Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Author: admin

  • Hamburg – Hamburger Kunsthalle (Glass on Paintings)

    I meandered around the Hamburger Kunsthalle, the city’s main art gallery, and wondered why nearly every single painting had glass in front of it. The gallery has had a brilliant idea in having a series of rooms explaining the scope of their collection and also answering why they have some of the policies that they do.

    And, to my surprise, they actually answered the question about why they have glass in front of paintings, so I imagine it’s been asked many times before. The answer is quite simple, they have been putting it there for decades as the smoke from the neighbouring train lines was causing a build up of soot and grime on their paintings from the steam engines.

    They do explain that from the 1970s they’ve made efforts to ensure that the glass is anti-reflective, colourless and offers protection from ultraviolet radiation. I’m not sure that they’ve got the anti-reflective glass quite perfect yet, but I’m just pleased that there’s a reason for doing it.

    But care has to be taken with glass, as the photo at the top of this post is of the glass which was in front of this painting. It seems that the glass was put on too soon in this case, but it’s still amazing how much of the image transferred to the surface of the glass.

  • Hamburg – Hamburger Kunsthalle (Magpie Line by Richard Long)

    I think I like this, even though I have no clue what it is actually meant to be other than a large number of flints in a defined heap. The artist is though of international acclaim and there’s an interesting summary of his work on Wikipedia which reads:

    “Several of his works were based around walks that he has made, and as well as land based natural sculpture, he uses the mediums of photography, text and maps of the landscape he has walked over. In his work, often cited as a response to the environments he walked in, the landscape would be deliberately changed in some way, as in A Line Made by Walking (1967), and sometimes sculptures were made in the landscape from rocks or similar found materials and then photographed. Other pieces consist of photographs or maps of unaltered landscapes accompanied by texts detailing the location and time of the walk it indicates.”

    I like the idea of giving meaning to walking and its impact on the natural environment, so the underlying thought behind his works sounds intriguing.

    The only slight limitation I have with this is that I don’t have a bloody clue what this artwork is trying to tell me. Insomuch that I carefully stood there and searched for the artwork on-line it worked as I wanted to find out more, but I’m just a little disappointed that I can’t get any real meaning from this. I could add my own meaning, but I could do that to anything and it’d likely just involve me imagining it’s a road to Greggs which the walker cannot stray off of.

    The artist is still alive and, to my knowledge, exhibiting and creating artworks and I did think of going as far as contacting him and asking him about the work. But I couldn’t find any contact details and so I didn’t. Which is probably for the best, as I have no idea what I’m talking about at the best of times.

  • Hamburg – Hamburger Kunsthalle (Pierre de Wiessant by Rodin)

    Since my expedition to the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia I’ve been intrigued by Rodin’s works, especially given how there are strict rules on how many copies can be made of each work. This sculpture is one of the individuals which formed the Burghers of Calais, aiming to capture a young man walking into what he thought would be certain death.

    There are different versions of this sculpture, one where the model is clothed and the other, like with this one, unclothed. There are other versions of the one at this museum at the Rodin Museum in France and at the Brooklyn Museum in New York.

  • Hamburg – Hamburg Museum of History (Death Mask of Fritz Schulze)

    This is the death mask of Fritz Karl Franz (Fiete) Schulze, a freedom fighter who was executed in 1935 for opposing the Nazis. He worked in the shipyards in Hamburg and became interested in politics, joining the SPD and later the USPD, a similar party which broke away from the SPD. After becoming involved in a failed uprising Schulze fled to Russia in 1926, but he returned to his home city of Hamburg in 1932.

    Schulze was arrested in April 1933 for “high treason and three charges of murder” and was tortured during his period of imprisonment. He was sentenced to a ridiculous 260 years of hard labour and three death sentences. He was executed on 6 June 1935 when he was beheaded by an axe in the courtyard of a Hamburg prison. He has since had his sentence overturned by the Hamburg courts and his reputation has been restored.

  • Hamburg – Hamburg Museum of History (Executing Pirates)

    Back in the fourteenth century, and indeed for centuries afterwards, pirates gave Hamburg and other cities in the Hanseatic League a real problem. They interrupted trade routes, stole goods, damaged ships and kidnapped crews. So, the Hamburg authorities wanted to look like they were being tough, and they executed every pirate that they could find. They then displayed their dead bodies at Grasbrook, so that every incoming boat would see them.

    One of the museum’s pride and joys was a skull with a nail through it which was discovered during construction work in 1878. It was found where pirates were buried and it was thought that the skull might have been that of Klaus Störtebeker. It was a bit awkward for the museum as someone pinched it in 2010, although fortunately the police found it in 2011 and gave it back.

    I’m not actually sure where the skull now is, as I couldn’t find it in the museum. But they do have some replicas on display which are visible in the above photo. The wheel in the photo was used to torture prisoners by breaking their bones before they were executed. What a lovely place Hamburg must have been……

  • Hamburg – Hamburg Museum of History (Model Railway)

    I’m not one for model railways as I prefer the real things, but I’m impressed at the effort and commitment that people put into them. I can get the whole club mentality of joining together and building something (assuming your efforts aren’t literally clubbed to pieces by yobs as was the case with the poor folks at Market Deeping Model Railway Club).

    And Hamburg is also where the largest model railway in the world is located, at a museum called Miniatur Wunderland, which I didn’t visit on this trip. However, the Hamburg Museum of History has a large room on their top floor dedicated to another model railway.

    The history of the collection goes back to the 1920s when a group of parents didn’t really want their children displaying extensive model railway kits in their living rooms. So a room was found where they could display their efforts and in 1949 the railway was moved to the museum. Although it seems they’ve had some trying times over the decades, including having to replace all the wiring in the 1990s for fire reasons, it’s all still functioning.

    And below are some of the photos of their set-up….

  • Hamburg – Street Urinals

    At some stage the authorities decided they wanted some imagery outside the toilet to encourage people not to damage it. They certainly went with something eye catching….

  • Hamburg – McDonald’s

    One of the most bizarre juxtapositions involving a McDonald’s that I’ve seen. It’s the McDonald’s located on the Reeperbahn, also known as “the sinful mile”. I didn’t go in (I meant the McDonald’s when writing that, although I also didn’t go in the strip club either).

  • Hamburg – Hamburg Museum of History (Burnt Things)

    There was a very large fire in Hamburg in 1842, which started a cigar factory and managed to destroy a third of the city and kill over fifty people. In today’s money, the damage done was around €1 billion, with numerous churches being destroyed, as well as the City Hall.

    There are some exhibits in Hamburg Museum which come from that fire, items all fused together from the heat of the inferno. They’re quite a reminder of what must have been a terrifying time for the city. I think I’d have been quite irritated if I had owned all the coins which got melted together and probably had a go at trying to chip some of them off in a desperate bid to use them.

  • Hamburg – Brewdog

    Part of me doesn’t really like Brewdog for some of their corporate practices, but more of me is liking Brewdog as they have interesting and intriguing beers, as well as friendly and engaging staff. The Brewdog in Hamburg only opened last week, so given that, I thought I’d pop in. It’s located on the Reeperbahn, which is perhaps the most suitable street for such a bar in the city. Which would explain why they put it there….

    The beer fridge, with numerous tempting options.

    The beer menu above the bar.

    Photos of the interior, all looking contemporary, on-trend and welcoming.

    And the nitro milk stout, which is Jet Black Heart, which I’ve had before, but it’s a delightful drink with a richness of flavour and a slightly sweet edge. It was at the slightly chilled temperature that I’d expect and I liked the depth of taste that the stout had. It’s not the cheapest of drinks, although Brewdog isn’t really known for being entirely cost effective.

    The staff member who served me was enthusiastic, helpful and engaging. The process was made particularly easy for me as not only did the staff member speak English, she was British, which made selecting a beer much easier. There’s a friendly atmosphere in the entire bar and the selection of craft beers was extensive, the widest that I’ve seen in Germany.

    So, if nothing else, here’s to Brewdog at least bringing craft beer to more people. Perhaps in a few years there will be tens of these innovative bars opening up across northern Europe, and perhaps even southern Europe.