Week 2 in Berlin, Germany!

Hallo! As my second week in Berlin comes to an end, I'm becoming more familiar with the city landscape and exploring the rich cultural history of Germany.

One of the reasons I wanted to come to Berlin was because of the city's vast and efficient public transportation system. After 2 weeks of navigating the system, I've become familiar with the different train lines and how to get around Berlin. Berlin, like many German cities, has two kinds of local train routes: the S-Bahn (suburban rail) and the U-Bahn (the 'untergrund'). Additionally, Berlin has connections to regional and high-speed trains that allow you to explore the country at a fraction of the cost of air travel. 

This week, my class took advantage of Germany's public transportation system and visited the town of Dessau, located around 80 minutes outside of Berlin. Here, we toured the location of the Bauhaus Museum, the former Bauhaus art school, and the lodgings of the school’s teachers.

Dessau Hauptbahnhof (German word for central station)

Bauhaus is a design style—more so a design philosophy—that emerged in Germany in the interwar period. The Bauhaus school of design criticized the ornamentation of traditional architecture and design, focusing instead on functionality and mass-production.

Before visiting Dessau, I was ambivalent about Bauhaus; I thought some Bauhaus buildings were interesting, but wasn’t particularly impassioned about the movement. Upon learning more about Bauhaus—the freshness of the philosophy, the care its artists took, the innovation of its designs—I’ve become a fan.

Site of the former Bauhaus school in Dessau, Germany

A rebuilt "Master's House," built to house teachers at the school

I especially like this vanity on display in the Bauhaus Museum. It puts a modern spin on a piece of furniture associated with traditional femininity. The exclusive use of simple shapes (in this case squares, circles, ovals, and rectangles) is a classic bedrock of Bauhaus design. The fresh design of the vanity would have been suitable for the “New Women” of the Weimar Republic: women who worked, danced, and championed their independence.

Vanity on display in the Bauhaus Musem

I’m very thankful that studying abroad allows me to learn about movements like the Bauhaus in a more meaningful way!