Just-in-me: Germany

Day 3 | Neviges-Cologne

So, the next day, we more or less got settled into our routine of waking up early to ensure we actually had some breakfast before leaving the hostel for our day long trips. We took the train and the tram into the town called Neviges to visit the Mariendom Neviges by Gottfried Böhm, a pilgrim church majestically nestled into a site surrounded by what I think are residential and a few other religious buildings. The journey to the church saw a brisk climb up an incline through a maze-like stairs until you finally reach the courtyard with the facade of the building which fully expresses its tectonic qualities through the massive jagged and furrowed form which itself almost humbles anyone who intends to step in. Almost like a crystalline structure perched amongst other buildings.

As soon as one steps inside and through the vestibule, one arrives at the main hall which temporarily is engulfed in darkness. I try to look upwards towards the ceiling only to be disappointed by nothingness. But as I ventured deeper into the space, through the rows of seating past the piers, the chapels and the little niches, my eyes slowly begin to adjust to the lack of light and that's when the ceiling and the entire interior structure reveals itself and all its glory. Immense slabs of folded concrete fanning out from the top, highlighted by small roof lights. Just enough to evoke a sense of awe.

Next we took the train to have a short visit to a mosque currently under construction and was given a nice little tour by the architect himself. I really like venturing into construction sites. There's something that interests me in the ethereal qualities of the scaffolding and construction equipment and mess that seems to be in an ever changing state.

Then, off we were back to Cologne, where we stopped by the Kolumba Museum, a spectacularly well-thought out building by Peter Zumthor. The amount of thought that goes into planning a building such as this one must have been insane. The perfectly scaled details, the well planned circulation spaces and the perfect marriage of materiality is hard to miss. A must visit for anyone with an interest in architecture during a visit to Cologne.

The last building on the itinerary was to an architect's office. A rather simplistic, yet striking office, I must say and such a incredible site situated on a tiny piece of gap land just off the road. And after that, we took a pretty long walk, back to the train station, rode our way to Essen and had dinner at a German pub where I had my first schnitzel. Nevermind the fact that it wasn't that good.

And the photos commence from here on:

| entrance to the Mariendom Neviges

| shots of the roof from the inside

| the main hall with street-lamp like lights which illuminate the seating area

| I had to use a pretty slow shutter speed to achieve these shots since it was pretty dim inside. A steady hand doesn't hurt either

| These shots are not an accurate representation of the lighting conditions of the interior

| foggy view whilst waiting for the train

| at the mosque construction side looking up from the prayer hall through the dome

| a space featuring loads of steel column supports. Look properly and you'll notice that the place was flooded with water so it's actually a reflection on the water