At the suggestion of Troy, from
Munich Daily Photo, I went to see the last remaining units in the Olympiadorf.
I remember being slightly shocked and intrigued by this bunker style student housing when I initially came to Munich and went to the Olympic park. They were brightly colored and looked slightly decrepit. It's a dichotomy since Munich is known for being a posh and wealthy city and this looks like a small piece of rebellious Berlin within.
Seeing the reconstruction made me recall my own university experience with '
the ghetto', - an affectionate name for a fabulous neighborhood of university owned housing. While it is undergoing a facelift of it's own, it is an essential part of what gives the university a major sense of community.
When I went to see the Olympiadorf remnants there was a feeling of sadness and hope as I strolled through the blocks of housing. It reminded me of my university days and how it slowly has become less recognizable. During my visit students were moving out and talking to each other from their roof top patios and dogs scampered around as they waited on their owners to say their last goodbyes. The ivy on the buildings clung for life adding a beautiful contrast on the colors.
The feeling of hope radiated and I appreciated the unique artistic displays that the students had painted on the facades of their homes. Some were more literal than others with replicas of Piet Mondrian, Roy Lichtenstein, and Keith Haring.
The news hit that these units were going to be a thing of the past and students decided to have a party which quickly escalated into outsiders deciding they could help in the destruction. Sadly, broken windows, fist fights, and fires broke out and the party promoters had to call riot police in August of last year. Photos can be seen at
Sueddeutsch Zeitung. Rather than renovating, it is less expensive for the units to simply be rebuilt.
Another unexpected shock to me was how it reminded me of a cleaner version of Christiania, the squatter type neighborhood located in Copenhagen pictured above. The colors of Christiania added to it's allure, however when curiosity caught the best of us and we decided to visit I was really disappointed. The concept of Christiania was to provide for each other, which sounds good in theory, but I couldn't really respect the conditions that these people chose to live in or their attitudes towards outsiders. I like to tell myself these people were so busy caring for each other that they simply didn't have time to care about their city. The area was litter filled and lacked the 'hippiness' I was told it was filled with.
Having visited the village of
Yellow Springs, Ohio many times, I think I have a fair comparison of how a self respecting hippy village looks. It's a place of pride, natural living, and even draws free concerts from Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, and other friends of resident celebrity Dave Chappelle.
I am intrigued to see if the new village, which is scheduled for completion in 2009, will have as much character as it does now.
Thanks Troy for the inspiration! Check out his
blog, it's really informative, not only for Munich but many other European cities.
Another thing...if you are visiting Munich in the near future, there is a beautiful view from olympic tower B on the 15th floor. You can see the entire BMW plant, Allianze arena, olympic park, Frauenkirche, and on a good day even the Alps.
The border crossings from Croatia into the neighboring countries was very telling. We needed extra insurance to go to Montenegro. As we arrived at the border we were told we would have to pay 10€. Having just converted all of our money into Croatian kuna that's all we had, so our fee came closer to 15€. We also got a laugh as the man proudly told us it's Montenegro they use the Euro, although as of now they are still an EU candidate. The waited lasted eons. 
- The landscape is different, the architecture has a very communistic appearance, and Russian was on many signs - without the blacked out spray paint we had seen in Bosnia.
- Along the drive we had an interesting talk about communism. I enjoy talking to Stefan and his parents about that, because for them it was closer to home they have very vivid memories of the East and West Germany, as well as the Iron Curtain days.
- I distinctly remember the fall of the Berlin Wall and department stores selling large chunks of it. A classmate of mine brought one in. Stefan remembers how scarce bananas were, because they were such a luxury good that people were buying them with their reunification money. A friend of ours that grew up on the East said her family instantly went on a cruise and her father told her she could save money when she's old. 
- Montenegro has a lot of fascinating history even before their foray into communism with the Illyrians, Byzantine Empire, defeating the Ottomans, and having close ties to Venice. Their independence was gained from Serbia just 5 years ago and it will probably be several generations until people can appreciate the communist fall.
-The Adriatic coastline of this tiny country is incredibly beautiful. There are mountains, glistening waters, and small medieval towns along the way. We stopped in Perast, which is a quiet little city where the main attraction is chartering a boat out to the islands.
- The larger city of Kotor, which is further down the coast is enclosed in an enormous wall that circles the Old Town. The hike to the top has incredible views over the city, however we opted to enjoy the day like the locals. 
- It seemed like everyone in town was at the cafés and restaurants or down near the water front enjoying the coastal way of life, so we joined them after wandering the intricate maze of streets.
- Around town the worn walkways give way to beautiful old buildings that are covered in window shutters. It's a quaint and charming little place with the perfect mix of history and natural beauty. 
