nutcracker dude at the weimar christmas market.
december usually isn't my most active month of the year. i don't know whether it has something to do with the early darkness, or just simply that it's a very busy month at work for me, but fact is, i rarely have the opportunity and energy to do and see more. if someone invites me to have a walk over a christmas market chances are always good, though, that i will take up on that invitation, because, duh, i really like seeing the lights and smelling the delicious christmas scents. well, and that are actually those moments that i get to go out into the world ( when it usually is a 'go to work - return from work - hibernate and avoid christmas stress' type of routine ). even my sunday walks seem to take a stop, as i'd rather stay indoors and panic about the 'days of infernal agonies'. i mean, don't get me wrong, christmas season can be nice for some and i usually enjoy the little tidbits of family time i get to have during the holidays, but when it comes to the whole stress leading up to the festivities... i'd rather miss out on that shit. i work in retail, and i don't know if you understand what that means, but let's just say: retail during christmas season is the most fucked up thing ever. even compared to my usual moaning about retail jobs, christmas beats all the downs of working in that profession. if you ever worked in a shop/supermarket during christmas time, you probably understand it at some level. for me, it basically destroyed my enjoyment of this season.
in my personal history, christmas for me was never about celebrating a religious tradition, but always a coming together with family, gifting thoughtful presents, enjoying christmas walks. and leading up to this, i remember enjoying the advent season immensely ( at least until i started working lol ), loving all the christmas swag and watching christmas related movies, buying gifts, etc. etc. but after working in retail for 15 years now... you eventually start to see that consumerism gets out of hand during that special time and people go cuh-rrrrrraaaaaazyyyy, like really going berserk. it means that they are unfriendly as fuck if they can't get what they want, obviously all the love and the spending time together creates more stress for most people, instead of taking it down a notch and chilling the fuck out. christmas is a synonym for showing empathy, gratitude, love and peace to your surroundings, it's not equated with being shitty to other humans or spread hate and get violent. sometimes i wonder if it's just me, but during christmas season i often get the feeling that people show their worst sides, as if there's something in the air that tells them they need to go off on a tangent and do something incredibly insulting or radical. and during christmas & and end-of-year season, isn't it always the case that something especially awful is happening?
maybe, over time, i started being to overly ominous and negative-thinking about this... like i seriously can't enjoy christmas season anymore as i used to. the only thing that really gets me in some kind of a mood for it are the many lights everywhere. i'd say it's even the only thing that i like during that time. and the fact that on the christmas days themselves, close to no shop is open in cities, which means, the streets are deserted and gloriously quiet! on christmas evening and the two following christmas holidays going out is actually really relaxing and recreational for me! plus i always love being able to breathe for a few days between all the built-up stress pre-christmas and the upcoming end-of-year shenanigans.
so, any of you think differently about christmas or the end of the year? are there actually people who absolutely LOVE it? or are you equally ambivalent about the whole celebration?
these first pictures are from a short visit to my homeland, namely weimar. my family and i made it to weimar's christmas market twice, but i only documented the first one in early december ( the second one later that year ended up being a lot more fun, as i got to go ice-skating on the rink in front of the national theater! ). i only shot very few photos, though, my focus was mainly on spending time with my dear ones.
in front of the gänsemännchen fountain from 1846 - a smaller replica of the the more famous fountain in nürnberg. the house in the back with the blue windows is one of weimar's most delicious gelaterias - gelateria giancarlo. they always offer italian pastries at the christmas market.
the view down schillerstraße.
the ice rink that surrounds goethe & schiller every year. i don't know how they'd feel about it, if they were still alive, but i actually think they wouldn't mind at all being at the center of laughing faces and happy kids. in the back you can see the german national theater weimar, an absolute cultural asset in germany.
with these next pictures i am finally completing the documentation of the year 2018. these last pictures were made in erfurt on boxing day, at the egapark, a horticultural park that was really important during the GDR regime, hosting international garden shows. the park is a wonderful example of socialist architecture, the whole ensemble is listed as historic, especially because it is both a testimonial for post-war landscape & garden architecture in germany and especially for the former german democratic republic.
the hill it resides on is called cyriaksberg and is 265 meters high, overlooking erfurt in a grandiose way. there was a fortress ( castle cyriaksburg ) formerly guarding the south western part of erfurt until 1873 and in 1885 the embellishment club of erfurt started to remodel the area into a public park, incorporating the old fort buildings. the first garden exhibition inside the park took place in 1950 and it was so successful that the premises were used again and again and soon called for an expansion and remodeling for bigger purposes. in 1961 the first international garden exhibition ( iga ) was held inside the park, shining bright with new exhibition halls and a modern layout. the architect responsible for the creations was reinhold lingner - it is part of his magnus opus.
we visited the park for a special reason: the winterleuchten ( winter illumination ) exhibition that takes place annually from late november to the middle of january. it's a presentation of light installations, illuminating the various parts of the park in one of the darkest seasons of the year. i've never been to that exhibition before, and my last visit to the egapark also dated back to several years ago, so it was definitely time to take this as an occasion to revisit this remarkable erfurt landmark. and i wasn't disappointed at all! all the installations added a special atmosphere to the whole complex, highlighting the modern ( and older ) structures in a way that made them extra gorgeous! i'd totally recommend going to this exhibition if you should ever find yourself in erfurt during christmas season. it is an unconventional way to spend your time during what is for me one of the most hectic seasons of the year. my brain was able to breathe again ( seriously, marvelling at beautiful things really helps ease annoying brain activities, especially in times of upheaval and operating through the daily grinds ).
walking glow-stick men on the main lawn of the park. in the back you see one of the iconic exhibition halls that still exists on the ground ( there were formerly 13 of them, but only 4 still stand ). the little pavilion on the left is also a 1961 original. it's used as some kind of sales booth.
two more of them exhibition halls. reinhold lingner was massively inspired by the way 'international style' architects worked and got his ideas from when the style first entered the stage. the buildings are very clear-cut and simple, functionalistic, yet still elegant.
another sales booth and a sculpture. the ceramics statue is called 'stele mit rotem apfel' and was made by gerhard dölz. unfortunately it's really difficult to get any detailed information about all of the sculptures you can find throughout the premises. the operators of the park don't seem to have found it necessary to create a documentation of what they have on display in their park. the information i found on some of the sculptures you can see here were gathered painstakingly slow after searching for hours on the world wide web.
the company behind the illuminations, 'world of lights', specializes on these nocturnal spectacles and create the intricate sculptures everywhere.
we arrived at the egapark at twilight, the sky was dramatically clouded.
we passed by the water playground ( that is not operable in winter, therefore no water ). i remember this playground from my childhood, we used to love it here! of course, they modernized it since we were kids and it's a lot more fun and creative these days than in my memory, but i still think fondly of the old playground. some old parts even survived to this day, like the old paddling pool and the rope climbing pyramids, and the elephant figures i loved so much as a child.
and especially this concrete head! it's the coolest, isn't it? i absolutely adore it. the playground was designed in the 1970ies and was the most modern and interesting playground of the GDR at the time it was opened. looking at this sculpture i will always associate it with GDR art, which was so distinct, especially when it came to design that came into play for children. the most well-known style in that era was socialist realism, but i really can't put that into context with these creations. everything that was designed for kids was always super colourful, abstract even, with lots of nods to kubism, futurism and even that significant bauhaus style ( i just have to think of oskar schlemmer's stage outfits! ). i remember while i was growing up ( in the 90ies - after the fall of the wall ), i never really liked the 'western' pop culture for kids very much ( like disney movies etc ). i grew up with the GDR version of the little sandman, which had so many curious characters that the western part of germany never came into contact with. with spejbl and hurvinek, the wooden marionettes from the czech republic with that curious accent. i read ottokar books which were totally tattered by the time i grew out of reading children's books. all the artwork and design for these kind of characters were always construed in a sort of abstract and simplified way, and that is what made them so incredibly charming! ( and i still think the same way about it today ❤ ) when i find sculptures like these or art that is made in the same way... it will instantly transport me into my childhood. and i am also attracted to it like a moth to the light. it's like some invisible antennae grow out of the top of my head and tell me to check this out more closely, more carefully.
this building that looks like a crown is also GDR architecture. it's a rotunda basically, but functions as a pavilion. inside there's a restaurant now, but it was actually first used as a small venue for all kinds of happenings, like theater plays, movie screenings and such. it was built in 1974 by klaus thiele.
it was just recently renovated, though there were talks about tearing it down ( together with other GDR structures like the exhibition halls ) to make place for more modern landscaping projects. i have to say, reading and hearing things like that absolutely enrages me. everyone is always so fucking keen on preserving old architecture ( baroque, classic, medieval, bauhaus etc ), but as soon as more contemporary or modern buildings come into focus, it's all forgotten. architecture from the 50ies up to today oftentimes is totally left out of the preservation game, because it's either 'ugly' or 'outdated' or 'energetically redundant', even though some of these buildings are true gems, and they are witnesses of their time! even architecture from GDR times deserves to be preserved, because, duh! it's part of history! and there's not always a bad connotation to it, like not every building was part of stasi practices, but just belonged to daily life and brought joy to people! and continues to do so! some of these buildings were important at one moment in time, and the egapark only got famous during its modernization in the 60ies. it is an important piece of the city's history, so why destroy the last few remaining buildings? it's not like they kept all of the original structure, a lot of the old dwellings were torn down already. at least let some of these have a little peace and let them continue to exist.
another point of view of the big meadow grounds in front of the exhibition halls. can you spot the bird bush?
these were swaying in the wind very gracefully.
the pavilion from a different point of view. the sculpture is called 'die aufgabe' - the assignment - by hans klakow. it shows school kids sitting on the ground trying to solve a problem.
i don't know who made this sculpture ( i should really start taking notes of these things while i am at the location 😅 ), but i really liked it for it's raw quality. these are two roughnecks taking out a fight.
this wildcat sort of stuck out amongst all the GDR sculptures. that's because it wasn't made during that era. it was erected here on purpose to call attention to the wildcat population in thuringia's hainich woods. it's one of the last resorts for these special creatures and so it is very worth to be conserved and maintained. i've been to the wildcat village in hütscheroda in may of 2018, so if you want to read up on that, click here.
how the trees were illuminated throughout the park was most satisfying to me.
the empty fountain basin - also a relict of the original structures. it is still used during spring and summer months. which makes me realize that i should actually go see the park during that time as well! imagine the lush greens and all the flowers and the water plays and how alive it all would appear?
the last four exhibition halls in one line.
the park also has a few botanical halls from the 80ies where you can look at exotic plants from the tropics or arid areas of the world. there's also a butterfly house. after doing a little bit of research i learned that in the future these houses won't be in use anymore as soon as the new primeval forest & desert house 'danakil' gets completed - a project that will be ready for the buga '21 - the federal garden show. what will happen to them after the opening - no one knows yet.
the big water axis ( architect: walther funcke ) also was devoid of water, but that didn't deter the light installation company from highlighting it anyway. in the far back you can see the erfurt observatory. it resides in one of the old fortress towers.
a closer look at the observatory. you can also see the german horticulture museum on the right, residing in the former defense barracks.
we found some self-luminous snails crawling around the park 🐌
these were really cute ❤
i call this: the lull. because spirals do that, right?
yup, couldn't get enough of illuminated trees.
found a bauhaus-y installation! 👀
and a dragon. the lights in the back are the city lights of erfurt!
this staircase was a real looker!
no matter what you did, you couldn't get a bad picture of it. it was simply photogenic.
there's another fortress tower which has a spiraling viewing platform on top.
the tower in full glory.
surrounding the tower: rainbow trees 🌈 they looked glorious!
like, total colour orgasm.
we climbed up the platform tower and enjoyed a stunning view over the city of erfurt!
and discovered footprints when we looked down! to which creature they belonged to and where it went? it seems that it disappeared quite abruptly. maybe it flew away?
next we made it to the sculpture garden, where you can find many works of GDR artists.
a respectful looking taurus. heinrich drake created this 'hochlandstier' ( upland bull ).
only a part of the actual sculpture is this lion. at the foot of the column there's also a mouse. with this work a tale is told, a fable of a lion and a mouse. there was a russian author who brought these old fables into a new form, made poetry out of it. his name was ivan a. krylov. on the column the sculptor peter fritzsche engraved the words from krylov's version of that fable. basically krylow's tale is about a lion who spurns a little mouse's offer of ever helping him and has to realize too late, when he gets trapped in a net and put into a cage to be amusement for the humans, that the little mouse could've helped him out of his misery when he was still in that net and if he hadn't scared the little mouse away after declining its offer.
the last line of the poem says: you shall not spit into the fountain, maybe you will have to drink its waters. which is basically the moral of the story. like, if someone offers you help and support, take it, and don't dismiss it for a joke. because if you do, penalty is not far away.
very close to the lion and the mouse is this sculpture, my favourite one. 'lesendes mädchen' ( reading girl ) was made by heinz beberniß in 1961. she reminds me of the days where i couldn't live without any book in my hands ( before internet took over & provided me every single book with just a single click ). it should be a reminder to start reading books again, but actually, it's not like i don't read at all anymore. it's just that it isn't a palpable thing anymore, something that i continually take into my hands to let it guide me through other worlds and stories. i used to think i'm going to be a writer when i grew up ( i also thought i was going to be a musician, a painter and a librarian :P ), but somehow that got lost in the reality of things.
loved that nook by the tree she was placed in.
more sculptures in front of the horticulture museum. unfortunately i couldn't find anything about the sitting man in the front. the museum is a unique one in the museum landscape of germany. there's no other like it, especially about horticulture. i've never been inside before, but i think i will make it a goal of mine for my next visit at the egapark.
the tower that accommodates the observatory.
directly next to it was a pathway with these poles. it was like a little wood you had to go through, and all the trees inside were not swaying like in some real woods, but swinging from side to side if you touched them.
some of the reeds were beamed at in a really eerie way. could there be something lurking behind them?
looking back towards the pole woods and the observatory.
another pathway led us through psychedelic dimensions. is this what taking LSD might feel like on a good day? ( shush, don't take drugs! ) it was pretty damn cool, though 😍
and it was a damn good camouflage scenario, too! meet my parents :)
the old administration building of the park was also beautified by lights!
the grass is always is greener on the other side.
the former administration has just recently been renovated and it houses social, administrative and schooling spaces today. it's another one of those 1960ies structures still standing.
by now i will only react to this with an emoji: 😍
the mainzpavillon is one of those super cool structures that would be a pity to tear down! thank goodness it won't meet that fate as it's in high demand with to soon-to-be engaged couples and people who like to use it as a venue for small parties or happenings. once it was used as an intershop, one of those special GDR shops where you could get your hands on 'westware' ( western goods ), but only if you had western valuta. the concept of these shops is quite difficult to explain, so you might want to check out wikipedia for more details ;)
we slowly made our way back out the park. snapped some candids of random people. i feel like this picture gives off a certain mood, though i cannot put a finger on it.
saying goodbye to the grass garden.
and waving an hello to this artificial grass sculpture.
beautiful chaos.
one last time we passed by the exhibition halls that first were erected in 1958. they're made out of wood and steel mostly. the big windows were perfect for letting in huge amounts of light into the buildings and the interior was built without pillars that might restrict the exhibition space, which was beneficial for exhibitors who could then design their interiors the way they wanted to.
i think these are simply perfect for exhibitions of any kind, or even social events. it would be such a loss if someone ever decided to finally tear them down. there's such a special atmosphere to them! i could easily imagine a rag fair for design objects from the 50ies to 80ies here, how amazing would that be? here in wiesbaden we have such a design market every year, and i think the sellers would all squeal with joy if they had the opportunity to sell their goods in such fitting environments.
the biggest hall of them all is the 'halle der völkerfreundschaft' ( hall of amity between nations ). the exhibitions inside this hall were organized by all the participating countries in a collaborative effort. with its obtruding roof it also is easily the most impressive.
and with this i end the year 2018 with a bang. i think. at least i had quite a lot of fun editing and writing this post and revisiting these pictures. they're a feast for the eye! i hope you found it at least a little bit enjoyable ;)
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