Five weeks really is not a lot of time… it went by too fast. For the last week during the study abroad trip, we enjoyed a relaxing few days filled with fun trips.
First off, Düsseldorf – one of my favorite areas to visit. We went to Northern Düsseldorf, and enjoyed the beautiful Benrath castle and the Dusseldorf turm (tower), which is located near the interesting Frank Gerry buildings. We also visited the Dusseldorf Nordpark. It was one of my favorite parks on the trip, and I enjoyed sketching here a lot. I plan to go back throughout the rest of the summer. After this park, we saw some old castle ruins and enjoyed some of the lesser known areas in the city near the Rhine river.
Besides Dusseldorf, we visited Duisburg twice during the week to see Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord. This is my favorite park of the whole trip, as it has the most effective design I have ever seen. The park is filled with recreational activities, like rock climbing and big slides and playgrounds, it is prepared for concerts and other events, and has a hostel and food options available. There is a 4-H like program here, and a huge brownfield area where fourth nature is left to bloom. The Emscher river flows through the park, showing off one of the most beautiful naturalized sections that doubles as an educational spot for children. And the craziest thing is, it used to be a huge steel plant, with all of the structures remaining. You can climb up the old blast furnace, and experience post-industrial landscape first-hand. It really is an amazing place.
Also in Duisburg, we visited the art installation, Tiger and Turtle. This is a huge roller-coaster looking structure created as a landmark on a huge hill, overlooking other old slag heaps and the post-industrial landscape of Germany.
I’ve learned that there is no shortage of hills and structures to climb in the Ruhr region that also light up at night. Tiger and Turtle, Landschaftspark Blast Furnace, and the Tetrahedron are just a few. These are all art pieces that represent the special post-industrial quality of this area which is so important to learn as a landscape architect in training. They serve as landmarks and celebrate this quality of the region.
Study Abroad has been a truly rewarding experience, and now I am on to my next journey!
Pictures attached below.
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