Gregor Graf

This Austrian designer mainly focuses on photography and what caught my eye was his work titled "Hidden Town". He took pictures of London, Warsaw and Linz but manipulated them so every hint of advertising and signage was taken out. The street became unrecognisable and looked uninhabited. This clearly shows how much design and advertising has crept into everyday life, so much that without it, places and streets look unnatural.  It's work like this that is so inspirational and mind-opening that makes me like design so much. It also creeps me out how affected the general public are, almost needing the signs to help recognise a place. The title emphasises this focus aswell as the lack of comparison to what it should look like.

Both the pictures are manipulated images of London. My curiosity naturally kicks in, wanting to know which streets they are. Does anyone know?

Graf also does illustration, although I don't find as catchy as his photography but definitely have a look on his website. Most of it is in German which is a little annoying but there are plenty of examples of his work to look at.

Interesting places nearby

This is quite a brilliant idea. The website is rather plain and dull but thats because it's mobile friendly which means it uses less megabytes to download on a mobile phone. But tap in a postcode and 5 interesting things are picked randomly from other sources on the internet in the surrounding area. 

It's really a great idea for those spontaneous moments or mini road trips for people to get to visit the area that's been rated already as interesting. And it's not biased because there aren't big companies promoting their products on it!

have a look here.

Where the Hell is Matt?

The amount of stuff that can be found on youtube these days are ridiculous.

This one, however is quite a good idea. This guy called Matt recorded himself dancing whilst on holiday, after the video being shared to his friends and family, it was passed around before reaching a company called Stride. They asked Matt to travel around the world and dance in each place (its not that good a dance but it's the thought that counts!). Thus a whole series of dances where made.

It started originally with the dance to keep his family updated of his whereabouts in the world but I think it's a brilliant idea to keep as a souvenir- no little tacky keyrings or t-shirts but a dance in the country to show you've been there aswell as a little comedy with the typical dance everyone recognises as yours.

He has a website here so have a look! www.wherethehellismatt.com

Brussels...

Who knew how easy it was to get there, the Eurostar only taking around 1hr 30mins to arrive (thats quicker from Leeds to London). The Midi station is also very close to the centre, metro's and trams running frequently so I suggest even a day trip is absolutely worth it!

There is plenty of things to do and see, the comic museum showcasing strips of Tintin and Smurfs aswell as other artist's work. 

It was very inspiring to see many original pieces of artwork, from little notes to first drafts and the booklet helped guide us through the different artists aswell as production. There were also many different styles of drawing which I was surprised to see, usually associating comics with cartoon characters, but many were written for the adult reader aswell.

The Atomium, a massive structure of an iron crystal is also worth a visit. It was built back in 1958 for an expo, only meant to last 6 months but as it was so well received by the public it became a modern monument for Brussels, symbolising its development in science and discovery. 

As the Atomium is a little further out from the centre, its worth spending the day around this area. The Mini Europe is about 5 mins walking distance away, a little model village with all the famous monuments in europe. A very entertaining and interesting walk.....why not see all the famous buildings in one go!

You can't mention Brussels without mentioning chocolate or waffles. There is a very nice little chocolate museum right in the centre- in Grand Place. Costing only 4euros (for students) you get a biscuit dipped in chocolate as a starter, a quick demo of how they make their chocolate and free tasters of the range of chocolate they make. Flavours including cinnamon, ginger, apricot, lavender, thyme, rose, cherry, chili to name a few. Some are very delicious and some taste wrong (lavender tastes like air freshener and rose tastes like pot pourri). Following the crowd upstairs there is a display of toiletries that use cocoa such as leg wax and shampoo and the story continues of how cocoa is picked and mixed to produce chocolate. Lastly you have the dessert of fruit dipped in chocolate, which by then I was far too full to consume anymore. The chocolate museum, I consider is a very cheap and filling lunch!

I recommend not to buy waffles sold at little stalls on the street. They are all the same and some are served cold. I recommend to pay a little extra and get one from a proper restaurant. Waffles from La Rose Blanche serve the best in my opinion and the service is also top notch. Spend a bit of time looking for a decent restaurant because in restaurant valley (as i call it is an area packed full of restaurants on a winding cobbled road) they all serve the same menu which all cost the same. My first waffle was from one of these restaurants and it was very disappointing. Mussles are very popular around here, serving 1kg per person for the main course, so it was quite safe to give it a try.

Art around Brussels is awesome. In the Metro stations there are many different pieces, aswell as paintings on walls and around the streets. It makes these places much more pleasant aswell as give it some culture and background story. Wherever you go, there was always some art piece whether a sculpture or painting that attracted my eye, making the whole experience much more enjoyable.

 

This was a very different way of saying "welcome into the building" making it more noticable to passers by.

The little hole in the middle of the map showed which stop we were at on the Metro. Ingenius way of catching the eye at a glance instead of trying to find the red arrow or blob.

Some art on the walls inside the metro. It stretched along one whole side.

A beautiful sculpture called "de Bode" i saw as I walked through a park.

This also caught my attention along the way to see the Atomium. Very modern and funky. It included the 2 pillars into its design, creating a statement in the corner.

More paintings in the Metro, this one reflecting on the trams used in the past.

This odd piece of sculpture was attached on the ceiling. My guess is that it serves as an extra bit of lighting in the evenings but looks amazing either way.

The buildings are also full of history, all showing the different styles of the time they were built in, and their influences from either the french or dutch cultures.

This was an empty property but pasted with a photograph, now decaying after the years of rain and wind.

A very fancy building, which looked out of place on the corner of the street next to the other buildings.

This castle looking building was unexpected, showing how many different influences and styles were present in the country.

The concrete outer walls almost seem to hold the building up, the core structure on the outside rather than the inside. Again, very interesting but also quite intimidating.

A close up of the building in Grand Place, many parts were highlighted in gold making it stand out looking very grand and magnificent indeed.

The Manneken Pis in Brussels is like the Statue of Liberty in America. Although not nearly as big....a little statue of a boy in an alcove peeing.....it is very close to the centre so not too much hassle to go and take a look. 

Heineken Experiance

On the subject of beer, if you have the chance to go to Amsterdam, Go see the Heineken factory. For a small fee, you get a tour of the history of the beer, the processes they to make it aswell as many different interesting ways to make it more interactive. There is a funny video that you make which you can email to our friends, a few simulations aswell as a DJ room to break your own beats. Plus you get 2 free beers and a soft drink along the way. Well worth the visit.

A lot of the activities in the Factory aren't necessarily related to beer or even Heineken but they have cleverly incorporated simulations and interactions with the public, making the whole visit much more interesting and memorable. I don't think I can actually remember why their beer is different or special or even how it's made but the fact that the museum didn't have a standard tour has really made me appreciate the brand a bit more.

Prague

A lovely city, full of culture and beer. The place is sort of divided into the old town and more modern city, but both are well worth a visit. 

The old town is full of little churches, cathedrals, synagogues and little market stalls on cobbled streets.....even the street lamps look traditional and old. 

The more modernised city is busy with workers and shoppers who shop in similar retails over here, but there are plenty of cafe's and bars to relax in when the evening comes. It's just a little weird at first when the barman comes to the table to take your drink order and to warn you, the pretzels on the table are not complementary (they are well expensive!).

The first is a picture of one of the streets in prague. There are many tourist shops selling freaky string puppets and dolls.

The cathedral (above) can be found right in the middle of "old town" but I cannot remember where I saw the sculptures  because I saw them when I got lost. But very interesting and eerie indeed.