Two hours out of Berlin, taking the train from Hauptbanhof, is the city of Dessau, home to the Bauhaus School in the years between the decline of the Weimar republic and the rise of Nazi Germany. A testament to changing times and attitudes, the buildings represent a style of building established many years later. Turn right out of Dessau station and the main school buildings are five minutes’ walk away. Here you can stop for a tour and find out more about the work that inspired architects and designers for years to come, as well as grab a beer and something to eat in the basement restaurant; but there is much more with the masters’ houses a few minutes away and then a stylish restaurant on the banks of the Elbe a further ten minutes walk. All over the city are examples of the work of members of the school, with also the delight of taking one of the city’s trams to see the southern suburbs. The city is a must for the architectural history enthusiast as well as the social historian.
Deassau Station has a regular service direct from Berlin Hauptbanhof.
Google map: bit.ly/Sp9oLu
There are gardens everywhere in Oxford but they're not always that easy to get into. Oxford with its college gardens provides a cornucopia of just about everything and the art is to think about when you can get in them without paying the entrance fee that many now extract. Two of the most interesting and varied are those of Magdalen College and Merton College and one such occasion is the Oxford Open Doors weekend held every September. To add to the variety there are endless other colleges to visit with a huge variety of planting and landscape, such as Wadham, Worcester and New Colleges; of course, taking in as well, the delights of the historic and learning environment.
www.oxfordopendoors.org.uk/
Magdalen College
High Street, Oxford OX1 4AU
+44(0)1865 276000
Google map: bit.ly/llGX6I
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