houston skyline, one of many houston skylines ;P i think this is the downton skyline.
as america's 4th biggest city houston is a sprawling one, comprised of gazillions of neighborhoods, spread out over a whooping 1659 square kilometer land area. you can kinda guess how sheer impossible it must be to experience this city in just one day and since we only stepped foot into it for only two days, we pretty much only made a tiny dent into the fabric of houston. it's also not really the most foot/bike friendly city because of that, with neighborhoods spread out so much that you have to travel by car or bus or within the rail system if you want to get around. that doesn't mean that houston doesn't have anything nice to offer for visitors, though, it's just harder to get there without any vehicles. i am sure i missed out on many great neighborhoods and sights & nature, too! it's actually a little unfortunate that it's sprawled out like that, as one might get the idea that it's a city that's not too forthcoming for us visitor peeps. if at all, i think, if you're really interested getting to know this city even more, you should take your time and stay at least a week to properly explore the city's stomping grounds. some people refer to houston as a 'doughnut city', cut up by two ring streets, the interstate 610, which loops the most inner core & the beltway 8, which loops around the outermost districts and the city limits. the city did not develop as organically as for example european cities, that start off with a dense city core and then spread out over time, but instead houston started with uncontrolled development and only later put focus on evolving more dense districts. that's the reason why houston has many skylines which indicate the biggest districts.
as a culturally very mixed & diverse city, houston has a lot to offer, as the residents originate from all over the world & inform all kinds of areas of life. from international cuisine to the performing arts, to academic fields & endeavours, all of it is made lively with the help of the locals' spirit. in fact, houston may be very much one of the most culturally diverse cities in texas, even nationwide. somehow, when you think of texas, you tend to think that it's a very 'white' state ( i mean, republican politics are STRONG here ), but curiously, it can prove you wrong sometimes. i was surprised to learn that texas has quite a few liberal hotspots ( austin is one of those ), though they tend to be tucked tightly into deep red republican areas. i didn't know for example, that southern texas is actually less conservative than you would think first, but then it made sense to me, since it is so close to the hard-fought mexican border and many latinos living here probably don't really approve of republican politics in this part of the state. but yeah, before i start getting too much into politics here, despite not really knowing my ins and outs and whys and wherefores, i shall stop and show you what you're here for: houston content!
driving down main street in the museum district towards hermann park. one of many skyscraper canyons of houston! i think these parts are also commonly known as texas medical center. on the right side, with the shiny glass windows, is the o'quinn medical tower, a 29-storey highrise. behind that, there's the westin houston medical center hotel, and even further back you can see a tiny bit of the houston methodist outpatient center. on the left is the building for the bioscience research collaborative ( BRC ) of rice university. and there's even more of all kinds of medical institutions on more streets, almost impossible to ever really get an oversight.
our main goal was hermann park, a very idyllic park that was opened in 1914 thanks to philantropist george h. hermann, who formerly had owned a sawmill on the property. he commissioned landscape architect george kessler to create a masterplan for an urban park in this area, which was subsequently realized over the next decades. there's a few points of interest in the park, several pools, a lake and many fountains, smaller gardens ( like a japanese garden & the centennial garden ), an outdoor theater & a zoo, plus in close vicinity, there's a few museums - the museum of natural sciences for example, or the pioneer log house museum.
what i first noticed about the park upon entering were the beautiful live oaks everywhere, evergreen oak trees that spanned the pathways with their sprawling branches. these trees can grow into gnarly, witchy, almost magical entities when old ( their life span can reach 1000 years! ). another very distinct thing i noticed, a sound that was so foreign and weird to me that i immediately loved it! the sound of the great-tailed grackles! it was an almost electrical sound they made, and it fit greatly with their metallic black-blue plumage! i was reminded of machinery that didn't work properly anymore, or radio disturbances. sometimes even the sound a door makes when the hinges are not oiled enough. the sound alone made me feel all surreal, like i was in a place that is beneath our world. these birds are living in big flocks together, so when you hear them alltogether, it is such a weird concoction of clicks and high-pitched squeaks.
little dried out mushrooms i found on one of the oak trees.
big fat fox squirrels were running around happily in search of food, but also curiously eyeing the many humans walking the park paths!
loblolly pines can be found throughout the whole park as well. they are commonly found in swampy lowland areas, which houston of course is situated in, being surrounded by bayous.
my flora-loving heart found all kinds of interesting plants everywhere, many of them feeling completely tropical to me! this one is actually a plant from south east asia and one that has recently been made aware as a spice in the cooking world - curcuma! this species is also called siam tulip, but has nothing to do with tulips and also is not used as the name giving spice curcuma ( or turmeric ) either ( that glory is bestowed upon curcuma longa ).
our first stop in hermann park was the centennial gardens, an assortment of various little gardens on an area that's commemorating 100 years of hermann park. it's a very modern take on landscape architecture, clean lines & carefully placed flower beds give it a very put together look, very instagrammable, as influencers would probably say ;) the garden mound is a nice little look-out point in the gardens, you can have a good look on surrounding houston architecture. i also really liked the water fountains here, the waterfall coming down the mound is a nice touch!
closer look at the waterfall.
ascending the mound revealed more of the stream-lined garden, opening up a visual axis towards the parklane condominium - a premium appartment high rise & allure hermann park, another luxury housing estate.
other notable buildings around the centennial gardens are the warwick towers & the museum medical tower.
views over to the miller outdoor theater & more of hermann park.
the miller outdoor theater inside hermann park is a great place for theater, musicals and other performances, giving people the opportunity to enjoy the arts during warmer spring & summer months without having to pay to see it all. the very distinct building was erected in 1968 by eugene werlin, replacing a classical theater from 1922.
can also be found on the miller theater hill: atropos key - a sculpture by hannah holliday stewart from 1972. i spotted it, and immediately was enamoured by it! atropos is a figure from greek mythology, one of the three moirai sisters responsible for human destiny. she was able to end human life by cutting the threads that her other two sisters started to weave & measure, symbolizing the birth & endurance of human existence. while i don't really see the textile component of the story in this sculpture, it still possesses the power to let you grasp the core of the myth. i think it's the fetus-like figure in the womb of the sculpture, attached to a symbolic string, that visualizes the original myth quite vividly. it is the key to atropos' secret!
peeking towards the natural science museum ( this is their car park actually ).
some plant life in the centennial gardens. a lot of agaves, succulents & aloes could be found in the garden, plants that are dear to my heart, since they thrive well without needing lots of water & maintenance ( a testament to me being a horrible plant mom sometimes 😂 ). huge exemplars like this are always quite a sight to me, and in the texas climate they grow biiiiig, so me being left in awe was quite a common thing to happen 😁
brightly glowing sunny blossoms shone back at us everywhere - it was blooming time for the candelabra bush! this plant is native to the neotropics ( which is basically middle & southern america ) and considered a medicinal plant because of laxative properties, but also the ability to help with ringworm or other fungicidal skin issues.
this guy was also a big friend of the candelabra bush. unfortunately no identification was possible for me just by looking at this image 😅
arid plants close together: opal century agaves, candelabra bushes and spanish dagger yuccas, amidst others of course, that i couldn't identify.
huge mescal agaves were also part of the cultivation in the arid garden. the grass is lindheimer's muhly.
these little red fruit & blossom belong to the plant achira ( or indian shot ). it's an edible plant, mostly the rhizomes are used after cooking them for a few hours to gain a starch that is easily digestible and that can be used in food for sick people and children. the fruit however don't seem to have any nutritional value, neither do the leaves or stems - they even seem to be slightly toxic.
the peacock flower is also one that loves arid & semi-arid environments, therefore seemed very happy in the arid garden. it is not an edible plant, but it has been used in the traditional medicine of the american natives as abortifacients & even for suicide. other than that, it seems to be better to just plant it as an ornamental piece in the garden of your dreams ;P
the entrance to the o. jack mitchell garden ( he was a dean at rice university ). there's also a fountain over there dedicated to albert & ethel herzstein - founders of the herzstein foundation.
view to pioneer memorial, which commemorates the people who founded houston.
i really liked the muscovy ducks, they were completely new to me to look at! apparently they're considered native in some parts of texas, though i am not sure if that also counts for houston, i think it was closer to the mexican border even. i read that many of these ducks might also be domesticated muscovy ducks, the feral ones usually are much darker and have close to no colour variations, whereas the domestic ones can come in a wide range of colours. very characteristic for these ducks though are the caruncles, which shone bright red! i also learned that they are often bred for meat and are known as 'barbary duck' in culinary circles.
there's a nice fountain in the middle of the lake, which probably provides boating people a nice little shower when they get close to it! would probably be a delight, especially in the sweltering heat of the gulf region summer.
we ended up going into the japanese garden, a beautiful hideaway that enchants visitors since 1992. it was designed by a famous japanese garden architect: ken nakajima.
it boasts a traditionally built tea house ( chashitsu ) that was put together without using a single nail.
that tea house looked so cozy nestled behind trees and bushes. japanese traditional architecture is one of my favourites, it is always in sync with the environment & nature around it, which gives you a sense of constant serenity & calm. living in such a house or home would just be a dream!
there were plenty of pathways that were winding through the garden, all connected to several bodies of water. stone lanterns were perfecting the aesthetic of a typical japanese garden - one can only imagine how beautiful it must be in the evening, when they should be alight. adding some cicada sounds and there you have a most romantic scenery!
unfortunately i don't have a clue what the writings on this podest are saying, but the thing made for a great motive with the pond in the background!
looking up into the sky revealed a canopy of loblolly pines & bamboo!
also spanish moss, which is to me the trademark plant of the american south. did you know that it's technically not moss or lichen and also did not originally come from spain? it is actually a bromeliad and is an epiphyte, a plant that loves growing on other plants, but doesn't count as a parasite. it is giving the host plant nutritions actually, which can often boost the growth of the plant that it is growing on! so, basically a really beneficial relationship between two plants
an interesting spider peep i found sitting in the bamboo in the garden! my research tells me that it might have been an orchard orb weaver.
going back to the parking lot i spotted an iconic yellow school bus!
and we also passed by the houston museum of natural science, we would revisit this place at a second visit to houston - a remarkable museum with extensive collections on the evolution of life on earth, minerals & gems, ancient egypt, natural history of the americas and many, many more! there was way too much to see for just one visit, but it was absolutely mesmerizing!
but next we would drive back towards baytown, through some more streets of sprawling houston. the tall building in the back is williams tower and is situated in uptown houston. it's the 4th-highest building in the city ( 275 m ) and was built in 1983. its solitary position is special, usually skyscrapers are always sorta heaped up with other ones in a district.
the williams tower a little closer.
on our way out we stopped by this cute little tex-mex restaurant called el tiempo cantina on westheimer road and i got served my very first real tex-mex meal!
it was a big delicious meal, we had a huge display of tacos & nachos with two kinds of vegetable rice topped with various sauces like guacamole & pico de gallo & of course some fried beans! i still think back to this meal as one of my favourites!
leaving the city stuffed full of good food i captured some last random photos. this is houston's fire station no. 8.
driving through downtown houston's theater district revealed old cute industrial houses sandwiched between some newer high-rises. the small orange abode is called the hogg building and used to be a showroom for cars. now they repurposed it into a hotel. the big buildings in the back should be those of the market square tower & the brava tower.
last look back onto downtown, driving on the interstate 10. this concludes my very first visit in an american big city, one of which was sheer mindblowing to me when it came to understand the fabric and size of it.
next on the menu: austin! can't wait to show you this city, because i fucking loved it to bits and pieces!
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