Light and Clouds

 

Dear You, 

with blogging it is as with other things: if you don't find time for it waiting makes it difficult to start anew. So much has happened in the meantime, where to start? 

When I was a child and had learned to swim I still hesitated to jump from a small jetty into the Klopeiner See in Austria. I stood and stared into the water. 

First my father tried bribery: "You'll get an ice cream when you jump!" 

But what is an ice cream (which at those times we didn't get very often) against dear little life? 

Eventually he lost patience. While I still stared he came behind me - and suddenly he gave me a push into the back - I remember that very well - though "well" is not the right word... 

Yes, I had a hard childhood 😁- but also the audacity to ask for my ice cream when I arose. 

So: now I'll plunge into blogging - without a push. 

The picture above is from the wonderful exhibition: 

               "Clouds and Light. Impressionism in the Netherlands" 

in the beautiful museum Barberini in Potsdam, which the Flying Dutchman and I visited during our stay in Berlin. 

                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQwUuTzfKuY 

It was such a treat! 

Next time I'll tell you about our holiday on the isle of Sylt. 

Yours Truly, Britta 

A Short Visit to Potsdam

When you are in Berlin, it is easy to visit Potsdam, the Hauptstadt of Brandenburg. Now it is a beautiful little town (184.154 inhabitants) - I write "now" because I have seen it before the turnaround/Wende - the beautiful old buildings were derelict and decayed, grey, and very depressing. 

Now they almost overdid the renovation - so very colourful and sweetly pretty that you might think you are in a charming scenery of a theatre.

 

For me the most outstanding parts are the Castle Sanssouci of Frederic the Great, and his oh so wonderful park Sanssouci. I would go from Berlin on foot if it were the only chance to see it - but no: you can comfortably use the S-Bahn and be at the main station after a cheap, nice ride of 29 minutes. 

Other views: 

Red brick houses in the Dutch quarter - King Frederic welcomed many Huguenots. Another time I will show photos of the castle, park and town - this time we were there for the beautiful museum Barberini: 

We wanted to visit the exhibition "Surrealism und Magie. Verzauberte Moderne" (Surrealism and Magic. Betwitched Modern Era").  

I have to confess that we were neither bewitched nor enchanted nor spellbound. I quarrelled with myself, scolded me that maybe an impostor  of dear Emmeline Lucas (Queen Lucia by E.F.Benson) had crept into myself...

"... while she herself, oblivious of the passage of time, was spending her last half-hour in contemplation of the Italian masterpieces at the National Gallery, or the Greek bronzes at the British Museum. Certainly she would not be at the Royal Academy, for the culture of Riseholme, led by herself, rejected as valueless all artistic efforts later than the death of Sir Joshua Reynolds, and a great deal of what went before."

No, I do love modern art and know that art doesn't have to be beautiful -  but these pictures were mostly really bad, second or even third rate, often Kitsch. 

Only some Yves Tanguys were accepted.   

  

But we were very happy that there was the other exhibition in the same museum: 

"Impressionism. Masterpieces of the collection Hasso Plattner" 

                              Beautiful pictures of winter.

The following one is from Alfred Sisley, "Snow Effect in Louveciennes" 1874 , from his participation in the First Impressionist Exhibition in Paris, which I loved so much: