Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm, Sweden
Year Founded: 1252
Population of City proper: 814,418
Population of Metropolitan Area: 1,989,422

I don’t have a ton of time so I won’t be able to write much but from what I saw of Stockholm it is probably the nicest city I have been to so far…. In the summer at least, I have a feeling the winters would be absolutely intolerable. At any rate though Stockholm, like the other Scandinavian cities I have been to has amazing harbors and views across waterways, however Stockholm has something the others haven’t, amazing topography. The views are even more frequent given that the city is actually made up of a number of small islands, and creates a number of unique and interesting urban spaces.
Gamla Stan is the center of the city and is the oldest part. It is full of impossibly narrow and winding streets, nearly all of which seem to dead end into beautiful churches or palaces. The city is extremely walkable and has 3 subway lines which seem to serve the city well enough. One of the cities greatest assets in my estimation is its extensive underground highway system. With the exception of one interchange almost all of the cities highway in the central city is underground, which does wonders for pedestrian traffic in the city.

Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki, Finland
Year Founded: 1550
Population of City proper: 578,126
Population of Metropolitan Area: 1,299,541

Watercolor Postcards

So I thought I'd go ahead and put up some of the watercolor's I've made so far. Hope you like them, not the greatest but whatever, a lady from New Jersey bought two of them, thats plus 20 euro for me.

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Population of City Proper: 762,057
Population of Metropolitan Area: 2,158,372
Year Founded: 1275

Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Population of City Proper: 584,046
Population of Metropolitan Area: 1,200,000
Year Founded: 900 (destroyed 1940)

Rotterdam is probably one of the strangest cities I have ever been to. The city was almost entirely destroyed by bombs during WWII and as such next to none of the old city remains; instead, the city provided a clean slate for modernist architects to test their theories and ideas. Also aside from Singapore, Rotterdam is the only city I have been to so far with significant construction under way. There is a number of building projects as well as an entirely new central train station in the works for the city. Perhaps the city’s economic success is because that despite the cities small population, from 1962-2004 it was the busiest port in the world and is currently second to only Shanghai.

Despite its economic success, the city feels like a city that is less than 100 years old, and is very different from its European neighbors. The city is spread over a great distance and it does not seem to have reached a density to fully fill it, there are plenty of empty spaces. Perhaps it’s the modernist planning ideas, but the city also doesn’t seem to want to reach the density of most other European cities. There does seem to be a decent metro transit system comprised of buses, streetcars, and a subway though which helps make getting around easier, but the city is definitely still very spread out.

Rotterdam has a collection of truly unique and bizarre architecture that helps give the city character, however its lack of cohesiveness makes the city feel jumbled and segregated. Rotterdam is home to some of the most forward thinking architectural design firms, like Rem Koolhaus’s OMA, and it shows. The city feels in many ways like it is from outer space, in fact one subway station is actually a giant flying saucer. As an aspiring architect it is really interesting to see all of these unique types of architecture so close together, but as a city they seem to do little in common to bring it together.

It is hard to imagine what the rebuilding efforts of Rotterdam would have been like in the 1940’s after the city had been wiped clean. It is interesting that unlike some of the French cities in Normandy like St. Lo and Caen, Rotterdam chose to start over fresh as opposed to build things back the way they were. In a sense I think this forward thinking has allowed the city to be relevant in the 21st century and thrive in ways that its European neighbors could not. However I think it greatly sacrificed its European Charm. It is hard to fault the city for this though. What happened during WWII was absolutely crippling, and the fact that any city exists today is testament to the peoples will and character.

Brussels, Belgium

Brussels, Belgium
Population of City Proper: 1,080,790
Population of Metro Area: 2,676,701
Year Founded: 979

Brussels to me is really interesting because in terms of over all population it is very similar to Cincinnati’s, however its distribution make it a much more vibrant and livable city. Both cities metro areas are roughly 2.5 million, but Brussels has around 1 million in it’s city proper where as Cincinnati only has around 365,000. Because of this Brussels is a city with vibrant night life, an extensive public transit system, and enough stores and shops to rival any city.
Brussels does though have 2 things going for it that will make it viable for the forseeable future and that is that it is not only the capital of Belgium, but also the capital of the entire European Union. In fact an entire quarter of the city, ingeniously named the Europen quarter, has been built new with all of the government buildings to run the young European union. This part of town is pretty awful though by all standards. New faceless glass louvered buildings line streets and make no gesture to the public front. The government complexes feel more like a corporation than a union.

Fortunately though Brussels has been blessed with and amazing old city, full of ornate stone and brick buildings which form a tight nit maze of pedestrian only streets. The main square is spectacular and surrounded by some of the most beautiful buildings I have seen in any city thus far. Brussels is also perhaps one of the most heavily influenced cities by the Art Nouveau style of the 1890’s. Victor Horta did a number of works in the city and many of the cities surrounding neighborhoods have beautiful wrought iron balconies, doors, and stained glass windows in the art nouveau style.

Brussels is the first city I have visited in Europe to have a traditional high rise skyscrapers in its business district. Paris and London both had some but they were far away and much more separate. Though they are still very separate in Brussels, it is impossible to not see them from any point in the city. While there is plenty of old world charm, the fact that the new world exists is by no means hidden in this city as it was in London and Paris.
One interesting thing about the city is that while there is an extensive subway and tram system, they absolutely never check to see if you paid to use it. In fact most stations didn’t even have ticket booths, and only a few even had any markings to let you know you are supposed to pay. I only saw 2 stations with turnstiles, but all of the spokes were sawed off so you could go through. It is almost like they don’t want you to pay. But whatever, there loss I suppose.
In the end though, while Brussels doesn’t have to attractions of other European cities, I think it probably functions better than most of them. The city is monumental like Paris, but not as hectic. I think most anyone would like Brussels, in fact it is one of my favorites so far, but it is not unique in the same way as some of these other cities. But you should still go, eat some waffles.