Tour Day 5

Our stay in Munich began with a visit to the Museum of Modern Art, where we learned about how Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky, together with German artist Franz Marc founded German Expressionism in 1912-1914. Basically, Kandinsky hung out with his girlfriend and a bunch of other artists in a villa in the Bavarian hills and painted like mad. You can see the progression of his ideas in the paintings in this impressive collection: from representation of objects, like a bird, to representation of ideas, like flight, to representation of an inner meditation on an idea, which is utterly abstract. So they emerged from the hills with all these new ideas that made people reconsider what art is, generating controversy and dialogue. But just as it got started, their artistic collaboration was cut short by the outbreak of World War I. Kandinsky had to go back to Russia; later he fled to Paris and continued his work, producing iconic pieces and influencing the development of abstract modern art for the next half-century. Marc was drafted by the German army and sent to the Western front, where he was killed in 1918.

Next we had a meeting at the Suddeutsche Zeitung, a national newspaper based in Munich. We learned how they have addressed the same problems faced by American media competing with the internet – shrinking readership and advertisers. They had some creative strategies to stay relevant, like publishing low-cost editions of famous German novels. I wandered around the old city and checked out King Ludwig’s urban palace, and the Glockenspiel on nearby Marienplatz. This plebian timepiece, designed for the free enjoyment of the masses, features dancing figures that emerge when it strikes 5 pm, like beermaids and jousting knights, which frolic in front of the stern clockface. This of course signals that the workday is over. That night we visited the Munich Philharmonic, where we had seats facing Californian Michael Tilson Thomas use his face, breath, and entire body to conduct the orchestra.

The next day, we started out at IFO, an economic research institute at the University, where we had two lectures on macroeconomics. Honestly, I can’t really say what they were about. One presenter spoke about Thomas Mann’s dog, the other spoke at avalanche speed. I tuned out, along with most of the group. Ed created a “Boredom Index” in the Tagebuch to pass the time. He plotted disengagement over time; the two Bukas whose projects involved economic theory trended up, the rest down, with Fritz as an outlier. Andrew and Yang asked enough questions for everybody else.

Ed and I found a classic Bavarian beerhall for lunch, a place that had been in business for 500 years. The long wooden tables filled several rooms; it was impossible to see the whole place at once. A basket of large bready pretzels was waiting on the table. We had the smallest available housebrew – a half liter – served by a waiter in lederhosen, (a first for me.) Most Germans were drinking the liter stein, which is called a Mass, perhaps because it’s so heavy. That’s how we felt after our meal of Schweinefleisch: Leberkäse, or pork loaf for Ed, and Knödeln, or boiled pork in broth for me.

Things revived in the afternoon when we visited a cluster of artists’ studios in the University district. We chatted with painter Julia Schimtenings about the distinctive Bavarian Grüne Erde, or green earth pigment, made from local clay. We also visited plastic mosaic artists, and Yongbo Zhao, a Chinese artist whose work is a rude commentary on European culture.

Friday night we had a raucous Bavarian meal in the Nicolaikirche Platz. Two-thirds of our group is married, and those who were able to manage it are spending the year in Germany with their partners. Interestingly, all of the Americans brought their partners (including 4 husbands), and most of the Russians (wives only), but none of the Chinese. They said it was difficult for their spouses to leave their jobs and re-enter the workforce without losing a lot of ground.

Several partners traveled to Munich to meet the group for dinner and spend the weekend. Maybe it was the addition of fresh company, or the close winecellar space we were crowded into, or Wyly and Oleg’s kids running around, but there was a lot of loud laughter and happy chaos. Or maybe it was the abundance of beer.

Jessica's Tagebuch comment summed it up, "This was my first visit to Munich, and it was great. Lots of art, and the symphony was marvelous, especially the energetic conductor. Oh, and you don't have to watch out for dog poo on the sidewalks."