GSC, WInter 25, More Frankfurt

 The weather was lovely today and I just felt like walking. After coffee near Willi Brandt Platz with it’s giant Euro, I found Faber & Castell’s flagship store and bought a couple of pencils and a sketch pad plus a cool eraser and sharpener, plus a small sketch pad, then popped into the bookstore nearby and picked up some German short stories (intermediate level of course).

I just read about the verb genießen in one of my German blogs. Apparently it’s not used in the same sense that we over use enjoy; the blogger had other suggestions (Das gefällt mir oder hat Spaß gemacht) but when I bought host chestnuts and commented on the sunny weather, the vendor told me it was a great day to enjoy being outdoors. AND she used the verb genießen, and that, according to the blog, is the appropriate use.  So much to learn.

I went in search of the Dom and finally found it. It was destroyed by fire in the 1800’s, and rebuilt, then a good deal of the church was destroyed and most of the surrounding area was leveled during WWII. It was rebuilt yet again, in the same gothic style. It’s a well lit, happy, airy cathedral with modern pale pastel stained glass windows. 

One of the rebuilt streets parallel to the river between the Rômerplatz and the Dom (Saalgasse) was a sheer and unexpected delight; each of the buildings was a little different, modern in feel yet with a nod to the past… I photoed some of the buildings. 

The next stop was lunch in Sachsenhausen… then the Liebieghaus Sculpture Museum. The main theme of the ground floor galleries were animal bronzes by August Gaul.  Apparently there was a Berlin Secession Movement similar to the Vienna Secession… The museum has a deep collection of ancient statuary as well as European historical art, and the Gaul pieces were located here and there amongst the older works highlighting various themes… It was really good. His bronze lioness brought tears to my eyes although I can’t tell you why I found her so moving.  In the basement was a huge collection of ivory carvings… after my initial distaste, I started to admire the material and the skilled carving. I think I would look carefully at the exhibition before returning, since such a large part of the collection is not in my sweet spot, but I’m super glad I dropped by.

I did go out a bit tonight; there was a Pokémon meetup… Slightly more organized than the ones I did with P&W in RWC. Basically, after giving folks time to finish one raid, the host would yell out a nearby location and the 40 or so participants would then move to the next location, then back on her signal. The other notable difference was that level of cigarette smoke despite the presence of a couple of young children. The meet up was located between the giant Euro and the Opera House, which was playing music to the plaza. Was there a performance? Between 6 and 7 PM? Hmmmm… A somewhat surreal experience but I got to hear (and try to decipher) a lot of accents.