Some sketches from Bavaria. Alas, we are on holiday in the Land of the Franks, and there is no scanner to hand.
The Isartor in Munich – sadly, I had only a biro with me, which is not brilliant for art and awful if you have to clean it up on the computer after:
The Chinese Tower in the Angelic Gardens (or, possibly, English Gardens):
I have decided to work on some of the gaps in my artistic skills. I can sometimes draw buildings well enough to garner praise from friends and family; I cannot reliably draw a tree so well that it actually looks like a tree. So a-googling I did go, and found this on youtube:
My first attempt at using the technique:
and some tree-containing sketches of things visible through the windows:
The Most SNP (Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising):
During the post-war period the government of Bratislava decided they needed a main road somewhere near the city centre, crossing the river Danube. After much deliberation they decided this road should go directly through the city centre, requiring the destruction of several historic buildings, including a 900-year-old synagogue. The city council defended this on the grounds that no-one used the synagogue any more but everyone would use the bridge.
It is true that, coming over the bridge, you get a wonderful view of the city, with the castle on the left (where Maria Theresa was crowned) and the cathedral on the right. Sadly the cathedral, while it escaped being bulldozed, does not benefit from the vibrations of heavy traffic passing by several metres from its doors.
The bridge is crowned by a restaurant, which resembles a flying saucer on stilts, which was supposed to rotate. I do not know if it actually does; I have never been up there. It is colloquially known as “the UFO” for obvious reasons.
I would say something like “communists, eh, what can you do?” but I am painfully aware that democratic and capitalist systems do not always respect venerable antiquity either (e.g.)
From a recent holiday: the dining room table:
The kitchen:
A clock radio:
and washing-up liquid:
inadaptation 