This post has been brewing for a while, and comes at the heels of a much welcomed travel adventure I had with Kodiak during his two week Spring break. While in Europe, I thought we would take full advantage of cheap flights and proximity to everything amazing..
We took a speed train from Berlin to Paris, going a whooping 308km/hour, which took about 7 hours. Impressive! After a week in Paris, exploring a fraction of what the city has to offer, we spent a day at the Louvre, which was a highlight. Not only to see the Mona Lisa's eyes following you as you walk by her, but the sheer volume of incredible artworks and sculptures within the lavishly beautiful space is truly un-comparable. This classical art is especially fun w/ kids as it's so saucy, gory with lots of strange subject matters, it's an interesting challenge for a parent to answer the "why's". I kept thinking about the opera, why I love it so much, for the same reasons, this exploration of human nature which seems to come down to all of our cardinal vices; greed, sloth, pride, jealousy, murder(wrath), lust, gluttony and war! Explaining this stuff in "PG" makes for hilarious and involved conversations with a 7 year old.
And there was the Eiffel tower of course, viewed from my favorite place, Trocadero. I hope Kodiak will remember a little bit of this trip, and even if not it will have imprinted on him of some of the wonders of the world.
There have been few other times that traveling has been as much fun as with my little goofball son. Exhausting for sure, but his outlook on places and how he interacts with his world is really inspiring. Kids are very punk rock.
After Paris, we explored Tenerife, one of the Canary islands off the coast of North Africa. It is considered part of Spain, but like Cataluñya is also an autonomous region. It is famous for its volcanic activity and it looks like a southern version of Iceland. What we did find there for the first time in many months was the sun. It was a much needed infusion of vitamin D, something I had been lacking in Berlin for the last 5 months. After a glorious week spent in a yurt in the dry highlands of the island, we moved on and flew to Madrid.
Madrid was the expected bustle, and our main goal was to visit the museum that houses Picasso's "Guernica". I have been longing to see this masterpiece in person, and I was not disappointed. The Museo Reina Sofia was the highlight, lots of interesting work mainly addressing the war and post war era. As a city goes, Madrid's flavor is more conservative and less gritty than Barcelona. One other highlight was our visit to one of the oldest barber shops in Spain, "El Kinze de Cuchilleros". Kodiak got his first professional hair cut here, pampered between Spanish men getting their beards trimmed to perfection. And all this for €13!
Then we returned to Germany. Land of rules and ways that I believe only really Germans understand. As an old punk and do-I-what-I-wanter, I have to admit there is quite a bit of a culture clash between us. Granted we do live in the South of Berlin, a beautiful and boring suburb far from the more exotic multi cultural Berlin you hear about, but truly it feels more German than Kreuzberg. Although there are amazing resources in Berlin, especially for artists, there is a lack of a warm inclusive community. Like most northern European cultures(I do belong to one) it takes a long time to really meet and make friends here. Most all my friends in Berlin, are not German! British, Kiwis, Americans, Italians, Spanish..but no Germans. I think there is an inherently thicker shell around Northerners, and the general sourpuss attitudes, especially prevalent in the Winter months is tough to live around. In stark contrast, in Spain, the people (like the weather) are warm, loud, relaxed and mostly smiling. It's funny because I'm Swedish, and I understand the Northern way in my bones and blood but my heart thrives in the Southern cultures. But I digress..
We came back here, school started, and I joined the full swing production of Christian's new sculpture, With Open Arms. We are working in an enormous warehouse, BBK. The rent is cheap, the space is a fully outfitted metal workshop, and all tools are available for use, including rollers and shears and massive brakes. It also houses a fully equipped wood shop, clay studio and stone carving studio. This is one of those resources that is just incredible. And when I'm not there welding with Christian, I am at KAOS, working in the metal shop and forge. I started teaching welding workshops, which has been very gratifying and I will be starting my second run in a few weeks. All this familiar creative work is feeding my soul and I am so grateful for it. Between the workshops and the new sculpture life is full. And time will pass quickly as it does when one is busy, and soon I will be sharing more stories in person with old friends in Taos. I am looking forward to it!
We took a speed train from Berlin to Paris, going a whooping 308km/hour, which took about 7 hours. Impressive! After a week in Paris, exploring a fraction of what the city has to offer, we spent a day at the Louvre, which was a highlight. Not only to see the Mona Lisa's eyes following you as you walk by her, but the sheer volume of incredible artworks and sculptures within the lavishly beautiful space is truly un-comparable. This classical art is especially fun w/ kids as it's so saucy, gory with lots of strange subject matters, it's an interesting challenge for a parent to answer the "why's". I kept thinking about the opera, why I love it so much, for the same reasons, this exploration of human nature which seems to come down to all of our cardinal vices; greed, sloth, pride, jealousy, murder(wrath), lust, gluttony and war! Explaining this stuff in "PG" makes for hilarious and involved conversations with a 7 year old.
There have been few other times that traveling has been as much fun as with my little goofball son. Exhausting for sure, but his outlook on places and how he interacts with his world is really inspiring. Kids are very punk rock.
After Paris, we explored Tenerife, one of the Canary islands off the coast of North Africa. It is considered part of Spain, but like Cataluñya is also an autonomous region. It is famous for its volcanic activity and it looks like a southern version of Iceland. What we did find there for the first time in many months was the sun. It was a much needed infusion of vitamin D, something I had been lacking in Berlin for the last 5 months. After a glorious week spent in a yurt in the dry highlands of the island, we moved on and flew to Madrid.
Then we returned to Germany. Land of rules and ways that I believe only really Germans understand. As an old punk and do-I-what-I-wanter, I have to admit there is quite a bit of a culture clash between us. Granted we do live in the South of Berlin, a beautiful and boring suburb far from the more exotic multi cultural Berlin you hear about, but truly it feels more German than Kreuzberg. Although there are amazing resources in Berlin, especially for artists, there is a lack of a warm inclusive community. Like most northern European cultures(I do belong to one) it takes a long time to really meet and make friends here. Most all my friends in Berlin, are not German! British, Kiwis, Americans, Italians, Spanish..but no Germans. I think there is an inherently thicker shell around Northerners, and the general sourpuss attitudes, especially prevalent in the Winter months is tough to live around. In stark contrast, in Spain, the people (like the weather) are warm, loud, relaxed and mostly smiling. It's funny because I'm Swedish, and I understand the Northern way in my bones and blood but my heart thrives in the Southern cultures. But I digress..
