Final destination

I finally got to Zagreb, and I am really happy to be here! I took an overnight train from Muenster, to Oberhausen to Munich to Zagreb, that was about an 18 hour journey arriving in Zagreb around 9 am yesterday morning. The train ride was an experience to say the least, the ticket was cheap and I was able to get a sleeping car. When I arrived to my car, I was sharing the car with a Croatian family of 5, which would have been great, had I not had luggage for three months! Luckily the train attendant was able to find a compartment to stow my bag until I got to Zagreb. I was not able to sleep too much, by the time I did fall asleep we arrived in Slovenia and I was awakened by the police asking for passports and customs. When I arrived in Zagreb the weather was terrible, it was about 45 degrees and pouring down rain. I was without an umbrella and wearing my suede sneakers, nothing is worse than soggy feet and knowing I left my red rain boots at home.

Once I checked into my hostel and changed into my (waterproof) doc martens, the rain let up. I ventured out to find the Art Academy and met with a few people, Visnja, the international coordinator, and a few of the professors, while chatting with them for a bit, I had a very nice lunch from one of the student restaurants. I was very grateful for the meal because it has been the closest thing to a meal from home that I have had before I left, and it was just what I needed after a very tiring journey. It was then that I was told that I could move into the dorm, again very grateful for this since that meant I could unpack! After the meal and a short tour of the sculpture facilities I went back to the hostel checked out and head to what is going to be home for the next 2 and a half months.

Nothing officially begins as far as classes for international students until next week, but we are allowed to visit the classes. I think next week is when we will be meeting with the faculty to show them my portfolio and then match me with a mentor-professor that I will work with during my term.

Today I came into the central part of Zagreb, to just wander around. I ran into the huge open air market that rivals the strip district in Pittsburgh and puts to shame the farmers market in Indiana! The produce is super fresh and wonderfully inexpensive, I am happy to know that I have a place to get fresh fruits and veggies.

No internet in the dorms yet, more questions to ask to whom, I do not know. Presently, I am in an internet cafe with a Cyrillic keyboard, hence no contractions since I cannot figure out where the apostrophe button is!

All the best
--AM

Flickr

As promised, below is a link for my Flickr account. I've taken roughly 900 images so far, certainly not all of them have been loaded! Not all are captioned yet, probably tomorrow morning they'll be done.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13871108@N05/sets/


Enjoy!

--AM

Münster Day 2

Today was another lovely day in Münster, rented a bike again to try to get to the remaining sculptures around the city. Today's journey took me to the private gardens. Artist Jermey Deller created a piece based soley upon the social aspect of the private garden. In a German city, since the residential areas usually don't provide enough space for a garden, people are allowed to purchase a lot of land through a garden center. Each plot has about 2 sq. acres of land, with a little cottage / bungalow type structure to act as a little shed, or place to hang out when tending the plants. Deller was fascinated by the mirco-communities that the gardens have created and enlisted their help in the piece. He approached all of the garden communities and asked them to plant seeds of the Dove Tree, native to western China. He chose this plant because of it's slow growth, resulting in the plant's first bloom coming in ten years, just in time for skulptur projekte 2017. Over the next ten years, the centers are being asked to maintain a progress book for the plants, thereby also serving as a document of the community involvement that was needed to look after the Dove Trees. Visitors were allowed to purchase the seeds as a means of extending the project outside of Münster. So, coming in the spring Indiana will have a Dove Tree of it's own!

After visiting the private gardens, I took the promenade that encircles the city-proper to the Botanical Gardens. A few pieces were sparsed throughout the gardens, but I still took a lot of time going through the greenhouses. Around 4p it became cloudy and a race to get through the last few pieces that were close before the rain came. So, my day was cut a little short but luckily I still have tomorrow and early Wednesday to catch the last few pieces.

I've had another change in plans, I'm going straight to Zagreb Wendesday into Thrusday, via the train. It's going to be easier and cheaper to travel to Venice and Poland once I'm in a quasi-permanent place. To fly in Europe is really quick and inexpensive, as long as you don't have 50 lbs of luggage! So, once I get settled in Zagreb, I'll either go to the coast, as Aasta recommends, or I'll continue the art show pilgrammage and take the ferry to Venice. I'm thinking I'll go to Venice later in Oct. after which the tourist season has relaxed a bit.

More biking tomorrow, all the best.

--AM

Munster, Germany

Saturday I traveled from Kassel to Munster by train, hence the late post. The reason I decided to come to Munster is because there is an outdoor sculpture exhibition that takes place here, once every ten years. My friend treated me to a nice German breakfast with croissant, soft boiled eggs, and bagels, with nutella, and other tasty spreads. After breakfast I rented a bike and toured around the city checking out as many works as possible. The town is really nice, our friend here tells us that its a pretty affluent college town and it's also the bike capital of the world, so what better thing to do than use a bike to get around! There are many churches in the town squares with architecture dating back to Medieval and Renaissance. Tomorrow I'll be doing the same, as long as the weather holds out, rain is in the forecast for the afternoon.

Still working on a Flickr account, probably once I get to Zagreb I'll have time to sit down and load everything.

--AM

Skype

P.S. I've downloaded Skype, since my cell doesn't work in Europe and its not worth activating it to do so. Email me phone numbers, I can't even access my contacts from my phone!

--AM

Kassel Day 2

Yesterday (20 Sept) was a gorgeous day in Kassel, perfect weather, partly cloudly, high about 65 degrees. I stopped at pastry place yesterday for breakfast, it's impossible to walk a blok and not find a bakery! I enjoyed a reall delicious Marzipan Croissant and a coffee, I think I'll have to go back this morning for a similar treat.

Again, much of the day was spent at Documenta, I have no idea how people can breeze through the exhibition in 2 days, let alone 1! Plus my camera battery died, half way through the 1st of the 2 exhibition halls, so I need to go back and get images as well. I was utterly amazed by what I saw yesterday, it's going to take me awhile to unpack the show, but I need to take the time to do so (don't worry, Ali, Aasta, and Ellen, I plan to have a formal report to email to you!). Above is an image from my favorite piece (thus far), I could have sat all day watching the films, more on that one later, too, much to complex for a few sentences in a blog.

Back to Documenta this morning and some wanderings through the town.

--AM

Kassel: Day 1

Hello, all! Thanks for all the well wishes that everyone has sent, directly, via blog / email and otherwise. Tuesday was pretty much a blur, I landed in Munich at 10.40a local (4.40a eastern), the flight was fine, aside the impossibility to sleep thanks to an aisle seat. I'm very pleased I had nice neighbors and the company of my ipod, word seek (thanks, Aunt Julie!) and my lengthy Proust novels.

After getting through the airport I took a 4 hour train to Kassel, got settled in to the hotel, and collapsed. By now I think I'm adjusted to the time change, thankfully, I've got much to see in a short time. While in Kassel I am spending the majority of my time viewing Documenta XII, one of the foremost contemporary art exhibitions. I visited two of the four venues today, even that was way too much to be looking at. It becomes so draining, physically and mentally. My first and very breif impressions of the show so far are very difficult to make, nothing in the show is surprising, or shocking, for that matter. This edition of Documenta's stregth is that the work included in the show is arranged in such a way that there is no reason to put one work next to another, aside from strict spatial requirements. The works are allowed to create their own correalations and contexts with one another, as visitors are asked by the artistic director and curator to do the same. There are no neatly packaged answers to what art is, according to this show, rather a reinforcement of the inability to define art.

More Documenta tomorrow, and pictures, I promise!

All my best,
AM

Arrived in Germany!

I arrived in Munich on time this morning and hopped the train to Kassel, about 4 hours, but beautiful scenery. Just relaxing in the hotel then a full day of checking out documenta 12 tomorrow! Will post images as soon as i can.

--AM

Change in plans

I've learned that I will have a little more time than I initially anticipated before going to Zagreb. After hanging out in Muenster, Germany for Skulptur Projek, I will be going to Venice to see the Biennale (thus, completing the Grand Tour) from Sept 26 - Oct 1. I am then planning to go to the coast of Croatia for a few days, finally to Zagreb on Oct 3 or 4 for the term. I do intend to take a weekend to go to Opole, Poland to visit friends, and also to Bosnia, Aasta and many others tell me it's imperative that I do so.

-AM

Pre Departure

Dobar Dan! (I'm practicing my Croatian, that's "hello" to you)

I will be leaving for Gemany on Sept. 17, to take part in the "Grand Tour" of contemporary art, Documenta XII in Kassel, Skulptur Projek: Munster, and will go the Venice Biennale in October. After trekking through Germany, I will probably go to Dobrovnik or Split in Croatia, I'm told the beaches are beautiful. I will plan to be in Zagreb for the beginning of term the first week of October.

-AM