Long time no post

Well, the europe tour has taken a pause and so has my blogging. To be completely honest, the only thing that I've been doing lately is obsessing over the spring bike racing season and getting my studio ready for my assessment on Monday. I'm satisfied with my art work over the semester, mainly because it covers every square inch of my personal wall space and the result looks pretty cool.

The last art thing that I did this last week was body monoprinting, where I inked up sheets of metal, set them on the floor, put paper over the top and made marks with my body. I rolled and crawled and scratched all over the top of it, got some strange stares and came out with some good work.

Last week my mom was in the country and we tried to climb Ben Nevis. The weather advisory said that trying to climb the mountain that day was a bad idea, but we went anyways. So we got 20 minutes from the top and suddenly we were in a mind blowing white out blizzard with 60 mph winds. I don't think that I've ever been scared for my life, but I was, and my hands got really really cold. I was thinking of all those everest movies where the climbers got stuck, got frostbite, and had to get digits chopped off. Luckily, my hands were not black when I took my gloves off, but I was happy to get down off that mountain and into the warm car.

Thats all folks.
Steph

Italy vs Scotland

EVERY day that the Scottish football team plays a match, all hell breaks loose in Glasgow. We (as international students) were warned not to go wandering around without purpose on Sauchiehall Street on match days, and if you were here yesterday you'd know why.

I of course :) had a good reason to be out. I was going out to a noodle bar with some friends for a nice dinner. We don't do it often so we weren't about to turn around and sit in the flat just because there was a match going on. But when we walked over the hill and looked down on Sauchiehall, even I felt a little bit intimidated. The street was completely filled with people, most wearing kilts, with a scottish flag wrapped around their shoulders and faces painted blue and white. I was not dressed for this occasion, but at least I wasn't wearing Italian colors... I think that a fight had broken out on the left hand side of the street so we kept our distance and continued walking. It was around 7pm, so mob rule had already ensued - none of the pedestrians were obeying traffic laws so cars became periodically stuck in the middle of intersections. Police officers were running everywhere, about every 15 seconds you heard sirens and saw police lights fly by...Where there was a pub, there were a million people outside either waiting to get in or watching the match through a window. And because its illegal to drink alcohol outside of establishments, no one carried bottles of alcohol but everyone was pissed to high heaven. The funniest part was watching herds of completely plastered men run around singing and dancing in the street with complete abandon.

Despite how I make it sound, my friends and I made it through unharmed and we made it to the restaraunt - Wagamama's - after an hour of being lost in the street. But the wait was short and the food was excellent - i had noodle something (it was spicy) and coconut ice cream with chilled mango sauce and coconut chips on top. Of course I remember exactly what the dessert was.

Norway

I just booked a flight to spend most of my Christmas holiday in and around Haugesund, Norway! I will be staying with some relatives that I met about a year and a half ago. I'm incredibly excited, and can't wait to see why everyone always says that I look "Norwegian"...

My flight actually leaves from London, so I'm going to fly in several days early to visit The Saatchi Gallery, Tate Modern and the National Galleries. I'll probably also do the really touristy things like go see Big Ben and visit the Globe theatre... Yay for Shakespeare!

I just finished my life drawing course and it was fantastic. Everyday I was in studio from 9:30 to 4:00pm. We had one to three models per day, and we went through various exercises to "hone" or rather deconstruct, our preconceptions of drawing. For example, on one day, we started the morning with 1 minute drawings of the figure, upgraded to an allowance of two minutes, then to five. After lunch we drew with our left hand, drew with an extended tool, drew without looking at the paper. After one week we switched to liquid media and moving poses. Its the most fun I've had in in the studio in awhile...

Next week I'm going to Edinburgh to visit some galleries with my class, and then my mom is meeting me in Glasgow. Some good exploring is in order.

Thats all for now.
Steph

Dali

Christ of St John of the Cross - Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow

Dali and Man Ray

La Gare de Perpignan - Museen Ludwig, Koln

Above are the only two Salvador Dali paintings I've ever seen and a random photo that I found on the internet. The first painting is here in the Kelvingrove Art Museum, which I visited yesterday. The Kelvingrove is one of those museums that has everything - dinosaur bones, tools and artifacts from ancient Scandinavian invaders of Scotland, natural history exhibits and works from art masters like Bruegel, Rodin, Rembrandt and Dali. It even has an organ (that was played yesterday when I visited) and a WWII plane hanging from the ceiling.

The painting has quite an interesting history behind it. It was bought by the Kelvingrove in 1952 for £8,200, a price that was considered quite high at the time. Glasgow School of Art students protested the purchase, citing that the museum should instead use the money to provide exhibition space for students. I'm sure that they've since changed their minds about the purchase, its now carefully protected behind glass and probably worth millions.

In 1962 the painting was attacked with a knife by a mentally disturbed museum visitor. It has luckily been so well restored that I couldn't even tell that it was damaged when I saw it. But the thing that I like best about the entire thing is the strange perspective. Dali is infamous for his dreamlike compositions, and both paintings that I've seen give me the impression that I'm floating. The Kelvingrove placed the piece at the end of a really long arched corridor, so your first impression of the painting is from a distance of 60 meters. As you approach, you get sucked into it. Its great.

The second Dali was the one that I saw in Cologne, and it is much more spectacular in person. The painting is huge - I can't find the dimensions online but its probably 10 feet long and 8 high. I don't know as much about this one, but I think it speaks for itself. Dali is weird.

Art Stories

Yesterday during art in the dark I was introduced to a new artist during the lesson. I can't remember his name (more due to my memory than the THICK accent of our professor) but his work definitely made a statement. This Scottish artist found and resurrected an old row boat. He built it up just like new. Then he put a wood-burning engine in the boat to propel it through the water. One day the artist decided to take his boat out on the loch. The engine needed wood to keep the boat going, so the artist started cutting up pieces of the boat and feeding it to the engine. Soon, all of the boat was gone so it sank again to the bottom of the loch. Pointless? NO. Cool.

Sophie Calle is a French artist who also likes to travel on the road of bizarre. One of her most famous works was a piece where she had her mother hire a private investigator follow her around Paris. She knew that he was there, so she decided to spend the day taking this investigator on a sightseeing tour of the city. They visited some nice museums, a grave of some person, her mothers house, etc. To complicate matters, she asked one of her friends to take picture of the private investigator as he followed her around. The result was a who's watching who... watching who.

Here's another one that I find quite funny. A man from San Francisco wrote a letter to Sophie in Paris. His letter said that he was very sad because he had just lost the love of his life. He could no longer sleep in the bed that they once shared together. The man asked Sophie for help. So Sophie decided to send the man her bed via FedEx. Sheets, mattress, pillows, everything went to San Francisco. The man received the package and slept in the bed for several weeks. He said that it made him feel better - and when he thought that his emotions had recovered sufficiently, he sent the bed back. The End.

Doctor

Since moving to Scotland, I've been sick more in a two month stretch of time than I ever have before. I figure that it's the added stress of being in a new country, trying to train 15 hours a week, and having flat mates who party around four nights a week (those guys are virus factories...). But today I went in for my first doctors visit. The system here - the National Health Service - is very different than in the United States. First off, its free. Second, its fast. When you want an appointment you call the morning of and you get an appointment the same day. If you show up on time to check in, you wait literally a half minute before they call your name. When you walk into the exam room, the doctor is already sitting there ready to check you out. There aren't any magazines, pointless conversations or hours of wasted time. You're in, out and done. I spent a total of 15 minutes in the hospital and was pleased by the doctor and the service.

Now, I'm sure that there are some downsides to the system. All Scottish citizens pay for the system through their taxes, and I'm not exactly sure how high the tax is. My flat mates have remarked on the absurdity of our system, and after this, I'm inclined to agree. Who needs to pay several hundred dollars for teeny doctor visit? No one...

UofM Jerseys

Last night, I had a dream that Pat Gordon changed our 2008 U of M bike jersey designs. In my dream, he decided that the school colors should now be blue and white, and that we should have huge pictures of Goldy the Gopher all over our kit.

I think that I was happy about it, but I can't remember

Goodness, I'm already dreaming of race season.

Off to class.

This is more like it....

http://www.cyclingnews.com/cross.php?id=/photos/2007/nov07/SPhammezogge07/b5

Good find, dad.

Six Day Impressions

Well, I arrived in Scotland yesterday morning and I’m happy to be back. I had a good experience in Germany, but Glasgow feels closer to home. Even though I only spent nine days in Germany, I can say that I honestly prefer the UK. It’s messier, louder, and somehow seems more real to me.

The Glaswegians, as they say, “Walk fast, talk fast and drink fast.” For example, it’s not uncommon in Glasgow to hear someone yelling obscenities on the street if a Glaswegian’s feathers have been ruffled. The Scots (and the English too, as I’ve heard) are aggressive and upfront as a culture and with each other. From a day to day perspective, the Germans gave me the impression of being much more reserved in speech and action, at least while sober. I don’t know if one would ever hear someone spouting the equivalent to the f-word on a street in Germany...

Bike racing, is something I also prefer in Scotland. I attended day two of the Dortmund six-day with my friend Stefan. I was very excited to go because I’d heard that the atmosphere was incredible. As Stefan and I approached the Westfallenhallen complex where the event was being held, music pulsated from the building. Standing outside, I didn’t feel as if I were about to enter a bike race. There were people everywhere, most drunk and ready for a party. A huge television screen broadcasted the racing near the entrance. In America, a production of this magnitude is reserved only for a football or baseball game, and I was happy to see such an extravagant event for cycling.

Stefan and I walked into the stadium during one of the first pro madisons of the night. It was incredible to watch Erik Zabel and his partner Leif Lampater ramp it up among the excellent Swiss team and other racers. The riders were cranking front chain rings bigger than pancakes, and their bikes were amazingly cool. I was very impressed.

But despite the incredible athleticism of the racers and relentless race program, the atmosphere just didn’t jive with me. I couldn’t get into the loud music, the lights, the blues brothers car driving around the track. For me, it was all so distracting. Maybe I’m a purist, but I JUST want to see racing. I want to hear the racer’s breathing, I want to be outside yelling and screaming and running next to the field cheering racers up hills. I want tons of other spectators to be involved and cheering next to me...

I’ve seen pictures where the complex was filled completely to the brim with spectators cheering the racers on, but on the night that I went the stands were only a third full. While wandering through the building several hours later I found out where everyone was – drinking beer and dancing in the discotheque just outside the stadium. I guess I expected the infamous, and stereotypical, crazy European bike racing fans – the kind who actually buy tickets to watch the racing. I know that there are tons of people who love this stuff – the multifaceted nature of the event, the partying, etc. But by the time midnight rolled around I was ready to leave.

After watching the six-day I realized that one of my favourite parts about racing is just being outside. I loved the Mountain Bike World Championships at Fort William. I hiked all the way to the top of the mountain and sat in the heather watching the racers go by. I cheered with some drunk Englishmen in the rain. The scenery in the middle of the highlands was breathtaking. Blaine is also wonderful for that very same reason, and not to sound too cheesily romantic, but I like to ride underneath the lights at night and watch the sky change colors. I think that I even like the mosquitos. Perhaps I’ll go roll in the mud at a cross race and call it quits – but this brand of racing just wasn’t my thing.

Xoxooxoxo
Steph

More Germany

Above, Museum Zollverein again. Below, the Kolner Dom, tallest cathedrale spires in Europe...

Below, a night view of the Prussian fortress I stayed in for two nights...
This is part of the Rhein Valley. I stopped and ate my lunch here.
These are the vineyards on the Rhein - the vineyards in the area were established here about 2,000 years ago, when the Romans controlled parts of Southern Germany.

Red Dot Design Museum

This is one of the stairways in the Red Dot Museum. Yes, there is a car hanging from the ceiling. And the thing underneath the stair is the most amazing couch I've ever seen.Escalator entrance to the Zolleverein Museum... this escalator tops the one in the Guthrie BY FAR...

This is one of the streets in Essen. While in Germany I found out that every inch of spare concrete is covered in graffiti. I think that the Germans have stopped fighting it and started embracing it. As they should, the graffiti is damn good...

Germany is awesome.

Im currently blogging from Essen, but in the last two days Ive been a traveling fiend. Ive hit up Cologne, Koblenz, St Goarshausen and every city on a 33km stretch of the Rhein river south of Koblenz.

My plans turned out a little bit differently than last predicted. Instead of going either to Aachen or Bonn I spontaneously hopped a train to Koblenz to spend some time riding a bike along the river. The really nice German receptionist at the youth hostel in Cologne called the Koblenz hostel for me and reserved rooms for that night. Before I knew it I was rushing to the Gleis (platform) to catch my train, as it left 4 minutes after I bought my ticket. I said goodbye to my dear Moroccan friend, we really did have a lot of fun together, and off I went. As the train rumbled through the upper section of the Rhein valley, I watched castles pass by out the window. The weather was wonderful and sunny, and the closer we got to Koblenz the more excited I got. Finally I arrived, checked my destination and the tourist office and rented a bike, and went off to find the hostel.

The hostel was across the river in Ehreinbreitsein, about a 20 minute bike ride. I could see it from the bridge crossing the river, because Ehreinbreitsein is not only a hostel, but the largest fortress Ive ever seen in my life. It was built in the 1820s by the Prussians after they destroyed a castle existing on the site. Of course, building a fortress means building in a place that is extremely hard to get to. To give you an idea, there was a chairlift that took guests to the entrance. But being cheap and stubborn I took the footpath. Ive never seen a hill like this in my life, the grade was pushing 16% to 18% and went on for ages. The bike that I rented weighed about 30 pounds and my backpack probably weighed about the same. So I went into competition mode and automatically started stomping up the hill as fast as I could muster. I passed some nice German couples who were tending their gardens and even though I gave them the friendly Guten Tag greeting they looked at me like I was insane...

I was rewarded when I got to the top and rolled through the fortress to the castle, over cobbled streets, tunnels and walls several meters thick. The view from the top offered a panorama of Koblenz, with its towering sculpure of Kaiser Wilhelm II on the peninsula.

I went to bed early, and woke up to some screaming children at 645am. I made the best of it and went to breakfast early. I managed to eat two meals consisting of yogurt, muesli, meat, cheese, bread, toast, chocolate cereal, mint tea, strawberry tea, coffee and dried fruit before departing on my bike ride at 10am. Looking out over the Festung (fortress) I was a bit worried that my bike ride was going to be ruined by a thick layer of fog that completely obstructed my view of the Rhein and city below. I decided that I was going to go fog or not and I started south down the Rhein.

As I was riding along, I could see the foundations of the famed Romantic Rhein castles. Fortunately at about 1215, the sun sliced through the fog and revealed beautiful vineyards that lacêd up the hills. I stopped to enjoy the view and since the fog had dissapated, I started taking pictures of every castle I came across. I got bored of riding and stopped at St Goarshausen to climb up the hill to Burg Katz (Castle Cat). It was closed to the public, but the view from the top was undescribable.

From here I turned back to Koblenz, and I finally started to feel tired. I had lugged that bike around for around 40k, and it definitely didnt fit me correctly. I ended up causing a minor traffic jam at a construction area because I was riding too slowly. Cars started honking and someone yelled something at me in German. Luckily I couldnt understand so I just kept going as fast as I could, because I really couldnt do anything else... it was actually really funny... I can just picture the line of cars behind me.

I collasped when I got back. All and all it was about a 7 and a half hour ride. But honestly, I dont think that youve lived unless youve ridden along the Rhein.

Well, if theres two things I love its cycling and art. Now Ive got my german bike riding fix I can go home satisfied...

xoxooxoxox
steph