New York - Philadelphia - Germany

The last days were all about traveling again. Soooo nice!

I was surprised how much I liked Philadelphia. It's a good mix between the charm of a smaller city with lots of green, parks and 3 story buildings close to the historic landmarks and the life and crazyness of a big city a little further West. Awesome nightlife, lots of stores and generally less stressful and packed than NY. We enjoyed cocktails on the rooftop of Continental. Such a great place to be on a warm summer night! (18th Street and 1801 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 567-1800) Heard some pretty nice jazz, too at Chris' Jazz Cafe (1421 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102 (215) 563-313). Almost as nice as the Blue Note in NY, but less cover - definitely a place to go in Philly.

The next weeks promise more travel to come - I start liking not to have a job right now...

What's next?

It's the strangest feeling to see a car leave your apartment with all your stuff except for what fits in a suitcase... Now I have a pile of boxes stored at my parents place in Germany, and another pile of things in Rhode Island. Wonder which pile gets unpacked next - or if I'm starting another one soon...

Also very funny to realize that I have two suitcases filled with shoes, but only one little backpack with some kitchenware. Tells a little bit about my life here in NY I guess.

I need to book flights, change so many addresses again, say goodbye to everyone and of course I really want to enjoy the rest of my days here in NY.

Unfortunately AIESEC doesn't want to hold my position open till fall when there are H1B visas again, so I'm open to any new ideas again. Hope I'll find the right thing to do soon!

Thinking of buying a round the world ticket and go visit a lot of people. I need to escape my mom's house in Germany as fast as possible! :)

Time to make new plans again and move on! Let me know if you have any input...

Berlin Holocaust memorial opened

After months of discussions the Holocaust memorial in Berlin has been opened to the public this week. Discussions didn't so much go around if a memorial should be built (which is pretty much out of question), but how it should look like and who can participate to build it. Big discussions emersed as a company was supposed to deliver an anti graffiti chemical for the memorial and somebody found out, that they actually delivered gas for the concentration camps back then. I'm wondering, shouldn't that be all the more reason to show, that you truly regret what your company had been part of back then? Not to mention that the management today is completely different from the management back then. Why should those who were part of the horrors back then be excluded from creating a space to remember and say never again? One of those little odd reactions in Germany whenever it comes to a discussion about our recent history.

"Designed by U.S. architect Peter Eisenman, the memorial consists of 2,711 pillars, which range in height from a few centimeters (inches) to 4.7 meters (15 feet) and form a dense grid pattern through which visitors can wander.

From a distance, the site looks like a dusky, placid ocean. As one descends on uneven, sloping ground into the memorial, the concrete blocks grow more imposing, tilt at irregular angles, and street noise fades.

The experience is intended to create feelings of unease and loneliness, encouraging discussion on the plight of the 6 million Jews who died at the hands of the Nazi regime.

Eisenman views the field as a metaphor for the Nazi regime and the mad, ordered nature of its genocide.

"The field looks like it's reasonable, lined up," Eisenman said in an interview. "Then you find the stones are not perfectly horizontal or vertical. There is a warping sensation. It's unsettling. It seems reasonable from the outside but when you get into it it's out of control."" http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/05/
04/berlin.holocaust.reut/





I'll go there for sure once I'm in Berlin again. I really want to see it myself.

The Highline

I follow the news about the Highline for quite a while now... So I went to see the exhibition about the Highline at the Museum of Modern Art. Go there on any of the next Fridays, it's free from 4-8PM.

The Highline is this old railroad construction running from the Meatpacking District up to 34th Street on the West Side. Right now there's nothing there, grass and small trees are growing on it as it's not in use. But they're planning to make it a public space and the first designs are out.

Check this out:
http://www.thehighline.org/design/prelim_design/index.htm
http://www.thehighline.org/



I can't wait to actually go and walk on it. They're planning to start constructing the boardwalk and the entrance in the Meatpacking district this fall. So maybe next spring.... How nice will that be, sit on a sun deck with a view of Manhattan, listen to some live music up there and walk this old railroad track.

New York Marble Cemetery

Sunday was one of those rare occasions you could go visit the Marble Cemeteries in Manhattan. They're on Second Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue and on Second Avenue between 2nd and 3rd street. They are two of the last original cemeteries in the city and although most of the marble is underground and of course not visible they're very beautiful. I believe they also participate in the New York Open House days, so if you're interested there'll be another chance to see them in fall.



The weirdest thing was a sign that offered one of them for your wedding, fundraiser or corporate event. Who would want to do that on top of a cemetery??? They're really beautiful, but would you want to party on the graves of people? Kind of strange to me...

Tuesdays

Aren't my lucky days in the last two weeks...

Maybe I should hide under the blankets next Tuesday...

Tuesday a week ago I found out that there's a good chance of getting trouble with the visa I thought I could change to

Yesterday I actually left the office not knowing if there'll be a way at all to start working in the new job

I'm so sad I can't even tell

I had finally found the job I really wanted to do, had to wait for weeks to see it come through and when I thought it's just a week away I had to find out that there's maybe a 2% chance left to still be able doing it. :(

On the upside, I guess I can make new plans soon

Spending today in the New York Botanical Garden was definitely better than sitting in the office; it just feels so sad not to be able to do anything to make this work...

Any ideas anyone?