An architectural delight in Prague

Architecture is inextricably woven with travel. Apart from landscapes and natural vistas, majority of iconic landmarks and tourist attractions are buildings. Buildings are inherent in cityscapes and urban landscapes. Moreover, cityscapes are draw cards for travellers in their itinerary for adventure - whether its churches, bridges, museums, hotels or even some retail therapy.

Prague, like most cities in Europe, is a city of visual delight. In preparation for the trip, I have browsed through numerous travel and photography monographs on the city's architecture that seeing firsthand Prague's landmarks was awe-inspiring. As an architect and a bibliophile, akin to reading and turning the actual pages of an interesting book, seeing these enthralling edifices is a tactile experience.

Art Nouveau, also known as Style Moderne or Jugendstil is an architectural style which flourished in major European cities between 1890 and 1914. My interest in this movement was through studying the works of American architects Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright and Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh. In Prague, the movement was led by Czech painter and decorative artist Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939).

It was surprising to me that there are quite a large number of remarkable and well-preserved buildings in Art Nouveau style in Prague. I learned that as there haven't been any destruction/reconstruction programs in Prague as in much of western Europe, nearly all the original Art Nouveau buildings have remained. However, these buildings remain unknown to tourists as they mostly pay attention to the popular Prague Castle and Charles Bridge. But if you know what to look out for, the Old Town, the Jewish Quarter and Wenceslas Square are dotted with Art Nouveau style buildings. Looking up these buildings will treat oneself to beautiful architectural details and decorations. Perhaps the most well-known building is the Municipal House at Namesti republiky 5.

I stayed in one of the first Art Nouveau buildings in Prague which is just a few metres from the Municipal House and the Powder Tower. The former Hotel Central built 1898-1900 is now the K+K Hotel Central at Hybernská. This 4*-boutique hotel in the city centre of Praque is located within a short walking distance from the Main Train Station (Hlavní nádraží) and Old Town Square. Designed by Bedřich Ohmann (1858-1927) and his students Bedřich Bendelmayer (1872-1932) and Alois Dryák, unique Jugendstil architectural details adorn this very stylish hotel.

Although the well appointed hotel displays a contemporary interior design with modern amenities, the Art Nouveau details have been preserved particularly on its front facade, the delicate details of metal railings, ornate light fixtures, curved mouldings of the breakfast restaurant which used to be a theatre hall c 1900 and the glass elevator.

Apart from its proximity to the sights of the Old Town Square, this architectural gem will certainly delight the architectural traveller.

Myself for company

Why travel alone? Numerous books and blogs have extolled the wonders of solo travel. Others have said that it's the ultimate in self-indulgence and the perfect time for deep introspection.

For me, travelling solo is empowering. Perhaps, it's true that we do take on different masks or simply free ourselves from our usual persona - "that traveling almost strips one from character".



Alain de Botton succinctly pointed out, "It seemed an advantage to be traveling alone. Our responses to the world are crucially molded by the company we keep, for we temper our curiosity to fit in with the expectations of others. They may have particular visions of who we are and hence may subtly prevent certain sides of us from emerging… Being closely observed by a companion can also inhibit our observation of others; then, too, we may become caught up in adjusting ourselves to the companions questions and remarks, or feel the need to make ourselves seem more normal than is good for our curiosity (The Art of Travel, p252)."

Perhaps the challenge of being a lone traveler and not beholden to a travel companion or a schedule, heightens the travel experience and allows for more discovery of oneself outside the confines of the secure and comfortable bubble of the regular day-to-day activities. For me, everything seems more beautiful, taste buds are on overdrive as everything tastes better. Having a receptive mindset, being alone seem to magnify the vividness of the travel adventure. You tend to absorb every detail and sensation - soak in everything about the experience.

Of course, there would always be that occasional snippets of times when company is sought particularly when the experience is best shared - such as gawking at an impressionist painting you didn't think you'll ever see in person or standing before magnificent architectural edifices you only read about, more so when spine-tingling vistas and landscapes unfold before your very eyes.

But it seems that the benefits of solo travel outweigh the drawbacks. Mistakes and travel faux pas are definitely your own - and I certainly had my share (but that's for another post). However, for all the goof ups, the triumphs are all the more sweeter.

The scenic Romantic Road

On this day last year, 16 February, was Shrove Tuesday. It was also the 10th day of my European sojourn and I found myself in Munich. It was the 9th stop in my amazing race around Europe. Ten solid days of the grey and bleak wintry weather. Having left Adelaide at the tail end of the southern hemisphere summer, I was by then missing seeing the sun and Australian blue skies. The novelty of experiencing snow was starting to wear off.

But motivating myself and thinking positively that the snowfall is surely bound to stop at some point, I crossed my fingers that what's on offer for the day will be special. This was the leg of the trip where I drove from Munich via the Romantic Road to Schwangau, Rothenburg ob der Tauber and ending in Frankfurt.

I left the hotel at 6.45am for the two hour drive to Schwangau, Bavaria southwest of Munich to make the pre-booked 10.50am tour of the King's Castles*. My road trip adventure began with trying to get out of the city which took me the better part of the hour just to get on to Autobahn A 96 / E54. Much as I loved the Mercedes Benz A Class rental, the built-in GPS would only indicate which street I was on and a compass for orientation. I had to call on my navigational skills, rely on the Hertz free map with challenging text and font size and the printed details of the route and directions I downloaded from Google Map (Did I mention printed in A5 paper size?). I got lost 3 times including taking the wrong ramp at B2R and finding myself on the wrong direction while at the busy Autobahn which meant that I was heading north back towards Munich again! I wanted an adventure - I got an adventure.

By 8am, I was finally on the way but panic started to set in again as I couldn't go past 80kph due to heavy fog. I was starting to worry that I'll definitely miss claiming those already-paid-for tickets in time for the tour of the two castles. Then about 65kms into the trip and getting on to the start of the Romantic Road (B17) on the way to Landsberg am Lech, (drum roll)... the sun came out and woahh...the postcard perfect winter landscapes started to unfold.



After 10 gloomy days, I saw the blue skies and the winter scenes of the Bavarian countryside were awe-inspiring. I remember thinking that if it's this beautiful in winter what more in autumn or spring (mental note for next trip). I was treated to so much visual delight and teasing glimpses of the quaint and picturesque towns along the route that I found it annoying I was pressed for time and not have the luxury to stop to take it all in.

Then by 10am, I saw the Neuschvanstein Castle. And there she was - dream-like and perfectly perched on the mountain slopes. With goosebumps, tingles down my spine and a lot of oohs and aahs (and screeching!) reverberating within the confines of the car, the day was certainly going to be perfect.



I left Hoheschwangau at 4.30 in the afternoon after a fun-filled and a full 8GB compact flash memory card! JOY! I continued with the drive along the scenic Romantische Strasse to Rothenburg ob der Tauber for an overnight stay.

Here are some of images:

St Coloman Church along Coloman Strasse


Hohenschwangau Castle


Neuschvanstein Castle


*Serendipitously, 2010 was the first time the Castles were open to tourists on a Shrove Tuesday.

My Amazing Race

A year ago this weekend, I took the plunge and went on my biggest solo travel trip to date. My almost month long European adventure began on the 5th of February 2010. The trip was 24 days to be exact including air travel and an overnight and full-day stay in Singapore to visit and catch up with my bestfriend and her family.

As a methodical planner, creating and planning the vacation/adventure of my dreams took over a year and the four months prior to the trip was spent ironing out details.



The preparation and planning was not an easy feat. In 2009 much of the world was in the grips of the financial crisis - the ominous effects of the worldwide economic downturn hanging in the air. With the currency exchange rates pretty much a deal breaker, I decided early on to experience off season travel and plunge into wintry Europe. The major drawback, of course, is the weather - made more graphic by the horrible stories around Christmas time by the experiences of snowbound travellers, particularly in airports and transport hubs. Hence, the decision to do the trip during the tail-end of winter - in February 2010. Sounds childish but I actually looked forward to seeing winter landscapes.

Pouring over maps, travel guides, travel videos and travel books, I locked in my travel budget and booked my 'open-jaw' ticket to Europe in August 2009 - fly in to Amsterdam via Singapore and fly out from Paris back to Adelaide via Singapore.

By the end of September 2009, I was able to work out the final itinerary I am most happy with:
Singapore * Amsterdam - Zaanse Schans * Bruxelles - Cologne * Berlin * Prague * Vienna * Salzburg * Munich * Romantic Road - Landsberg, Schwangau, Füssen, Augsburg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Würzburg * Frankfurt * Zurich * Rome * Florence * Venice * Paris - Angers - Paris * Singapore



Phew...I know, I know - too much to take on travelling solo and on such a tight schedule!

My own Amazing Race around Europe! But I tell you, if I'm to sum up the trip in one word - it was empowering. After the trip, I felt I can pretty much do any thing I set my mind to.

Happy New Year!

Happy new year's greetings from Melbourne!

New year, new home city and new job! I have 'seized the day' and relocated to a new city to take on new work in research. My usual annual 'taking stock of things' and of looking forward to what's in store for the new year will take on a different flavour this time - one that I hope will be exciting and a whole new adventure.

Looking back, 2010 was certainly memorable and packed with milestones accomplished (along with a fair share of frustrations) which I have yet to chronicle bits of it here. It is convenient that this blog is 'in-hindsight' (hehehe). I hope everyone has already drawn up those usual lists (to do, wishlists and goals) to arm themselves for the year? Notwithstanding these lists, CARPE DIEM.

Have a wonderful 2011 everyone!

...then at sundown

After doing the sunrise shots, I had the opportunity of capturing some amazing sunset images. South Australia's coast along the western shore of Fleurieu Peninsula affords perhaps one of the best sunsets in the world. The jetties that dot the shoreline of Gulf Saint Vincent offers dramatic vistas with the setting sun as backdrop.

Taking a little road trip with two photobuddies, our destination was the coastal town of Willunga, about 50 kms south of Adelaide CBD. This town has one of the iconic locations for amazing sunsets - the remains of the old Port Willunga jetty, c 1910.

With daylight savings time still in effect, sunsets would be late than usual giving us ample time to leave work, beat the heavy Friday traffic and be at the location for the shoot. We knew (and hoped) that the sunset would be perfect.



The panoramic view of the few remaining piles of the old Port Willunga jetty did not disappoint. From the top of the cliff, a breathtaking view of the sunset greeted us.



The Port Willunga jetty, c 1868-1913
The few remaining piles are what is left of the jetty constructed in 1867 located 400 metres south of the original jetty built in 1853.

Out on a Friday night chasing light? - truly well worth it.

Mea Culpa

I have been neglectful of this blog for over two months that I don't know where to begin. But with so many things that happened in the last 11 weeks or so, I should have plenty of 'blog' material. The pressure!

August saw a trip home - a 10-day visit to the family, among others, to be godmother to my second nephew - Miguel Pedro. As always, it was wonderful to be with the family and get to know my nieces and nephews - they now number 7! September brought in a change in my resident status DownUnder (Oi! Oi!).



Apart from the overseas trip, I also made a couple of interstate trips (yes, up goes those CO2 emissions!). I have been swamped with work deadlines and morever, preoccupied with career plans. Such pressure!

Interesting two months though with everybody(?) on tenterhooks with the Wall Street meltdown, the US economic recession and its global impact. Following on to my last post, September also saw the release of the Garnaut Climate Change Review Final Report.

But all is well. I hope to put in my two cents' worth on these interesting current events. Stay tuned.

Travelling solo

Discovering new places is always fun. Staying in hotels with the 'right' room amenities would make trips less stressful. I always look forward to the downy soft white bedlinen. The last couple of trips I made overseas and interstate made me more aware of how hotels take care of women travellers. In Singapore, I stayed overnight at the transit hotel in Changi Airport. In Geelong and Melbourne, I booked hotel rooms at Mercure hotels.

It was comforting that these hotels were aware of the needs of women travelling solo, particularly showing assurance of security. I especially liked that the hotel clerks were discreet when I was pointed my room number rather than saying it out loud, mindful of the presence of other hotel guests in the reception.

I was likewise pleased with the bathroom amenities - full length mirrors, better lighting - not the dull glow of fluorescent bulbs, counters with depths that make it easy to lean over when applying makeup, hair dryer, ample and quality bath products, trouser/skirt hangers, an iron and ironing board.













Hotels are now attentive to the needs of women travellers that they offer all sorts of women-friendly comforts in everything from room design to room service. Although not without criticisms, some hotels even offer women-only floors. The top floors of a small, 28-room hotel in Zurich, the Lady's First, a boutique design hotel, are for women only. The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota, has an all-female floor. Yet other hotels are incorporating amenities and improvements that cater to women travelers.

Wonderful night at the theatre

Side trip via Melbourne allowed one night of pampering. I was able to catch the Friday night show of The Phantom of the Opera at Princess Theatre. Joy!














Having seen the 2004 movie, being able to watch the musical on stage was a wonderful treat - I fell more in love with the music and was in awe with the production.

Discovering Geelong

Geelong is the second largest city in the state of Victoria (Australia) and has one of the country's most dynamic city centres. The city's landscaped foreshore, The Waterfront is absolutely beautiful. It is one of the few facing north in Victoria, overlooking Corio Bay. The attractions along The Waterfront include The Cunningham Pier, the Baywalk Bollards and restored historic buildings.














Deakin University's School of Architecture and Building is in an historic woolstore building along the waterfront, located along Western Beach. The building was smartly adapted and re-used to house the School. Old wooden beams were left whenever possible and thus became architectural details enhancing the School's studio ambience.













The School's Gallery on the fifth level boasts of a magnificent view of the Waterfront and Cunningham Pier.

Architectural Science conference

Early last month, I had the chance (yet again, time off from work) to attend the annual Architectural Science Association ANZAScA conference which was hosted this year by the School of Architecture and Building, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria. Though I did not prepare and submit a paper this year, it was a good opportunity to update myself with what is out there on the subject area of architectural science.













Hopefully, the ideas I got from some of the papers presented would result in papers for a couple of conferences next year. Wish me luck!

Trip back home

Three weeks ago, I went back home for a 10-day visit to be with my family on the joyous occassion of my middle sister's wedding. It was my first trip home after finishing with graduate school and after almost four years. Initially, I had mixed feelings - excited yet anxious. Even though I keep in touch regularly with my family, I knew that a lot has changed since I first left the country in 2001 to study in Australia. All my siblings have left home, gotten married and are now with families of their own. Since 2001, our family has grown (a lot) bigger: an addition of 7 family members in over 6 years - that's an average of 1.2 additional member for every year of my stay here!

Naturally, the trip reminded me that even if I found the best 'Me' in Australia and no matter how much I love living DownUnder, the home I grew up in and where I spent my formative years will always be a big part of who I am.













Having seen my home country again, I am reminded of the valedictory speech given by a 16-year old who finished top of the 2007 graduating class at the University of the Philippines - Diliman (April 2007). As I read the speech, I was humbled and inspired by the idealism this girl has shown who could just be graduating from high school but instead finished with a degree in BS Physics, summa cum laude standing.

Mikaela Irene Fudolig – BS Physics, Class 2007 Valedictorian
Speech at the Commencement Exercises, University of the Philippines-Diliman, 22 April 2007:

One of the things that strike me as being very "UP Diliman" is the way UPD students can't seem to stay on the pavement. From every street corner that bounds an unpaved piece of land, one will espy a narrow trail that cuts the corner, or leads from it. Every lawn around the buildings sports at least one of these paths, starting from a point nearest to the IKOT stop and ending at the nearest entry to the building. The trails are beaten on the grass by many pairs of feet wanting to save a fraction of a meter of traveling, no matter that doing so will exact some cost to the shoes, or, to the ubiquitous slippers, especially when the trails are new.

What do these paths say about us, UP students?

One could say that the UP student is enamored with Mathematics and Pythagoras, hence these triangles formed by the pavement and the path. Many among you would disagree. Others could say that the UP student is naturally countercultural. And the refusal to use the pavement is just one of the myriads of ways to show his defiance of the order of things. This time, many would agree.

Still, others will say that the UP student is the model of today's youth: they want everything easier, faster, now. The walkable paths appeal to them because they get to their destination faster, and presumably, with less effort. Now that is only partly true, and totally unfair.

These trails weren't always walkable. No doubt they started as patches of grass, perhaps overgrown. Those who first walked them must have soiled their shoes, stubbed their toes, or had insects biting their legs, all in the immovable belief that the nearest distance between two points is a straight line. They might even have seen snakes cross their paths. But the soiled footwear, sore toes, and itchy legs started to conquer the grass. Other people, seeing the yet faint trail, followed. And as more and more walked the path, the grass gave in and stopped growing altogether, making the path more and more visible, more and more walkable.

The persistence of the paths pays tribute to those UP students who walked them first – the pioneers of the unbeaten tracks: the defiant and curious few who refuse the familiar and comfortable; the out-of-the-box thinkers who solve problems instead of fretting about them; the brave who dare do things differently, and open new opportunities to those who follow.

They say how one behaved in the past would determine how he behaves in the future. And as we leave the University, temporarily or for good, let us call on the pioneering, defiant, and brave spirit that built the paths to guide us in this next phase of our life.

We have been warned time and again. Our new world that they call "adulthood" is one that's full of compromises, where success is determined more by the ability to belong than by the ability to think, where it is much easier to do as everyone else does. Daily we are bombarded with so much news of despair about the state of our nation, and the apparent, perverse sense of satisfaction our politicians get from vilifying our state of affairs. It is fashionable to migrate to other countries to work in deceptively high-paying jobs like nursing and teaching, forgetting that even at their favored work destinations, nurses and teachers are some of the lowest paid professionals. The lure of high and immediate monetary benefits in some low-end outsourcing jobs has drawn even some of the brightest UP students away from both industry and university teaching to which they would have been better suited.

Like the sidewalks and pavement, these paths are the easiest to take. But, like the sidewalks and pavement, these paths take longer to traverse, just as individual successes do not always make for national progress. The unceasing critic could get elected, but not get the job done. The immigrant could get his visa, but disappear from our brainpower pool. The highly paid employee would be underutilized for his skills, and pine to get the job he truly wants, but is now out of his reach. And the country, and we, are poorer because of these.

Today, the nation needs brave, defiant pioneers to reverse our nation's slide to despair. Today, we must call upon the spirit that beat the tracks. Today, we must present an alternative way of doing things.

Do NOT just take courage, for courage is not enough. Instead, be BRAVE! It will take bravery to go against popular wisdom, against the clichéd expectations of family and friends. It will take bravery to gamble your future by staying in the country and try to make a prosperous life here. It might help if for a start, we try to see why our Korean friends are flocking to our country. Why, as many of us line up for immigrant visas in various embassies, they get themselves naturalized and settle here. Do they know something we don't?

Do NOT just be strong in your convictions, for strength is not enough. Instead, DEFY the pressure to lead a comfortable, but middling life. Let us lead this country from the despair of mediocrity. Let us not seek to do well, but strive to EXCEL in everything that we do. This, so others will see us as a nation of brains of the highest quality, not just of brawn that could be had for cheap.

Take NOT the road less traveled. Rather, MAKE new roads, BLAZE new trails, FIND new routes to your dreams. Unlike the track-beaters in campus who see where they're going, we may not know how far we can go. But if we are brave, defiant searchers of excellence, we will go far. Explore possibilities, that others may get a similar chance. I have tried it myself. And I'm speaking to you now.

But talk is cheap, they say. And so I put my money where my mouth is. Today, I place myself in the service of the University, if it will have me. I would like to teach, to share knowledge, and perhaps to be an example to new UP students in thinking and striving beyond the limits of the possible. This may only be a small disturbance in the grass. But I hope you'll come with me, and trample a new path.

Good evening, everyone.

Thank you to Nap and Nick del Castillo for sharing this awe-inspiring speech.

Day at the NGV

Last weekend, having turned a year older, I treated myself to a day trip in Melbourne to see, among others, the exhibition in this year's Melbourne Winter Masterpieces at the National Gallery of Victoria. Currently on show is a collection of 20th - 21st Century art from the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The Guggenheim Collection: 1940s to Now is on show until 7 October.



I generally am not a big fan of contemporary art but to see up close the works of acclaimed artists including Jackson Pollock, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Agnes Martin, to name a few, was too good to pass up.

However, my favourite is Roy Lichtenstein's 1968 painting, Preparedness. I was just floored when I saw this amazing 3-panel painting. A next favourite is Agnes Martin's White Floor, 1960.

An interesting exhibit was Felix Gonzales-Torres' 'Untitled' (Public Opinion) 1991. It consisted of a large pile of liquorice candy placed at a corner of the hall. Visitors were allowed to help themselves to the candy (but not eat within the exhibition area).

Overall, it was a nice ME-time spent in Melbourne.

Amidst Zurich's clock towers

Standing 'tall' amid these clock towers. "[Riding] life to perfect laughter". Amazing how life turns out. It has been 8 years since I last saw these clock towers and I was a very different person then. As they say, 'once you let go of the wheel, you might just end up right where you belong'.

View of the clock towers of Fraumunster Kirche (left) and St Peter Kirche (right) from Grossmunster.

Off to Geneva, Switzerland

My first international conference after finishing the thesis and being awarded the degree. Off to Geneva tomorrow to present my paper at the 23rd International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture (PLEA) 2006 to be held at the University of Geneva (5-8 September).

Nervous wreck and at the same time very excited...

Spring 2004

Before embarking on my so-called 'home run', I, with a department colleague also working on her PhD but in Landscape Architecture, decided to take advantage of Virgin Blue flight sales and make a little trip to Canberra for a weekend. I figured with my argument not anymore swimming in its primordial soup, I owed myself some holiday trips.

This season of beginnings was filled with 'holidays' and fun events. I guess it was sympathizing with the euphoric state I was in for thinking that I have finally 'figured out' my argument?

Next trip the following weekend was to Warburton, Victoria (an hour's drive from Melbourne) for my three day-spiritual retreat.