Saarland Destination November 2010: Voelklingen Ironworks

It might be just old metals. But, it is Saarland heritage to the world. It is Voelklingen Ironworks, my Saarland destination of the month.



Voelklingen Ironworks is located in Voelklingen, a city near to Saarbruecken, the capital city of Saarland. In year 1994 it was listed to UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a cultural heritage based on criteria ii (to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design) and criteria iv (to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history).




Voelklingen Ironworks was built in the 19th century. The ironworks portrays architecture during the industrial revolution in Europe. During this time, Saarland depended on its steel productions. Besides Voelklingen Ironworks, there is also another big ironworks in Neunkirchen. Until today the machines in Voelklingen Ironworks hasn't been replaced by the new one. That is why this ironworks is a cultural heritage. We may imagine how people produce steels from 19th to 20th century.





The area is divided into 7 parts. It is open everyday from 10 AM to 6 PM. The entrance fee is 12 EUR for adults.

How to get there?
There are actually many public transportations to reach this site. You can take a train from Saarbruecken and get off at Voelklingen. The ironworks is very near from the train station.

My personal experience

Okay, enough with all infos about Voelklingen Ironworks. I'm going to tell my personal experience today. First, screw snow. I could only get in to 2 rooms because the area was too dangerous. I haven't explored the whole ironworks! That is so lame.

But the good part is that it has this exposition: Die Kelten. Druiden, Fursten, Krieger. It is an expo of celtic culture. And, I'm happy because I learned many new things. I even hadn't known that the Celts lived in Saarland around 400 BC. And, I got many infos about the Gauls and the Romans.






In the end, I recommend you to visit Voelklingen Ironworks before this expo ends. It ends on May 22nd. Besides that, Voelklingen Ironworks is a must-see destination in Saarland for its huge unmodernized machines. Voelklingen Ironworks also lets you experience a miner's life in the 19th century.

Source:
http://www.voelklinger-huette.org/
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/687

n.b. some of the pictures were taken with my phone. Sorry for the bad quality

Reasons to Love 30 Rock

If you ask me right now what's my favorite TV show, I'll answer 30 Rock. But, that is now. It can be Fringe in 2 months, it can be Modern Family in 5 months or it can be Mad Men in 9 months. The point is I love 30 Rock now. This show gives me good moods after exhausting days at college and at work. Of course there are reasons why I love it so bad that I even wake up at 2 AM on Friday to watch it live via streaming.

Just like other situation comedies, I love it because it never fails to make me laugh. That is obvious. But there are more than that actually.

First factor is the Liz Lemon factor. She is the main character of the show, an intelligent single woman who finds difficulties in finding the Mr. Right. She is witty, she is selfish sometimes, she represents new type of women, career-oriented women. I don't know why I find myself as Liz Lemon. I often think: "Oh hell, why do we have so many things in common?". We are nerdy, but funny as well and know how to have fun. We enjoy eating unhealthy foods and watching TVs. And, we are creative, let's say that. I was the concept and content manager of a designer team, and she is the head writer of a show called TGS. And we are different with other people.

The second factor is the Jack Donaghy factor. I just really want to have a boss like him. He is smart, but he never does everything alone. He realizes that human beings make errors and that's why he is close to his subordinates. He parties with them and jokes around with them.

The third reason is that all casts are very interesting in their own ways. Jenna Maroney always makes me laugh out loud. She is a proud blonde all-american girl (no, woman!). She's middle-aged but always feels young. She flirts with every wealthy men. And she does stupid stuffs like dating her impersonator. And then Tracy Jordan, a very funny but stupid comedian. His stupidity sometimes makes us laugh. And of course the really funny Kenneth! He's just so awesome and weird in a good way. I hope I can meet someone that kind and generous.

And of course the jokes are witty. 30 Rock always has a creative and fresh jokes about politics, social issues, or any current issues. The show makes jokes based on the climate change, racism issues, etc.

I'm going to write longer in this last paragraph. Did you realize it that the casts love to work for 30 Rock as well? From season 1 to 4, the casts stay. Even guest stars come back again to act in 30 Rock. Jon Hamm attended the 30 Rock live show although his character has broken up with Liz Lemon. Let's compare this show with Grey's Anatomy. I also like Grey's, by the way. Both shows have won Golden Globe Award. But it is weird that Grey's Anatomy has lost 3 main characters so far because the stars decided not to sign the contract again. And then stories were made to make these characters disappear. For example, Dr. Preston Burke decided not to marry Christina and leave with no traces. That's because Isaiah Washington quit. And, also Dr. George o'Malley suddenly had an accident and died. Dr. Isobel Stevens left with no traces as well. But look at 30 Rock. Even some casts who don't play big roles stay, for example Jonathan (Jack's loyal assistant), Cerie, Tucker, Grizz, Dotcom, etc. They stay until today!

In the end, I'd like to high-five all 30 Rock casts and crew members. You guys rock my world!

Sayings I Disagree

1. Money can't buy happiness
People say this if they don't have money. Or, if a kind 25-year-old man is dumped by his girlfriend and she chooses a wealthy 60-year-old grandpa. Face it. Life without money is meaningless. We live to earn money as much as we can, and allocate that money for our own happiness. Money does buy happiness. I will be very glad if I can buy everything without worrying my financial situation. With money, you can buy a nice house with a nice kitchen and a big garden, where you can plant beautiful red roses, and a very good security system so you don't have to be afraid with robbery. Now who cannot be happy with that? Money itself is happiness, that's what Jack Donaghy of 30 Rock tells us. He said to Liz Lemon: "Lemon, money can't buy happiness. It is happiness."


2. Tiada kata terlambat untuk belajar (eng.: It is never too late to study)
Once there's a commercial in Indonesia to promote education. The ad was actually for uneducated farmers, fishermen, etc so that they go to schools and learn to read, count, and many more. But face it. It is sometimes too late. My colleague, he's a cook in the restaurant where I work, he once said to me: "Oh I should have gone to college so I don't have to be a cook like this". Yes, it's too late, my friend. You are 50 years old. First, a 50-year-old cannot learn as well as a 20-year-old. Second, a 50-year-old must work full time because there is nobody who can finance his life except if he receives money from the government or I don't know. Sometimes it's just too late.


3. There are 3 basic needs: food, clothes and shelter
We always learn that in economics. That is a proof that all knowledges are Europe-oriented. Europeans began teaching economics and created some economic theories like these 3 basic needs. Yes, everyone needs food to survive. But clothes and shelter? If you live in a tropical country, you can still live without them! It may be difficult and forbidden, but it is still possible in tropical countries like Indonesia. It is definitely impossible in cold countries, everyone needs jackets in winter to survive. But in tropical countries, theoretically you can still survive without clothes and shelter.


4. Don't judge a book by its cover
People who aren't confident with their looks say this. Hello, it's important to judge someone just by his appearance. You can figure out someone's personality just by observing what he wears, what he reads, what kind of music he listens to, and even from what country he is from. I hate to say this, but stereotypes are mostly true. I learned sociology in high school. And I learned that one's personalities are determined by many factors, such as where he lives and his cultures.


5. Islam is terrorist
This statement always makes me angry. First, this statement leads to conflicts. Second, that is so not true. Islam never teaches terrorism. And of course most muslims HATE terrorism. Who likes to feel unsafe anyway? Ask all muslims in this world if they are for suicide bombing. I'm sure there will be only 0,001% of them who agree. The problem is just that most terrorists are accidentally muslims. And, our point of view has been set and influenced by western medias. Anyway, did you know that terror acts happen as well in Colombia? Almost 100% Colombians are catholics, right?


6. Men think about sex every 7 minutes
Who stated that at first actually? That is like so dumb. Okay, I used to join a debate club. The speech takes 7 minutes. I am a man, that's obvious. And I never think about sex before, during and after my 7-minute speech.


I only found six. But I guess there are still many more. Comment and share yours!

So I promised you that I would make this Saarland destination of the month. Yes I will. No worries.

But I just want to tell you that Saarland Destination November 2010 will be posted quite late.

It's because I will write about Voelklingen Iron Works, an UNESCO world heritage site in Saarland, and there'll be a big expo about Celtic cultures from November 20th. I think it will be a great loss if I don't write about this expo just because I visit the iron works one or two weeks earlier.

So, I will post this Saarland Destination November 2010 in the last week of November. I'm now so excited about the expo! You know what, we can see its advertisements everywhere now in Saarbruecken.

Project until October 2011

Hello.

First of all, I'm sorry for my unannounced hiatus. My life as a college student has begun and I needed to get used to it. I'm now a student at HTW des Saarlandes and study Internationales Tourismus-Management (international tourism). It is actually interesting. My favorite subject so far is probably microeconomics. I know people think it's a hell. And, of course French and English. I always have this huge passion to languages. My least favorite subject? Math.

To avoid more absence in posts, I decided to make a project for a year. This project begins on November 2010 and ends on October 2011. If I see good responses, I will extend this project.

So, what's the project? The project is...


SAARLAND DESTINATION OF THE MONTH


It is simple. Every month, I write at least one touristic destination in Saarland, where I reside currently. I will explain to you in the next post about Saarland.

This is the plan

November 2010 - Voelklingen Iron Works (UNESCO world heritage sites), Voelklingen
December 2010 - Christkindlmarkt in Saarbruecken (Christmas Market)
January 2011 - Churches in Saarbruecken
February 2011 - Wolfspark Werner Freund, Merzig
March 2011 - Neunkircher Zoo*, Neunkirchen
April 2011 - Bostalsee*, Nohfelden
May 2011 - Saarlouis City
June 2011 - Saarschleife, Mettlach
July 2011 - Bliesgau, Blieskastel
August 2011 - Roemische Villa Borg, Perl
September 2011 - Deutsch-Franzoesischer Garten, Saarbruecken
October 2011 - Schlossberghoehlen, Homburg



*I might be in Indonesia for 5 weeks on March and April 2011, so I don't think I can travel in Saarland, I will just post about Neunkircher Zoo, where I used to be an intern, and about Bostalsee. I've actually reviewed Bostalsee in this blog.



I hope I can do this project well. And I'm so excited that I'm going to visit Voelklingen Iron Works this month.