"Tales of Dunk and Egg" by George R.R.Martin

I know George R.R.Martin as a creator of "Game of Thrones" naturally, although so far I have actually not attempted to read the novels because I was so much enjoying TV serial. But I will eventually get there. However, he was one the authors represented in "Legends: Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy" collection, which I just finished and I must admit that along Stephen King, he by far towered above everybody else in the book. I did liked the other authors more or less, but George R.R.Martin was a real deal - his story "The Hedge Knight" was a top class and I felt completely lost in this  quasi-medieval world of lords and peasants, squires and knight competitions. The main character is extremely likable Dunk who is basically outsider from the very bottom of society but is strong, young and brave enough to search for some recognition in this world of knights, perhaps good position in some aristocratic castle under protection of influential lord. But first he needs to prove himself in knights tournaments and there is a whole saga about his arrival in town and how destiny throws him around from one trouble to another, while along the way he even gets himself a squire who turns out to be much more than just a sulky boy - when the dust settles, it is the relationship between Dunk and Egg that I enjoyed more than anything else, I truly loved both of them and when I finished the collection, I looked immediately for "Legends II" where another tale of these two was published.

This is actually something outside of "Game of Thrones" - same world, same universe but is happening some hundred years before - "The Sworn Sword" continues the story exactly at the spot where we left the guys last time around and it felt just perfectly to find them together again. This time Dunk gets involved with fight between two feudal powers and has to protect elderly Ser Eustace Osgrey from far more powerful Red Widow who turns out to be completely different from what we expect. There is a lot of sword fighting, lots of talk about ancient wars and even some interesting ideas about what makes a winners and traitors (basically just a wrong choice of the side) but the best of all is again the interaction between brave Dunk and his young helper Egg, how they love each other in their own way and yes, I gulped it all in one sitting with the greatest pleasure (I even skipped some pages because I was so engrossed in the story). I could just read about these two forever. When I finished, I thought how this could easily have been a western - with different clothing and scenery, one can easily imagine them somewhere in Colorado - basically it is a good guy fighting bad ones. As it happens right now Fantasy is very popular genre but some 50 years ago this would have been fantastically successful Western. 

There is a third story floating somewhere around and I am dead serious about finding and reading that one as well.

Trondheim and Nidaros Cathedral

Since I am waking up in different city, no wonder occasionally I mix them all and have no idea am I in Trondheim or Tromsø.

Well, now I know.

Trondheim is the one with the church. Previously I have seen it only from the ship, it was pouring rain and not very inviting so I decided not to bother, but this time around it was bright and sunny day and I was curious what is this place I have no memories of visiting before. So bravely and full of adventure spirit, I took a walk where no man has gone before, alone - without colleagues or any acquaintances, which turned out excellent idea as I was free like a bird and without obligations to entertain anyone, just me with my I-pod. Than I turned it off, because I wanted to enjoy birds singing and the sounds of the sunny day around me. In all honesty, city is nothing much to talk about - clean, orderly and therefore slightly boring - I almost miss the chaos and dirt of Naples because every brick in this place shines unrealistically and there is a strange museum-like atmosphere of the whole place, it does not feel real somehow, maybe because there were not many people around except tourists.

BUT there is a very famous cathedral here - not just Europe's but world's northernmost cathedral - centre of medieval pilgrimages and built on a grave of Norwegian King/Saint Olav, so naturally it was something to check out as I love historical buildings and church was clearly visible over the rooftops. I enjoyed relaxing walk to there, somehow found my way to the impressive cathedral - Gothic, spiky and full of sculptures of saints, just as churches are all over the world. So far, so good. I walked little bit around the area, noticed that this cathedral is actually in a very good shape (later found out it had been extensively reconstructed, rebuilt and refurnished trough last two centuries) and than, in the spur of the moment decided to pay the ticket and have a look inside. This one is not just any church but also a tourist attraction and since something constantly needs to be rebuild - roof here, stained glass window there - visitors pay the ticket. Fine. 

I entered and immediately gasped in amazement. This is he most beautiful, the most perfect church I have ever seen - very simple (protestant, I think, this is north after all), very dark and theatrical, it is huge inside and feels Gothic, very "Game of Thrones", very medieval, like a temple, light coming from candles and from stained glass windows. Just beautiful and very, very impressive. I am constantly thrilled with protestant churches and equally unimpressed with what I see in the catholic world of Italy, Spain and at home - those leave me cold, while these northern temples are real and appeal to me far more. This feels like a God's temple. Its simply my own personal impression. I was perfectly happy here - not feeling like a small mouse in awe of big God who is going to punish me and squeeze with his thumb any moment (as you feel in Vatican, for example) but excited for being in such enchanting place full of history and shadows. My head buzzing from fantasy working overtime and everything looking like some huge theatre stage (am I medieval lord or the wizard or perhaps priestess of Avalon?) I peeked in every corner, gawked at few rare portraits and decorations (if there were any, there were historical and purposely placed there as memorial) and later hid behind the altar to take this crappy photo, because photography is forbidden. 

Why would photography be forbidden I have no idea, because my camera would definitely not damage 11th century stone cathedral, except that perhaps locals are sick and tired of tourists clicking and this is a very special place, after all. So I respect and agree with this, but clicked my camera nevertheless, hiding behind some wall and voilà there was ancient St.Olav's Well right behind me. The whole place was just magnificent.

After I roamed enough everywhere and discovered what it feels like a dozen little chapels inside, I found myself in front of the main altar where I had my usual little meditative moment & conversation with God but surprisingly, this time I had not asked for anything. This time I was just perfectly happy and content with myself and life around me, glad that I am who I am at this particular moment of my life, grateful for such a beautiful day, grateful for standing here and for seeing all of this. So I thanked for all of this and than had a coffee on a sunny terrace right in front of church, feeling relaxed, fulfilled and happy for once. 

B.B.King

"B.B.King is dead" I said to my colleague as we found a place in ship's smoking room - claustrophobic little room designed to punish smokers - here is the only place on the ship we can light a cigarette and have some coffee. "Who is B.B.King?" he replied. Oh God, I said to myself. This one knows all about Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue but has never heard of and doesn't even care for B.B.King. I felt sad immediately and crestfallen why do I even have to spend my time with people like this.

Farewell B.B.King, I love your music and always will. 

"Debt of bones" by Terry Goodkind (1998)

"Debt of bones" is actually part of previously mentioned book "Legends: Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy" and this was for me introduction to the world of literary genre of Fantasy, Terry Goodkind being one of authors presented. Goodkind apparently created the whole fictional universe of his own and he is author of highly successful multi-volume saga titled "The Sword of Truth" - after several books, he also wrote "Debt of bones" as stand-alone prequel and this was included in "Legends" for it works as a part of his Fantasy novels but it can also be introduction to his work. I was very intrigued because his writing style is quite captivating and it did had a feeling of some good, atmospheric medieval adventure novel. 

The main character is Abigail, daughter of Hensa, who arrives in big town with decision to search help from all-powerful wizard in order to protect her small village from invaders. Goodkind is very good at describing the overcrowded city, its people and all sorts of citizens crowding the streets, he also cleverly puts our focus at the main character and slowly unfolds the story that presents itself like an onion peeled of many different layers until we realize that nothing is what it seemed at the beginning. Everybody lies and cheats at one point or another, some must be sacrificed for the final results and sometimes one person means nothing in bigger scheme of things. I was really deeply immersed into this one and liked it enough to search for more of the same author in the future.

"Game of Thrones" (season 4)

I have enjoyed "Game of Thrones" immensely while I watched first three seasons but there was a break in my continuation until I could get my hands on season four, so I wasn't sure would I like it anymore, once my initial excitement vaned a little bit. Recently I decided to give it a go and watched first episode of season four, just to find myself thinking "this is all one bombastic cliché after another" - since I wasn't anymore so lost in the fantastic world of George R.R. Martin and had drifted little bit away from it, suddenly I saw it with different eyes and things did seem a bit overblown, all big gestures, dirty hair and swords all over the place. It saddened me a bit but it did feel like awakening after a drunken party and seeing things in different light, clearer. 

However, curiosity got better of me and so I continued, just to find myself again completely and utterly lost & immersed into story. Apparently I had to kind of re-introduce myself again to everything because there are so many characters and places that its really difficult to catch up with all of them, I am still not 100% sure do I remember all these people and honestly, though I can tell that eventually this will probably all get connected (in a season 365) so far story is happening in ten different parts of kingdom simultaneously and new characters are constantly coming up while old ones intrigue, plot and travel all over the places - I still think this is the best TV serial I have ever seen in my life ("I, Claudius" mixed with "Lord of the Rings" on unsurpassed, grand scale) and I still think the part of the story dealing with that dragon mother is boring, because visually spectacular as it is, she is still far away, on the other side of the sea and this is season four - she was far away at the beginning of season one so although I expect she will eventually arrive in the main story eventually, it really takes forever and every time her scenes come along I became impatient because it kind of forces viewers to stop concentrating on main story and follow her, behind seven seas far away. 

My favorite character is still dwarf (excellent Peter Dinklage) who is right now at this part of the story in prison, suspect of murder and I care for him deeply, I was just thinking that if anything happen to him I will stop watching the darn serial. His evil sister queen is kind of one-dimensional because she is obviously hateful woman with empty heart and most of the time we see her sipping wine - earlier, she was fascinating, now she is just cartoon but there is another character (Diana Rigg) who is far more clever, manipulative and formidable. And yes, giantess Brienne of Tarth is still around and I absolutely love her, if I see this actress in real life I would probably give her a hug. Right now I am halfway trough season 4 and can't wait to continue watching it again tonight.

Update:

Saw the final episode of season 4 and still excited - I honestly think this is the best TV serial that I have ever seen in my entire life and it is a compulsively watchable program, you simply can't stop watching episode after episode - all those cliffhanger-ends, ever-changing adventures of characters who travel all around the kingdom, it is all truly mind-boggling. And this is coming from someone who does not really care for sword fights and massive fights, but scenery and mass scenes are truly magnificent and I can hardly imagine this being surpassed any time soon.

"Legends: Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy" (1988)

Apparently there is a literary genre that eluded me so far, or perhaps it is actually two of them combined: Fantasy and Science Fiction. With everything I had read in my life, it seems that I ignored these two, for no other reasons but ignorance how to approach them. You see, both of them have a passionate cult followers who know where to start and how many volumes these usually long novels have. If you look at the titles, its frightening and intimidating to face serials and sagas: few months ago, while I visited my favorite bookshop in Amsterdam and finally got a courage to roam trough these shelves, it was truly intimidating just to look at those titles (swords of this and wizards of that in 17 volumes) and to be honest, trilogy is as far as I would dare to go anyway, so I decided to check Internet recommendations first + as a kind of introduction I got myself this collection of stories by most prominent writers in the genre. With exception of Stephen King I was not familiar with these people previously (except by their names) so I said to myself lets check them out and if its not for me, well, at least I tried.

It turned out, Fantasy and SF are relatively easily divided and recognized: Fantasy literature deals with wizards, dragons, witches and magic (completely fictional and mythological) while SF umbrella covers space ships, aliens and time travels (therefore something that might eventually be possible). I must admit that I always thought Fantasy was for children and SF for geeks who are into space ships. With exception of "Harry Potter" and Frank Herbert's brilliant "Dune" I had never experienced neither of these genres previously - at least not consciously, though "fantasy" basically lies at the bottom of all literature anyway - so now I decided to have a peek.

To my biggest surprise, I found that I enjoy it very much. Instantly. And who knows it is because of the quality writers represented here (they all came up with new stories specially for this collection) or for pure delight of exploring different path from what I usually read, I simply could not put it down. So far I am roughly halfway trough and it gives me a great pleasure to dive completely lost into magic world. At first I thought that Stephen King by far overshadows and eclipses anybody around, because he is really such a strong talent that his style cuts the widest mark but slowly I realized that everybody represented here has their own voice and different style. For example, this was my very first meeting with Terry Goodkind who turned out to be quite gripping author, same for Ursula K. Le Guin, both of them definitely on my to-read list. So far I am absolutely thrilled with this collection (it was very good decision and excellent introduction) and still have second part to go trough, however must admit that most memorable - and most unusual - is the humorous story by Orson Scott Card. This guy has completely different style than other authors represented here and where everybody else leans towards fantasy as in wizards, magic and dragons, he tip toes through almost folksy tale with a quirky charms. At first I though he was being silly (specially when compared with genuinely creepy Stephen King) but his funny little story is the one I still remember now.

Update:

"The Hedge Knight" by George R.R.Martin was wonderful - I actually enjoyed most of this collection very much (except for Terry Pratchett) but when I came to George R.R.Martin that was love at first sight, immediately. I just love the way he writes and the whole realistic atmosphere of his unreal, fantastic and medieval world + how recognizably he kills of the most unexpected characters. Obviously it is time to face the "Game of Thrones" novels.

There were quite a few authors I enjoyed and noted down, right now I am at the very end preparing myself to dive into universe of Robert Jordan.

Update II :

I expected much more from Robert Jordan who apparently wrote the whole saga. This one, called "New Spring" was not bad but follows Frank Herbert's Bene Gesserit idea, which excellent as it is, is someone's else ida anyway. 

Félix Vallotton

During my recent visit to Hamburg I have discovered an interesting painter Félix Vallotton whose painting "Black and white" is shown here. It is quite masterful variation on Claude Monet's "Olympia" which I always loved, except that this one is completely irreverent - not a black servant but a smoking woman looking at white girl with almost a disdain (desire?). Although he was previously unknown to me, Vallotton seems to have been quite a talented and prolific artist and I truly like several of his paintings. This one I saw in Hambsburg's Kunsthalle and it did stop me in tracks literary. It is very sensuous and sexy painting, the contrast between women's skin suggesting almost erotic overtones or this is simply what I sense in it. 

"The Marriage of Figaro" conducted by James Levine (1991)

Just finished reading not one, but two books about Mozart - "Mozart and his operas" by David Cairns was so passionate, elegant and convincing that it had sent me immediately to Mozart's music. Since I forgot that I actually have "The Marriage of Figaro" (by John Eliot Gardiner) I bought this one without thinking twice and I still have not regretted: it has spectacular singing cast (Dawn Upshaw, Kiri Te Kanawa, Anne Sofie Von Otter), explosive Figaro (Ferruccio Furlanetto) and quite impressive Count Almaviva (Thomas Hampson) so this was easy decision to make. In fact, considering all the talents involved this is actually a dream cast. It truly sounds like somebody with unlimited financial possibilities decided to select all the best of the best and mix them into one masterpiece production. Music itself is naturally wonderful, sparkling, witty and sexy - try to get "Non più andrai"  or "Non so più cosa son, cosa faccio" out of your head once you had listened this record, they would follow you the whole day around whistling and humming. I have had heard several different versions of this work but so far, these are some of my all-time favorite singers all in one place so its easy to recommend. 

Books about Mozart

"Mozart and his operas" by David Cairns

This is something I picked up in my favorite bookshop in Amsterdam - it was second hand (which I liked), inexpensive and it turned out very interesting although my copy somehow got wet & slightly damaged with all my traveling and moving around from one ship to another. So here it is, a cute, fabulous little book and all tattered and worn out, like it survived centuries. David Cairns is a respected music critic, professor and scholar, educated and cultured man who obviously live for music (he had also published biography of Berlioz) and this was clearly labour of love. Contrary to what I expected, the book was not only about Mozart's operas but it actually covered his life as well - it is a part chronological biography, part explanation how his famous operas came to be and what were circumstances in which he created them. As we all know by now, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had spend most of his tragically short life (he died only 35 years old) in search of money, better employment and benefactors but along the way he did travel a lot, enjoyed life to a full and even if he failed to get protection from some wealthy benefactor, he created for himself quite a loyal and loving following in Vienna and Prague. Cairns naturally focuses more on music than on private life and here he explains to a detail all the little ornamentations, from "Idomeneo" to "The Magic Flute' - it is far more exciting and interesting than my description and in fact I read it with greatest pleasure. Naturally it sent me back to Mozart's music immediately and I absolutely agree with Cairns who says that Mozart's music seems to move above the earth as airborne, touching the ground only momentarily.

Constanze Mozart : after the Requiem by Heinz Gärtner

Very interesting book that suggested itself as natural sequel to previous one. When Mozart died, his widow Constanze found herself with unfinished "Requiem" that was already commissioned and paid for, so she had to even return the money or to somehow deliver promised work, which she promptly did with a little outside help. Outpour of love, admiration and grief for sadly departed young composer somehow created this particular work his best-known creation (it was published and printed continuously) but the real truth about its unfinished state was kept from public until much, much later in order not to hurt widow Mozart's financial prospects. Author goes into detail description of the times and atmosphere around Mozart's death, how publishers circled around Constanze and cunning ways she basically outwitted them all, lots of funny characters and even more interestingly we also have chapters about composers sons who both lived sadly unfulfilled lives as constantly overshadowed by the immense genius of their father. Frau Mozart comes as manipulative and business-minded at first (which one would never expect from the way she was described while her husband was alive) but slowly emerges as little warmer person (though very bourgeois and proper to outside), her sons are real tragic characters here because they seems to have been shifted between relatives and never got warmth or parents love to nurture them into life. Absolutely fascinating.

Anita Rée

During my recent visit to Hamburger Kunsthalle I noticed a strange, decidedly unflattering and haunting self-portrait of an artist I never heard before. 

It is a stunning, quite beautiful, clear-eyed and perhaps a bit detached look at herself - I just couldn't take my eyes of this portrait and had returned to it several times because I thought she was so fascinating and interesting in simplicity, there was a lot of going on there and quite a lot of psycho-analysis as well.

I mean, after all those Virgin mothers and baby Jesus to finally encounter something so beautiful, simple and clear like this self-portrait, I was quite stunned. I felt like I know and understand this person. You know, we could talk about difference between how others see us and how we perceive ourselves. This lady obviously saw herself not like a typical, dolled out mannequin of silky hats, painted nails, curly hair and make up but as a spiritual person above all this trappings. I am in love with this painting. But who is the artist and how come I never heard of her before?

Anita Rée was a Hamburg-born painter, very known and appreciated locally but sadly forgotten posthumously - she was Jewish, female painter in a time when these things meant tragedy and as Nazis took power, she was intimidated enough to take her own life. She would probably have been completely erased from the memory had it not been for admirers who preserved her paintings in private collections, this is how we know about her today. Perhaps just a footnote for somebody else, but my God how much I love this painting - colours, face, eyes, composition, I am absolutely in love with her. First, its very rare to see someone being so clear-eyed about herself - there is absolutely no vanity here, almost pure, cold detachment until you look at the painting a little longer and sense the beauty in details (lights on the shoulders, those hands, earrings, those eyes). Second, it might be a bit depressed (ok, melancholic) self-portrait but I don't have doubts that this is how sensitive person always see himself when facing the mirror, after all, we are who we are without audience. When looking in the mirror, we don't act, we are alone with ourselves, we see who we really are. Since I know almost nothing about Anita Rée, I can freely write down my impressions and say what I feel about this strangely haunting painting. She was lonely, unhappy and definitely self-aware, deeply spiritual person, perhaps disgusted with a world around her. She had also rejected universally accepted feminine trappings and depicted herself as almost classical Greek sculpture (or anything from Pompeian art), pure, naked, almost immortal, not belonging to any particular race, time or place. I am not sure that Rée herself was familiar with ancient portraits of Pompeii but this is exactly what they looked like. Stunning. I salute you, Anita Rée, wherever you are.

"Life at the Bottom" by Theodore Dalrymple

If you have ever stopped and wondered where is this world going to, whatever happened to human decency and worried just how far would new fashion impress kids to follow piercing/tattoos/self-mutilations, Theodore Dalrymple is a man for you. Under this witty pseudonym, this English prison doctor and psychiatrist writes essays that cover extraordinary wide range of subjects, mostly current affairs and the state of modern society we live in. The titles of his books (collections of essays published in magazines) explain his point of view: "Our Culture, What's Left of It", "Litter: How Other People's Rubbish Shapes Our Life", "The New Vichy Syndrome. Why European Intellectuals Surrender to Barbarism", "Not With a Bang But a Whimper: The Politics and Culture of Decline". In short, here is an cultured, educated man looking at the world around him, completely unimpressed by fashions or trends but seeing our values eroding into parody and materialism, violence and criminal being the way of life for surprisingly big majority of people he gets in contact on daily basis.

"Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass" (2001) is a somber look at certain grey underclass of England. Here we are talking about huge amount of people (mostly, but not exclusively immigrants) who live off social support, demand their rights, never lift a finger to actually find a job and spend their lives in a vicious status quo situation, surrounded with criminal and all sorts of vices. Since Dalrymple meets these people trough his work every single day, he knows perfectly well what is he talking about and can easily recognise behavioural symptoms, scenarios and cliches they are falling into. This is a segment of society very far removed from any kind of security or even proper job - most of the guys are burglars, their "wives" giving births to numerous multi-racial babies and alcoholism, drugs and prostitution are just as common as suicides, beatings and murders. Its absolutely fascinating read but also a depressing one, because author rightly points at so many things that we are all aware of so at the end you wonder where does this all lead to, what kind of world do we live in.

- where previously people from lower classes always tried to copy and emulate style of cultured, moneyed and educated classes (in order to show they had style) today is completely other way around: educated, even comfortable middle-classed people follow fashion trends of low-class criminals, their clothing and speech patterns, because this is cool

- kids who stand out in a crowd for their love of art/literature/education go trough hell of abuse, bullying and all sorts of torture because they don't fit in 

- certain segment of population actually believes in violence, criminal and materialism as main goals in life. Young guy gets into a fight and than gets killed because his friends taunted him for not having newest trainers. 

- most of his prison patients are consistently blaming everybody else (society, government, lawyers, policemen) for their lives and actions, without ever thinking that they are responsible

- majority of young, abused unwed mothers are constantly following same behavioural patterns and basically replacing one wife-beater with another for fear of being left alone (children are basically just a necessary evil and nuisance but important for getting social money support)

- instead of being helpful, welfare mostly creates sub-class of people who can't be bothered to work and most of them feel it is right to steal from those who have (and work for it)

- multi-rational immigrant families often bring their own values with them but often never completely assimilate and create very twisted reality and expectations for their children (arranged marriages, girls beaten up for wanting education and so on). Example is a desperately unhappy (pre-arranged) marriage that parents prefer to a divorce that would embarrass social status of the family.

Everything Dalrymple writes about is true and you can't help but thinking about the state of the world in which good behaviour, proper speech and education  is frowned upon. His observations about Blackpool (once a cosy vacation spot, now place to get drunk and vomit in the public) is hilarious - nowadays it seems is socially accepted that having fun means misbehaving in public, in a way that previous generations would never do. There was a certain way of behaviour that previous generations cherished as polite and its almost completely gone today, not just showing one's ass in the public but even keeping thoughts, secrets and psychosis inside instead of spilling all out for TV viewers around the world. Its all very interesting but ultimately depressing after a while and though I share many points of view with the author, it kind of just frustrates me because we are aware of this overall trend downhill and facts that kids are basically ignoring culture & education, but what to do, where are the suggestions and answers?

"Was kann Schöner Sein: Ihren Großen Erfolge" by Lys Assia

Just as in Italy I purchased local artists, here in Hamburg I decided to look out for something German. After all, international pop or classical music I can get elsewhere but this is the place to check out home-grown music. Luckily for me, Hamburg still has huge shop with movies, music and electronics so I browsed to my heart delight and after some research decided the only thing I really can't live without would be compilation of German recordings by lovely Lys Assia who was very first winner of Eurovision Song Contest back in 1956 - since I grew up with annual TV spectacle, this is something that instantly appealed to me and good thing is that I bought it because her other title disappeared immediately. 

Swiss-born Lys Assia for me represents all the best about Eurovision - when she won, back in 1950s, European schlager music was all about sentimental orchestrated ballads sparkled with magic dust, proper pronunciation, heavenly strings, restrained passion and of course backing choirs oohing to the skies. I didn't know anything else about her except lovely "Refrain" (and on my Eurovision LP compilation it was in French version) so the moment I saw this, CD was in my hands.

It is a double CD compilation of her German singles released 1951-1960 and quite generous, I must admit. Just as I expected, Assia was a lovely, classy lady who chirped sweetly not unlike Doris Day (in fact, she covers "Que Sera, Sera" here) and her repertoire was light pop of the day, something absolutely not cool today but I have stopped worrying about that since I was teenager so this suits me just fine and I love it. Honestly I don't know who else but me and Eurovision fanatics would listen to Lys Assia these days, however I am thrilled with my new purchase. Just imagine elegant, sophisticated and coiffured lady who was also multi-lingual and who was performing romantic 1950s light pop, lots of covers - many of these songs I recognized (Cole Porter's "True Love", "Arivederci Roma", "Ein Schiff wird kommen", "Jolie Jacqueline", "Tammy", "Domino", "Mi casa, su casa", "Melodie d'Amour") while others confused me because either because of German language ("Wenn die Glocken hell erklingen" turned out to be Edith Piaf cover) or because orchestrated schlager versions were so sugary that it took me forever to connect the melody to original (her almost Disney version of "Ein klaines Haus am Ende der Welt" is actually "Blueberry Hill" but I had to think hard about that one. Many of songs here were adopted regularly by lots of other international singers from the same era, "Monsieur Taxi-Chauffer" for example I recognize from Swedish version by Alice Babs. Of course we have German version of Assia's shiny moment - "Refrain" in German - but also her other Eurovision song, "Giorgio" that almost won next year (she came second) and which sound incredibly innocent and childish today, as most of 1950s pop does actually. With few exceptions it is a wonderful compilation that represents best of continental sound of light popular music of those days. 

Miniatur Wunderland, Hamburg

Now, this was really delightful and I can't understand why I have not seen this already before because its truly spectacular + in walking distance from my port. Perhaps I was slightly intimidated by this whole neighborhood (it is called Speicherstadt and it honestly feels completely cold, industrial and kind of Jack the Ripper district) but now I was better informed and even pulled some new colleagues with me.

"Miniatur Wunderland" is a collection of cutest little panoramas from all over the world, where miniature railroads bring passing little trains, cars, ships and there is even airport. There are literary thousands of little people figurines doing all sorts of things in different countries, you can spend hours here and giggle in sheer happiness, it is a true masterpiece exhibition and it is not complete yet, because they are still building more places (Italy is next). We started with admiring fictional little town Knuffingen than moved on to wonderfully detailed Switzerland, Austria, Central Germany, Hamburg, America and finally Scandinavia. People clicking with photo cameras everywhere, children excited, grown-ups excited, I was in Heaven. The girl who came with us was very bored but I guess everybody else who had ever played with car and train toys was thrilled to death, because this is the same but on much bigger scale. I particularly loved all the attention to detail, so many little towns, villages, street celebrations, even rock concert, football stadium, all sorts of things and naturally figurines of little people & animals everywhere. Little trains running all over the place, cars driving, at certain points lights would dim and than it would be night so we could see how it looks in the evening (magical again). I had truly beautiful day. Often I don't even think about all the places that I visit trough my work because I take it for granted, but occasionally I feel truly happy and blessed that I travel so much.

The Hamburger Kunsthalle

In Hamburg, again. 

Its far from having fun in the sun because I was transferred from one "dry dock" to another, which means basically replacing one extreme refurbishment for another - carpenters, electricians and plumbers everywhere, no air condition or hot water, going outside is adventure requiring helmets, climbing the cumbersome stairways and lots of other improvisations. But again I have time enough to walk around town and its interesting that this time I see Hamburg differently - either my interests have changed or simply I have learned to look elsewhere. Where previously I couldn't think about anything further than Hamburg's history museum, now I walked to famous Art collection. As usual, it is in the middle of re-construction and perhaps its even better this way, because I was spared thousand and one religious painting - the selected, most famous masterpieces are displayed in the basement.

This Hamburg collection actually had some really beautiful pieces. The biggest joy I got was from seeing "Wanderer above the Sea of Fog" in real life - it is a legendary, classic and romantic painting from 1818 by German painter Caspar David Friedrich whom I loved for many years. Friedrich was very successful in his time but unfortunately his style fell out of fashion and he died in obscurity, poverty and depression that clearly shows in his art - I always found him extraordinarily moving and melancholic. This particular painting had long been a favorite of mine and it could be explained in many ways - either as a victorious exuberance, brave spirit of adventure, strong-willed decision to face the unknown or perhaps futility of attempting to change one's destiny. I see different things every time I look upon this painting, mostly positive and empowering. In real life the painting is large enough to be totally regal and impressive, for me this is the centerpiece of the whole collection.

Of course there was much more, once I got over my initial excitement about "Wanderer" - I only glanced at religious paintings because frankly I have seen so many of them that I don't have patience anymore but I admired cute little landscapes by Dutch painters, beautiful 17th century portraits, "Cabinet of curiosities" that were collections of wealthy people (predecessors of museums), mythological themes (Dido & Aeneas), Francisco de Goya, naturally several more breath-taking paintings by Friedrich ("The Sea of Ice", "Sea Shore in the Moonlight") and a few discoveries like this pretty piece by German artist Wilhelm von Kobell which for me sings about summer day. I can almost hear the sounds of sunny afternoon when I look at this little painting.

Some artists I recognized immediately - Degas, Renoir, Manet, Cézanne, Munch, Van Gogh - others were new to me, like excellent Max Liebermann whose moving "The Netmenders" I couldn't take my eyes off or Félix Vallotton whose clever "White and black" I assumed was homage to earlier classic paintings. I have also instantly recognized sculptures by Auguste Rodin, whose "Honoré de Balzac" was delightful and there was a very interesting self portrait by lady named Anita Ree that I found fascinating. I had absolutely great day and it was all by myself with time on my hands, without pressure, just slowly browsing and enjoying myself.

Erich von Däniken and Graham Hancock

Recent picture with two unlikely windmill fighters, completely different generations but deep in the heart same passionate dreamers and both of them having their own cult followers. I have always wondered do they know about each other and naturally, they do, in fact they are on friendly terms if not exactly of the same wavelength. 

Erich von Däniken started it all, first, back in the late 1960s, around the time author of these lines came into the world. Cynics would say he only perfected what was being said before, but that goes for everything as I believe that there is nothing new under the sun and everybody was always influenced or inspired by something. It might be that time was simply perfect for what Däniken had to say and his out-of-space alien astronauts theories fell on grateful and appreciative ears of audience who was looking for opinions outside of the box. "Chariots of the Gods" still holds the best-selling record with 62 millions books sold and it had created the whole industry of ancient secret/alien conspiracy books that followed. Däniken himself is 80 now and he is considered grandfather of it all, the creator of the whole genre. Recently I re-read some of his books and enjoyed them for what they were, repetitive and all, even trough bad editions and clumsy translations I could sense his passion.

Graham Hancock is some two decades younger and when you look closely, not so much different from his older colleague. Sure, they arrive from different approach and perhaps disagree in shades and variations, but they are both writers about ancient secrets, civilizations and possible alien influence on our history and development. I still recall excitement from discovering his book "Fingerprints of the Gods" which was basically a continuation of Däniken's path but told far more skillfully. Everything Hancock writes about I enjoy immensely and always looking forward to his next book (I even bought unknowingly, his first fictional novel, believing it to be non-fiction - just to discover that I prefer him as literary Indiana Jones). His book "Supernatural" was one of the best things I ever read and just thinking about it inspires me to re-visit it.

I am very happy to see these two gentlemen together and accordingly to Hancock, older colleague was very pleasant and friendly, even though Hancock himself was a bit critical and harsh - perhaps understanding that youngsters are always more prone to argue, Däniken simply enjoyed meeting someone from the same family of dreamers and embraced him. As much as I love Hancock, I must admit that it is Däniken who left bigger mark and broke the ice first. Everybody else is just a follower.