Minneapolis & "The Quietest Place on Earth"

 

The yearly trip to HITEC - the world’s largest hospitality technology show - this year brought me to Minneapolis, MN, in the United States.

Since I’m always up for exploring a new place, I couldn’t resist to stay an extra day to make the 26h trip from Dubai a little more worthwhile - and it definitely was!

Minneapolis has a rich history as the milling capital of the US, owing to the Mississippi River running through the city, and is home to a few interesting sights.

As I only had a few hours, I didn’t take my camera along, so all the photos here are shot on iPhone XS.

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Bob Dylan

One of Minnesota’s most famous sons has his own mural in Minneapolis. It was commissioned by the buildings owner, and cost $50,000.

Blue Skies

Minneapolis has very cold winters - luckily, June is more pleasant.

River

The city owes a lot of its development to the Mississippi river.

Mill City Museum

The museum pays homage to the milling history of the city, which was a major driver for its economic development.

Damage

In 1878, a spark ignited airborne flour dust within the mill, creating a huge explosion that demolished a big part of the building and killed 18 workers instantly.

Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum

The Frank Gehry-designed building is located just on the river cliffs in the University district.

Crossing the River

Walking over the Stone Arch bridge, which originally opened in 1883.

Leftovers

The mill was rebuilt in 1880 as the largest in the world at the time, and ran until the 1960s. A fire gutted it in 1991, after which it was turned into a museum.

Water Power

Minneapolis developed around Saint Anthony Falls, the highest waterfall on the Mississippi River and a source of power for its early industry.

Revived

A view over the newly rebuilt mill district on the banks of the river, still showing the tunnels leading the water to the underground hydrpower generators.

Westminster Presbyterian Church

The 1897 church is one of many in the city.

Up

Minneapolis is home to a few interesting skyscrapers.

Orfied Laboratories

The studio is located outside the city in an inconspicious building.

Lobby Relicts

The entrance features copies of the recordings that were created in the studio, and even a poster of the movie "A Quiet Place", as the Anechoic Chamber was used to promote the release.

Directional Microphone

An impressive demo of the lab's directional microphone that allows to pinpoint the source and frequency of sound generated in the room.

Research

The lab provides all types of acoustic services, from product design and testing to building material selection and more.

Studio B

Tracks like Funky Town were recorded in this studio. Prince and Bob Dylan made records here as well.

Reverb Rooms

One of the lab's reverb rooms, with the metal plates acting as diffusors.

The Quietest Place on Earth

Until 2015, the Anechoic Chamber in the lab held the guiness world record for the quietest place on earth. I was able to spend 20min in side in total darkness and silence, and it's a humbling experience.

Man of Wisdom

Mike is one of the labs consultants and has worked there for 20 years, accummulating incredible knowledge.

Mainz - German history on the Rhine

The pleasant occasion of the wedding of one of my best friends gave me the opportunity to expand the (embarrassingly short) list of German cities I’ve visited. While it was only a short weekend visit, the city of Mainz has a few beautiful spots that I was able to capture. Since I didn’t bring my camera along, the below photos were all shot on iPhone - the capabilities for even advanced photography on smartphones keeps growing exponentially. 

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The Wood Tower

Mainz is full if historic sights. This is the mediaeval Wood tower, with its Gothic appearance from the early 15th century.

Lunch

We had lunch in a great old restaurant with its own brewery.

Beer Tower

... which serves 5L beer towers...

Courtyard

The courtyard of the St Stephan's church.

St Bonifatius

A copy of the original statue which is in the cathedral. Note the dagger through the bible.

The Mainz Cathedral

Over 1000 years old, but restored several times.

Interior

The main nave of the cathedral.

Heiliggeist Restaurant

Situated in what was the oldest hospital in Germany from the 13th century.

The Roman Theatre

The backdrop of this train station features the Roman Theatre. Escavated in the late 1990s and over 2000 years old, it once had a capacity of over 10000 and was the largest north of the Alps.

Side view

Another view of the theatre with the new railway station in the background.

Citadel

The Mainz citadel with the old fortress walls. The buildings now house government offices.

The church of St Augustin

Completed in 1771.

Rococo Architecture

The outside doesn't quite give away the impressive interior features.

City Centre

The old centre of the city features some beautiful frame houses.

Ruins of the church of St. Christoph

Destroyed in the second world war, the church is now a war memorial.

St Peter's Church

The Rococo interior was recreated after the church was almost destroyed in the second world war.

Pipe Organ

The beautiful organ on the choir side of the church.

Christ Church

The Christ Church on Kaiserstrasse.

Balance

The protestant church is about 100 years old an was intended as a balance to the catholic cathedral.

Promenade

The promenade on the Rhine river that runs through Mainz.

Theodor Heuss Bridge

Crossing the Rhine and connecting Hessen and Rhineland Palatinate federal states.

Across the River

Looking towards the Reduit building in Mainz-Kastel.

Cityscapes

Mainz has a lot of charming buildings and restaurants.

Town Square

The Saturday market on the square just next to the cathedral.

The iPhone X and the Maldives Underwater World

A week of relaxing in the Maldives with some snorkeling and the iPhone X resulted in the shots below - took the phone under water without a case, around 1-2m deep. These photos were taken at Jumeirah Vittaveli.