Autumn Vienna - Episode 2

Well, I won’t lie to you, after posting the first episode on Facebook, I was thus fully invigorated, and headed out to the first museum visit of the trip. Whenever I’m making a trip like this, one thing that I always really enjoy is leaving the hotel in the morning, and heading off to the tram/bus stop, or the Metro station, with a basic plan for the day, but no real idea what it might have in store. I like that very much. Of course, seeing other people all off on their way to work just adds to the pleasure. We call that schadenfreude. Mind you, so do the Viennese.  

Which brings me to the question I failed to answer yesterday, namely, why was Vienna at the top of my bucket list? Well, partly, it was because I’d enjoyed Prague, 3rd city of the old Austro Hungarian Empire, and Budapest, 2nd city of the old Austro Hungarian Empire so much when I visited them in 2017 that I just had to visit the number 1 as well. But it’s more than that. Vienna is just a place which kind of associates itself with pleasures. You don’t believe me? Well, give yourself a couple of minutes to add words to ‘Viennese’ in order to make phrases. See what you come up with. What did I tell you? Viennese waltz, Viennese fancy/whirl, Viennese coffee, and of course, the daddy of them all, Walls’ Viennetta. All wonderfully light and sweet confections. Add to that the fact that Vienna was where two of my heroes, Mozart and Klimt lived and worked in important periods of their lives, and maybe you can start to see the appeal. Or failing that, have a look at the sketch I made of the outside of the Kunsthistorische Museum this morning. Any city which houses a world class art gallery in a building like that gets my vote.  

In front of the building is a very imposing ornamental fountain. In case you don’t recognise the lady in the statue on top, that’s the Empress Maria Theresa. You might not have heard of her, but you’ve probably heard of her daughter, Marie Antoinette, who came to fame through her starring role in the Great French Head Off, after her ‘Let them eat cake!’ material went down like a lead balloon with the sans culottes.  

So, it was 9:30 when I arrived, and thought I might as well get my ticket from the booth outside even though it would be half an hour before the museum opened for me to go in. Or so I thought. Actually if you paid a few extra Euros to see the Caravaggio and Bernini exhibition currently showing in a Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum near you, then you could go straight in any time after 9. Well, I have to be honest, while I appreciate the consummate skill of Bernini, I can’t say that I would have paid extra just for him – if I were tempted to let my inner philistine out he’d probably say that if you’ve seen one statue of a naked man with his meat and two veg hanging out, you’ve seen them all. However, Caravaggio, now that’s a different matter. It was a

terrific exhibition, and very informative too, and when I came to the end of it, two hours had passed. I was tempted to move on to pastures new at this point, but I’m so glad I didn’t. The actual gallery itself, on the first floor, is exceptionally good, and I was taken by the Brueghels (ouch). Sorry, last genitalia based quip for the night, I promise. No, but seriously, probably the best work of Peter Brueghel the Elder is on display there, including the peasant wedding, and my own favourite, The Tower of Babel. Looked at the watch and another two hours had gone, and so I left the gallery. 

The original plan for the day had been to visit the Kunsthistorische Museum first, and then the Natural History Museum which was immediately opposite, after. However having tomorrow and Thursday in Vienna as well, I didn’t want to risk being all museumed out before I’d had a good look inside it, and so that’s on the agenda for Thursday now. This left all the more time to sketch the two wallies wearing animal heads who were playing the accordion outside the museum. I think they were meant to be horse’s heads, though I’m not sure, and if you look at the sketch I made at the time they look more like dogs. Cue joke about them playing Bach. I’m here all week, ladies and gents. Well, anyway, I would have to say that they were by far the best annoying-instrument playing animal impersonators I saw all day (the ferret playing the kazoo was rubbish).  

So, following that, I walked to the nearest tram stop and took a ride to nowhere in particular. Why? Hmm, have you never read any of my posts before? A) because it was a tram, and b) because I bought a 72 hour travel pass yesterday and I like getting my money’s worth. I eventually ended up by the Schottentor U Bahn station. That’s Stubentor and Schottentor, but sadly there’s no station named after Skeletor. So, back to the Stephanplatz to tackle the big one. I knew that sketching any part of the Stephansdom - Cathedral of St. Stephen – was going to take time, and only having a couple of hours of decent daylight left, if I was going to do it today, then I was going to have to get on with it. Now, when you look at the sketch at the bottom of the page, you might be thinking – where’s the rest of it? – I deliberately picked on the small tower since I thought that there was the possibility I would be able to finish the sketch in a reasonable amount of time. If you consider that this is the smallest tower, then you might just get an idea of just how huge and intricate the whole cathedral is.  

So I picked my spot, sat down and started. Along came a spectator. I believe that she was Japanese, and I’ll explain why in a minute. A spectator who was just one of a large party, so it turned out. For the first 20 minutes or so it was okay, since there was nothing much on the page for anyone to see.

However, as the sketch began to take shape, Nice Old Dear San began calling over other members of the coach party to come and have a look. And when they did in their dribs and drabs, they invariably reached the conclusion that the best place to stand and look at me sketching was between me, and my view of the cathedral. And the worst thing about it was that they were so nice and polite about it, through the universal language of the thumbs up, that I didn’t even have the opportunity to curse them all under my breath in case one of them did speak (rude) English. I said that I deduced that they were Japanese, mainly through the rhythm of their speech. I don’t understand Japanese or any Chinese language or dialect, but in my experience the sound and the rhythm of the languages are very different. So when the party finally left, I showed my relief by acknowledging their waves with ‘Arigato’, and none of them looked particularly askance. 

It’s not impossible that they were driven off by the cold. If you look at the records it will doubtless tell you that the temperature in Vienna late this afternoon was maybe just below 10 degrees. (Yes, I have checked). Not really at all cold. Well, the wind chill factor must have been high, because by the time I’d done all I felt I could reasonably do with the light now fading, I realised that I was absolutely frozen. That’s the thing with sketching, you see. I can get totally absorbed while I’m making my sketch. While I’m making the sketch, I won’t notice anything, not cold, not hunger, not thirst, in fact nothing except very polite Japanese tourists standing in the way. That’s okay when you’re making quick sketches. But my sketches have got slower and slower over the last couple of years. So the upshot is that when I stopped sketching, I started shivering. Badly shivering. In fact, I probably looked like the two kids I drew who were dancing outside the museum to the strains of Eine Kleine Krap Musik. Which is why I headed back to the hotel, where I am now. I’m fine now, but very foot weary so I’ll probably not go out again tonight.  

So, what’s on the agenda for tomorrow? Oh, please, dearly beloved. Tomorrow is Mittwoch! Tram Museum! Yay! Well, I’ve enjoyed this episode – somebody had to, after all. Shall we do it again tomorrow? Same time? See you then.

August 16th Elche

John is better than he was yesterday, I’m very glad to say. I went with Jen to see him this evening, and he’d got his colour back, and was talking a lot more easily. He’s still being kept in the hospital for observation, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him home tomorrow, or possibly Saturday.

I offered to go to the hospital with Jen this morning, but she didn’t want me to, so I thought that under the circumstances the best thing I could do was to carry on just as I would have done in other circumstances. I didn’t fancy a long excursion today though, so set my modest sights on Elx/Elche. That dual name business is easily explained – Elx is the name in Valencian. I’m not going to upset any of the my friends in the area by getting involved in the discussion of whether Valencian is a dialect of Catalan or not.

The first time I ever heard of Elx/Elche was actually 11 years ago, which was when Jen and John bought their first home in the Alicante area. When you drive away from airport on the motorway past Elx/Elche you pass a large brown (cultural, same as in the UK) sign with a face wearing a curious headdress and the words – Elche – Patrimonio De La Humanidad. Which intrigued me, and which I’ve since learned means that Elx/Elche is a World Heritage City. This has as much to do with the huge palm groves, of which the city is very proud, as anything else. However it does have quite a lot else going for it.

Once again I took the Smart Car to the station, and then the Cercania train towards Alicante. It was only three stops, and the price of 2 Euros 80 was an absolute steal in my opinion. Mind you, there was a certain amount of frustration as I was waiting to buy my ticket at the machine. The couple in front of me just couldn’t work it. What made it somewhat worse was the fact that as their frustration level was rising, they began to curse the machine in the native tones of my own home town. I helped sort them out, anyway, and we all of us made it onto the platform in time.

So, Elx/Elche, then. Getting from the train station to the centre of the older part of the town involved crossing the Rio Vinalopo. In August, crossing a river in a large town or city in Spain is an interesting experience. Usually there’s a vertiginous drop from the bridge to the surface of a tiny little stream or trickle which runs underneath. I would imagine that it’s a different story in the winter. The tourist office was just a couple of hundred yards from the bridge. Normally I like tourist offices. They give you helpful maps, and all they ask is that you tell them your nationality for their statistics. Not this one. I asked for a map, and the lady put it on the counter, and then insisted on making her own personal recommendations, circling them on the map for me, recommending hotel accommodation, launching on 5 minute monologue about the delights of the land train sightseeing tour, and finally giving me a blow by blow account of the Misterio de Elche, or the Elche Mystery Play. Now, don’t get me wrong, UNESCO has declared this a Masterpiece of the oral heritage of Humanity. But it is performed on the 14th and 15th August. Today is the 16th. The words stable, door, horse and bolted did come irresistibly to mind.

Finally she momentarily let go of the map, and I grabbed it, said bye, and got while the going was possible. Across the road and round the corner was the magnificent Basilica de Santa Maria. Perhaps not quite as impressive as the Cathedral in Murcia, it was beset by pretty much the same problem , namely that it’s hemmed in by other buildings making it extremely difficult to find an angle where you could comfortably attempt to make a sketch of it. I did manage to sketch part of the back of it, but didn’t find any suitable angle to sketch the main dome and the tower until later in the day.

Funnily enough, it was in my next port of call that I actually found that angle. When you cross the bridge, at the old town end you’re struck by quite a striking castle tower, and on the remains of the castle the MAHE – Elx/Elche Museum of Archaeology and History has been built. When it comes to History, Elx/lche certainly has a lot of it. Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines and Moors have all left their mark. However that wasn’t the most interesting thing for me. No, the most interesting thing was that it answered the 11 year old question of who or what the strange head on that brown motorway sign was. The lady in question, for a lady it is, is La Dama De Elche – the Lady of Elche. It’s a very well preserved bust of a woman – maybe a goddess – wearing ceremonial headdress and robes, probably dating from the 4th century BC. It’s a striking piece of work, albeit that the strange headdress has probably made other people than just me nickname it Princess Leia’s granny. The museum hosts a couple of replicas. The original, incidentally is housed in the National Arhcaeological Museum in Madrid, which I visited last week. I cannot, in all honesty, say that I noticed the Dama in there thought.

I could in all honesty have stayed a bit longer. However, you remember that I mentioned there was rain yesterday? Well, after I came out of MAHE a huge, filthy, angry looking grey cloud covered the whole town. All I had with me in the way of wet weather gear was my sun cap. Jen did mention yesterday that on the rare occasions that they get summer rain like yesterday, it does tend to happen across three days. When it clouds over like it did, it means one of two things. A) It is going to rumble and make all the noise of a thunderstorm, but not do much else. B) You are going to get drenched very, very quickly and very, very thoroughly. So, to cut a long story short, I decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and headed back to the station.

Well, that’s today’s sketching expedition. The rain followed me back to San Isidro, and I’m not unhappy that I came back when I did. We nipped over to the hospital to see John, and as I said, he seemed a lot better. And if that’s not a positive note on which to end for now, then I don’t know what is.

Madrid - Day Two

episode 2 of An English Fool Abroad With His Sketchbook – Espana 18. Now, much as I would like to pretend that I’ve had a catalogue of relatively amusing disasters today, I can’t. Frankly, it’s been fantastic.

Jenn picked out a hostel right in the middle of Madrid. It’s a masterstroke, especially considering it’s no more expensive than the hotels I stayed in on the outskirts of lots of the other cities I’ve been to. So, although I did take the Metro to he Royal Palace and the Cathedral this morning, I later found out that I didn’t really have to. Not only could I easily walk back to the hostel, I could carry on walking past it, all the way to the Prado. More about that later.

So, the first thing to do was to sit down and make the first sketch of the day. So I made a sketch of the equestrian statue of King Felipe IV with the palace in the background. Now, this was about 10 am. When I started the sketch, I was in the shade of some trees. When I finished it, I wasn’t. I can’t have been in the sunshine long, but it was enough to ensure that the only part of me that burned today was my neck. Walking past the Palace towards the cathedral there was a guy busking with his guitar, and to my untutored ears he didn’t sound bad. I gave him some coins, and then asked if he minded me sketching him. I’m not sure what he said. It wasn’t ‘si’ and it wasn’t ‘no’, so I did it anyway.

Past the National Opera House next, and I stopped to make a sketch of the Monasterio Descalzas Reales. I wouldn’t say it is the most impressive example of baroque architecture in Madrid – it has a LOT of competition, but it was handily situated for me to sit in the shade and do it.

The next thing then was a challenge to myself to find my way back to the hostel on foot. Not only did I manage it, but I kept on walking , and passed the railway station I’ll need on Thursday, then turned up the Paseo del Prado and found. . . well, the Prado, actually. They’re not trying to catch you out like that , the Madrilenos. And the Pradio really is the reason why I only made 4 sketches today. I made a sketch in the line, but once I got in, I was there for hours. Mind you, I had a bit of a hairy moment getting into the museum, for when they searched me they were not happy about my sketching pens. They had a conflab for about five minutes before they let me put them in my bag, and haul my bag off to the cloakroom. I promise that I wouldn’t have added extra facial hair or spectacles to a Velasquez or Goya, however tempted I might have been.

Joking aside, the Prado is incredible. Honestly. It was worth the price of admission for the El Grecos. Then there were the Velasquez. Then Goya. And so on. I could easily have stayed a few more hours. If you ever have the opportunity, then just do it.

The hostel being so close, I will admit that I did go back and had a late siesta, giving the feet a bit of a rest. Normally, when I’m on a city break I stay out until the feet can take no more, but it seemed silly not to have a break under the circumstances. When I came back out, it was raining. Spanish rain, mind you. Spits and spots never really developing into anything, while there was plenty of thunder. Go figure. What it did do was clear the air a bit, and drop the temperature to a bearable 31 degrees. So I had another good wander around, and an early supper of the Spanish delicacy called patatas fritas con curry. Well, you’ve got to be prepared to try new things, haven’t you?

Kaunas Day Two

Thursday, day two, was always going to be a hectic sketching day. During my wanderings the bus station, outside which was a helpful streetmap which I photographed. I found another one on a wall in the town hall square, which showed less of the town, but had landmarks marked on it. Using these I had a rudimentary itinerary sketched out, should you pardon the pun.

Back to the Old Town to begin, where I made this sketch in Vilnius Street, which should hopefully give an example of what I meant about the architecture of the street and the way it is laid out.

Thence to the Vytautas Bridge. I crossed it and took the funicular railway, which I sketched on my required elements post.

Crossing the bridge back to the old town I stopped to make this watercolour sketch of the Vytautas the Great Church. Whoever Vytautas was, they thought a lot of him in Kaunas.

I needed to do some shopping, and so I walked along the riverbank to the Akropolis shopping mall. My map told me that this was close to the Archangel Michael Church, and so this also gave me the chance to do some unfinished business in Laisves Aleja. I made another watercolour sketch of a building I liked.

Along the Laisves Aleja there are several statues of what I presume were prominent former citizens of Kaunas. This chap was a former mayor of Kaunas, ad I believe quite instrumental in Lithuanian moves for independence following world war one.

It was a bit of a step from there to Kaunas Castle, but even thought only about a third of the original 14^th century building remains, it’s still quite impressive, and sitting on top of the dry moat I found it one of the calmest and most peaceful places in Kaunas.

Looking behind me I realised I could see the tower of the town hall, and it didn’t look far away either. In fact I was right by the Old Town, which enabled me to nip back to the town hall square, and make this sketch of the St. Peter and Paul cathedral Basilica.

12) Germany - Berlin - Other sketches - late August 2017

Domkirche - Berlin Cathedral

 This is the Domkirche - the late baroque masterpiece which houses the tombs of the Hohenzollern Kings of Prussia and Kaisers of the German Empire. I sketched it from the side of the Spree.

Marienkirche - St. Mary's Church

The Marienkirche is one of the oldest churches in East Central Berlin, and it's not without its own beauty.  It sits to the side of a square, at the end of which is the Rathus, or town hall, behind a very ornate fountain.

Brandenburg Gate

 An iconic image of Berlin. Its so easy now to cross from East to West Berlin that it's difficult to visualise that this place was the symbol of the Cold War once upon a time.

Mozart - Haydn - Beethoven Memorial - Tiergarten

 If you walk west through the Brandenburg Gate, and keep walking, you'll eventually come to the Siegsaule - pictured below. The thing is, though, that the Siegsaule is so tall, that you think it's a lot closer than it is. I was, after walking from the Brandenburg Gate to the Siegsaule, knackered. Even after resting to make the sketch, I was soon knackered walking back. This time though I walked through the Tiergarten, the park which runs alongside the road. I found this charming memorial to three great composers, and sat down on a bench beside it and made this sketch to give me a bit more recovery time.

Altes Museum - Museum Island

 Back to Museum Island. I was waiting for the airport bus and made this sketch while I did so. A group of passers by liked it, and the little Italian guy who was selling ice creams by the side of the road even asked me if he could take a photo of it. He didn't give me a free ice cream, though.

Berlin Rathaus

 This is the aforementioned Rathaus. It's not a great sketch this, although to be fair the scanner does seem to have exaggerated the slight sland to the tower which my sketch had (the original building is as straight as a dye, I hasten to add) I was intrigued because to me this looks very like a German cousin of the contemporary Cardiff Pierhead building. Did the architect have a bike?

Siegsaule - West Berlin

The Siegsaule. Literally the Victory column, which was built to commemorate the Prussian victories over Denmark, Austria and then France in the second half of the 19th century, which led to the unification of Germany in 1871.

1) Ieper, Belgium, August 2016: The Cloth Hall

So, as I said, the first time I made open air sketches of buildings in a European city was before my diagnosis.

Over 10 years ago I started researching my family history. All I knew about him was that he was killed in World War I. After some fairly tricky research I found out that he had been killed on the first day of the 3rd Battle of Ypres in 1917, and that although his name was originally inscribed upon the Menin Gate, his body was subsequently found, and buried in a small war cemetery in a suburb of the town. I planned for years to visit the grave, but did nothing about it.

Then, in Easter 2016, my daughter Jenn had an interview for maternity cover with Thomson's travel agents, and did so well in the interview she was offered a permanent position. Thomsons - now Tui - seem to be a fantastic company to work for, and Jenn has done brilliantly. In 2017 she has been nominated as Travel Agent of the Year. Jenn organised my family to buy me a return flight to Brussels, a hire car, and a hotel room in Ieper in August 2016 so that I could fulfil my ambition of visiting the grave.

While in Ieper itself, I made three sketches. Firstly, this: -

Ypres Cloth Hall - 2016

Now, the problem with this sketch is that it's in pencil. I've since found that I much prefer using sketching pens. I made it while sitting in a café forecourt about 50 years away from the Cloth Hall, and I had the lovely experience of passers by coming up for a look at it, and a chat.

The Cloth Hall is a remarkable building. Would you believe it was actually opened during my lifetime? Well, this is a complete rebuild of the original building, after the identical medieval building on the same site was destroyed during World War I, and it wasn't opened until 1967. You'd never know. It houses the In Flanders Fields Museum, and so I've been inside and out, and it seems absolutely authentic.

I fell in love with the ornate sculpture of the facades and sides of the building, and made a biro sketch of some of the detail: -

Cloth Hall Facade

This convinced me that biro is not a great medium to use. The ink doesn't always flow freely, and the ballpoint tip can dig into the paper of a good sketch book.