Fussen: the mix of old and new

When I visit old or historical sites, I don't want to be merely in awe by what have happened in the past. I am always on the look of how people nowadays interact with the old buildings, the old surroundings, and the old memories. Because for me, it's a proof that we don't set those sites into a graveyard-like mode: you go there only for worships, for nostalgic sensation.

I had been quite happy to find some interesting interactions

The courtyard of Hohes Schloss, Fussen.

 I didn't expect to visit this town after visiting Nueshwanstein castle. Thanks to my Japanese friend, she said this town was a must-visit site in her tour book. When I first saw the castle from the outside, I thought, well, just another castle! But, when I saw the courtyard, I was completely charmed. Modern sculptures were scattered on the yard. It felt like Miro meeting Shakespeare.  The tired and silent castle suddenly came into life.

Don't be fooled by these oriel windows. They were painted. I don't know who did these 3-D oriel windows.  If they were from the medieval time, they must be the pioneers 3D street painters before Edgar Muller and Kurt Wenner.

The giant fingers were holding a metal ball. 

Do you mind if I join you?

 The sculptures were so much fun to interact with.

What was I thinking? Kiss him and turn him into real one? silly!

a meeting for melon-faced people?

A piece of modern art on the old wall.

The journey ended with gelato. But, when I looked around, I saw this  inviting sign. Yes, need some huge German pretzels to satisfy my growling stomach. 

Swan King: expensive insanity or profit-making foresight

If you stay in Bavaria, there is no excuses not to visit the 3 famous castles built but unfinished by the "mad" Swan King, Ludwig II.

Lake Chiemsee

The first one I went to see is Castle Herrenchiemsee.

Harbor to Castle Herrenchiemsee 

The facade of the castle

The king was a hopeless loner. He built the castle on the island, Herreninsel, so nobody could bother him.







We took a ferry to the island to see the castle. It was sad to know that the king took more than a decade to build the castle but only stayed there for 9 days or so.








 It was even sadder to know that the castle was a copy of the Palace of Versailles.  Lugwig's admiration to Louis 14 was beyond imagination. It's quite strange to build a castle exactly the one that Louis 14 had already had to show his admiration. Maybe, being a copycat,  a way to totally surrender yourself, is the highest respect we pay to someone we admire.






No camera was allowed inside the castle. But taking a picture outside was equally hard for the palace was packed with tourists. It was almost impossible to get a clear spot for your photos.

The second one I went was the most famous Neuschwanstein. This one is not easy to visit as well. You have to hike up for about 20 mins to get to the castle. Guess the king really didn't like people. He tried his best to hide.




To get the best angle of the castle, we had to get in a long line to a marked spot. Again, It was impossible to get a shot without people got in the way. Most of tourists were from Asia. My Japanese friend nearly gave up. She said, "I don't mind to have strangers in the picture with me, but if they are all Asians, my friends will not believe I'm in Europe." So we waited and waited...and finally did it.

Like the name of the castle, Neuschwanstein is indeed very "swan."  You see swans everywhere, in the garden, the fountain, inside the palace.To show you how "swan" the castle is, I couldn't help but do a little "swan dance " in front of the castle. I didn't mind if people were watching.

See all these numbers? This is an efficient way to accommodate  a huge flood of tourists. We booked our visit on-line, otherwise, we could have had waited a whole day.

 The third castle I visited was Nymphenburg. This castle is not hidden in an island or in the moutons. It was actually only 10 minutes bike from my rented place.  But unfortunately I had hit my saturation point of castle visitng and it was late for visit (around 5pm), so I toured around, instead of going in.

a swan family: the babies are protected by mom and dad.

 I think the water-pumping system is quite unique for this castle. Its man-made canal and small ponds, where many geese gathered, give a relaxing touch that the other castles do not have.

what's the best about this castle is that when you walk down the canal and reach the main road, you'll find a very popular Italian ice-cream shop there.

After getting your ice-cream, you can sit on a bench by the canal, enjoying the breeze and the refreshing taste of your eis, particularly with your lover. Quite romantic.I think this is the most people-friendly castle of the three.











Oh, here is news for people like me who don't know much about swans.
Do you know that they flash they butts quite often? Look at it here, this pic totally shatters the elegant image we have about swans.

Well, who can blame them! when you are hungry and looking for food, you can't care less about what your look.

This is the crazy king. He might have spent too much money on his castles, but they attract people from around the world. His expensive insanity has, in a sense, turned into a profit-making foresight. He might not have thought it that way, but for people who have been in the long line waiting to visit, it is true in some way.

The ugly and strange others

 

I've been offended from time to time by some picture books, museum displays, or paintings that feature Asian (or non-Caucasin) figures as what I call, "the ugly and strange others." I don't mind if they are portrayed as "exotic," at least that word sounds sexy. But most of times you can only describe them as ugly and strange. I have evidences here.

 This is really not a good-looking woman, probably because in the story, she is a strong mother who battles with the sea to get her son back. But do strong women have to look like this? I wonder.

Ah, the slanted eyes...what do we have to do to let people know that we Asians have different sizes of eyes. Slanted eyes are just one of them.  But, if Jeremy Lin still got teased about his eyes nowadays, I know this stereotype may still stick around for a long long time.

I can only say the illustrator may want to break the stereotype of prince-princess-like beautiful couples.

It looks like the illustrator wants to make a sight with many slanted eyes.

I also found some strange figures who were called Chinese, such as:

These figurines are called "4 Chinese."

 I don't really know which parts of them are Chinese? Their clothes? No. Their hats? I don't think so. Their faces? Come on, they are White!

I recognize the bun on the head and the hair band. But, only ancient women wore those. It didn't look like a woman to me.

I quite like this one, though. It looks really familiar, but still couldn't figure out what he is wearing on his head.

So, to wrap up this post, I did a Chinese thing:

Do I look Chinese enough to you? Sorry, I'm not Chinese. I'm a Taiwanese. Confused? Yes, me, too.

Finding Andersen: from his birthplace to the funeral church

I worship Andersen. Sometimes, I call myself Jessie Anderson.  I always like stories that are short but powerful with poetic language and  insights. Some of his stories may be too obvious with moral lessons, but some pieces like Little Mermaid are winged with bitter truth that could fly through times and touch hearts of different generations. I took a four-day trip to Denmark to find Anderson. I wanted to walk around the places where he walked, and if lucky, I could pick up some inspirations that he might have left behind.

I know some writers are not lovable, and Andersen was with no doubt one of them. People have already known that he was not good looking, or he was vain (always formally dressed and posed his profile for portraits). I wasn't surprised that he didn't like children or he tried to cover his humble beginning.  Here I want to give you a less-known part of Andersen.

Artistic Andersen:

 Can you believe this tiny little paper rock chair came from his big hands? Anderson was good with paper cutting, but this one shows us how crafty he was.

 He liked to draw. These sketches showed his potential to be a painter, totally self-taught, hey, like me.

 Looks like a modern art? If you look closely, you can find it is a matrix where Andersen stretched letters in an artistic way.

Ink drawing? I did that a lot when I was in primary school. I squeezed color paints and then folded the paper to make symmetric patterns. It was fun because you'd never know what the pattern would look like  until you open the paper.







Awkward Andersen:

 This 185cm tall and lanky man had a dream to be a ballet dancer. See my feet are only half of his size. I can only laugh when I imagine him move awkwardly on the stage with his long legs and arms getting in the way.

 He had been paranoid about fire breaking up in tall buildings. This is the rope he always brought when traveling. He reckoned he could save himself by throwing the rope down and climbing himself to safety.

He Stayed with Charles Dickens for more than 5 weeks, having no sense that he was not really welcome there. What worse was he later wrote something about the Dickens, which was considered private and inappropriate. Dickens cut off the communication, which Andersen had absolutely no clue why.





Anderson in comics

 It's fun to see people portrait him differently.

 Andersen's ugliness has become a distinctive feature. See this sculpture set up in his home town.

 Young Andersen and his patron, the one who supported him for better education to become a better writer. But imagine he went to school at 17 with other 14 years-old boys? Embarrassing.

 He looked so young, shy, and reserved.

 This picture reveals a lonely childhood so much that you just want to sit beside him.
















      In Copenhagen : Glory and Death  :  


In this flat in Nyhavn, he created many of his famous fairy tales. I've found a small cafe named after him at the first floor. I saw they decorated the entrance with his tall hat. Unfortunately, it was closed. Looks like the name "Andersen" did not bring much business.

  The inside of the flat. It was said that Anderson always sat by the windows, watching people passing by. The flat is vey close to the theater where he worked. I trailed along the path to the theater, imagining him going to work, picking up inspirations along the way. 

 Cathedral of Our Lady, the church that held Andersen's funeral. Here, he bore the final farewell to the people.

 Inside of the Church.

 At the right hand side of the entrance, I saw this neon-lighted message. Immediately I feel God's love and warmth.

Like Anderson, I love The Lord, too. I couldn't believe the blessings that have been given to me. He created Andersen; he created me. I don't know whether I could be as influential as Andersen, but I do believe that I have my calling, and I'm fulfilling it.