明德除夕依舊艷陽藍天

Trip to Paris

Paris Diary

Day 1, Friday

Visited Musee du Louvre, and stayed in the museum for more than 6 hours.

Met Florent in front of Mona Lisa.

Saw many sculptures and paintings.

Had a great dinner together.

 Ate chicken and white wine, very delicious.

The Airbnb was kind of shitty. No wifi, and no cooking.

Food is very expensive here. I guess the dinner cost over 20 per person, but Florent paid for me.

Day 2, Saturday

Musee d’Orsay

Another great day for 18,19th century arts.

Saw many famous paintings here, too. Learned a lot about Impressionism here. To put Impressionism in one word, is they emphasis the effect of light, more than the accuracy of the object itself. This was manifested in those works with sunset sky. Where everything was covered with a pink-orange hue. Besides, they found the shadow is not merely different shade of black, but the complimentary color of the objects color. They were playing the illusion of human vision that makes the painting more realistic to our experience instead of perception. 

There are free wifi outside the museum, which saved my life. I am able to contact Gordon and Chris, Thi.

After visited the museum, I went to Notre Dame by bus. The Church is on Cite Island. 

So many people. Food are also very expensive there, but the snacks were delicious.

There were police and securities checking backpack at the door of every tourist site. But the enforcement is the loosest I have ever seen. I bumped into a small inn in the Alley. Beautiful.

Then when I was looking for wifi and cafe. I met an old men who recommended me to have some Crepe. So we shared 2 crepes. One with chocolate bananas, another with bacon and cheese.

I gave up contacting Gordon. and I found the old man is a conductor/cellist living in Basel, Switzerland. We agreed to keep in touch, and I will listen to the Music he recommend. His name is Albert Roman. And hopefully I will go back to Shanghai on 15th September, and we can meet there again. We took some photos together in front of Notre Dame. And we walked to a pub area near Chatelet Metro, passing Pompidou Museum. There we found a good outdoor table and have beers.

I went home, slightly drunk as yesterday. I used the microwave to warn the frozen pizza as dinner at 1 am. I took a shower, and the condition of the shower compartment was a disaster. I should give it negative review on Airbnb.

Day 3, Sunday

Today I woke up pretty late, and one to Musee Rodin. Great sculptures in the park and in the mansion where he used to use a his studio in the last part of his life. To be honest, his work before his 40 is just mundane. He, like many other painters, mature in his own style after 40. The muscular from of the male sculptures captures the animations and mortal nature of humans. The object of his works are the normal people, thanks to his patron. So he more of less broke the limit of the purpose of art — doing portraits for the royals and higher class. There aren’t too many of his work there. The best sculpture might have been seen somewhere else before I visited here. The thinker is on repair. There are tons of young Korean tourist everywhere. That will make a huge change to their country in the next 30 years. After Rodin Museum, I went to Grand Palais, but did not enter. Tens of thousands of tourists were gathering alone Champ Elisee, to welcome the end of the France de Tour, the biggest cycling race in the world. That was really exciting to be part of it. I also went to Eiffel Tower. it was beautiful. There’s nothing to see on Camp de Mars. and River Siene is just okay, the scene is not as beautiful as in Cologne, or Florence. I went home early around 8 pm

Day 4 Monday.

Today  I packed up and went to Notre Dame, and it was just okay. Not very big, and not especially decorative comparing to other Cathedrals. I checked in around 11:30 at Sant Mercel, and found Bastille a bustling place to visit. Many cafe there, and much fewer tourists. To my surprise, the room was even worse. I realized probably that was what you can get if you want to be in that location with that price. Then I went to Pompidou Museum. I got a shrimp curry and rice noodles in a Chinese fast food shop nearby. Tasty. There is a high proportion of East Asian descent in Paris. Even locals can’t tell I am a tourist. Meaning I am not getting a lot of attention on the street, making my trip very comfortable. In addition, there are Asian tourists everywhere in Paris, but I approve it is one of the most impressive cities in Europe.

Pompidou is the Louvre of Modern Arts. All famous works in Dadaism, Cubism, etc can be found here. Once again Picasso proved he was a genius.

I left there, and went to Bastille, and found a good restaurant and dug in my medium lamb shaft. Delicious. 

Day 5 Tuesday.

So the last day in Paris. I visited the famous cemetery that buries historical figures such as Oscar Wilde, Chopin, Ingres, Dumeire, Proust, Bellini, Bizet, Jim Morrison, etc. It was for free. A must see in Paris.

Then I had lunch in a Korean restaurant. Tested good.

In the afternoon I went to MontMarte. It is a high ground where you can overlook the whole Paris, and on the very top of it stands a Basilica, which is much magnificent than Notre Dame. It was the area where painters like Van Gough and Cezanne, Picasso gathered and worked because it was cheaper in their time. However, it has become very expensive after the tourism comes in. Most of the streets are filled with cheap souvenir shops, and not so much about artists anymore. The food here is cheaper than the city center though.

Before I left the place, I started random wandering in the region to kill the remaining time. Montmartre now then showed its most lively part to me when I went off the main tourist route. It was the area that locals considered ‘dangerous’ at night. It is an area where black people live. There were Afro barbershops, cheap electronic, clothes, and many other things. I think it not dangerous before sunset, and it was indeed an eye-opener to me.

I think I have seen a lot in this trip, and shortly touched the real life of Parisian in the last minute. I saw Gypsies got searched by police and soldiers patrolled in small groups with machine guns. However, Parisians were not scared and loose their friendly nature as I experienced many time when I was looking for directions. As long as they are still having the long noon coffee break and enjoy their lives just seating at an outdoor table watching papers or taking sunbath. The ‘No Problemo’ philosophy will marched on, until the defeat of terrorism.

阿姆斯特丹之旅

Autumn

Tübingen

Heiligkrueztal Retreat Seminar.

  It is not clear when was the last time I wrote a blog, but it must be very long time ago. Lots of things happened in this semester, and I barely wrote a blog to record the trail of my life in Tübingen. 

Maybe as I said in the last blog, one needs the strong inner drive to write.

  I also wonder does this mean I also stop thinking, since writing is the explicit form of mental process, or I was simply lost my ability to sense the subtlety of life anyway ?

  Amongst the things I am going to write down in this blog, the first thing that I want myself and those who are constantly watching this intermittent diary to know it that I've got a scholarship in this semester !

  I don't know how it happened to me, but you know, every dog has its day.

Here is the story. 

   I always know it is important to maintain good relationships even with people who seems to be distant or unfriendly because you don't know whom you will need when you are in desperately need.  

  Dr.Herbert in the head of our program. He was a strict and prudent man around 60 years old. He was infamous for his stern look and grumpy temper when you disturbed his job. He would not put on a friendly smile and mildly seek your compliance as any well-rounded adults in Taiwan and in the US will do. When he felt you disturbed him, and you were not aware of that, or you were not trying to avoid that, he came to you and blatantly asked you to change. For many times I was called by him due to the noise I made when closing the door. How could I be blamed ? The problem could be easily solved by adhering a rubber cushion alone the door frame.

 No one, especially for foreign students, has yet to accustomed to this straight-forward, typical German expression. It was emotionless, bloodless, and ruthless regarding to how most of us were educated when we were asking someone else for a favor: be politer than polite.

     

An old farm house near the one I stayed during our seminar.  The unadorned green window frame and bland beige wall give me a warm, simple, harmonious impression. It was not meant to be an eye-catcher, and the theme colors suits the background landscape perfectly. I was charmed by its down-to-earth, simple, unaffected style because it reflects the life style of its owner. They are all hospitable and friendly people. This photo was taken around 3 pm. It was hot, dry, and plenty of light to capture the best color. I remember all my classmates went to the park playing games, allowing me to savor the serenity and unspoiled street view.

  I was impartially sociable and warm regardless how unfairly I was treated by him. That very day in the morning, I was light chatting with him in a hope to ameliorate our relationship. I was asking him if he knew any lab doing neuroprosthetics. As a German, he take my question seriously, and give me some names he knew. Unexpectedly, he mentioned if I was funded by any scholarship. I was actually pretty desperate for money then since I took student loan, and my job application was just rejected by a group leader.  Baffled by his sudden question concerning my financial state, I uncomfortably confessed that I was not good enough to get myself funded, and I was looking for a Hiwi, or research assistant, job.

   He asked me if I read the email the coordinator sent me, and kept on saying they wanted to give me a grant after knowing I haven' t read the mail. ''WHAT ? WHY? '' I could hardly believe my ear. I did poorly in the class, and I didn't apply for that. ''Are their brains broken ? '' I was startled incredulously.

  Of course I did't slip my tongue. You can't make that stupid mistake regardless how stupid you are. ''They must have a good reason. Maybe I am not that bad at all. '' I tried to convince myself that I was actually an underestimated genius whose talent was so profound that his poor grades told nothing of it.

This picture is a good demonstration of the power of triangular composition. The dark brown rooftop, and the shadow on the right consist the diagonal section lines of the picture. The stark contrast of the color on the upper left and bottom right are separated by the brown roof, which ameliorate the presence of the two extreme. Noteworthily, the fresh green tapering tower is emphasized due to its distinguished position and color. Maybe you can come up with some meaning for it ? In my eyes, the church tower is not so solemn, perfect and unreachable like most cathedrals. However, it is its humble and banal style makes it so welcoming and homy to the locals. It is conveying an idea: God is not just a supreme existence. God is also a father that has mercy even to people as humble as you and me.  I like the design of the church. It is ordinary, plain, but it is never grimy and chaotic.

    

The roses are in full blossom during the day. You can also see the small buds around the bloom at the bottom. The rose vine consisted an arch of the front yard of a residence. It was blossomed at its best, and it touched me since it is the symbol of eternal love, and the garden reminded me of Romeo and Julie. The sun penetrated through the leaves, forming a bright spot on the CCD. You can think of it as a divine ideal, which the mundane love, the rose,  is looking up to. Juxtaposing and manipulating the interactions of the two symbols generate many possible interpretations. To name a few: 1. love is a pure form of divine existence. 2. We mundane are always looking for a kind of idealistic purity in our life, and love can be one of the answers. 3. We mortals can never reach the level of pure platonic, spiritual love, as how unconditionally God loves us. However, love itself is good. Therefore, our love is blessed by him. A picture convey more in this moment. 

The old wall and vine, very classic combination, consist a stereotypical sets of ideas.  Summertimes, abundance, joyful moment of life, and eternal vitality setting roots on heavy, out-dated, monotonic history.  This theme is a good object of practice. Especially you can easily create a contrast of depth, complexity, and brightness. It lacks focus and center of attention, making it a good wallpaper. 

Another photo conveying simple aesthetic principle. Repetition and order. Our eyes cannot catch too many information at the same time. Try to convey one and only one idea of beauty, and eliminate all distractions in the frame. 

 I didn't tried to compose the picture to make it looks like Monet's painting, but you immediately notice their resemblance. Another good demonstration of design. Exploit what your audience have already learned, leverage the idea of your photo on those giants. It is not teaching you to replicate, to imitate, but showing you great artworks are usually a result of recreating, reinterpreting the ideas and principles that has been well established.

This is a hard one for me. I spend a lot of time contemplating the best crop. My camera is not equipped with fixed focus lens, and it was difficult to make my idea simple because the scene was pretty messy. Too many distractions. What I tried to capture was the shadow and the light, the tangled creeper and the wooden door of the barn. I don't know how other people think, but I think the scene is unbalanced. That is, deficient in clear contour and color blocks. Secondly, there are too many distractions, or so to speak, too many foci in it. This scene is absolutely beautiful, full of exquisite spots, but I should have spend more time to analyze, organize and design what at the best I could have got.  

Saturated color, exposed bricks, and unusual roof design. Time left trace on what it has touched. This small town was old, experienced, and very telling. Coming from a young and modern city. The coexistence of history and present in this town was very intense and imposing. It was a very thick, textured experience that took me a while to digest. The history was not only in the building, the landscape, but also in the lifestyle and people's faith, value, and characters. I walked into the history, walked into the painting, and I almost met Millet around the corner of the street. 

Two windows and a whit wall. You sure not much information in the scene ? I tried to convey the subtle beauty of texture. Texture is important, but easily neglected by lay person's eyes. It determines the quality of the color, and the authenticity. Good rendering of texture evokes textile sense in your brain. The texture of the white color make it more tangible, as if you can caress it with your eyes. In fact, there is nothing that is flat and smooth in natural scene. There is always variability, fluctuation, and inhomogeneity in real world. Our world is, to some degree, chaotic, noisy, and irrational. Again, light is the best friend of photographers.

What more can I say ? 1914 ? 2015 ? 3 lifetimes' span doesn't cause much difference. the only trace that expose the year is the sign and the watch. The wall was so uneven, damaged. It strikes me as an organism being with its own metabolism, just like human skin. The house is not inanimate object, but a living thing for centuries. It always hurls me in awe.    

江山萬里心

江山萬里心 

Jiāng shān wàn lǐ xīn


風雨千年路　江山萬里心

Millennia of winds and rains alone the road we endure

Vastness of rivers and mountains our bosom contain 

秦關月　楚天雲　無處不是故園情

Moon in Qing frontier＊

Clouds on Chu's sky

Nowhere is not overwhelmed by my nostalgia 

紫塞三春猶飛雪　嶺南四季花似錦

Every spring, north across the Great Wall, snow flies still.

All seasons, south down Qin Mountain, flowers resembles brocade. 

九曲黃河怒淘湧　長江三峽一舟輕

Winding-twisting Yellow River splash and crash furious waves in

Yangtze River's gorges a boat flows swiftly through 

更有那桂林山水     恰似人間仙境

Not to mention, Guilin's Landscape 

Alas, Heaven on earth as such!

敦煌月泉外　沙漠起駝鈴

Outside Dunhuang's Crescent Lake, 

camel bell rings the desert

風雨千年路　江山萬里心

Winds and rains endure the roads for millennia

Rivers and mountains of homeland are embraced in our bosom

秦關月　楚天雲

Moon in Qing frontier

Clouds on Chu sky

無處不是故園情　

Nowhere is not overwhelmed by my nostalgia 

無處不是故園情

Nowhere is not overwhelmed by my nostalgia 


＊Qin frontier is the paraphrase of 秦關, Hangu Pass. 
Hangu Pass was a strategic pass in Qin state's territory during Warring-States period (476BC ~221 BC). It was the entrance for Qin state to enter Guanzhong (literally, "inside the Passes"). During Warring-States Period Guanzhong was the western edge of Chinese civilization. Therefore, Hangu Pass symbolized the frontier of civilization in Chinese othodoxy.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This poetic lyric is from the theme song of a travel TV show, “Da Lu Zun Qi” , broadcast in Taiwan. The show features the mild  monologue of the hostess describing historical and humanity landscape of China , down-to-earth shooting/reporting style, picturesque scenery, and ernest interaction with indigenous people. In evokes strong nostalgia and thus gained huge popularity among families of veterans and emigrants, who retreated from Mainland China around 1949 due to the defeat of KMT government in Chinese Civil War.

The TV show sustain its popularity over decades since its debut in 1990.  It is its 25th year of broadcasting in 2015, 

辦youth hostel 卡，ＩＳＩＣ國際學生證

辦 國際學生證 可以到台灣的國際青年之家協會 辦，不需要跑到康文文教基金會（位於忠孝敦化）。有兩個原因：


一＊
國際青年之家地點便利（ 台灣台北市100北平西路3號3樓），就在台北車站東二門三樓。
二＊
國際青年之家可以同時辦國際學生證以及國際青年旅社卡。 而且同時辦只要900元，省五十元。（國際學生證原價350元＋青年旅社卡原價600元）

註：兩張卡皆不需要照網站上印申請表，只要到那邊用那邊的電腦key in 即可。

        要帶雙證件。樓下警衛會叫你用健保卡換訪客証。在青年之家需要身分證。

        半國際學生證需要學校學生證，如果是國外學校則可用入學證明代替。

         要帶兩寸大頭照一張。

辦理國際駕照

需要文件：

身分證正本

護照上的英文名字（可以不必帶護照）

汽車駕照、機車駕照

費用：250台幣

小提醒：因為汽車、機車的國際駕照是印在同一份駕照上，建議可以同時申請換發汽車及機車駕照，還是250台幣。

國際駕照自申辦成功日期始三年有效。

文章更新日期：2014.7.30

國際學生證 換1歐元旅館早餐

每天花1歐元即可享用旅館的早餐

Ø          Etap Hotel連鎖旅館

Etap Hotel 連鎖旅館大都位於機場、市中心或交通便利的地方。只要您持有效的國際學生證入住奧地利、荷、比、盧、法國、德國、波蘭、西班牙與英國等國約245家Etap Hotel，每天花1歐元即享用旅館的早餐‧

註：1.此優惠需要事先經由ISIC全球官網 www.isic.org 點選 『Etap Hotel』 預約方適用

2.入住時需出示有效的國際學生證

3.限本人使用

Ø          Hotel Formule 1連鎖旅館

只要您持有效的國際學生證入住澳洲、荷蘭、比利時、法國、瑞典、西班牙、英國與南非約245家的Hotel Formule 1，每天花1歐元即享用旅館的早餐

註：1.此優惠需要事先經由ISIC 全球官網 www.isic.org 點選 『Hotel Formule』預約，方適用

2.入住時需出示有效的國際學生證

3.限本人使用

Ø          Hotel 1連鎖旅館

只要您持有效的國際學生證入住法國的Hotel 1，每天花1歐元即享用旅館的早餐

註：1.此優惠需要事先經由ISIC全球官網 www.isic.org 點選 『Hotel 1』預約，方適用2.入住時需出示有效的國際學生證3.限本人使用

更多優惠見康文文教基金會網站

如何申辦

關於入境申根國之旅遊保險

根據德國在臺協會的規定,入境申根國需要購買申根國旅遊險.

認可的申根國保險具有下列條件：[德國在臺協會網站]

德國在台協會提醒您，自2010年10月1日開始，所有須持簽證進入申根國家者都必須提供有效且符合規定之醫療保險證明。此項措施係依據申根簽證條例第十五條，要求所有簽證申請者提供包括緊急醫療救護、緊急醫院治療、醫療遣送或遺體運送等之醫療保險證明，且保險期須涵蓋申請者預計停留於申根會員國境內的期間。

旅遊醫療保險必須符合下列條件：

- 保險保障期必須包含申請人預計停留期間

- 保險必須在所有申根會員國內有效

- 保險給付額度最少必須三萬歐元

- 保障必須涵蓋所有醫療費用，包括醫療遣送或遺體運回

- 醫療費用由保險公司直接給付歐洲當地醫院或醫生，被保險人非給付對象（不接受被保險人先墊付費用，於返國後再向保險公司請領已墊付之費用）。

保險公司必須在申根 區內有連絡點。

許多保險公司都有提供符合以上條件的旅遊醫療險，其中亦有台灣保險公司，請參考下列保險公司建議名單。非名單中之保險公司所出具之保單，只要符合 上列條件，亦能被接受。

歐盟、歐洲經濟區、瑞士國民之親屬及配偶不需要提供足夠之保險證明。

所謂之親屬係指尚未年滿21歲之直系血親卑親屬以及由歐盟、歐洲經濟區、瑞士國民之親屬及配偶撫養之直系血親卑親屬或直系血親尊親屬。

符合規定條件之保險公司建議名單

以下為國泰產險申根保險試算: （僅能在出國前兩個月內到出國前四天前之間購買）

以下為德國公司Ｍawista試算：

德國境內交通

最近查完了如何從台灣到德國Frankfurt機場的機票後，現在來看看如何便宜到達Ｔubingen.

ＤＢ德國鐵路如果提早訂票的話（最早九十二天前），可以以29Euro到達杜賓根Tübingen Hbf。

但是如果搭Eurolines 巴士的話則可以用11Euro到達Stuttgart，而那裡就可以有人接送啦哈哈！

但是注意出發地點要選 Frankfurt airport/ Frankfurt(Main)Flugh

但是突然發現因為Sttutgart正在進行一項Sttutgart21的鐵路更新計劃，導致公車站從Central Station 移到遠離市區的Obertürkheim station    MAP 所以只好搭ＤＢ囉！

新加坡航空

我打算從台灣前往德國，從比價網站加上航空公司評價發現新加坡是最高cp值的選擇，到新航官網一看，赫然發現新航機票比比價網上還要便宜！！

有圖為証

此外，新航官網的航次也較為齊全，不像比價網只能找到等機時間較久的班機。總飛行時數是18:45 大勝比價網的22:05

新航還有幾大好處＊

1. 成人經濟艙32kg,隨身行李7kg.學生或是打工旅遊行李上限40kg（需先填行李申請書）

2.KrisFlyer 累積哩程折抵機票價錢，累積哩程可和多家航空公司互通

3. 不需簽證兩小時免費市區觀光 

4.全程搭乘新航可免費得到樟宜機場20元新幣抵用券一張

5.其他台灣出發促銷優惠

6.多國語言服務

7.線上購票可選座位

8.樟宜機場 好睡好吃好玩，剛好可以用掉抵用券