The final leg of our German expedition ended in the city of Munich. We were all new to the city and didn’t know what to expect. We had hired a car from Nuremberg and had to drop it off at a garage. The tram system in Munich confused the sat nav and we had  to circle the station area a few times before finally sighting the small entrance to an underground car park. Not easy in the Munich traffic but my son, Andrew, did very well.

The heatwave in Munich was in full force during our stay and we spent a lot of the first day finding shade whilst walking the city. Everything to see was in walking distance but there weren’t too many seats available to rest in the shade. Shopping and eating finished we returned to the hotel for some rest. I looked up a local Milonga and took the metro to find it. It was located in an area we had been shopping in so was easy to find. However, the heat meant there was very little happening and the owner suggested I return to the Hofgarten, near the center for an outdoor dance. I turned up in the dark with the faint drift of tango music through the gardens and a throng of people by the bandstand.

Hofgarten, Munich

However, it was dark, dusty, hot and the music incredibly quiet. It was tricky finding out who was waiting for a dance and who was just looking on. After stumbling around and getting my dance shoes very dusty I asked a lady for a dance. She was not sure about the event but put on her shoes and we danced around the floor. We could only hear the music when we danced near to the speaker so we agreed that it was not working and left the floor. What a shame but I did have a dance in Munich.

The next day I left the others to go sketching in the English Garden. It was baking from the start but I found some surfers who were making the most of the fast flowing waters that run through the city.

English Garden Surfers, Munich

I then walked past a couple of museums, thinking they can provide toilets, lunch and shade later on. Returning to the garden I sat down beside a spur of the river and noticed a familiar scene around me. It reminded me of a picture by Seurat, Bathers at Asnieres. So I had to quickly sketch it down.

English Garden, Munich

Of course the people kept moving around but I was pleased with the result. So was a young local girl. Whilst sitting in the shade a young girl of around 10 came up to my shoulder and watched me paint. We was very confident and signaled to see the rest of my sketchbook and then continued to watch me until I’d finished. She spoke no English but at the end I received the single word – Zuper! Normally I get a bit tetchy with people who get too close but she was really interested in the process and I didn’t mind.

I moved on to a wider view of the park and some more shade. I took out my larger sketchbook and decided on a very ‘green’ view’ with a temple in the distance. The river was attracting large numbers of sun worshipers, all flocking to the bank of the fast flowing river. The park does attract some naturists who cycle to the park, fully disrobe and sunbathe besides their bike. A few like to parade or ‘exercise’ but mostly they are looking for a relaxing time in the sun.

English Garden

It was hot, uncomfortable sitting on the ground and there were too many trees to paint for my liking, so its not my best work, I moved on. Needing the loo, a drink and some shade I walked to the nearest Museum. I ended up at the Bavarian National Museum, which is delightful (and cool). It had an interesting restaurant but a little too upmarket for my lunchtime needs so I walked through the museum rooms looking of inspiration. I needed an interesting subject, with good light, and a place to sit. I found the spot opposite a very large and beautiful carving of the Archangel Raphael. Missing his wings he wore an odd hat and long flowing robes. The carving was delicate but the robes were in huge swathes of wood. I’ve tried finding a photo of the statue but failed, for comparisons purposes. Both one of the guards and I liked the end result.

Archangel Raphael

With the holiday now over we flew back to Heathrow. On both flights the German airports were atrocious. Berlin and Munich airports get your acts together! It was a great holiday, huge amount seen and to remember. Patchy art but lovely dancing.

We arrived in Nuremberg in heavy rain rain and trundled our bags across the cobblestones to our hotel. We didn’t have long in the town but saw the usual sites (they call in Dark History). The old town and city walls are pretty and well restored. No time for a painting though. We picked up the hire car, a flashy Audi, and drove West to the typical Bavarian town of Rothenburg. Saved from total destruction in WW2 by sympathetic officers on both sides, it is a stunning town. We stayed in a beautiful hotel on the city walls and had time to wander around, relax and I did manage to paint.

I set up in the afternoon, on the wall, looking across to another part of the city. As a painting location the town is perfect, views from every street and places to sit, out of the way of the large number of tourists. The hotel was close by and I could wander back for refreshments if I wanted. I leaned on the city wall and was ignored by most. I did have a friendly chat with a German couple, and they took a photo of me. The sketch is not quite finished as there is more greenery to place but overall I was pleased.

Rothenburg

I sketched a street while I was waiting for food in the evening but it was a bit rushed and not so happy with the outcome.

Rothenburg Street

We moved on to a Bavarian town on the edge of a large lake called Prien am Chiemsee. Why here? Well King Ludwig II decided he wanted to have his own personal Versailles on an island in the lake. Built 200 years after the original in Paris its not finished but what is complete is stunning. It was raining when we went to visit the island and palace so the colours were a little dull. The others went to the museum of the mad prince but I wanted to sketch so I sat in the grounds with an umbrella and produced this….

Herrenchiemsee

I looked up to see if there was any local tango and I was in luck. Only 10 minutes away was an open air dance by the lake. I took a taxi there and had a wonderful evening milonga with the locals. Really lovely people and a delight to dance with. I even got a lift back to the hotel!

I found an hour to sit by the lake when the rain had dried up and produced a view across the lake with the mists, mountains, clouds and water. Once again I had a short chat, this time with a lady and her mother while I painted.

Lake Chiemsee

Next post will be on the stunning Southern Bavarian landscape and Austria, none of which I painted!

My family holiday to Germany was primarily a history tour of the country organised by my daughter. Of course I took my sketchbooks and dancing shoes but it was a whirlwind journey and not much time allowed for these dalliances. But I did slip some in when they weren’t looking.

Berlin is a modern city, with plenty of street life and a vibrant art culture. Although bombed in the war there is a lot of history to be found – and we found a lot of it. In 20 minutes while waiting for the river site-seeing tour to start, I sketched the view from the deck very quickly. To make up my lack of time and detail I added notes about the location afterwards. We were moored on museum island so there was lots to work out.

Spree Site-seeing tour

Just downstream from this point is an outdoor theater and dance floor. I grabbed a couple of hours to see what was going on and notch up another new city to dance in. It was a slow start as I had turned up early and very hot but the location was stunning.

Berlin Outdoor Tango

I quickly found some willing dance partners and had a wonderful time dancing in the sunshine, with an appreciative audience and lovely dancers. Some of the dancers were from Berlin but I did dance with other nationalities such as Russian and Argentinian. Wonderful.

We moved around the city to visit the Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, The Berlin Wall and many other landmarks. With very little time I made some small pencil drawings where I could and found that the three I produced were all themed around Communism!? The Russian war memorial, The Berlin Wall and Marx/Engels (big beards) statues.

My Communist Page

We had four days in Berlin and they were exhausting but I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the city. I managed to find a couple of hours on Museum Island and sought out a place to sit, out of the public eye, with a decent view, out of the sun. The painting has come out better than I though at the time. The statues are very large, out of scale to the bridge, which is quite short, so they do look a little out of place but that’s how it was…

Palace Bridge, Berlin

I was using my small sketchbook for these, a Moleskin, with watercolour paper, and a waterbrush that I really like but I have difficulty getting the really deeper darks with. The next day with visited the Palaces and Schloss at Potsdam. Very beautiful and lots to see.

We left Berlin on the fast train to Nuremberg. With 5 hours to spare I set about making a quick page of the main landmarks in Berlin and Potsdam, taken from photographs and tourist leaflets. I like this type of sketching as you can create a montage and personal memory of the trip. I’ve still to add the words and headlines (in traditional German typefaces) which I will update later when I’ve found time to draw them in. Reichstag, Berlin Dom, Brandenburg gate, Ceclienhof and Schloss Sanssouci, Potsdam.

Berlin and Potsdam Landmarks

More of the holiday, drawing and dancing in later posts.

Regarding the food mentioned in the headline – currywurst, frankfurters, german sausage – all tried and fine – once – but over time became a little tiring. I’m sure the Germans say the same about the food in the UK.

For the first time my Moroccan paintings and a couple of my sketchbooks have been shown together. There were six other artists also in the room, all with very different media and styles.

None of the work was for sale but more there to gather feedback and work out whats involved in exhibiting work. I enjoyed the experience and had some constructive conversations. In the end the overall view was that they liked my worked but really liked the sketchbooks. I need to think about how this works in the future.

Moroccan framed paintings

Paintings and Sketchbooks