Watching a Lock

So what are these people in Bremerhaven watching?

They are watching this gate slowly open ...

to let the boats through.

The lighthouse that stands to one side was built in 1854 in brick north gothic style.

People stream across the bridge when the gates open again.

Art in Bremerhaven

The art gallery in Bremerhaven has a sign on the window saying: 'Art ... nothing else'.

The building is rather small but with an interesting collection. My favorite was Gerhardt Richter's Page Corner from 1967. It might look like a page turning up, but it is flat. A clever drawing.

Sculpture in the main square.

(Dear Sydney City Councillors. Please note that you don't have to fill every available space with flags and kiosks and other street eyesores.)

Bremerhaven boats

Bremerhaven (Bremer-harbour) is a city of waterways and boats.

Boats in the 'museum habour',

boats tied up in the river ...

...boats sailing past.

Oak piles 14m long were used to build the Bremerhaven wharf in 1928. When a new wharf was built in 2004 these oak piles were retained as a historical reminder.

Sun and glass in Rissen

The sun is shining but it is cool outside. These houses with glass walls facing south are perfect for days like this.

Hamburg Late September

Later late summer. Every time the wind blows chestnusts rain down from the talls trees above. 'Clunk, clunk' they go as they land on cars below. 'Ow ow', you say as they land on your head.

Among the autumn leaves the occassional mushroom.

Cedric

Cedric is asleep at my feet. Cedric is an old dog and blind and his owners did not expect him to see last year out. He is still alive though and livelier this year than last. Cedric just keeps on keeping on.

Wechselwetter ...rain and sunshine

Hamburg again: one minute pouring, the next minute sunshine. It feels like spring but squirrels scamper across the streets carrying chestnuts so it must be autumn. The wind blows and the clouds scurry acrosws the sky.

Views from the train

In Austria the mountains south of Salzburg are high and craggy.As you travel north past the Chiemsee lake near Munich you can still see the Alps, but further north ....
just south of Fulda the hills are rolling.
South of Hamburg the highest things on the horizon are windmills.
PS Click on the images to make them bigger.

Graz Fashion

The shops in Graz inner city lanes are full of interesting stuff.... rings made of red leather and silver, ... bags made of thick wool patchwork
...classy clothes ...... like the clothes worn in the Hamburg rail station when I arrived late at night.

A Beer in Graz

In a tiny place just around the corner from the tourist restaurants I sip my beer, wait for my schnitzel and sketch the neighbourhood.

How many angels?

How many angels and other figures can you fit above an alter? In Graz at least, a great many.It would be hard to fit any more ornamentation in the Graz church I stumbled upon today. It has gold, statues, carved wood, eight chandeliers and a stunning marble floor. Wilting white roses were pinned to the pews, probably remnants of a wedding on Saturday.

No cars, no noise, what a pleasure

The wonderful thing about European cities is that the centers are car free. Instead of noise and pollution you have peace and tranquillity, open spaces where people can gather and outdoor cafes where you don't suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning.I am in Graz and it is a different city in the sun. The side-walk cafes are buzzing and the shops full of innovative and quirky fashion items.

"This is a city I could live in", I thought to myself as I walked the narrow inner city lanes, stumbling upon old churches and wide car-less streets full of outdoor restaurants.

Playing history

There is always someting on in Maribor's market square. The other day it was historical enactments.

Post festival blues

Alas the Maribor festival is over. This evening's concert in the packed Maribor Cathedral was Rachmaninov then Mozart's Requeim.
The Orchestra and Choir of London singers got a standing ovation and now the players and singers are celebrating the end of festival in the KGB Club down by the river from whence I have just come. I came home early as the club is in a basement down a very steep flight of stairs and I decided it would be too easy to drink a glass too much and have difficulty getting to street level again.

The Slovenian Philharmonic leave after the party for Ljubliana and everyone else seems to be catching early trains out tomorrow. There is no commercial airport in Maribor so people train to Graz, Vienna or Ljubliana. I head off to Graz tomorrow then 12 hours on to Hamburg the next day. Twelves hours, but I'll have music in my ears and a head full of paintings.

PS The sketch is of cellist Jan-Erik Gustafsson.

Puppets in barrows

The autumn market in Maribor... features the same puppets in wheelbarrows that you find in the museum in the Ptuj Castle. They seem a happy lot.

Kojak

In the Maribor town square is a big round dark sculpture made to honour war heros. The faces on it are made by imprinting thick then thin lines into the metal surface.

Eva-Nina

Eva-Nina: Sixteen and an exceptional flautist...

Coffee with green cushions

The sun has come out again in Maribor. Down by the river is a cafe with bright green cushions that serves excellent coffee. I went there this afternoon before rehearsals and sat thinking just how idyllic this place and this festival is.

Music, music, everywhere.

In the markets, in the concert halls ... there is music everywhere in Maribor.

Cellists

I have been sitting up on stage today sketching the cellists. The players are used to me by now so are not disturbed.