FLIGHTS OF IMAGINATION...public collection of the world’s smallest creatures—microalgae,...
Transcript of FLIGHTS OF IMAGINATION...public collection of the world’s smallest creatures—microalgae,...
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Traveling has become so streamlined and
commonplace that it’s easy to forget it’s really fun.
Add to that the ubiquitous smartphone—walking directions to
guide us, notifications from followers to distract us, work constantly
pinging—and the delight of travel can be lost.
The solution? Consciously create time and space as you go. Get off the
beaten path. For seasoned travelers this means revisiting old haunts
with new eyes.
We’ve put together this guide to give you the
lay of the land in some of Europe’s most easily
accessible, tech-progressive cities. And you
don’t have to be on a Grand Tour: even a four- to
six-hour layover is long enough for you to get
out and explore. So set an away message, focus
your camera, and join us in discovering the eye-
catching, connected, and cutting-edge.
Amsterdam
Once a prerequisite stop for alternative travelers searching out coffee
shops and scenic views, Amsterdam is now a digital destination. This
sub-sea level city of canals hides a polished sophistication, due in no
small part to its booming tech economy.
The preternaturally progressive city’s fabulous royal zoo has its
own one-of-a-kind natural history museum, Micropia. Part science
experiment and part Fantastic Voyage, Micropia is home to the largest
public collection of the world’s smallest creatures—microalgae, bacteria,
molds, viruses, water bears, and much more. High-powered microscopes
throughout let you peer at these beings, and a backlit wall housing a
huge display of Petri dishes reveals the decidedly psychedelic beauty of
these unique life forms.
For a different perspective on the urban Dutch experience—and fewer
tourists—take a 40-minute ride southwest to The Hague. This city
is home to the UN’s judiciary Peace Palace as well as Mauritshuis,
which has more than 800 works from the Dutch Golden Age, including
Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. Fans of M.C. Escher will marvel at
Escher in Het Palais, housed in a former winter residence for royals.
The collection takes visitors through the artist’s process; the top floor
includes an iconic stairway that leads right into his work and helps you
appreciate not only Escher—who consulted mathematicians to achieve
infinity on paper—but your own brain’s ability to sense and sometimes
misinterpret perspective.
Prague
With its well-earned reputation for being one of the most beautiful
cities in Europe, featuring architecture that represents a millennium of
technical innovation, Prague is a blend of East and West. It’s no wonder
that one of its most beloved cultural institutions is Cross Club.
This daytime and long-into-the-nighttime favorite among the
international boho crowd offers a curated program of dance parties,
art installations, experimental theater, live music, readings, and panel
discussions. It thrives within a labyrinth of nightclubs, bars, and cafés.
Most everything inside and out of this block-wide complex—from the
DJ booths and stages to its decor and stairwells—is made from upcycled
automobiles, industrial detritus, reclaimed woods, and ceramics.
Though the club’s sound system is reportedly audible from a kilometer
away and touted as one of the best in Prague—no small feat for a city
renowned for its endless nightlife—nearby Cross Café offers a relaxed
atmosphere away from the din. Here you can have a full meal and actual
conversation before diving into the wide assortment of entertainment—
from Afro-Austrian jazz to American electronica.
There’s no need to rush either—the café doesn’t open until midnight
and stages run until 5 am on weeknights. From Old Town Square you
can hop a tram to the nearby Křižík Fountain. Built in 1891, it was the
first fountain to sync music, water, and colored lighting. Now digitally
controlled, it’s an exemplary display of timeless Czech ingenuity.
Frankfurt
Inside the economic powerhouse of Europe, within the financial nerve
center of Germany, stands Frankfurt, with its modern skyline and
elaborate digital infrastructure.
The historical center of the city is Römerberg, with its 600-year-old
city hall and pristine examples of neogothic German architecture; the
technological center is the Europaturm. More than 1,000 feet tall, this
telecommunications transponder
tower once housed a revolving
restaurant, but now contains the
world’s largest internet hub and
network operations center below
ground.
Not too far from this undercover
tech monument is the ever-verdant
Palmengarten. Established in 1868 as
an exotic garden for hosting lavish social events, today this sprawling
botanical complex houses one of the largest collections of palm tree
varieties in the world. Situated on over 50 acres, this hub for botanical
research and education invites visitors to hop between a number of
greenhouses that replicate global climates – from lush jungles and
forests to the arid deserts of Africa.
While touching the plants is strictly verboten, the real treat is tagging
along on the garden’s rotating lineup of geeky horticulture tours. For
the budding mixologist there’s the Distilled and Liqueurs tour, which
schools visitors on tropical fruit used for distilling, fermenting and
brewing. Tours dedicated to the botanicals behind famous perfumes
and medicines round out the programming, along with the occasional
classical and jazz concert offered with the garden’s lush grounds.
Stockholm
Situated on 14 islands between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea,
Stockholm is a city built for making connections. In fact, the City
Between the Bridges is home to one of the best fiber optic networks
in the world, supporting a booming marketing and media sector and
the largest concentration of unicorn billion-dollar startups outside of
Silicon Valley.
To get a sense of Stockholm’s reverence for creative and intellectual
hybrids, head to the Nobel Museum. The museum blends technology and
great design to celebrate the life and work of Alfred Nobel, the prize he
began awarding in 1901, and the rich and varied work of its recipients.
On view through September 10th of next year, a featured exhibit explores
how experimentation allows humanity to experience the invisible, think
through the unknown, and get answers. Several famous moments in
science are recreated here, including the work of American evolutionary
biologist Thomas Hunt Morgan. His modest-looking experiment,
featuring Petri dishes and the lowly fruit fly, led to an incredibly
important discovery: the role of chromosomes in heredity, for which
Morgan won a Nobel in 1933. Reflecting the Scandinavian way of life, this
exhibit shows how the simplest designs are often the most profound.
Once you’ve soaked in as much inspiration as you can handle, be sure
to stop at Bistro Nobel. The chairs in the café are signed by Prize
recipients. No one will blame you for ordering the ice cream either: it
comes with a Nobel just for you, made of chocolate.
Berl in
Berlin is unquestionably unique. Mostly destroyed during World War II,
rebuilt into two cities, then reunified in 1989, Berlin is still very much
developing its identity. As it does, the creative class from all over the
world is flocking to the inchoate capital, taking advantage of its low
cost of living, high quality of life, and the opportunity to make a major
metropolis virtually from scratch.
Where talent, cheap real estate, and an experimental culture thrives,
startups soon follow. Modern Berlin serves as the European home base
for more than a few. Some complain
that Berlin’s beloved counterculture is
disappearing. But it’s still there. Take
a walk through even trendy Mitte and
you can still have an only-in-Berlin
experience.
In Mitte you’ll find plenty of
boutiques, bars, galleries, and
gourmet hot spots. Tucked next to
Checkpoint Charlie, the site where only the select few could pass during
the Cold War, you’ll find Game Science Center, an exhibition space
dedicated to interactive technology that encourages visitors to immerse
themselves in locally developed VR experiments and eye- and gesture-
based games.
Afterward, head to funkier nearby Kreuzberg, where twin pleasure
centers await.
Initially housed in a large circus tent next to the Berlin Wall, the
distinctive venue Tempodrom tried several locations since its 1980
inception before finding its home on the site of an old train station. The
now-permanent building hosts popular music acts nearly every night of
the week.
And finally there’s Liquidrom, a science-fiction-looking spa with a
thermal saltwater bath featuring an underwater sound system. There’s
also a regular infusion schedule in each of its four saunas. As they say in
Berlin, “Come for the flower ceremony at 4; stay for the infusion at 10.”
(©Sebastian Greuner)
(©Brendel Matyas)
Tempodrom tried several locations since its 1980 inception before finding its home on the site of an old train station.
Today this sprawling botanical complex houses one of the largest collections of palm tree varieties in the world.
Café-Restaurant de Plantage in Amsterdam.
Prague’s Cross Club.
© Petr Dvoracek
Palmengarten in Frankfurt.
Stockholm’s Nobel Museum.
Tempodrom in Berlin.
FLIGHTS OF IMAGINATIONFinding Europe’s Secret Techie Sights