Class reflections
Why use a bike?
I think bike riding can feel safer than both cars and walking at times. There are much less opportunities to get into dangerous accidents, and if you’re biking at night you can get away from a dangerous situation more efficiently than walking. You feel like you’re more “in nature” because the wind rushes past you and it doesn’t use up or expel the same things cars do for the environment. I like bikes because they just feel like the better choice at times given the state of the environment.
What makes a home?
A home is more than simply the place you live and sleep; it’s where you find your footing and establish yourself in the community. It’s where you either have a family or stay by yourself and make a living. What one person considers a “home” can change greatly.
London Parks Quest
I visited the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with my group and it was definitely an adjustment to navigate there for the first time. This was a completely new experience, and my group struggled heavily to figure out where to go, which platforms, etc. I remember feeling there were a hundred ways to go to one place. We tried to pay attention to the signage, which was abundant, but we relied a lot on asking people for help when got too confused. We were even told three different pieces of information when we asked people. Eventually, though, we got there! The most useful bit of signage in my opinion was the “Way out” signs. Everything felt ultra specific and direct, which was a good thing for people who had never really navigated the subway system before. Throughout the trip, I definitely noticed it got a lot easier to navigate and I started to realize how beneficial such a system is. The park itself was full of greenery and I noticed the public bikes to provide a more sustainable way of traveling. A lot of people were out and about, as it was a very nice day, and I could see myself visiting the park often if I lived there.
London Transport Museum
Poster one, created by Dora M. Batty in 1934, attracted me through its soft colors and the style of the animals drawn. I liked the Easter theme as well. It has a calming energy that I think is meant to incentivize the general public to use the tram for holiday travel. People like relatable things - holidays are a time to get together.
Poster two, created by Dora M. Batty as well in 1927, has some really lovely autumnal imagery and tones. I think the use of berry-gathering is a way to make people feel comfortable with nature. Looking at it myself, it makes me happy about my favorite season, fall, and how I look forward to it every year.
Poster three, again created by Dora M. Batty in 1921, seems to be a way to tell people to protect their children while traveling and to be wary of any threats. I liked the theatrical clown imagery as well as the black and white color palette.
Borough Market
I noticed that Borough Market had a lot of every kind of person. For that reason, I didn't notice any specific demographic. It could easily have been a small representation of humanity as a whole. There was a mix of cheaper items as well as very pricey, fancy things. The market had food from all over the world. I saw a Croatian booth, as well as a place selling bao buns. It had its fair share of packaged goods, but also a wonderful amount of open-air produce and other things. There were many spots to sit down and eat whatever you bought. I'd love to go back and try something from every vendor.
Course themes
Hermannsdorfer Farm was particularly fitting for my group's focus: food production. Seeing the animals and how they lived firsthand, as well as all of the mini "stores" on the farm (like the bakery and the butcher) was quite interesting. I especially loved the fully fledged store that housed the goods the farm produces. It felt good to be able to buy from it and support the community there, even though I was only there for a brief time. I also appreciated the honesty of the presentation, which didn't shy away from the grimmer aspects of how the animals don't have as much freedom as they could. I felt like it directly reflected many of the goals of our course. We directly got a tour of one of Munich’s “hinterlands,” which was a concept I was not familiar with before this class. Something else I thought was interesting was all of the intricate wood carvings and decorations around the farm and the area. It seemed particularly characteristic of Bavaria; it was my first time seeing fences curved the way they were, and the dotted patterns drilled into the sides of the buildings. The farm was beautiful and pretty serene, and making the pretzels really topped it off.
The BMW Museum showcased an interesting juxtaposition of car culture and public transportation. The city of Munich is a perfect example of this blend in the modern world. The museum was full of technology and complex engineering, and a big sense of motion and "going." It's clear there is a love and interest in cars, but still a reliance on the tram and subway. I'm not someone who is a big fan of cars, I struggled to connect with this museum in particular in comparison to some of the other ones, but something I took away and really enjoyed was just how complicated cars are. I was able to see some of the infrastructure of cars and the engineering involved in their production. The small scale of these cars vs. the large components involved in making something like a subway was something to think about. I didn’t know much about the history of BMW before this class. The museum itself sort of felt like walking around a fancy car dealership, but full of signage talking about the history of each car as well as the company itself. I did think it was interesting to see all the different models and their unique designs.
Cycling
Munich's infrastructure makes it a better cycling city compared to Cincinnati. Cycling is heavily ingrained into the daily life and transit of Munich, with its free cycling lanes and the effort cars make (in general) to accomodate for cyclists. Traveling with a large group, it didn't feel unsafe biking through the streets. I could definitely see myself commuting to work every day by bike; I already walk to work, which takes about 30 minutes. I would definitely want to live in a city where I don't ever need a car. The only thing I would say could improve this situation in Munich is to have the bike lanes on sidewalks be more clearly marked. There were too many instances of forgetting and having cyclists ring the bell seconds before a near collision.