Munich Ecstasy, Agony, Bratwurst & Grafitti

The following images are from the Glyptothek in Munich Germany. Though the elderly figure above cannot be easily categorized as either ecstasy or agony...there are few artistic symbols for physical, animalistic ecstasy (or the moment right after) as the Sleeping Satyr below. Whew! Did it just get hot in here or what??

Full Sculpture at Dachau Click to see

The above image I chose for agony is of a sculpture at Dachau, a preserved concentration camp in Germany. I wish I knew the artist's name (I will research it and try to find it out!) The faceless people are deeply riveting. I also find a strange resemblance between this image and the creature in the film Pan's Labyrinth (one of my all time favorite movies!)that had it's eyes in its hands and consumed children as opposed to a table feast. A metaphor perhaps of the horror we are all capable of experiencing, if not inflicting.

The creature from Pan's Labyrinth

Gregg and I love this 'self-portrait/s' that we took at Dachau, because it resonates so deeply with our outlook on life. What we do as people - whether removed, foreign or local affects us all and is a reflection of our very being, a reflection of the whole human race. Gregg and I are not Jewish and to there is no need to be inorder to feel the deep pull of pain that being in Dachau reminds us of.

Here are a couple of pics some traditional Bavarian clothing, which is so charming; dirndls, lederhosen, bundhosen, plattlerhosen! However, they are expensive! I heard you can get more affordable sets at second hand stores, but you would need to know where to go. On another side note, if you're thinking about going to try some on and taking a picture of yourself - no camera's allowed (since it seems too many tourists have abused that and don't buy!

And of course you can't go to Germany and not eat some Bratwurst!!! Well, actually you could, but you shouldn't! On a daily basis, Gregg and I tend not to eat meat. We save a lot in the grocery that way. We don't support steroid, antibiotic-infused, slaughterhouses. We do feel that the extreme of fast-food meat consumption in this country is beyond decency. However, we don't call ourselves vegetarians. Thankfully, because if we did we wouldn't have had the internal moral freedom to try these absolutley delicious things! There was a line that extended well beyond us for some.

Finally, on the walk to our hotel we passed a bridge and under that bridge there was a walkway filled with stunning grafitti!!! Check out these beautiful pieces and let me know what you think!!!

Funny, I wasn't the only one cold in Germany, looks like the inanimate objects shared my plight!

Munich Jewels & My Knight in Shining Armor

The Rathaus Glockenspiel! So we have finally made it to Germany! By this point in the photo diary we had already taken a night train from Paris (I spared you those pics) and we have arrived to a very cold Munich.

Click to see!

Gregg Drawing @ the Square CLick Image!

click on this little thumbnail of Gregg's drawing to see it's gestural mastery up close!

We saw the collection at the Royal Palace in Munich. I saw jewels and crowns unlike any of those I have every seen before. Now you may think Gregg is my Knight in shining armor (and you would be correct), however I wouldn't say no to this kind of Knight in shining armor either:

Click on this neck piece to see it in all its glory!

A different kind of colorful eye-candy isn't it?

What would I do with palaces, crowns and knights in shining armor anyway? When all I seem to need is in my beautiful puppies, their wagging tails and cries of joy when I walk through the door. Still, not sure I would turn down a palace...especially if it meant I didn't have to commute to work anymore!!

Paris, Munich and Berlin!!

Back from Europe and Breaking a 102 degree Fever!!

Unfortunately, I'm back without the ability to swallow painlessly. Twenty four hours after stepping foot on North American soil my body physically collapsed. I spent most of this weekend burning up and Sunday morning in the emergency room. Don't know if it was being around 53 Spring-Break-therefore-sleepless-high-schooler's on a boot-camp-style regimen of museums and tours in less than favorable weather (snow, rain, hail and ice cold wind), let alone that some of those 53 were complaining about 'Strep' throat and other mysterious ailments. Well, some antibiotic-filled-hours since, I'm finally able to face the keyboard and share SOME of the 750 photos that I took with you all! Mind you my aesthetic sensibilities lend for some alternate type of photos. It was my third time in Paris, second time to Munich and first time to Berlin so as we travelled through those cities expect to see not only some of the typical tourist images, but some of my quirky, graffiti, dessert and color-filled images. Since I can't possibly share it all at once expect this to be the subject of choice through out the next few posts. I hope you enjoy the images and words!!!

Blogging from Paris

The shot above is one of my pics of the Eiffel Tower & of the peace monument that is located at the end of the Parc du Champs de Mars. The glass walls of the monument have the word "peace" written/etched onto the glass in many of the world's languages. The monument is called Le Mur de la Paix (The Peace Wall). It was made by Clara Halter, the wife of famous writer/painter/philosopher Marek Halter and officially erected in 2000.

The image to the right is of Gregg as he looks through one of the glass panes of the peace monument.

Don't ask me who named this cafe- but I think its brilliant. Most definitely one of the places I would love my fictional characters to have an impromptu romantic meeting - the problem- readers would not find a little cafe called 'You and Me in Suede' believable!!!

Rent-a-Bike and leave it where you like! Why, oh why? can't every city in the US have these?? Well, I can tell you why NYC can't have them - the parts would be sold off instantaneously...or maybe not - I'm done being the Ye-of-little-faith-person I want to believe its possible!!

Can you tell what's wrong with this pic? No, the building is not melting.

In most European cities when they are doing construction on a building they cover it with a sheeting that has imagery on it - like mega-banners. The images are usually of a building itself to disguise that construction is even happening. Sometimes there will be something quirky happening in the image like in the building windows or there will be elegant large scale advertisements on the sheets. This time they took a Salvador Dali cue and distorted the image of the building. Pretty cool if you ask me.

Me in the Marriott Rive Gauche/Paris Lobby (click to see larger)
So let me know what you think and stop back by in a few days to see some more of Euro & Me!!!