The Ruhr Valley, a Land of Transformation

The Ruhr Valley is the large industrial area located north of Düsseldorf. Here some 5.1 million people live in many different cities such as Essen, Dortmund, Duisburg to mention some. They are so closely connected to one another that people sometime sees it as one huge city. However the inhabitants refer to themselves as Dortmunder, Duisburger etc.

The area is famous for the industrialization of Germany, which is part of the reason for Germany's development to one of the most industrialized countries of the world. The huge amount of ore, the early mines and the already developed technology for mining made the Ruhr Valley one of the most thriving areas during the industrialization. The demand of workers attracted people from all around Germany and gave an explosive increase of people to the area, it explains the high density of people in this area today.

Today the Ruhr Valley is different. Much of the industries have been transferred to China, but some still remains. However the high population remains. In the last decades the area has transformed from a highly industrialized area to an area for education and art.

To experience the past and to understand the transformation of this area we went with my German class on a trip there. What we saw was amazing and I can recommend everyone to go there. We went to the Duisburg Landschaftspark. The Duisburg Landschaftspark have been listed on New York Times top 10 list parks of the world and one can understand why. The park is an old coal mining facility intended to let people to remind the industrial past rather than forgetting it.

Our guide showing showing us the amazing view of the Ruhr

The view on an old complex for melting steel.

It can be seen how the nature has recaptured lost land.

It is amazing how the germans have managed to transfor this old industry to an park. To the left they have created an cinema within the old steel melting area.

The second largest open volume building in the world.

Inside the second largest open volume building in the world.

On the second largest open volume building in the world.

The Ruhr Area has also given place for artists to display their art. This is the Teatreder in Bottropp.

A group photo in the teatraeder

An old coal cleaning complex transformed to an museum and concert hall.

Moving to and living in Cologne

After approximately two months of studies in Düsseldorf I directed my ship towards Cologne (on german: Köln) where I have started my internship at DLR (Deutsche Luft- und Raumfarth) which will last until December. DLR is the German centre for aerospace-, energy- and transport research, with the headquarters located in Cologne. The research in the aerospace industry is mainly aimed to improve the future of aircaft propulsion and to improve our knowledge of space. This is my main area of study, therefore the internship suits me well.

Cologne is the 4th largest city in Germany, with around 1 million inhabitants. It was founded by the romans almost 2000 years ago and is on of Germanys oldest cities. The city is well known for its huge cathedral and the famous perfume Eau-de-Cologne.

Kölsch is the main dialect in Cologne and was the former language before. It is also the name of the famous beer which is drafted in this area. The dispute between Düsseldorf and Cologne is well spread in both Cologne and Düsseldorf and can be clearly noted when buying beer. The famous Düsseldorf Alt-Bier can hardly be found in Cologne (even though Düsseldorf is only located 40 minutes away by car) and the opposite in Düsseldorf. However judging on my personal experience I believe that it is harder to find Alt-Bier in Cologne than finding Kölsch in Düsseldorf.

The town of Cologne is very beautiful. However one have to understand that 90-95% of the town was destroyed during WWII which means that most of the buildings are not older than 70 years. Miraculously the cathedral survived despite being hit 14 times.

Night shoot of the Cologne cathedral

The famous bridge in front of the cathedral. 

The cathedral with the old town

Cologne Hafencity, the modern part of town.

The restaured and famous statue of King Friedrich Wilhelm III in Cologne old town. 

One of the remaining old gates.

The cathedral night time.

The cathedral from within, it took 632 years to finish this amazing building.

The famous Kölsch-bier served in its unique 0.2 l glas.

Open House in DLR (Detusche Luft- und Raumfarth)

DLR (Deutsche Luft- und Raumfarth) is the German centre for aerospace-, energy- and transport research, with the headquarters located in Köln. The research in the aerospace industry is mainly aimed to improve the future of aircaft propulsion and to improve our knowledge of space. A lot of DLR:s time and resources are placed to improve the efficiency of air transport, goals which are set up by the European Union, e.g. reduce the cost of air transport by 30%. 

The transport- and energy research is mainly aimed on renenewable and green solutions such as solar and wind-energy in the energy research sector. 

Every second year DLR open up the doors for the public to display their research. This area is my main area of study which is why I also took time to visit DLR this day.

The DLR area in Köln, it is located near to the Köln/Bonn-airport.

Philae is the name of the lander which was the first human built device to land on a comet. One can say that this event has put DLR on the map. The landing was managed November 2014 and was conducted by ESA (European Space Agency, which is partly funded by DLR) together with DLR.

This is a scale model of the comet on which Philae landed on, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

I mention Philae because the main control centrum of Philae is located in Köln.

Inside the Philae control centrum.

The jet engine test facility

Inside the jet engine test facility

Test station of the jet engines

DLR has on of the fastest wind tunnels in the world. It's called H2K and can be runned up to Mach 11.2.

The wind tunnel test section. Tests can be conducted for around 30 seconds. In order to prevent unwanted physical phenomenons at these speeds (up to Mach 11.2) the air is heated before tests to around 800 degrees.

The bulding of European Astronaut Centre. The astronauts are prepared for their missions on many different locations. The basic training program is conducted in Köln and lasts 16 months.

Yepp that is Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, you're seeing in front of the main entrance of ESA.

All flags of the ESA-member states (Sweden included).

It can't be seen on the picture but this is the main pool where the future astronauts are trained.

Full scale modules used for astronaut education.

Some hidden pictures on Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and Yuri Gagarin in one of the modules.

It was a beautiful way home, with the Kölner Dom in the background.

Visiting the worlds largest car show in Frankfurt, IAA (Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung)

IAA also known as The International Motorshow in Germany is the worlds largest motor show in the world held in Frankfurt and Hannover. This year it is held between 17-27 september. The show is expected to attract more than 1 million visitors, around 220 new car releases can be seen at the show. With other words is it a lot to see at the fair.

The Mercedes-Benz house, quite impressive I would say.

 IAA, where new meets old...

 Teslas corner

 Jaguars new release Jaguar F-Pace cut in half.

 Hyundais supercar, or super

 Back to the Future car, DeLorean DMC-12.

 Porsche Mission E an electronic car and on of the most beautiful cars of the show.

Bugattis Vision Grand Turismo concept car (Bugattis first new car for 10 years), probably the coolest car at the show... It is supposed to give a hint of how the new generation Bugattis will look like. The new generation will be called Chiron andwill replace the Veyron.

 Mercedes-Benz cool concept car with a variable rear, pretty cool.

Money was not spared on the Mercedes-Benz house

F1 closeup

Food of the day, Brötchen mit Hähnchen