Visit in Munich

Three months filled with new experiences and good times.  Here proof of two points on our Munich time line caught with the camera from a window of the Alte Pinakothek. 

 "Present is the most real perception of time however almost all of what we perceive as the present is
already past. The present is a fleeting moment; whatever is happening now (present) is confined to an
infinitesimally narrow point on the time line which is being encroached upon by what we think of as the past and
the future." 

Adieu to the Alte Pinakothek

Despite sunshine all day (!) we visited the Alte Pinakothek before leaving Munich. Here the long aisle through all the galleries which are filled with masterpieces from 14th to18th Century European paintings. http://www.pinakothek.de/en/node/576

Walking slowly but keeping on the straight path which ends  at Albrecht Duerer's

"Four Apostles". This large diptych he painted 1526 and donated it to his hometown Nuremberg. 

On the bench close by we rest and admire the paintings.

Meditating and Praying

Saturday was filled with anxious anticipation and then a night of celebrations. The soccer team of Munich FC Bayern was the winner.  Sunday was quiet and subdued under grey sky and continuous rain.  It was appropriate to visit the small chapel - the Asam church - in the centre of Munich.  A private catholic chapel built in the 18th Century in the Rococo style.  

We went there and prayed to the sun god/godess to send us some rays. Enough of freezing in rain and cold winds!

Soccer on everybody's mind

This women soccer team (a sculpture made in 1974 by Guenter Schuman) standing on the ground of the Buchheim Museum at the shore of the Starnberger See  is looking at the museum which has a large collection of German Expressionists (Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Emil Nolde, Lovis Corinth, Max Beckmann and more).  The private Buchheim Museum is one of those which combine art, nature and architecture. http://www.buchheimmuseum.de/sammlungen/index.php

Everybody in Europe will be watching THE soccer game tomorrow. Two German teams -

Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Munich will be playing in the Wembley stadium in London for the Champion League.   Already yesterday the Women's Champion League winners in London were the Vfl Wolfsburg from Germany. http://www.uefa.com/womenschampionsleague/news/newsid=1954496.html

Cheers for the soccer players which won over Olympique Lyonais from France !!!!!!

Inside the Lenbachaus

How exciting to visit a newly renovated museum.   The collection in this museum is large and excellent and even the colors of the walls are beautiful.  Art from the early 19th Century (German Romanticism) to early 20th Century (German Expressionism) to Contemporary Art is exhibited in well lit (LED lights!) galleries. 

Here the mesmerizing work by Gerhard Richter which has to be seen in the original - the reason to travel and visit museums. Take time for contemplation.

http://www.gerhardrichterpainting.com/

Lenbachhaus open again

Great excitement in the Museum world of Munich: After four long years of renovation the Lenbach house which is known for its large collection of the Blue Rider group and other modern collections reopened May 8.  An important change is the relocation of the former entrance from the garden. (see above)

The architect Sir Norman Foster (and Partners) added boldly new galleries, large restaurant and a new main entrance.  A facade of shining golden rods are juxtaposed to ocher plaster of the original building.

Inside, the sculpture  'Wirbelwerk'  (especially created by Olafur Eliasson for the entrance) changes the reflections in large mirrored glass pieces during the day and light and shadows move around on new white walls and old ocher walls. The Munich public  is dazzled and the reactions vary accordingly!

http://www.lenbachhaus.de/

The Museum Island in Munich

A profusion of flowering Chestnut trees hide the borders of the Isar and the island on which the large Science museum is located.  This museum is filled with objects to be discovered by curious minds and then explanations are given about how things work.  In front of the main entrance a model of the sun which is part of a demonstration to understand the distances of the different planets in the solar system.  Somewhat complicated but a reason to walk all the way to the Munich Zoo.....

http://www.deutsches-museum.de/en/exhibitions/

The Gasteig

Spring is here and all the Chestnut trees are in full bloom.  Many of them surround the Cultural Center which is located on a hillside above the Isar, Munich's river.  GASTEIG is the unusual name which just means 'steep walk' in Bavarian dialect.  Nobody thinks about steep walking when they hear its name. It is all about sitting! Sitting in its spacious library or in its adult evening school or listening to a concert.  3.400 seats are available in four different concert halls of which the Philharmonie with ca 2.400 seats is the largest.  This cultural center opened in 1985 and has been very popular ever since. Munich's population has many music connoisseurs who often play musical instruments themselves and are subscribers to concert series.

Here two street musicians perform (with an orchestra on a CD) in a shopping gallery late an evening and even they get an audience who stop and listen - no seats.

http://en.gasteig.de/

Walking in the corridor

Another night on the airplane and after some hours the urge to walk takes over. Once up and down the aisle is not enough and more becomes a nuisance to the co-traveler and the flight attendants . Thanks to Icelandair's obligatory stop over in Keflavik on Iceland, there is the wonderful long corridor of the airport to walk freely during the hour it takes to check in for the connecting flight.  Buying a mug of the best coffee in the Main Hall is just an extra bonus. http://kaffitar.is/en/about_kaffitar/coffeeshops/kaffitar_i_flugstod_leifs_eirikssonar_departure_hall/

Girls and American Girl

Just by coincidence I walked into the shop of 'American Girl' in Natick Mall.  What a phenomenal play with the innocence of girls who are between 7 and 12 years old.  Five years which are used maximal under the cover of education.

"Choose a doll and if you can not choose get all 20 for only 2.200 $"

That would then just be the beginning of the fun, because they have to get dressed (600 $) and may want to go to the  hairdresser (28 $/hairdo). Then ready for a luncheon between friends on the second floor in the 'American Girl Bistro'.  The decor of course is pink and in the food is a lot of pink too......

When I observed the excitement of the girl customers scraping their last saved dollars out of their purses while franticly choosing between the plethora of outfits and accessories my feelings moved between delight and disgust.  

Mrs. Pleasant Rowland the founder of 'American Girl' sold her business to Mattel for 700 million dollars. Proof of a resilient American consumerism and a clever marketing strategy?

http://www.americangirl.com/corp/

'Appeal to the Great Spirit'

In front of the Huntington avenue entrance of the MFA, Cyrus Dallin's sculpture expressed the feeling we all had today. With cool air and warm sunshine under a blue sky, just a perfect beginning of May and soon Summer vacation.

For the thousands of students in Boston maybe an appeal to the Great Spirit for good results in all the finals for which they prepare during the next study days?

We visited the Samurai exhibition in the darkened special exhibitions gallery - and then lunched in the sunshine in the courtyard of the Garden cafeteria.  A perfect day.

The view from the Fenway entrance of the MFA - just as beautiful.

http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions