Van Gough Museum

Posted by Griffin and Beth.

The exterior of the Van Gough Museum

Griffin on the building: I thought that the building was unremarkable. To me it feels like such beautiful art should have an equally amazing home, such as the Louvre, Rijksmuseum, or any of the other art museums I've seen so far. This building felt very utilitarian, like it was just a box for the art. Don't get me wrong, it was a fine building, a large central column made it feel uncluttered and spacious, but there was nothing special about it.
Beth on the building: I really enjoyed the layout of the interior. Very spacious and light filled. The three floors showed van Gough's progression from his early years until his death in 1890.

Beth and her painting

Beth on the Painting Workshop: As we made our way through the first floor we noticed a sign saying "free art class". They had volunteer artists setting up canvases on easels, for people to create their own still life. It was super fun and inspired me to take a painting class when we get home.

The boxes for Stendhal Syndrome

Griffin on Stendhal Syndrome: As we walked through the second floor of the museum we came upon what appeared to be three upright coffins. As we approached them we saw a sign on the side of one of them that read "For Stendhal Syndrome". We wondered what it was. It turns out that Stendhal Syndrome is a psychosomatic disorder that causes nausea, dizziness, fainting, and hallucinations when a person is exposed to beautiful art. The boxes are for people to climb inside to escape the art. We believe that Leo suffers from this disorder, and he is looking into a doctor's order to stay permanently away from beautiful art.
Beth on the Art: I liked that there were a lot of examples of van Gough's work from different time periods in his life. I felt like this gave a good perspective on the cannon of his work as a whole. I also liked that the museum showed how van Goguh's work was influenced by artists he admired, and how he influenced other artists, by showing works of other artists.
Griffin on the Art: I think that the art was amazing. The museum had a large collection of van Gough pieces, however they were missing a few key pieces that are currently on loan to the Munch Museum in Oslo. Van Gough's art is so deeply personal that it feels as if you can see him creating it. The visceral brush strokes evoke emotions that other art fails to do. Van Gough's work provokes introspection in a way most art does not.

Wheat Field with Crows by Vincent van Gough

Baking a cake!

Posted by Griffin. Today we baked a cake. Originally I wanted to make a cake from scratch but when we got to the store I realized pretty quickly that you can't just buy a few cups of flour. So we decided to use a cake mix. The selection was pretty sparse, unlike in the U.S. where you can get anything from a roast beef to cupcakes in a box. In The Netherlands it seems they only have one type of cake mix. The cake making took about an hour and a half, and it turned out delicious!  

The box and the mixed ingredients

Checking the cake

Beth checks the cake

The cake is out!

The cake has cooled

Cutting the cake

Ready to eat

Ride like you have somewhere to go

Posted by Beth. We're in Haarlem now which is a beautiful town just outside of Amsterdam. Everyone commutes on bikes in Holland. It's crazy. People in suits and heels going to work, parents transporting kids to school and back, grocery shopping and more. They mean business.

It's not casual tour around town biking. They've got someplace to go. That doesn't mean they are in a hurry. Quite the opposite. No one is speeding along trying to pass other people (except passing us because we are super slow! "Ride like you have somewhere to go" said Griffin to Elizabeth).

They all ride pedal bikes or three speed fat tire bikes with milk crates for baskets. Some parents have wooden wheelbarrow shaped carriers between the handlebars and the front wheel for carting toddlers (sometimes up to three kids). Often parents will have multiple children on their bike. Yesterday we saw a woman with an infant strapped on her chest (I swear she was nursing) and a toddler on her back. Nary a helmet in sight.

We all love the biking culture here. Bike lanes are everywhere so no one has to compete with cars. Bicyclists even have their own traffic lights. Because everyone bikes it's not contentious between cars and bicyclists. Did I mention it's completely flat here? We could ride all day and not break a sweat.

Gracious hosts and beautiful apartments

Haarlem

Posted by Elizabeth. Sorry it's been a while since I've posted. The kids were doing such a great job I took a little break.

I wanted to post about where we've stayed on this trip. From our current luxurious townhouse in Holland to our city perch in Barcelona and our Cinque Terra beach flat every single one has been unique and comfortable and affordable. 

Thanks to Airbnb and a smattering of VRBO we've been able to stay in 2-3 bedroom apartments with well-stocked kitchens, sunny living rooms and a garden or two -- all for between $90 and $130 per night.

A few of my favorite memories...

Istanbul

The aerie perch in Istanbul high above the chaos where we looked out over the Bosporus and the domes of many mosques. We heard the call to prayer from every corner -- sometimes a cacophony and sometimes seemingly in harmony. One night we watched a dramatic electrical storm that pierced the sky and eventually turned the city black. Thank you Hatice for your kindness and delectable breakfast treats. 

Florence

I've already posted about our home in Florence but want to remember the tree filled lane leading to the house and the view over the olive groves. The patio under the arbor made the perfect spot for a cup of Italian coffee or Algebra homework. Anna and Doreen, we still think of you and dream of your special family home. 

Berlin

Our apartment in Berlin was right in the heart of an amazingly creative and vibrant neighborhood but was still the quietist place we have stayed. For an ex-Communist area the apartment was perfectly designed with tall ceilings, light filled rooms, floor to ceiling windows and well-kept hardwoods. And we walked out the front door to a great Vietnamese restaurant, an organic grocery and coffee shops galore.

Paris

Simone's Paris flat is perfectly Parisian. An artist's space just above the rooftops with 6 flights of stairs to keep us in shape. Her quirky style shone through everywhere from the art and walls of books to the handmade ceramics. We felt like locals...super artsy trust fund locals. 

There have been so many other amazing places and I'm happy to share recommendations if anyone is headed to Europe. These apartments have made this trip possible.

Final chapter: They give us blood, we give back lead

This is the last installment in a short series written by Leo on World War two inspired by our time in Berlin.


Posted by Leo. Morning comes and people are running to the trenches we built. As we sit together, Max and Timothy talk about the afterlife and how they probably won’t survive this. Max raises his gun and before I can say anything he holds up his hand. I stop and listen. I hear something in a bush about 20 meters away. Timothy picks up his radio and calls H.Q. “Do you have eyes on that bush”. The radio is quiet for a second and then a voice says, “Yes we do and…” The radio goes silent. We look at the bush and the end of a rifle was locked on the radioman. Max yells, “They give us blood, we give back lead”. He starts firing and a man falls from behind the bush. He lays there not moving. It feels like years with a silence that’s scarier than the Allied forces.


Suddenly men start rushing out of the tree line. All three of us open fire and I hear some of the others boys praying that they’ll get home to see loved ones. I hear someone yell, “Grenade” and something flies over my head and lands five meters away. I pull down into the trench but Max and Timothy keep firing. The sounds is deafening and I’m dazed. As I recover, all I can think about is who I am. A young Jewish boy fighting for the Nazis with my only two friends. A crack goes off nearby and my vision clears. I see a body next to me and realize it’s Max. He lays there not saying a word and I don’t know if he’s dead. I reach for his grenades but he stops me with a swift slap to the hand. I look at him again and notice that the wound is only a bullet in his left side and the blood on him is from another soldier who has been shot and lays on the ground without a head. Max looks at me and says “Mr. Shoft, we are overrun”. He smiles and gets back to his knees and starts firing. I ask him about Timothy and he points to his left where Timothy seems uninjured.


The enemy is moving closer. Max tells me and Timothy to run to the left side of the trench all the way back to camp and to stay low so we aren’t noticed. Timothy and I exchange glances but know we have to run now or be killed. Max doesn’t say another word until the enemy is only meters away. We run about 30 meters and realize we can no longer see Max. Then we hear a shout, “Go to hell with me you dirty b*******” and an explosion. Smoke covers the area. Timothy grabs my arm. He nods toward a figure walking out of the smoke. He is short and limping. I raise my gun but the smoke clears to reveal Max with a big grin on his face. He collapses to the ground.


I hope you have all enjoyed this story. If so, please leave a comment about your favorite part. Also thank you so much for taking your time to read it.

Contemporary art: Can I sit there or is it art?

Can I sit there, or is it art?

The front of the Hamburger-Bahnof

Posted by Griffin. Yesterday mother and I went to the Hamburger-Bahnof Museum for Contemporary Art. The Hamburger-Bahnof was originally a train station, and the many exhibit halls still have the original glass and wrought iron ceilings found in so many train stations across Europe. The building was built as a train station in 1846 and in 1906 it was converted into the National Railway Museum. It suffered significant damage during World War II, and after the war it was shut down. However in 1984 the desolate building was bought and remodeled into a contemporary art museum and in 1987 it opened as the National Gallery's official contemporary art museum.

Moby Dick by Michael Beutler

Another view of  Moby Dick

The art in this museum is quite different from other museums. First this museum exclusively presents contemporary art, much of it from the last 20 years. Secondly the art here is not just to be observed, but it is to experienced. The most memorable piece in this museum was most certainly Moby Dick by Michael Beutler. The space where the old railway platforms used to be has now been converted into a giant exhibition hall. Michael Beutler, a Berlin-based artist, has transformed this space into a place of production. Here giant structures that slowly rotate on pools of water dominate the space, while towards the back Beutler has shown the means of production for these structures. Beutler has constructed buildings (shown below) using paper for the structures, while other buildings show a more abstract side of the creative process. This exhibit provides a window into the artistic creative process and the artist successfully creates an engaging landscape of objects to interact with.

The back of Moby Dick 

Diamond Dust Shoes by Andy Warhol

While Moby Dick was the highlight, the permanent collection stopped nothing short of stunning. The first section of the permanent collection has conceptual art from the last 25 years. Conceptual art is all about pushing the boundaries of art and bringing the commonplace into art. These works beg the question "Is this art". For example what appears to be a bench (pictured at top) is actual art, or what appears to be a pile of blackboards (pictured below) is actually a piece of art representing the limitations of human knowledge. While for me conceptual art may not be the most enjoyable form of art it most definitely made me think. Walking through the exhibit I wondered again and again, "What is art? Is art a painting? Is art only art if someone says so? And if so who decides what is art?" Ultimately the conclusion drawn from this exhibit is that art is a representation of the world the artist perceives, and is not determined by outside critics or ideas.

The third section of the Haburger-Bahnof is the collection of works by Andy Warhol and Cy Twombly and other artists active during the later portion of the 20th century. These works are markedly different from the conceptual art in the previous exhibit. This art features iconic images of pop culture, such as Marilyn Monroe, and showcases marvelous examples of Warhol's work, such as his Diamond Dust Shoes. Warhol's work is a glittering confection of 50's nostalgia that really provides a much needed respite from the negativity that pervades contemporary art.



Overall the Hamburger-Bahnof museum presents an excellent slice of contemporary art. With the ever changing temporary exhibitions every visit to the museum could open a new door. Currently Moby Dick is running until September 2015, and if in Berlin I highly recommend stopping by.

Why I love Berlin

Posted by Elizabeth. I just have to tell you how much I love Berlin. Not only is it a green, beautiful city with friendly beer drinking natives but there's a hipster undercurrent that's intoxicating. And I mean hipster in all the artistic, open minded, authentic ways. Let me tell you why I love Berlin:

• The fashion is outstanding (street fashion from flea markets and designed in Berlin shops). 

• There's a ton of multicultural food options. 

• Organic food is everywhere. 

• The street art is inspirational. 

• Everyone bikes and if they don't bike they ride the many transit options. 

• There are awesome parks full of people (Treptower Park has an abandoned amusement park with a ghost-run Ferris wheel). 

• The art and culture scene is the best in the world. 

• And at dinner it's cheaper to buy beer than water.

I didn't even mention that you can visit the real Stasi headquarters and see rooms frozen in time Soviet 1960s-style. Or that there's a constant reminder of the Cold War in the wall remanents that litter the city. The city's ugly past is still here but there's a new generation pushing past all of us in their diversity and experimentation and desire to make their city more interesting and livable. 

I'm happy to celebrate my birthday here this week. German waffles for breakfast, shopping in Freidrichshain in the morning, the Me Gallery cafe for lunch with a wander through the all-female artists exhibit. And dinner on a canal or in an open air restaurant on Auguststrase. Wish you were here to play with me!

Chapter 3: I know we'll have to fight soon

Posted by Leo. This is the third installment in a short fictionalized series by Leo.


The sun breaks over the cold valley and spreads across our camp. I hear a rustling next to me. I get out of my tent and poke the tent next to me. Max yells and all the other soldiers come out and look around. Now I’m the jokester.


Part of our daily chores is to dig trenches around our camp. Max and I start digging which is when we meet another young boy named Timothy. He tells us that he was raised on a farm in Germany near Munich. He was well taken care of but never got his way since he has four sisters and brothers. We talk about our lives before the war. Max tells us a little even though he doesn’t like talking about it. All he really tells us is that, “bridges are better than sewers”. I feel bad for Max because his life before the war was tough, no friends, no family, all by himself.


At noon everyone is hot and tired but the commander forces us to continue working. Some people are allowed to get water and some people rub snow on themselves to stay cool. Max, Timothy and I get water because we don’t like how the snow feels and we know it will give us rashes. The commanders are mean. If we don’t finish our work during the day we don’t get dinner or breakfast the next morning. This is particularly hard for Max who isn’t very strong. At the beginning he does well because he’s skilled but he doesn’t have much stamina to continue. The commanders force Max to keep going and limit his breaks. Timothy and I finish before him and want to help but the commanders won’t let us. By the time he’s done working the sun has gone down.


During the night we hear fighting in the distance echoing in the valley. I’m scared. They’re getting closer to us and we know that we’ll have to fight soon.

Museum Row

The Brohan Museum

Posted by Griffin.Yesterday we went to Museum Row in Berlin. Museum Row is one block that houses 5 of Berlin's top museums. Unlike Museum Island, coming in a later post, which houses 5 extremely large museums, the museums on Museum Row are small specialty museums. As we set out to leave yesterday Leo got, what I shall call, museum stomach. This mysterious illness only strikes when we are heading to art museums and causes severe stomach cramping and overly dramatic nausea. So after a drawn out battle, Leo remained at home. From the outset Elizabeth was adamant that she could only handle 2 out of the 5 museums, however the museums were so amazing that she managed three in one day!

The Berggruen Museum

The first museum  was the Brohan Museum (pictured above). The Brohan Museum is a specialty museum which only features the finest works of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements. The exhibits in this museum presented a delightful collection of lighthearted decorative arts from around the turn of the 20th century. One of the finest works, in my opinion, from this museum was the peacock vase (pictured below) done by Hans Christiansen. Overall the Brohan Museum was an easy visit, the exhibits were aesthetically pleasing and the clean white walls juxtaposed with the vibrant colors of the exhibits provided a very calming atmosphere to enjoy this amazing art. The Brohan Museum is most assuredly a must for any art lover visiting Berlin.

The Peacock Vase by Hans Christiansen

 
 The second museum was the Berggruen Museum. This was a themed museum focusing on "Picasso and His Time". The museum featured many works by Picasso, as well as works that had an influence on him, such as the works of Braque and traditional African art. While the permanent collection was amazing the travelling exhibition entitled "SIDEWAYS: Alexander Calder- Paul Klee" was breathtaking. The exhibition featured mobiles by Calder which seem to defy all sensibility. They remove the viewer from a world governed by logic and transport them into a world of the impossible. Watching these sculptures I couldn't help but become transfixed as the pieces slowly moved with the slightest breeze.  In this exhibit the sculptures don't stand alone but but interact with the paintings of Klee. While the travelling exhibit was one of the best I have seen the permanent exhibition didn't stand out from the crowd of Picasso museums across Europe like the one in Paris which I loved. Overall the museum could be missed if not for the Calder and Klee exhibition.

Homage a Goya by Odilon Redon

Untitled (Dancing Stars) by Alexander Calder

The third and final museum of the day was the Scharf-Gerstenberg. This museum was another specialty museum which focused on Surrealist Art. Before entering this museum Beth had to take her leave, for unnamed reasons but museum stomach seems to be the prime suspect. So now only Elizabeth remained to accompany me through Museum Row. The works in this museum were markedly different from the works in the previous two. Instead of creating calm they brought about a primal fear of being stranded. Recurring motifs were dead babies, tentacles that appeared to be strangling people, and desolate landscapes. The work above, Homage a Goya, was one of the more pleasant works, mainly because it didn't make me afraid for my life. Quite unfortunately we were not able to experience the full effect of this terror due to 2nd and 3rd floors being closed for renovation. Overall this museum would be great for people who love psychedelic horror movies and enjoy looking at what quite possibly could be a dead toddler warped in tissue paper. 

The Scharff-Gersenberg Museum 

Chapter 2: So here I am

Posted by Leo. This is the second installment in a short fictionalized series by Leo.

Yesterday we left for France. I was worried about what would happen next. People told me it was an awful place to go. It’s said that people die there daily and it’s not uncommon to see your friends die.

It was hard to leave home. Going to the middle of nowhere with a bunch of men. The train ride was hard. We were in a cargo car with hay bales. Max dumped his water on people to make them laugh. Max is a great companion. He always makes the worst situations seem bearable and funny. He likes to make people laugh. Only once have I seen him struggle, when we were in training camp and Max was bullied because he’s not as strong as the others. This was tough for him.

While we got off the train I was thinking. I’m a young Jewish boy fighting for the Nazis. No one knows this because my family comes from other places. I’ve lived in Germany all my life but both my parents are from elsewhere. At home we hide the fact that we’re Jewish. We never go to Synagogue. We never celebrate holidays. Even when I turned 13 I didn’t have a Bar Mitzvah. I feel sad about this but also lucky. If I had a Bar Mitzvah the Nazis would know we are Jewish and would have taken us away. So here I am.

It’s cold here in France. Snowflakes are starting to come down. Everyone has unloaded their stuff and Max and I and I are sitting by a campfire to keep warm. People are telling us to move because we’re sitting on the boxes of food. Max and I set up our tents and as I’m falling asleep I realize I could die here on the front line. Anything could happen.

Chapter 1: I'm forced to join the army

Posted by Leo. This is a fictionalized account of war time in Berlin as told from the perspective of a young Jewish boy hidden amongst the German Nazis. This is the first in a short series by Leo.

Berlin, Germany 1939. War was breaking out and many German boys joined the Hitler Youth Academy. I myself have not joined because I am Jewish and it is not in my blood to be a Nazi. Even though I am Jewish many people do not know this. Only my family and no one ever mentions it.

My name is Alban Shoft and I have lived in Germany all my life. My father came from Sweden and my mother is British. We are not pure German but no one can tell that. The problem that is happening now is the draft. A horrible thing. A draft is where the government picks names and those people have to enter the army.

Today was my first day out of school because I had my name drawn out of the box. Even though I am not in the Youth Hitler Club I am still forced to join the army. At age 16 I am a tall 6’ 2”, 180 pounds, and I have my mother’s blue eyes and my dad’s dusty blonde hair. I have played sports before and am quite big for my age.

My first day in the army was hard. I was yelled at and criticized for not being able to do 50 chin ups. People always told me I was a strong fellow but thinking back to it I can’t take their word for it. Many kids can hardly do 10 chin ups but I can do 30.

Today I made a friend, Max, a boy my age who loves to play pranks on people and is always trying to get attention from Lieutenant James Carter, a former British officer. We decided that it would be best if we stuck together just in case we needed help when we were in battle. Many senior officers agreed and said people should be grouped within a squad.

The last day of training was hard but now we are off to the front where we will be fighting the allied forces. The journey is a long way from home and judging by the looks of people in the medical bay most people won’t come back without a scratch.

Flea markets and street art in Berlin

Posted by Elizabeth. Our first day in Berlin and it's Sunday which means flea markets for the locals. So we headed to the Boxhagenerplatz market just a few blocks away from our Freidrichshain apartment. I'm not usually a flea market aficionado but it's fun in another county and especially in East Berlin where old junk has a lot of history. 

The quite large market is full of dishwear and clothes and records (yes tons of them) and doorknobs and cameras and everything else that sits in basements waiting to be sold. It was packed with hipsters and families and elderly couples perusing the wares. We left without buying anything (although full disclosure, Beth returned after leaving us at home and is still there). 

On our way home we stopped by the former industrial complex now urban outdoor art/gym/market which I believe is called R.A.W.  These photos of the outdoor art don't do it justice. There's an indoor/outdoor bouldering gym in a decaying brick building, a skateboard park housed in an old factory, an outdoor cafe and walls and walls of amazing graffiti art. Thanks to John Zilavy for his Berlin recommendations! 

Beth just walked in with her flea market find. 

Istanbul for the senses

Posted by Elizabeth. We left Turkey yesterday and entered an entirely different world in Berlin. For one thing it's cloudy and gray. A lot like you would expect here but so different than hot humid Istanbul. It's quiet. Traffic laws seem to be a thing. And everyone looks a lot like Seattle outdoorsy hipsters.

So it feels familiar. Which isn't how I felt in Istanbul. But there's something very compelling about Istanbul -- it's a fascinating city which feels both draining and invigorating at the same time. It's definitely a city for one's senses which makes these photos of Istanbul food seem an appropriate tribute. A huge thank you to our hostess and baker extraordinaire, Hatice, who created a serene oasis for us is the midst of the busy city. We are so grateful.