Rolf Backmann M.S. in Arch. and Urban Design, Columbia University Dipl.-Ing.Architekt, Technische Universität Berlin

On our flight to Germany we flew Lufthansa, they are known as a reliable airline but like any airline things happen.

We land in Frankfurt, Germany and we find that our flight to Berlin has been canceled. So a friend and I go to the service counter and eventually get everyone to switch their tickets to a later flight. No Problem.

Finally we land in Berlin, gather our luggage and head towards the exit. Ahead of us we see a tall thin man in a long black coat, appropriate for the frigid weather of Berlin at this time. "You're late," the man states with his German accent and a smug smirk on his face. As we were answering, "the flight was canceled", he had already whirled around, his coat flowing around him like a cape, and was off! We would soon discover that this was "Rolf Speed"

Rolf Speed: Verb

the average walking speed, given the amount of air resistance and elevation change, that Rolf Backmann can travel in order to get from one destination to the next. Approx. 1.8 times the speed of the average person walking.

So as we all speed walked after him, in order not to get lost in a new city in a new country on a new continent, we dragged our luggage along to reach our bus. On our way to our destination we were given a tour of various sites along the route.

And then we arrive at our apartments Adalbertstrasse 64 and then our architecture studios farther down town.