Kirche

While in Germany I was overwhelmed by the number of old and beautiful churches. They were everywhere! Most of them I only saw from the outside, but we went into a few. I am embarrassed to say that sometimes inside those majestic buildings I thought about Nightcrawler from the second X-men movie. Hey, I was in a church at night and people were speaking German. It was perfectly logical, just nerdy. Anyway, I wanted to share some of my favorite Kirche pictures.

This is the first church I saw in downtown Stuttgart. I loved the cool tower, but I also wanted to share this picture because of the crane in the background. Yeah, see that yellow crane to the right of the church? Apparently cranes are "thing" in Germany. Every single construction site had a crane on it. I mean, they could be digging a ditch, and there would be a crane on site. It was insane. I have never seen so many cranes in my life. I even brought home a toy crane for my boys, it was that much a part of my experience. I think someone needs to check into the lobbyist groups for the German government. I'm betting that the crane industry is wielding a little too much power. You can't even get a permit to paint your house without one of those babies.

These next two pictures of church details are from another church in Stuttgart. I loved all of the carvings and statuary.

In Munich we passed by an old church with markers for those who were buried in the foundation. They ranged from very simple to extravagant. The marker with the skull was especially cool.

So, we ended up in Munich on a Sunday which was not our original plan but, as I mentioned before, Germany was determined to foil any plans we made. Anyway, we had spent most of the day doing things that were not necessarily very "churchy" like eating at the Hard Rock Cafe. So, I was so happy when we stumbled upon the most amazing religious artistic installation.

It was in a 14th century church known as the Holy Ghost Church or Heiliggeistkirche.

The church alone was stunning, but add 2000 origami doves suspended from the ceiling and it became something magical.

In addition to the doves, the installation had fog, lighting and sound effects which gave the church and otherworldly feel.

Sounds of flapping wings, church bells, people praying and gentle music floated in the background.

It was very peaceful there, everyone who entered was reverent.

The changing lighting made the doves alternately beings of light or shadow.

As we walked around the church, we noticed that on every painting in the church the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove was spotlighted.

It felt right to reflect on spiritual things on a Sunday evening in such a beautiful atmosphere and I really enjoyed the symbolic nature of the installation.

While not as flashy as the previous churches, this one was the oldest church we visited. It was in a small town near the Bodensee and boasts some of the oldest preserved wall murals. The church dates back to the 10th century. Obviously, it has been restored a bit. We were crushed that we missed the last tour of the day thanks to the very old man driving in front of us for miles and miles. At least there was a visitor's center with beautiful photographs of the murals and also ultra violet exposures of the murals which reveal additional details that have faded from the visible spectrum.

Finally, this is the last church I saw on my trip in the town of Constance on the Bodensee. I snapped a picture of this gem as we were walking back to the car for the long drive home. Good night, Kirche.

Munchen

After the Kunst Museum we hit downtown Munich for dinner at the Hard Rock cafe and some after-dinner entertainment in the form of some hilarious and talented street performers. Their band is Konnexion Balkon. You can download some of their music for free. The architecture was also so interesting and beautiful. I loved Munich which, for the record, is called Munchen in Germany. Why do we call it Munich? I blame the Wizard of Oz. Munchen makes me think of small people with lollipops.

Downtown Munchen

This is Freddy Mercury's jumpsuit at the Hard Rock Cafe. I recognized it from across the room. I'm not sure if knowing that much about Queen is cool or not, but I felt cool.

This one is for my boys. Yes boys, this guitar played Boris the Spider. Yes it is awesome.

This Gothic revival beauty is New Town Hall.

Take that crazy dragon gargoyle.

This very old tower is on the corner next to very modern buildings. It is called Lion Tower and is the only remaining part of the city wall built in the 12th century.

I totally climbed it in order to escape the Polizei. They'd been following me ever since we tried to force our way through the barricade in front of the Mercedes Benz museum. Luckily, I was saved by lollipop wielding Munchens. 

Kunst

Of course while I was in Europe I needed to visit an art museum. We visited the Alte Pinothek in Munich. They will let you in to see priceless works of art for only one Euro. Crazy. Most of the paintings dealt with religious imagery like these paintings from Italy in the 13th and 15th centuries.

Not only is the art beautiful but the frames were just incredible.

Of course, some of the subject matter was decidedly NOT religious in nature unless you worship strange creatures. They sometimes popped up in very random places.

I mean, what is going on here? Is that monster regurgitating the queens gown? There were other places where I expected to find monsters like in this piece by Hieronymus Bosch.

I was excited to see a Bosch and take a picture for the boys because they love the beautiful children's book Pish. Posh. Said Hieronymus Bosch. The book is full of Bosch's creatures like these little guys.

Love it.
Anyway, back the religious imagery, I was particularly intrigued by the various depictions of the nativity and the Madonna and child. This 16th century German nativity was one of favorites.

The color on this Dutch nativity was almost overwhelming.

But the best part was seeing three depictions of Mary and Baby Jesus by three different masters. That's a Raphael, a Da Vinci and a Van Dyck. The Van Dyck is my favorite.

Thank you Alte Pinothek.

Nymphenburg

Nymphenburg is just a little summer home in a little town called Munchen aka Munich. I mean, the royals could hardly use it as a primary residence because with only 490 acres and over 12,000 square feet in the main building it was much too small to be an all-year kind of a palace. Everything about Nymphenburg was gorgeous. The grounds alone were worth the visit with swans waddling and gliding all over the place.

There were also ducks which, long time friends know, I have a little bit of an obsession with ducks. This adorable little guy was waddling around with his strange black and white striped feet.

Crazy, huh? Anyway, the palace itself was in the baroque style. The detail work and paintings were so beautiful. Even the feet on the outdoor lamps were carved and gilded.

These are pictures from the Great Hall. It was breathtaking.

Dominika's favorite part of the palace was King Ludwig I's Gallery of Beauties. I can agree with her that it is nice to know that not all women in the 19th century were unhappy and unattractive and in some ways the gallery is progressive. The women who sat for portraits were from all classes of society. On the other hand, the idea of a gallery of beautiful women for King Ludwig I to stare at is a little bit creepy. Regardless, the portraits are beautiful and it was fun to wonder about the lives of the various women depicted.

In addition to the main palace, there are mini-museums and other buildings to visit on the palace grounds. I enjoyed going to the carriage museum which houses a number of ornate carriages and sleds. I don't think I realized how often sleighs were used for transport. I guess it makes sense since there were no snowplows... and no roads sometimes... and those carriages didn't have all-weather tires. I desperately wanted to sit in some of those carriages and practice my princess wave, but dang it ALL of them said "nicht sitzen". Boo.

Aww, a carriage for the wee little princes and princesses.

See, you want to sit in this one too, don't you?

The figures on the sleighs were awesome and a little over-the-top. I loved the glass lanterns on the sleighs. It made me think of riding through the snow on a winter's night with big furs and warm bricks. It sounds terribly romantic but was probably also terribly uncomfortable.

Of course, some of the sculptures were also kind of hilarious. In particular I was tickled by the lions suffering from strabismus...

...and the cherubs wrestling the swan.

Take that, demon fowl! We will lasso you with a garland of flowers. Apparently, even when cherubs are getting tough they use flowers.

The other place we visited on the palace grounds was a little 18th century hunting lodge called Amalienburg. Most of the lodge was not as ostentatious as the main palace but I loved every bit of it. I loved how the doors were painted and even curved to match the walls so that when it was closed it was almost impossible to tell it was there.

The oriental style tiles in the kitchen were charming and beautiful. This is a kitchen I wouldn't mind cooking in... except I would want appliances that didn't require me to build a fire first.

I was already hooked, but then the bedroom had a yellow curtained bed. Yellow! I want one of these installed in my house.

The largest room in the lodge was the hall of mirrors. The hall was decorated in the rococo style and the light reflecting around the room gave it a glow. Pictures don't do it justice.

This final picture isn't as amazing or beautiful, but I just loved the fading painted patterns on the walls. It reminded me just how old these buildings really are. They were built before my country was even organized.

We could have stayed at Nymphenburg all day, but we were eager to see what else Munich had to offer. This is the picture I took as we walked away. Goodbye Nymphenburg.