Visiting Oberwolfach (II)

I have spend a whole week in Oberwolfach, and I must say that it has been an incredible experience! The place is just amazing: a nice complex of buildings in the middle of the Black Forest, designed according to the needs of a center like MFO. In addition to that, I met some incredible people there, and the Seminar was very interesting!

The buildings consist of a Main Hall, containing the dining room and most of the bedrooms (really nice bedrooms, by the way! With incredible views to the mountains), and the library (one of the best libraries on Mathematics in the world!), which also contains some classrooms. In addition, there are some Bungalows, used by the visitors that are enrolled in certain programs, such as the Oberwolfach Leibniz Fellows.

When I got here, I suddenly realised that Oberwolfach was going to be a complete experience: everything in this research center has been designed to improve the mathematical productivity and the interactions between mathematicians. For example, there is no WiFi in the rooms from 9am to 9pm, to encourage you to go to the library or to the dining room, and meet other visitors. In addition to that, during the meals, you can not sit anywhere you like. The seats are assigned randomly so that you get to meet other mathematicians every day! Since most of the people stay here just for one week, this is the best way to get to know everybody before leaving the center!

If you need to do some exercise, there are nice hikes to the mountain, and there is a small gym next to the library, where you can play table tennis (or table football!); there is also a music room, with a Steynway & Sons grand piano, and other instruments (that was a really big surprise!).

Also, if you want to read the news, there is a good selection of newspapers, and if you want to play some table games, the main hall has several of them (not to mention the giant chess board in the first floor!). Of course, there are coffee machines everywhere, and you can also buy some postcards, drinks (or even chocolate if you know where to find it!) that are located in different places in the buildings.

There are also some special events during the week. For instance, we did a little hike on Wednesday, we visited the museum of Minerals and Mathematics (MiMa) in Oberwolfach, and after trying the famous cake named after the Black Forest (Schwarzwalde kirschetorte), we had a barbecue outside! I must say that the food is abundant, and it is pretty good; you can dangerously get used to this lifestyle!