Everyone hates goodbyes. I wish I didn’t have to leave, but Berlin taught me its lessons and now it is time to go. My roomates Xin and Shibei were amazing and they also taught me some pretty great lessons in Chinese.
Berlin was fun and so was the class, but alas, auf weidersehen!
Imagine training for one year to run the New York City Marathon. Plus imagine actually running it and getting to the finish line.
Now imagine running the New York City Marathon while drawing and posting the pictures to social media sites.
That’s what Christoph Nieman, a prominent illustrator, did.
Nieman has illustrated for the New York Times, The New Yorker, Google and more. His illustrations are mainly political, but his work can vary from something as serious as radiation in Fukushima to a comedic app called Petting Zoo.
My class was lucky enough to meet Nieman and learn about his job and his philosophy on life, clients, creativity and humor.
Nieman designs for himself and clients. He stressed the importance of always being able to deliver what he promised to clients and always meeting or going beyond expectations.
This a a copy of the New York Times Book Review, where Nieman’s illustration is featured on the front page. Nieman says he likes working on a deadline because it allows for a certain spontaneity – he does not like second guessing his work. Long deadlines can force a person to be overly critical and ruin a good idea.
Nieman recently released his book “Abstract City” and in it he writes and illustrates about his life when he lived in New York. The book is funny and makes light of the life of a New Yorker. Nieman says humor is a result of the unexpected.
Nieman is always pushing his own boundaries and limits. Take his triumph over the New York City Marathan for example: http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/07/new-york-city-marathon/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
For more information about Christoph Nieman, visit his website: http://www.christophniemann.com/
Let me count the ways.
1. Symbolic
2. Pedestrian
3. Central
The TV Tower was erected by the German Democratic Republic in 1969 as, foremost, a television signal tower. Now it stands as a symbol of the moderately recent unified Berlin. The tower is visible almost everywhere – a constant reminder of the wholeness of Berlin.
In Berlin sightseeing is much more than taking a tour of the city. Sightseeing in Berlin is a lot more like people watching, because it is the people of Berlin (not just the history) who make the city so unique. They show Berlin’s liberal, free-spirited nature and add life to a city that has been torn by so much war.
My late arrival to Berlin cut my trip short a few days, but it hardly seems like I’ve missed out. Just like the constant construction of the city, each day new opportunities arise for tourist outings and excursions.
The city combines the antique with the contemporary in almost every aspect. Old designs and new designs are seen in architecture, parks and cultural aspects like beirgartens.
Here’s what I’ve seen in the last few days:
The Brandenburg Gate is one of the most classic icons of Berlin. The statue on top, called a quadriga, was stolen by Napoleon in the early 1800s and taken to Paris. When Napoleon was defeated in 1814, the Prussians got the quadriga back.
A political rally for the Social Democratic Party in the center of Alexanderplatz roused tensions among the crowd.
The mirrored dome atop the Reichstag, Berlin’s capital and parliamentary building, reflects the desire for complete transparency in the German government. People can stand on the roof and see Berlin from all angles, including many embassies and, of course, the TV Tower. Learn more about the Reichstag here: http://www.berlin.de/orte/sehenswuerdigkeiten/reichstag/index.en.php
There’s a sticker that circulated around Gainesville that says “Anything that can go right will.”
I’m not a disillusioned person, but I always liked that phrase. I liked it, but I never said it was true.
This summer I embarked on an adventure to Berlin, Germany. Up until the moment my luggage arrived at the Berlin hotel – late – everything that could go wrong did.
Here’s a synopsis of all the fun misadventures I got myself into on my unexpected three-day transit to Berlin:
That concludes my unluckly streak of misadventures – I hope.
Lil crumbnut 