The Postcard Files: Löbau

Haus Schminke

Alexandra Merten and Kolja Harms, two of my favourite people in the world, sent this card to me recently. It seems while I was in the United States, they were also on the road again, this time to Löbau, a city near Dresden. They'd spent two days staying at the Schminke house, completed in 1933 by architect Hans Scharoun for noodle manufacturer Hans Schminke and his family. Alexandra appears to regard this place as a German counterpart to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth house in Plano, Illinois-- but one that offers a more intimate experience for the visitor. For a modest investment, you can stay a night or two. 

Well, I've never been to Plano, but if I were given the opportunity to visit one house or the other, I'd opt for the flight to Löbau. A big reason for that has to do with the joy of travelling with Alexandra and Kolja, with whom I've had many unconventional adventures, foreign and domestic. They have an extraordinary talent for finding interesting, often vaguely melancholy, places off the beaten path-- which is where the three of us like to be. I learned early in our friendship to trust their instincts, and let them guide me. I just wish I could do it more often.