Winter Scenes, Favorite Places

Munich has gotten a fair bit of snow lately, and it's been cloudy and grey. But today the sun came out, and so I grabbed the camera and took a few pictures on my way down the street. Here's my neighborhood in all its snowy splendor:

Here's the cute and very useful tram that I can hop on about two blocks from my apartment:

But today I walked, as usual, because everything is so close to me--about 5 minutes by foot. I first went to "my" bakery to get a "Butter-Breze" (a large pretzle cut in half and spread with butter):

On the way to my next stop I took a picture of this nearby building that I often admire:

Then I had a cappucino in this cozy cafe that I've recently discovered:

Across the street is the little news and stationery shop, where I often buy the local paper:

And here was my final destination today--the dance school where I take ballet lessons.

It was a fun day!

Ai Weiwei in Munich

Today I braved the rain and slushy sidewalks and went to a spectacular art exhibit at the "Haus der Kunst." It was the last day of the show called "so sorry" by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, and I'm really glad I didn't miss it. Artist Ai is fond of turning convention on its head and making art out of things we don't always consider art... but he does it in a way unlike other unconventional artists. You know the idea that some modern art takes simple objects, or a canvas painted all in one color, or a cube and calls it "art," and we are supposed to accept that such things are art, or at least question what we consider art. Somehow, that has never worked very well for me. Ai, in contrast, makes sculptures out of tree trunks, ancient Chinese tables and vases, and pressed tea leaves, among other things, and they truly fill you with awe. He fills enormous rooms and spaces with these sculptures that seem to live and breathe.

The picture above is the front of the Haus der Kunst; the colored squares are actually backpacks that represent children who died in schools in the 2008 earthquakes in China and whose names were never released by the government. The picture below is from a huge room at the art museum; it's a long rectangle-shaped space, with a very high ceiling, and there are 1000 pictures of individual Chinese people on all four walls. The room is filled with large stumps and roots of old trees, and on the floor are woven rug tiles that exactly match the granite tiles of the room. It sounds a bit odd, but the effect is stunning.



Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera along. These images are from Andreas Hirsch and Stephan Schobloch on Flickr.com.

New Year, New Projects

During these two weeks at home I had planned to get so much knitting done, but somehow, I managed to do very little. However, I do have one finished project to show off...the third of the five Christmas stockings for Sigrid has been completed! I love the colors she chose and am enjoying seeing how each different pattern works up with these colors.

On my desk below you can see my other projects that are lined up: I've started a pair of socks for me, the purple yarn that is supposed to be Fran's sweater is there, and in the bag are several balls of a super-bulky off-white wool that are waiting to be turned into I don't know what.



This reminds me of my New Year's resolution: not to have quite so many projects going at once! I'd like to limit it to two at a time (a quick one and a slow one), instead of the current 4 or 5 at a time, which inevitably leads to such a loss of interest in a couple of them that they are later frogged and turned into something else or the yarn is stashed for a good long while.

I wish you all a happy and productive New Year, and good luck with your resolutions (if you have them)!