T07:20:00.012-06:00

Enjoying probably the last look on the Washington Mall for this stay we strolled through the sculpture garden of the Hirshhorn Museum before meeting Cynthia Field in front of the Smithsonian Castle. So far, we have attended a couple of symposiums and lectures on the Washington Mall and its buildings surrounding it but it turned out we just scratched the edge of this mighty chapter. Cynthia took us with her into the heart of the Smithsonian Castle, deep into its hidden corridors which are closed for the puplic and showed us the Arts and Industries Building. This old exhibition site features 17 exhibition rooms which are all designed to receive natural light through a multitude of windows. A great feeling to be there.

Kids need entertainment. Hey - just perfect that outside the Smithsonian Castle a merry-go-round was awaiting the foolish crowd of German students. A crazy lightspeed ride of never-ending fun took all of us back into the early years of childhood. Even the Big Boss ;-)

But all of a sudden - INVASION! At least 4 quadtrillquillion Santa Clause Clones, for a blink of an eye peacefully gathering at the side of the Mall, began moving and swarmed all over the walkways. A cheerful clutter of red hats and lots of candy. Magic indeed.

Leisure time after the Smithsonian appointment (we say good-bye to our great guide Cynthia before the carousel-ride) ment this: everyone could follow his or hers own interest and discover one or two of the great museums (most of them run by the Smithsonian Institution), lined up at both sides of the Mall. Among them, American Cultural History Museum, National Air and Space Museum, the Holocaust Museum, and the Portrait Gallery. So now we got expertise in almost every field of science. D.C. - a scientific-terrific place to be!

Cultural diversity and scientific knowledge were followed by an ordinary dinner party, joined by author Frederick Reuss in a seafood restaurant a couple of Metro stations away. The sound of crushing crab-shells dominated the evening, causing several "sailors" to order salads or cheeseburgers. Nevertheless, the night was great and we'd like to thank Fred for his generous gift!

What more is to say of this super type day? Ah yes, snow flakes were falling down the sky in the afternoon and came to rest on the dignified soil of the U.S. capital. A breeze of christmas, don't ya think?

Day 7 - State of the Art (12-05-08)

2008-12-06T23:04:00.009-06:00

Early in the morning, a taxi ride brought us to the Department of State, the appointment we had been looking forward to the most. In contrast to our expectations, we were welcomed by three young women who were barely older than ourselves and provided us a glimpse on entirely different career planning. One of them, Ashley (Public Diplomacy Desk Officer/23), explained the Department's basic functions and together with her colleagues elaborated on their work for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs in general and the German Desk in particular.

Ever had to answer about 300 (three-hundred) eMails a day? That's one part of the job, for instance, in addition to writing reports, briefing superiors, and reading through German news.

Afterwards more Department staff joined the discussion contributing with their expertise on NATO, European politics and economics, as well as various countries and their views in general.

After lunch, Jill led us through the National Gallery of Art, "briefly" explaining a selection of exhibited works and the buildings' architecture. Then, we joined a symposium on American Indian Art and listened to two lectures. To make a long story short: we were thrilled.

In the evening, some of us went to concerts, musicals, and basketball games, while others joined the cocktail party of one of the regularly visiting icons at the Amerika-Institute, Michael Kimmage. We look forward to welcoming him back in May at the AI!

Day 6 - Almost Obama: On Journalism and Diplomacy (12-04-08)

2008-12-04T22:50:00.010-06:00

Today, we had “only” two appointments. And yet, this day was special and full of surprises. At noon, we were welcomed by no one else but media legend James Srodes in the National Press Club and sat down to talk and have lunch with him. We were joined by Daren Brisco, who had spent the last 14 months before the presidential election together with Obama and his team on the Campaign trail to report for Newsweek Magazine. His experiences and way of presenting them impressed us in a number of ways. Some fell literaly in love... ;)

But seriously: Daren proved sensitive to issues as varied as the dark sides of his job, Obama's challenges as president-elect, and the role of race in America in general. His anecdotes and stories often reminded James Srodes of experiences during his own career and we learned how life on the Campaign trail has changed for both journalists and candidates within the last 30 years. This unique glimpse behind the scenes, coupled with their warm and funny nature, turned this lunch to the trip’s highlight, so far.

In the afternoon, we visited the Woodrow Wilson Center (WWC) and were introduced to its primary objectives with their program on North Korea as illustrating example. Afterwards, we attended an Ion Ratiu Lecture (in Romanian) at the WWC by Eleonara Ceravschi on her struggle to ensure that pupils can study in their native language at schools in Moldova and the necessity to improve the situation there in general. The lecture was attended by a number of diplomats and the panel was chaired by Dr. Christian Ostermann and Samuel Donaldson, the famous correspondent and anchorman for ABC News for nearly four decades. Again, we were released into the evening full of impressions that we are trying to order writing this blog, right now.

Day 5 - March on Georgetown (12-03-08)

2008-12-04T22:12:00.011-06:00

As strange as it may sound, there is no centralized Ministry of Culture in the United States. There are separate institutions, which take care of the development of the education system. National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is the agency responsible for various programs in the humanities. In the official conference room of the agency, which made us feel, as if we were spending time in the Harvard Club, we talked to several prominent members of the NEH staff. The recent projects of the NEH include the curriculum for the history and art teachers, “Picturing America”. On the examples of various works of art or craftwork, the children can learn how the American identity has been visually expressed throughout the history. NEH offers numerous opportunities in the Division of Research Programs to support young creative teachers. Go to http://www.edsitement.neh.gov to learn more about the numerous subjects researched by the NEH.

The NEH is located in the Old Post Office Building. Only George Washington Monument is higher than the tower of the Old Post Office, so, basically, you can’t get any higher, since the Monument is closed for tourists. We all agreed that Washington D.C. is as beautiful from the bird’s eye view, as from squirrel’s (if you’ve been to D.C., you know what we mean). After our unsuccessful attempts to undercover some secret actions inside of the FBI building with our camera zooms, we continued exploring the mall-character of the Post Office Building, eating sandwiches, buying gifts and counting the steps to the restrooms.

But even the most brilliant students of the American Studies gave up on counting the steps to Georgetown, when they saw the White House, which we passed once again to catch the better view, than the last time, by the traumatic impression of our first day trip (rain plus wind plus cold plus outside equals trauma). Having taken all the possible “one-day-I’m-gonna-live-in-that-house”-face pictures, we started marching. We marched and marched and marched and marched and marched. Then we marched a little more and reached Georgetown (by the end of March).

Georgetown is a neighborhood named after… No, there will be no surprises: after George Washington (one of the things you should know about D.C. is that if something is named after someone, he really was someone). Much could be told about Georgetown, but three things are especially significant: it is the location of the Georgetown University Campus, it is full of tiny pre-civil war buildings located on hilly roads, and it is the contemporary hipster neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

Georgetown University Library is pretty indescribable. Its endless resources (name it – they have it) are available to everyone, who has a picture ID. On the one hand the library holds copies of Thomas More’s “Utopia” and a copy of Mark Twain’s “Tom Sawyer” annotated by the author. On the other hand, the library staff will be helpful with assisting you researching for university papers. Nicholas Sheetz, the manuscript librarian at the Georgetown University, was our host at the archives and at the quite impressive old university library. He also invited us to “Tombs” a “typical university hangout” at Georgetown University.

One must say, there are not many shops around the Mall, although the name would suggest the opposite. Commercial activities are generally unwished in the city center, since its image should be as symbolic and serious as possible. Eager to spend our dollars in a really American way, hungry for bargains, cheap jeans and other gotta-haves, we headed for M-Street, the shopping area of Georgetown. We just did it: we had it our way because we’re worth it. And we were loving it.

Day 4 - Exploring the Neighborhood (12-02-08)

2008-12-04T19:37:00.010-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHÉLE !!! ALL THE BEST FROM ALL OF US !!!

Tuesday started with a nice little walk not too far away from the hotel. Yeah! Through the sunshine, that caught the busy, hard-working neighborhood, we were basically walking just a few blocks down New Hampshire Ave. to get inside the Department of History at the George Washington University. There, Kenneth Bowling invited us to a journey to the early days of US politics, namely the First Federal Congress Project - a tremendously elaborate and ambitious venture carried out by a team of four. One of them needs to be mentioned explicitly: His colleague, who worked for Hillary R. Clinton's campaign! The team’s entire undertaking consists of 22 volumes, featuring personal letters as well as official correspondence, pointing out some of the most important actors, i.e. Jefferson, Washington, etc. We will meet up with K. Bowling on our last day (Monday) to visit Mt. Vernon together with a group of George Washington University students. We're already looking forward to that!

Sandwiches for everyone! We had the honorable mission to provide lunch also for our next speaker: Professor of American Studies and director of the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, a real and popular specialist on D.C.'s architecture, especially the past and ongoing development of the Washington Mall. Not unmentioned shall remain the atmosphere that his two slide-projectors created during his more than interesting presentation. It felt like a funky flashback into the late 70's making us feel the nostalgia we all know from old fashioned college movies. Groovy.

On our way to the next exciting D.C. historic site, we faced a very familiar (Bavarian) spirit: Brewmaster's Castle. It is one of the most beautiful Victorian houses in Washington. It belonged to Christian Heurich, a German immigrant, who made a fortune with his brewery. Although the beer could not be tested on site, we learned that Christian Heurich, owner of the complex, was at one time the 2nd richest land owner in the city.

The next point of our schedule was a visit to the Anderson House, today the home of the much-debated "Society of the Cincinnati"

Think the day is over? HA! Think twice, there are always institutions in D.C. that are worth a visit. For example, the German Marshall Fund, just a few streets away. There, Harvard Ph.D. and M.A. Dr. John Glenn held a presentation (the first powerpoint presentation we saw) on transatlantic trends. The German Marshall Fund researches trends in European-American affairs. The discussion, that followed, brought up questions concerning energy supply in Europe as well as NATO-related topics. A broad array of issues has been mentioned that really proved that this visit is another very important landmark in our stay here.

Think the day’s over now? HA! Think three times. There is one more institution in our neighborhood which needs to be explored from the inside - the German Historical Institute (GHI). We all knew that Prof. Mauch used to work for the GHI but we didn’t expect the Second Blair House to also be the second home of Mr. Mauch. Currently, there’s an exhibition displaying how the Civil Rights Movement affected and was perceived in Germany, which Mr. Martin Klimke showed us through. Furthermore, the exhibition was followed by an inspiring discussion in the beautiful ballroom of the house. It is hard to imagine how happy we were to hear that we were invited to dinner by GHI. Who doesn’t like Thai food...?

Course Participants

2008-12-03T00:05:00.004-06:00

Christof Mauch

Meike Zwingenberger

Annka

Pete

Marta

Steffi D.

Michèle

Anja

Philipp

Conny

Lisa

Steffi R.

Max

Stefan

Rebecca

Day 3 - Around the Capitol and beneath (12-01-08)

2008-12-02T22:20:00.010-06:00

Having left the Metro at Union Station we did not expect getting underground so soon again. We learned that the corridors are sometimes not only extremely long and deep but also as mazy as a piece of swiss cheese. The sub-level tunnel system of the Senate buildings brought us to Mr. Donald R. Ritchie, past some 70's James Bond underground electric cable car. The interior of the Senate building again showed us the art of the Washingtonian decoration of public spaces. Mr. Donald R. Ritchie briefly summarized the outstanding history of the Senate as an institution.

Next up, we found ourselves on the numerous steps of the mighty Capitol building, just before we entered into the halls the Library of Congress. There, we met David Morris, who is not just a random guide who showed us around. As the person responsible for purchasing books and materials for the German division of the LoC, David told us about his tasks and library. We couldn't have gotten a better tour since he's an insider. For example, he showed us the map of "Waldseemüller" giving us the background information of how this item was acquired by the LoC. We also took a look at the exhibition "Creating America" where the founding of the new nation is pictured with the most important documents in the history of the United States. David also joined us for lunch at the "Hawks & Doves".

So we took a short foot walk thru DC to get to see "Meighs Red Barn". To be serious, we were to participate a symposium about the future of the Mall. Roger K. Lewis took us thru the book presentation and discussion about The National Mall: Rethinking Washington's Monumental Core" by Marcel Acosta, Judy Scott Feldman and Cynthia Field. History and its relation to the present planning, intertwined with peoples perception of the Nations Capitol.

Day 2 - Singing in the Rain (11-30-08)

2008-12-01T23:26:00.009-06:00

Sunday on Thanksgiving weekend proved to be probably the calmest day of the year in the District. We spent the day driving around in a classic: the Old Town Trolley. The narrated tour led us to the National Cathedral (we had a clear, beautiful view through the fogged windows…), through Embassy Row down to Georgetown and the Mall. We got off to actually see where we were and found ourselves amazed by the 20^th century neo-Gothic architecture of the National Cathedral – consequently following the American urge to rediscover already dead architectural styles! Strange, eh? We didn’t spent too much time, as it was Sunday morning service and hopped back onto the next bus and continued our tour.

...In spite of the difficulties of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

Of course, we are not the first ones to quote those words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s most famous speech. But what we felt standing where he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963 is hard to put in a sentence.

But let’s go back. The Mall impressed us step by step: the Washington Monument, the Vietnam Memorials, the Lincoln Memorial, and finally the Korean Memorial. Commemorating the dead of the Vietnam War at Maya Lin’s famous wall in the cold and the rain turned into an inspiring discussion about the controversies at the time it was built, subtle interpretation of its meaning, and honest second thoughts.

The Lincoln Memorial, positioned like a temple at one end of the Mall, caused us – although we were shivering from the cold – to calm down and appreciate his famous Gettysburg Address anew.

In contrast to the

Vietnam

Memorial, the Korean War Memorial felt like a patchwork that tries to combine what should remain separated: abstraction, reality, and … what do you think?

Day 1 - A glimpse of the city (11-29-08)

2008-11-30T21:18:00.020-06:00

An US-banker known by the name of J.P. Morgan once said: "When you expect things to happen - strangely enough - they do happen." Well, haven't we all at least one time had the indulgence of experiencing the dissapearance of a suitcase? True, tracking down a lost piece of luggage takes time. But who could ever have guessed that destiny would strike us? Either it was a really mean mafia trick or we actually had an Italian diplomat (accidentally) 'taking care of' one of our suitcases - but after only pretty little time the missing item was identified, located, and returned and the journey to downtown D.C. could finally begin.

The group, eager to explore their new environment and showing not even a suggestion of fatigue, headed straight to Union Station, Washington's prestigious main train station. Designed by architect Daniel Burnham, the mighty multi-level complex looks back on a construction time of almost four years, 1903-1907. Burnham, who as a young man was rejected by both Harvard and Yale universities and developed his architectural skills from private tutoring, adhered the French planning tradition of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts ("School of Fine Arts), and therewith set the foundation for the beginning of Washington's classic architecture which is characterized by lots of prestigious materials, like 70 pounds of 22-karat leaf gold on the ceilings and white granite. In addition to that, six Greek statues portray "The Progress of Railroading". Until today, trains from all across the United States arrive and leave on two seperate floors. Being able to maintain such a diverse functional role only works with sufficient funds. The initial construction cost $125 million dollars and another $160 million dollars were needed for reconstruction in 1981. Not only these incredible amounts of money put into the preservation of Union Station point out the still remaining significance of this building. But also taking into account the number of visitors and the sustained service of railway connections simply reflects the station's important symbolic role for the nation's capital.

Today, equipped with a multitude of shops, restaurants, and not less than seven cinemas, the station represents the city's most visited attraction with 20-32 million visitors a year and can has therefore been referred to as a "city within a city". With over 130 retail stores and the possibility of hosting private and official events (such as the Presidential Inaugural Ball), Union Station successfully combines the provision of transportation with entertainment and shopping.

Burnham once confined to one of his assistants he was "not going to stay satisfied with houses; my idea is to work up a big business, to handle big things, deal with big businessmen, and to build up a big organization" - it should turn out to become reality and same is true for the project he was receiving his highest honor for: the appointment by President William Taft as the first chairman of the National Commission on Fine Arts. For his project "Union Station".

Day 1 - Arrival at Dulles Airport (11-29-08)

2008-11-30T17:36:00.013-06:00

The U.S. capital welcomes the LMU-selection with a 46°F warm handshake and blue skies. So far so good. Arriving at Washington Dulles Airport proofs to be quite a journey. The "mobile lounges" that transport passengers between the main terminal building and the outlying terminals are still in use, and - one must admit - are more reminiscent of old-school Star Wars.

The airport's design was so hip it received a First Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects in 1966. Designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen in 1958, with its swoosh roof over a squat building, Dulles still stands out as a stunning exhibit of modernist architecture and was the first airport in the US designed specifically for commercial jets.
Note: "Washington"was officially added to the "International Dulles Airport" moniker after too many people inadvertently booked flights to Dalles, not Dulles, and vice-versa. No joke.

Getting started - Welcome!

2008-11-25T15:54:00.003-06:00

Hi everyone and welcome to our own Washington, D.C. Blog!

Since this is my first blog, I am sure everyone of you has seen more advanced blogs with technical features, animations, and whatnot. However, this simple-mode blog / design will provide everything we need.

I am sure it will develop just fine and if everyone contributes to keep this thing alive it will serve us well, trust me! :-)

Bye, Pete