5 for Friday: Heidelberg Project, Detroit

If you keep up on Detroit news, you probably saw that the third Heidelberg house in under a month went up in flames today. If not, you can read about it here (link). You will notice that it says an investigation revealed what we all suspected, its arson. Someone is targeting one of my favorite places and destroying public, accessible art that transformed a strip of abandoned homes. I think its shameful and wrong on so many levels. I implore you to think about the value art has to you, the value freedom of expression, the value rebirth and revitalization has to you. Donate what you can afford to get the Heidelberg the security it needs to preserve the remaining houses. Donate at indiegogo (link)!

Part of the reason I wanted to post this was a similar artist's transformation of their own home community in Taichung, Taiwan. See the photos I posted recently (link). 

Want more information on the project? Check out their website (link).

And one more time, in case you changed your mind... donate at indiegogo (link)! 

5 for Friday: Wieliczka Salt Mine

 

Europe again, this time in Poland outside of Krakow in the salt mines. 

I started reading the Lord of the Ring in January this year, during disaster relief on the Jersey Shore. The book dragged, and I carried it from place to place. I switched to a tablet. I took it all over the US and pushed on, trying to love the book as much as the movies. Strangely enough, I never read it as a child, and in the last ten months of reading the book I have probably re-watched the movies three or four times. It was hard to love the slow moving book with much different character development after seeing the movies SO many times. But then, suddenly I found myself reading more slowly, trying not to finish the book and have to say goodbye to the series all over again. Funny how quickly it changed. But the point of this all is that a the Salt Mines reminded me of Lord of the Ring's Mines of Moria and that is part of the huge love I have for them. 

The salt is brought into miners and visitor's lungs and particles come out with our breath. That salt settles all over the surfaces, and over the years has created this amazing texture over all of the walls. The wood has been there for so many years, now it is as hard as stone. 

This is not your typical mine. It is on the original UNESCO list even. It has a huge, pristine cathedral, stunning statues, and chapels made completely of salt. There is even a huge underground lake that was pretty impossible to take photos of in the light. 

A photo of me taken by Ashley, the best couchsurfing host I have had so far. He hosted me in Vienna and we got on so well he came out to meet me in Krakow the next week. I was lucky to meet such an amazing person. Maybe one day we will meet again! 

5 for Friday: Northern Michigan

Time for another weekly 5 for Friday. Last week my internet at home went out, so it never managed to get posted.  Regardless, I'm just going to ignore that mishap and keep moving forwards. This week features Northern Michigan, specifically Traverse City and my first trip to the legit Upper Peninsula, Pictured Rocks. I grew up in the mitten, but never really experienced the UP at all, so last March when I created some serious downtime in my life plans, I knew it was time to go. I was inspired by this amazing blog (link) and if you're looking for inspiration photography, especially that of Michigan, I would highly suggest his site. Seriously awesome stuff there. 

How lucky am I to have a great friend living in Traverse City ready and willing to tour guide me around AND a supportive father who just so happens to be driving up for a long weekend there? Clearly, I am the luckiest. It was sheer serendipity. 

Pictured Rocks is a National Park, which means it is accessible, well cared for and beautiful. All of my favorite things. Best of all it has some amazing waterfalls that are not to far from parking lots. We were snow shoeing- which is a whole heck of a lot harder than I anticipated.  

A size comparison, here is Patrick and about 2/3's of the waterfall frozen next to him. It is insanely large and even better in person.

We saw the two falls I really wanted to see, and ended up heading back early in hopes to making it to a few pubs for St Patrick's Day that night. Which started off looking like a possibility until we went down a dirt road of doom. Two tow trucks and 5 hours later we finally were back on the road in time to catch a snow storm. Needless to say, St. Patrick's Day was memorable in a completely different way than my previous experiences. But, overall it was one of my favorite days in Michigan. It reminded me how much there still is to see even in the state I grew up. Every time I travel I seek out beauty, so its nice to still be surprised in my own backyard. I'm thankful to be from such a wonderful place. 

5 for Friday: Budapest

Another Friday posting, this week features Budapest. I went here in August 2012 while couch-surfing my way through central Europe. The city was amazing, which is saying something, because I don't prefer cities usually. Maybe its the whole first time in Europe wave of appreciation of buildings and architecture or maybe its the drastic difference I saw from my life in Korea to the city. It overwhelmed me, and I loved it. 

I took a free walking tour, which is popular in Europe. The guides volunteer and hope to make a profit by tips and donations. It was great, because everyone could pay what they found a fair price. I highly recommend looking for a free tour when traveling, oftentimes they are even better than the paid tours!

The Parliament Building at night

Clearly I like bridges best. 

I don't know if I will head back to Europe anytime soon, but if I do, it will be to Eastern Europe! 

5 for Friday: Cave Junction, Oregon

Starting this week, on Fridays I will be posting entries with five pictures from a specific location.

This week is Cave Junction, Oregon. This was my first location site for Americorps NCCC (I resigned from, but that will be a longer post at some point in the future). I lived in a cabin on a nature ranch, and a wonderful friend, Mike from Korea, mailed me a fixed 50mm lens. I wandered around the property every few days, taking pictures and learning how to control the focal point with what is still one of my favorite pieces of camera equipment.

Here are five photos from around the property in beautiful Southern Oregon in November 2012:

It is easy to dwell on the negative aspects of life anywhere, and this is no exception, but I really loved Oregon's landscape. I hated pulling poison oak for hours every day and living in a crowded cabin. But, it was wonderful to have such an amazing backdrop. I was given the opportunity to learn new skills, try now things, and learn about myself. Focus on the good, of course.