Germany Celebrates 100 Years of Bauhaus Architecture/Design

In 1919, in the immediate wake of the devastation wrought by World War I, an architect named Walter Gropius, one of the pioneering maestros of modern architecture, founded an art school that combined fine arts with crafts and eventually architecture, with a minimalist approach to design that combined all of it with contemporary technology under the maxim "form follows function". Starting in eastern Germany - first in Dessau, then in Weimar, and finally a third school in Berlin - this school's aesthetic and philosophy had a huge impact on the arts, design (especially furniture and household objects), and architecture not just in Germany but the rest of Europe and beyond - and one whose impact is still felt a century later.

Sadly, the increasingly ascendant Nazis viewed its work as "degenerate art", and the last school was finally shut down in 1933, though acolytes then became successful in spreading Bauhaus design beyond Germany's borders (three masterful examples being Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, and Mies Van der Rohe). Now in 2019, the various organisations and tourism boards are pulling out all the stops to celebrate the many extant examples of Bauhaus (whose major locations are now collectively a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and to promote a yearlong programme of events surrounding it.

First off, here are some of the finest key examples in the country...  read more

Prepping for an African Safari
 

Some getaways you can make without much fuss - on the spur of the moment, even. But certain trips need a degree of organisation, and unless you're going with an upmarket tour operator that takes care of every last detail, an African safari - truly a life-changing experience, clichéd as that phrase has become - is very definitely one of them. Here's our take on the best approach - and some of these tips will strike you as no-brainers, but others may not have occurred to you. Let's have at it, shall we?

Your first priority should be your health, researching whatever shots you may need, depending on the region of Africa you're travelling to; for example, the USA's Centres for Disease Control lays out its recommendations for southern Africa here, and it also provides a search page for travel medicine clinics. Another search page for North America, Europe, and the rest of the world is available from the International Society of Travel Medicine. Keep in mind that you'll want to take care of this at least four to six weeks before leaving, in order for any vaccinations to take effect.

Also necessary to take care of some amount of time (often months) in advance is to apply for any visas that might be required by the country or countries you're planning to visit (these requirements vary greatly).

With these two longer-term preparations checked off, closer to departure you can start to focus on packing. In my experience and that of various friends, family, and experts I've consulted, here's a basic checklist... read more