Towards the end of our trip I asked Jay if he was ready to go home. He said, “Yeah, I accomplished what I wanted.” Until that point I didn’t know that he had an agenda so I asked him what he had wanted to do. His reply,”I wanted to relax and be inspired.” This conversation took place on the grounds of the Swedish Museum of Architecture in Stockholm just as we were leaving. I think he said it perfectly.
Inspired is definitely the right word. Specifically I found myself fascinated by three different aspects:Transportation, Energy and Development.
Transportation: I have traveled abroad only three times but each time I was impressed by how easy it was for me to get around. This trip we didn’t use a car once. It was all trains, ferries, subways and BIKES. From the moment we arrived I was impressed with the bike culture but this fascination peaked in Copenhagen, Denmark where 30% of the city’s population uses a bike as the primary mode of transportation. I was awed by the fact that this very old city has been able to adapt to new modes of transportation without losing it’s architectural identity of cobblestone streets. There are bike lanes every where and bikers even have their own traffic signals. On major thoroughfares bike lanes are situated in between car lanes and sidewalks but are distinct paths. Pedestrians do not walk in the bike lanes, bikers don’t ride on the sidewalks and cars know how to yield.
Development: Most exciting to me is the development in Copenhagen because it is new, modern. Urban development and modern construction are very serious matters in the rapidly growing city. What is most inspiring is that buildings are not being built with cheap facades to mimic the existing architecture, but thought is being given to dimension and proportion so that the modern co-exists with the traditional in a seamless way. The new is truly new.
Energy and Conservation: From the major installation of wind turbine fields to the minor steps of reducing waste at restaurants to the articles in newspapers and the exhibitions at museums the awareness of the importance of conservation and energy is much more pronounced.
So, I’m back now and definitely inspired, but I don’t know how relaxed I am. I think the more appropriate word is energized.
June 5th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Beautiful photos. Did you take those yourself? Makes me look forward to visting Europe again sometime soon. This time for pleasure rather than business! My brother was similarly impressed during his 3 weeks in Europe at how the new, obviously modern buildings blended so well with 500 year old buildings.
It also re-energizes me towards buying land for a vacation home at the lake (taking a trip there next month for our 5th anniversary). That Rocio Romero would be very cool to have with the modern look blendning in with the natural environment. By the way, what did you and Jay think of the house during your visit to Perryville a while back?
June 5th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Thanks! We did take the photos.
As for the RR house, I loved it. It is funny that you mentioned lake house because right after that trip to Perryville, my husband had me on the look out for rural property so that he could be build one in some remote location. I went down to see if it was something that would work for in-fill houses in the city, but it’s concept is to let as much nature in as possible. So it designed wide and shallow with windows running the length of one side. I didn’t think it would work with city lot since they are narrow and deep.
June 7th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
loved the pictures very good writeup, an important lesson for the US as we continue to age.
June 11th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
It costs as much as 3000$ in some northern european countries just to get a driver’s license, I know this is true at least in the Netherlands. Plus with gas prices nearly 3 times what we pay here, it’s a necessity to ride a bike. Wonder how much people would freak out here if our gov’t did that in an effort to combat global warming? I guess if congress would get out of bed with the oil lobbyists someday.