To those who have anxiously awaited a new post, I apologize for not writing a new one sooner. A mix of finishing my semester in Denmark and starting my new internship in DC has left me really busy, and while I've got a number of new posts in the works, from book reviews to my thoughts on religion, I haven't been able to complete anything yet. So, to whet your appetite for the future, here's a short post I thought of on my way home from Denmark.
I visited a number of cities in Europe this past semester, and while I hope to write something about all of them, especially the ones I have not yet written about, I wanted to open with my general impressions, alongside a "title" I thought of for each city as I saw it. Here they are:
Copenhagen: City of Churches. This was not immediately apparent, even to me, until my family came and visited. As my dad and I walked around Copenhagen, he regularly asked me about the church towers and spires we saw, and I had to admit that although I walked past two or three churches every day, I had not thought about how common they were. Copenhagen has some pretty amazing churches, whether it's the "Rundetaarn" - which I believe is the oldest observatory in Europe, or the Church of Our Savior with the golden spiral tower that you can walk to the top of (though I, with a terrible fear of heights, chose not to), Copenhagen is full of diverse and fascinating churches, even though it is not known for them.
Paris: City of Art. I know, Paris is the "City of Lights" and it was evident to me how it got that title while I was there, but I think it is more deserving of my title. Paris is home to numerous museums filled with art from across the centuries, from the enormous Louvre to the modern Pompidou to the eclectic Musee D'Orsay...and these are just the top three. Aside from these museums, which dominated my time there, the city itself is an architectural gem. I was particularly impressed with the art nouveau style evident in nearly all of Paris' main streets, which has adapted to its 21st century tenants almost seamlessly. Although it is not a museum per se, one of my favorite art landmarks was Sainte-Chappelle, a chapel on the Cité Island (I want to call it Ile de Cité, but I'm sure my French is wrong there). The chapel is the crown jewel of the rayonnant style of architecture, with absolutely astounding stained glass windows. On top of these colorful and shining windows, every surface seemed to be covered in either shining gold paint or some vibrant color.
Amsterdam: City of Walking. Out of all the cities I visited, Amsterdam was really unique, as it was the only city where I felt like the major attraction was the city itself. Sure, there were museums and other sights to see, but I found I enjoyed Amsterdam the most when I left my map at the hotel and just wandered along the canals, occasionally stopping for coffee (not at a coffeeshop, Amsterdam's infamous marijuana-dealing establishments, but at an actual cafe) or dinner. There's something beautiful about Amsterdam's streets, whether in the middle of the day or late at night, and the city is compact enough that I was able to easily walk around it without getting tired. Should you find yourself there, I recommend walking around the western canals right around dusk - the combination of the sunset, the streetlights, the buildings, and the canal itself is absolutely wonderful in that it conveys both a sense of exoticness and of homey comfort, like it's something foreign yet you belong there.
Venice: City of Canals. This was an obvious one, but Venice is a city unlike any other because there are no major roads outside of the bridge to the mainland. Every street is a twisting alleyway, and the only way to make sense of the city is to take the canals. Much like Paris, the city is an artwork in itself, but the canals are what make it unlike any other city. I know that both Copenhagen and Amsterdam have canals, supposedly to emulate Venice, but this is like getting a kiddy pool to emulate a tropical island - yes, you have some of the same physical components, but it's not even close to the original, which really cannot be copied.
Sarajevo: City of Conflict. This sounds like a bad thing, and certainly not something the Bosnians want to be remembered for, but Sarajevo remains literally and figuratively scarred by the Balkans conflict of 1992 to 1995. That said, I liked Sarajevo in large part because of the Bosnians' resilience. Everyone we talked to had been hurt by the war in some way, and many were concerned about the present state of the Bosnian political system (most pointed out that the country is currently governed under a peace treaty rather than a formal constitution, which causes all kinds of problems), but they remained generally happy and optimistic. The city itself is incredibly moving - some buildings are pockmarked by artillery fire or half-demolished, but the people there continue to look forward and live their lives focused on ensuring the future remains peaceful, while still mindful that the crimes of the past must have justice and that Bosnia as a whole deserves some kind of resolution to their tragic recent history.
Dublin: City of Liquid and Literature. As a 21-year-old who loves to read, this was quite likely my favorite city. Dublin knows it is home to both the Guinness brewery and the Jameson distillery, and does not hide its obvious connection with the almost-cliched "Irish pub," but I liked this element to it. The Irish pubs displayed all of the best qualities one traditionally associates with an Irish pub - great food, great beer, and friendly, easy-going people. Beyond the "liquid" history, Dublin has a great literary history too, and it is actually a UNESCO literary heritage site to prove the point. I spent hours in bookstores while I was there, and also visited the grave of Jonathan Swift, the Irish satirist (in)famous for "A Modest Proposal". I talk more about Dublin in my earlier post, "Booklust."
Belfast: City of Ships. Belfast is where the Titanic was built, but the city remembers that as a mark of pride, not of tragedy, even with the Titanic memorial just outside of the city hall. Belfast was a town built around its shipyards, which are still booming (the dark fate of the Titanic apparently did nothing to damage the shipbuilders' reputation). Unlike Sarajevo, Belfast has almost entirely moved on from its history of conflict, and is eager to champion its greatest strengths and accomplishments. As someone who loved reading about the Titanic as a kid, I really liked the Titanic museum, which talked not only about the ship itself, but about how building it and its sister ship, the Olympic, was a great achievement for the city as a whole.
London: City of Cities. This is kind of a cheat, as London is known as the "City of Cities," but when I was there I found it to be completely true. London is a city where you can go into the underground (also known as "the Tube"), ride it for ten minutes, come out at a different station, and it will look nothing like the city where you entered. The same is slightly true for Washington, D.C., but London takes it to an extreme. The city encompasses luxury townhouses, towering skyscrapers, old castles and palaces, sprawling green parks, bustling markets, and more. It is the only city I've been to where I've thought I could live there for my entire life and still feel like I haven't seen it all. London is clearly still growing and evolving, and I had a lot of fun seeing where modern office buildings and medieval churches sat next to each other, at times with chunks of the old Roman wall sprouting up in between.
Berlin: City of Museums. When I chose to spend a weekend in Berlin, I did not expect to find anything special about its museums at all. However, with over 100 different museums, from the eye-popping Pergamon Museum (where entire temples and walls from Ancient Greece and Mesopotamia are displayed) to the DDR Museum (a look into East Germany's checkered history) to the Natural History Museum (which holds the world record for largest dinosaur skeleton on display), Berlin has truly outdone itself with the scope and quality of its museums. It was good that it rained while I was here, because it forced me inside to see the great collections this city had. Berlin is famous for its dark moments, like the Nazi regime and the Berlin Wall, but it ought to get more recognition for its historical collections from the first civilizations to the present.
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