Stockholm.

According to www.Local.se there is no design district in Stockholm, Well according to Google it is somewhere in Norway... I believe that is probably because the area that known to be a design district is now where the large cruise ships stop into town.  So it probably is that the people that live in this neighborhood would like to keep it quite....Well, anyways, I going to see if I can search out the SoFo Neighborhood, maybe some second hand stores or maybe even a design district.

Vik, Home of the Black Sand Beach

So I Have made it to Stockholm

Goodbye to the land of Rock and Ice and Hello to the Stockholm, the capitol of the North.
Stockholm city was quite overwhelming at first, especially since I had just come from one of the most barren and uninhabitable island in the world. It is Sunday now, but I would like to fill in you in on my last and finial expierence in Iceland.

Friday morning we headed north From Gundarforjord to Stykkishholmer. Here in Stykkishholmer we did a bit of shopping at the two only stores in town. Then went on to the check out this fantastic church that we dubbed "The Sphinx".
From here we drove about 3.5 hours to the south part of the island to a town called Vik.
Here in Vik there is a fantastically cold and fiercely raging black sand beach, the light was great for pictures of the mountains, but no so great for the beach. We managed to make our way from Vik back towards Reykjavik without running out of gas, Iceland is not a place where you would feel comfortable running out of gas.
Well anyways once the sun fell behind the horizon and the glow of the pinks and oranges dissipated the northern light came out strong. I have seen a fair amount of northern lights on sailing trips both in canada and michigan but I have never seen anything as strong as what I saw on friday night. My fellow traveler Anne, had never seen these so called spirits of the north, but to her amazement when the lights when out, the came back on in full force glowing swirrelling to the point where I felt a sense of hallucination.

Around and about. Reykjavic to Gundarfjordur

Gundarfjordur is on the Snaefellsnes peninsula, Yesterday a couple of friends that I made out here got together and rented a car for two days. We decided to circumnavigate the peninsula that is just to the north of Reykjavic.  There was a couple of highlights to the road trip yesterday, the Tunnel under the north atlantic, the Black church of Bidur, Aranarstapi harbor, The Snaefelles Mountain range, Ondverdarnes Point/ Falki Ruins, and Skadsvik beach.

Blue Lagoon, Gulfoss Waterfall, and the Geyser.

It's Snowing...But I'm going to the Blue Lagoon.

 

So today I will be heading off on a Excursion to the Blue Lagoon and Gulfoss Geysers, This is a good day to be heading to the Lagoon with the snow and all.   I have found a guy who is interested in sharing a car so, I maybe heading off for some out of the city treks.

Sculpture Museum...

Rain sets in on the Island. Time for the hot pools.

We'll the rain is setting in on the island, I feel like I'm in Portland, except the language is different and the night life is crazy.  Last night a couple of fellow travellers and I hit the town,  it is hard to go all night like the young 20 year old kids that are smashing beer glasses on the ground, and taking shots till they throw [up].  We'll anyways we were able to find a couple of dive bars that were playing the same music that you hear in America.  On the other hand it was hard to find a beer under 12 USD.  

Today is Easter, and everything is closed in this town.  everything but the Sculpture Museum and the hot spring next door....So I'm off for a good soaking. hope all is well.

Made it.

What a first impression. Wow this place is wonderful, we flew in, it was dark, but yet a full moon and we came in over this penisula, you could see the light from the lighthouse light ripping through the fog, surrounding that there were four other dwellings (Glowing in the fog), then about 600 yards off of the lighthouse there must have been a fissure and steam was rising from the earth, mixing with the light fog. It was quite amazing.

Reykjavik, a humble mix of modern and tradition

Trekking the CITY

so new york is off the hook, this town is crazy...i have spend the last couple of days running around trying to figure out the subway system with my good friend matthias who is so kind to let me stay with him in the student housing at pratt institute..we had no trouble making it to the whitney bi-annual today, there were a couple of installations that were really nice. art in this town is really pushing the limits of creativity. I have posted some pictures from the last couple trips into the city. we went to time square in the middle of the pouring rain, millions of umbrellas.
tomorrow night i leave for iceland....

Safe in NYC...Brooklynn that is.

Well. Here are some pictures of Pratt, Rockefeller plaza and my fellow trekkers. For some reason I'm having trouble with the picture posting section of the blog. but the good news is that I have taken around 100 pics a day.

Travel Fellowship Statement of Intent

Kyle R. Norman The purpose of my traveling is to explore the means of the Icelandic culture and geographic impacts that are had on the designers, society and their ability to create space. While in Iceland I plan to research and explore the advancements within architecture, urban planning, and the up and coming harnessing of geothermal energy, hydrogen transportation systems and the original "Green Roof", the Turf Structures. While in Iceland I plan on spending ten days in and around Reykjavik, the capitol of Iceland. My explorations will include: • National Gallery of Iceland. • National Museum of Iceland • The Asmundur Sveinnson Sculpture Museum • Reykjavík Supreme Court (1993-96) *Studio Granda • The New Blue Lagoon. • Reykjavík Cathedral (1790) *Kirkerup • East Harbor Concert Center • Turf Houses o Grof Church o Hof Church o Nupsstaour Church o Viomyri Church • Architecture and Urban Planning firms: o Studio Granda o Other recommended architects after talking with Studio Granda. Budget • Airfare $1,300.00 • Lodging $400.00 • Admission $100.00 • Provisions $300.00 Total $2,100.00 My previous travel experience has been confined to the North, Central and South America's. I have traveled to Mexico a handful of times with friends when I was in High School. The resort towns that I have experienced in Mexico are as follows; Cancun, Cozmel, Acapulco. I found that these towns are very much similar to each other than the topography which they derive a pond. While I was in High school I traveled from my home base of Traverse city, Michigan to a couple tropical places to escape from the frigid winters in Northern Michigan. In South America I spend Two weeks Backpacking the Island of Margarita and one week on a trip into the Canima Jungle where I hiked up to the base of Angel Falls, the largest free fall waterfall in the world. With in my North American travel experiences I have explored the front range of the Rockies, the west coast, border to border, and the Great Lakes region. Since I have became interested in the study of architecture, I have taken trips to Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, and Vancouver B.C. these are all amazing places and all have beautiful and functional architecture which create a functional society. I feel that I have been to some amazing places in this world, but for other activities rather than exploring architecture and works of art. I feel that I have been working hard, both in school and in a more literal sense of putting myself through school while working three-Quarter time to pay the monthly bills. One of the main reasons that I have choose to attend a college is because when I was growing up, my parents, who were both only high school educated had a tough time providing for there family. I watch my family struggle through the ups and downs. About the time that I was a senior in high school I decided that I was going to attend college because I felt that I didn't want my children to have to live the same way that I grew up. Now that I have finally found a field that I feel I can channel myself through, I plan to continue to explore the field of architecture and I would love to start this journey with a fellowship to Iceland. Thanks, Kyle R. Norman AIAS President of the PSUASA PSU Student of Architecture.