Following my own steps

Snow in Marienplatz, Munich, Germany

Munich welcomed me with snow. It was almost freezing overnight but so late in April I did not expect to snow. The white flurries descended on Marienplatz bringing tearing zits on the weathered gothic windows of the city hall. I decided to take a later train to Vienna and follow for a bit my own footsteps in Munich. Footsteps from a life behind, an intermediate life, a life in limbo, a suspended life that many these days experience way worse than we ever had.

Marienplatz, Munich, Germany

And as today, my steps always brought me to Marienplatz, a place that now is way more touristy than I ever remember.

The snow stopped and the sun came out, the cold German sun of spring, somehow like an excuse for the German spirit, precise, cold and distant like the frigid days of a long winter.

Frauenkirche. Munich, Germany

My footsteps ported me to Frauenkirche and Stachus, to the opera house on Maximilianstrasse, to OdeonPlatz and Theatinerkirche, Residenz, Englisher Garten, Franz Jozef Brucke, Maurerkirchestrasse and beyond on a walk that I did almost daily many, many years ago.

Munich, Germany

The Munich “Bahnhof” is in a process of reconstruction, a thing that adds to the ugliness of its surrounding, a quarter still inhabited by migrants selling wares of all sorts, loitering and calling loudly each other in all languages of the world. The hotels around the rail station that I knew so well were converted in “boutique” hotels, probably looking not much better than decades ago but branded for the new cool of the day.

Chinesischer Turm in Englisher Garten, Munich, Germany

Englisher Garten is charming even in a snowy day, even if nobody gathered with beer maas around the Chinesischer Turm.

Pinakothek der Moderne. Munich, Germany

But a newer Pinakothek was a sign of renewal. The two famous Munich art collections, Alte and Neue Pinakothek have a new neighbor, Pinakothek der Moderne that displays works of the German expressionists, as well as lots of contemporary works.

Pinakothek der Moderne. Munich, Germany

The collection is housed in a new spiffy 3-floor building having a UFO at its entrance.

Pinakothek der Moderne. Munich, Germany

To the utmost surprise the basement has an exhibit of Paula Scher, “Time is image” that has many of her works including …all the posters for Shakespeare in the Park, the free-theater summer performances in Central Park in New York.

Pinakothek der Moderne. Munich, Germany

An der Donau

Donauworth, Bavaria, Germany

It seems that Donauworth’s claim to fame came from Maria de Brabant’s beheading in the 13th century. Her husband, Louis of Bavaria suspected an affair and decided to whack her with no proof – Why? Because he could – just to come quickly an “oops” moment and the church to decide that it was a mistake. The rock where the old citadel was built is marked as the place where Maria was beheaded, her tomb now being in the Holy Cross Church, whose history goes back to the 11th century.

Donauworth, Bavaria, Germany

Donauworth sits on what is known in Bavaria as Romantishe Strasse. The name may have been created for marketing purposes but the small municipalities that belong to this collection are charming and a visit to them does not disappoint. Many years ago, in a time that looks like a previous life, I lived in Germany and traveled through these charming towns. Rothenburg ober der Tauber, Quedlinburg, Dinkesbuhl , Nordlingen, Fussen, Augsburg, Bamberg, Wurzburgh are just a few of these attractive places that transport you to the medieval time with their atmosphere.

Vornitz before meeting the Danube in Donauworth, Bavaria, Germany

Located at the confluence of Vorlitz and the Danube, Donauworth is actually a reconstruction. Only the churches were left standing after the war bombardments and the burgmeisters rebuilt the town in the traditional style.

Masters’ Works exhibit, Munich, Germany

I had many times encounters with people that seemed to be pure coincidences. But I always suspected that there may have been other factors that synced beyond the visible of the worlds and forced those encounters to happen. I went in Munich just to meet two good friends and have a beer together. But the encounter we all three had at Meister Werke exhibit in Stachus was unexpected. We entered just to see what’ s there looking for a roof bar just to find ourselves surrounded by large canvases of famous frescos that you can see only if you stretch your neck looking towards lofty ceilings and walls of cathedrals and palaces. The guys who came up with this concept wanted to lower the large frescos to the eye level and without a physical and anatomical effort visitors to be able to admire Michelangelo and Leonardo’s work sitting in front of them. Besides here you have all the time in the world to admire them, not rushed by the throngs of tourists to vacate the place.

Masters’ Works exhibit, Munich, Germany

The exhibit traveled the world, in New York happening 7 years ago at the Oculus. We had a long chat about the works and the cultural connection between these artists, connections that sometimes proved friendly and other times nefarious, with intricate details about their life, work and deeds. The story was told by the founder/owner with whom we started a chat in my struggling German, switching to English and after a while, by a slip of a tongue to realize that everybody spoke Romanian as well, switching to a heartfelt and warm conversation. Thank you, Gabriel for the warm-heartedness you showered upon us!