Day 13 - Munich

We really have no agenda, and are both feeling somewhat lethargic.  Nonetheless, we get to our first stop, the "new" Lenbach Haus" just as it opens at 10:00 A.M.  (Of course, "new" is all relative in Europe.)  First, the walk over.....

...and so, to the Lenbachhaus....

...and Peter sets out our plan of attack.....

Apparently, Franz von Lenbach was an important artist in the 19th century, who, with success, built himself a large studio and residence near Konigsplatz, where society came to have their portraits panted.  A collection was started, including the world's largest collection of art from The Blue Rider School (no, I hadn't heard of it either), including Kandinsky, Munter (Kandinsky's mistress and fellow artist), Macke, Marc, and many others, and then on to The New Objectivity style (with which I was already familiar, thanks to Peter and an exhibit years ago at the Metropolitan), Joseph Beuys, up to the moderns.  Below, a random selection of some (or many) which took my fancy...

Trust me, this could be an all day affair, so we take a "coffee" (read "cake") break.....

....and continue....

...and then back to the hotel for a well deserved nap, passing this sign....

which, as most of you know, describes my philosophy of life, and I am taking for a sign of approval...

...and more beautiful buildings...

....until we reach our hotel....

.... with nap followed by a drink in the exquisite lobby bar....

.....an evening walk in the incredibly vibrant streets (Friday night in Munich!!!) followed by - yet another Italian dinner (pizza for Peter and lasagna for me) at a place still hopping at almost 10.  (We will get back to German food in the next couple of days, I promise, but there really is a sameness about it....  there are only so many bratwurst, potato dumplings and pork shanks one can eat....)

Only two more days, and then home to the real world (it is a good thing we are walking so much, or I would probably be 300 pounds before I get home....)

Day 12 - Bayreuth to Munich

After a leisurely breakfast, and good byes all around to fellow guests and opera goers (champagne before the opera and dinners and/or drinks after has made friends of us all),

... then on to the train station for a two and a half hour trip to Munich.  (Peter has pointed out that none of the trains we have taken has been on time.  They are not late by much, mind you, but somehow, it is not what one expects in Germany....), and to the Bayerische Hof Hotel, very old, very elegant.  (Good choice, Peter!!)

.....and when we go out for a walk in the old town, the pedestrian shopping district and what they call the Victuals Market (Granville Island on steroids), find this statue as our landmark (we haven't been able to find out who, if anyone, he represents)......

.....and the Marienhof......

... and the "new"Rathaus (city hall)...

....where we stop in the square for some refreshment (liquid and otherwise)

The Rathaus has figures in the tower which dance on the hour to celebrate the ending of the plague here in 1389....

(It is quite amazing, in the age of the Internet and reality games, that mobs of people will stand around waiting for a clock's mechanical figures...)

...continuing our walk by the Isar River, we find a pretty little urban beach....

...and, having once again exhausted our desire for German food, took the hotel's recommendation for Italian, and ate at Guido's al Duomo (as advertised, near both our hotel and the cathedral - see day 14 for more on the cathedral), excellent.

Well, we are in the big city now, lots of people on the streets at night, German, Italian, French, American, lots of music and activity.  A nice change from sleepy Bayreuth, which, of course, had other attractions...

Not too bad for our first half day in Munich...

Day 11 - Our Last Day in Bayreuth

I can't believe that tonight is our last opera, Gotterdamerung (or, as it is now sometimes referred to, I Saw the World End).  More about the opera later, but first, some general comments.  Like all things that last for more than a blink of an eye, these things develop a rhythm.  You see the same people at breakfast, and by the end you are chatting away in a variety of languages (although the Germans speak English very well).  You are traveling the same tourist circuit.  You are sitting next to the same people at the opera.  You have a favourite cafe, and know how to get there (not that Bayreuth is that big).  In short, as David used to say, now that we know how to get around, it is time to leave.

But first, a few adventures.  For example, having asked for a taxi to take me up to the Festspielhaus, I went to use the public washroom - and found that the inner door handle had been removed and I was locked in!  And, fancy as the hotel was, there was no telephone in the bathroom!  (and yes, Bill, I have to admit, it would have been nice to have my phone!!! )  Anyway, after only a few minutes of banging on the door and asking for "Hilfe", I was duly rescued, no harm done except to my ego,\.

The lecture on Gotterdamerung at the Festspielhaus was completely in German, with not a crib sheet to be found.  Unfortunately, what I could understand was the stuff I already knew.  Anything about the director (Castor, famous German theater director who has never done an opera before) and his vision went right over my head.  (A fellow patron tried to give me the Coles Notes version, but it wasn't quite the same.  I did find out that the director is 64, gay, and from East Germany, all of which have informed his work.)

New friends Birgitte and Hennig provided some insight on the copulating crocodile - I kid you not - though.  Apparently it is a standard in German puppet theater.  The crocodile part, not the copulating part.  In the puppet theater, the crocodile is content with eating its prey!!  Both Peter and I had noticed the almost total lack of English in and around the Festival.  Admittedly, the Festival is only a week, and there is  no reason to visit Bayreuth otherwise, but still...  From German's who had been to the festival before, we learned that there had been more English translations available in prior years, but since being taken over by the Bavarian government, English was not being encouraged.  It is a pity - from the reaction of the audience, it seemed that insights were being provided!!  I appears that as 50,000 tickets are available over the course of the festival, and there are 500,000 requests for them, so no concessions need to be made.

Anyway, the walk down the hill from the Festspielhaus was lovely....

......with a (handsomer than most) bust of Cosima..

...a symbolic Ring

...and other generally artistic stuff....

And now, finally, we are at the opera....

(How do you like my "Gotterdamerung" outfit?  Took up half the room in my suitcase, it did...)  Below, last shot of our new friend Don and Bob...

 ....  and in what seems like a blink of an eye (really five and a half hours), it is over, and time for curtain calls.

I will leave those of you who are interested to check cast lists, etc.  Generally speaking, I will say that the Sigfried was not very well received (he is a Canadian too - oh well!), the Brunhilde was very well received, as were all other singers and orchestra, conductor and chorus master.  And parting thoughts.  There was more food, drink and smoking (all real) in these operas than I have seen in my entire life, more blood and violence (simulated), ditto, and that is saying something, and likewise, more sex (whether simulated or not, I am not quite sure).  And, having seen the whole Ring, I have concluded that, in spite of getting in the way of the music sometimes, the staging got everyone talking about Wagner's meaning, the philosophy, and art in general.  And that is what it is all about!!

So, tomorrow, on the way to Munich, the home of National Socialism.  ....