EC Blog Archive for the ‘SITE PROGRESS’ Category

Right on time for the summer course kick-off tonight – here’s some more shots taken during the last days of the build-up phase.

We’re very much looking forward to welcoming you here within the next days. However, if you cannot make it to Allgäu this time, you can still join in via live streaming from the lectures with Lama Ole during the Transmission Week and by watching the space on this blog, of course! We’ll keep you updated as well as we can.

By meike

For the last weeks we have been astonished every single day how much can be moved and done within a very short amount of time… and in what fine style and great mood, too!

Putting up the huge tents in just a few hours despite pouring rain, preparing and serving three delicious meals each day to a lot of very hard working and hungry friends, organizing and coordinating, shutteling people up and down the hill, doing laundry and making beds, driving ten-ton-trucks, forklifts and containers back and forth whereever they’re needed, keeping the houses in shape and running… there’s absolutely no way of mentioning all the activities going on during the course preparations. And above all, there is still enough time to meditate, listen to travel teachers’ lectures and celebrate together as well, of course.

So we will just try to give you an idea of the fantastic atmosphere by posting some miscellaneous pictures taken during the last weeks… more to come during the next days! To all the helpers who have been here, are here at the moment and will be here during and after the course – thank you so much for your amazing support!

By meike

Shortly before the 3rd International Summer Course, we would like to take you on a virtual tour through our beautiful EC Villa…

Our resident conservator Beate and a team of diligent and skilled helpers put great effort into the preservation of the almost 100 years old, monument-protected building all year around. It’s their everyday challenge to restore the art nouveau building according to both our needs as an International Buddhist center and the monument protection laws. The original antique furniture combines somewhat naturally with our statues and thangkas, and the “Inner Beauty” team has come up with amazing ways of finding inexpensive fabrics and interior pieces to brush up the looks of the house.

When you come to the Europe Center for the first time, please ask one of the residents to take you on a tour, we would be very happy to show you around. The house will be open during the summer course and we will organize guided tours to make sure everyone interested gets a chance to see our beautiful EC home anyway!

For now, here’s the photographic tour through the villa – welcome home!

By meike

Last week started with a three day visit by Lama Ole at the EC.  An inspiring sangha meeting with him on Tuesday gave us a wonderful opportunity to get answers to questions and challenges arising in daily Europe Center life.

Around 200 friends e.g. from the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, Finland, Australia and Germany came for the 2nd Summer Course Build-up Weekend. Pretty close to the speed of light, they built up both the kitchen and the cafeteria tent. On Saturday, a downpour of app. 20l per squaremeter in 15 minutes only started when the tents already had their roof – so the installation of the wooden floor could continue despite the very wet conditions. When the sun was back on Sunday, we enjoyed breakfast and lunch on the terrace and went on with the work both on the 2nd House’s roof and the Summer Course areal after a long evening with an inspiring lecture on Buddhism by Kerstin, meditating together and enjoying a great party at the Baucafé.

The 3rd International EC Summer Course is getting very close – kicking of 03 August. Please remember to register online in time – and of course you’re more than welcome to join our build-up phase whenever and for how long you wish! Just send a mail in advance to join@europe-center.org to let us know about your stay.

By meike

Finally we have a new parking place in front of the EC. In order to create natural borderlines for cars parking up the hill, we planted a dozen of cherry trees – the same way this place looked in the times of the previous house owner.  Our “yard gang” guided by Till, Jürgen, JC and many helpers did a great job. Be prepared for a serious blooming in the spring!

As we want to keep the parking up-the-hill nature-friendly, the number of cars parking up has its limits. The few parking places inside the yard serve for people who live in the houses. Cars that won’t fit on the cherry parking place in front should be always parked on prepaid public parking places in Immenstadt. Visitors coming for busy weekend events can easily use shuttle service we always organize. While registering for an event, don’t forget to write down the shuttle phone number to call to be picked up. Unless, of course, you enjoy nature walks – the short one up to the EC offers the best lake & waterfall views…

By klara

Only five weeks to go until the 2nd International Summer Course with  H.H. 17th Karmapa Thaye Dorje, H.H. Shamar Rinpoche, Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche and Lama Ole Nydahl, things are getting up to full speed at the EC. The atmosphere is more relaxed than last year, but there is still plenty to do and both pro-craftsmen and helpers are needed. So, check out the ongoing activities and if you would like to come and join in, please contact us at: join@europe-center.org. Everybody is very welcome!

The construction team has been working rapidly for weeks building up the brand new “Baucafé” on the meadow next to the villa, over-viewing breathtakingly beautiful Alpsee lake. And although until now it “only” consists of wooden beams, windows and a roof, it’s already a wonderful place to spend an evening with friends from all over the world who have come to help — chilling out quite romantically in the straw after a day of meditating and working together.

But there’s a lot more fun and activities going on: the road is being fixed, wood is taken from the forest and being prepared and stored, the garden is getting more and more beautiful, the roofs and chimneys have to be repaired… and in the villa’s basement, the new “lounge” is being refurbished and should be ready for the Summer Course as well.

And if all this wasn’t already enough — the statue exhibition in the villa is a big success with the Immenstadt public. A lot of visitors from town and surroundings come every Sunday to take part in the guided tours  and thereby make their own connection with Buddhism and the Europe Center.

This is, of course, all just besides the extensive building-up of kitchen, dining tent,  gompa tent and the infrastructure for the Summer Course itself. So be spontaneous — just get a few of your Sangha friends into a car, onto a bus or train and come to support the build-up phase if you can. We’re looking forward to seeing you!

By admin

On the weekend of 21-22 February, representatives from the cities, nominated as European Capitals of Culture, came together at the EC. The international workshop was joined by Austrians, Hungarians, Lithuanians and Germans, who represented Linz, Pecs, Vilnius, Rurhgebiet and Liverpool. We worked on the common vision of this exciting project, shared the experiences from different countries and presented our plans for 2009 and 2010.

The sanghas from the different cities will organize statue and thangka exhibitions, courses, public lectures and meditations, Buddhism and Science groups, film festivals and many other events. The main task of this project is to take part in the cultural life of Europe and to present our timeless values to society.

Our purpose has changed from not only participating in European Capitals of Culture projects to generally participating in European culture. Lama Ole told us that we should definitely take part in the cultural life of Europe, because we have something to offer that nobody else has.

You don’t have to be from the city who is nominated as European Capital of Culture to join. If you are interested write to us: info@diamondway-culture.org .

While all of this was going on the first floor of the villa, in the main hall on the ground floor, a small team of residents and friends were on their hands and knees, carrying out the painstaking job of scrubbing the floor clean with small brushes and olive soap. This was done three times over the weekend and Monday. The immaculately clean floor was oiled on Wednesday and finally sealed on Thursday. We hope you will all enjoy the transformation.

By ecteam

Due to the condition of some of our trees between the villa and road, it was decided that a selection needed to come down. The up-side of this is that the view from the villa and land above to the lake is much improved. So last week some contractors, under Jürgen’s watchful eye, felled many of our trees and now we have enough wood for several different projects.

By cristina

To remind all the changes we always try to document how the place looked like and how does it look now. These before and after pictures seem to be quite impressive, don´t you think? The statue in the main hall, the roof, the barn, new bathroom, Lama´s flat and of course the weather changes…

By klara

The work is going on really fast. Let´s check it out – before and after…

The main house

The summer course eating tent platform

The future dormitory

The future welcoming and exhibition area

The summer course water system

The Gompa

The new roof of the second house

The dining room

The future café

The second house backside roof

The winter and spring

By klara