Stuttgart, Germany

I spent the day today walking and exploring Stuttgart. I have been there a few times before, but I wanted to visit the Staatsgalerie to familiarize myself again with the modern German painters.

Michaele enlightened me to the paintings of Emil Nolde years ago - and now I also am very drawn to his paintings. Conrad and I sped off this morning in his incredible BMW and after arriving and visiting beautiful d'Orado in Stuttgart, I placed my city plan in my pocket and was off for my adventure of the day. First stop: the outdoor market.


Outdoor Market:

The farmers’ market in Stuttgart is held in the town center on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Producers from the local area set up their stalls selling fresh fruit and vegetables, baked goods, handmade cheeses, meat (both fresh and smoked), honey, wine, chutneys, jams and candies. A good variety of plants and flowers is also on sale.

Radishes

Beautiful herbs and flowers ...

Maybe I should end the outdoor market entry with the saxophonist playing with a parrot on his head. Whenever the musician would stop playing, the parrot would 'squwak' ... it's very nice to have fans that want you to keep playing ...

My friend Jean-Jacques plays saxophone for the Monte Carlo Orchestra ... maybe playing at the Salle des Princes Grimaldi Forum with a parrot on his head would be a nice added touch !!

The Market Place - Schwaebisch Gmuend, Germany

Early on Wednesdays and Saturdays, the local farmers, cheese makers and gardeners set up their booths and striped umbrellas and present their wonderful wares. So many towns people make their pilgrimage to the market with their rolling carts in tow. This morning my friend Michaele invited me to join her in visiting the market.

Michaele and Conrad in their garden - me photographing from the upstairs bedroom window

Garden

beautiful sculpture

garden water feature

Off to the Market ....





Daisies ... these were my Mom's favorite flowers ...

This is the beautiful Muenster Cathedral built in the 1200s !!! Incredible for sure. I've been to Mass their several times and it is so fascinating, beautiful and ... I just cannot get a grasp on it ... imagining it being built, the scale alone of the structure, the centuries of people that worshiped here ... the marriages, the funerals ...

The other day while being in this church ... the ancient pipe organ was playing and the choir was singing ... it was SOOO beautiful ... and I was up in the balcony looking down from the back of the church up to the alter ... and oddly enough, I couldn't get the song 'How do you solve a problem like Maria' out of my head ... and pictured the scene of Maria walking down the aisle at her wedding in the film 'The Sound of Music' ... I could hear the exact organ music from the movie ... and thought ... hmmm ... maybe one day ... when my future husband finally finds me ... this church ... this organ ... this choir ...

I know, I know ... the things you think of while in church !!

So then, from 11:00 to 3:00, I was at the beauty parlor in Schwaebisch Gmuend trying to undo a yellow-orange hair tragedy. If there is ANYTHING that makes me cringe, it's seeing yellow-orange hair in the reflection - especially when I paid good money for it !!!

Restoration ... Whew !

Thank YOU so much Tina for making me be able to exhale again. You are now my new international hairdresser !!!! (the second time that I went to this very knowledgeable salon - Danke !!!) I returned to the hair salon to offer Tina any signed cocktail print that she would like ... oddly enough ... she chose Ms. Chardonnay because she likes yellow !!!

Eckhart Dietz

My friend Julia with Eckhart Dietz

Then tonight my friend Julia invited me to a very special meet the artist evening in the Market Sqare. This is the incredible Eckhart Dietz. He's brilliant !!! He's a reknowned sculptor, painter, drawer, speaker and is probably fabulous at everything that he does. ... It's the German way.

Julia

So, after our evening with Eckhart Dietz, Julia invited me to share a glass of wine at the Paulaner outdoor cafe. Soooo lovely !! The wine was chilled, the weather was so nice and there was a lovely little breeze ...

After our glass we bid each other adieu ... and now Adieu to you (and you and you)

... yes, I know, another Sound of Music reference ...

Just a few more photos from the '50' Parade !

Yeah ! Let the parade begin !!

These beautiful trumpeters will later be present in the Muenster Cathedral on the alter playing selections from Purcell !

Gundi (green cap) made this banner and also created the wagon for pulling the bouquets of roses !!

My kind and generous friend Gundi

Receiving roses from friends in Schwaebisch Gmuend during the parade for 50 year olds.

My artist friend Fritz

Ahhh ... how nice to receive a wreath of flowers for around my neck ... complete with attached paint brushes !!

My lovely friend Julia created this picture hanging with photos spanning our eight year friendship !! Complete with paint brushes !!!

A view of the town

My friend Michael complimenting my very nice tuxedo jacket !!

Julia taking a photo of the both of us ... being silly !

beautiful Valentin - the dapper little son of Julia and Michael !

Singing 'Alois' under the tower of the Johanniskirche ... A church in Schwaebisch Gmuend built in the 1100s !!!

Johanniskirche, circa 1100s

Afterward, the 50 year olds had a lovely dinner at a very nice nearby restaurant. I then walked to my beautiful apartment and thought ... what a GREAT day this had been !!!

... more to come ...

The parade of '50' year olds ... arriving in Schwaebisch Gmuend the sister city of Bethlehem, PA

Voila !! This is me walking in the parade of '50 year olds' in beautiful Schwaebisch Gmuend (S.G.), Germany. Every year, and for over a hundred years, this parade takes place in the summertime in S.G. It starts on the second Saturday of June with the parade of 40 years olds, then the next saturday, the 50 year olds ... and so on until the 80 year olds.

It begins at 7:00 a.m. Cannon blasts. Three of them. My friend Michael picks me up in his ever so cool Porsche !!!! And ... even opens the door for me ... Then, we drive to the fire station where Champagne, pink champagne, (soft) pretzels and wonderful German breads await us. Lot's of hugging and kissing and merryment !!!! We start to receive roses and carts that pull roses and balloons and decorated umbrellas ... it's really fantastic and SOOO much fun !!! You can't believe it !!

So then after a couple glasses of champagne ... the parade begins. There is a walking order and I am inbetween Reinhard and Jurgen. The three of us in tuxedos (thank you CE Roth on Turner St. in Allentown, PA - I LOVED wearing it !!!). The bands begin to play, there is a train for all of the children and the people looking after them ... and we walk through the crowds receiving hugs and roses - pretty fabulous eh ??

Then we all enter the 'Muenster Cathedral' ... it's from the 1200s ... and large and fabulous !!!!! Men in red and white attire play 'Purcell' on their horns on the alter ... then the massive organ begins ... and then the choir. Overwhelming for sure ! Catholic Mass in German ... with pipe organ and choir and trumpets ... it was one of those moments in life that you think ... oh my gosh ... please take all this in ... for one day you will try to imagine that you are back here ... and then, Mass has come to an end and you exit the church ... more champagne ... and greetings and roses and you begin to march through the market place again ... SOOOO many people smiling and hugging and roses and .... well, you get the idea ... and then beautiful Richard Arnold is handing out roses ... he's the Oberburgermeister of S.G. Tall, handsome and smart.

All of the '50s' parade round the town to the center under the tower of the Johanniskirche and sing a very special song 'Alois'. I can't translate it literally ... but I believe it's about a conversation between two men in a pub. In the first verse, the first man says blessings to the second man ... then, in the second verse, the first man asks that the second man buy him a beer ... then in the third and final verse, the first man says to the second man, if you don't buy me a beer ... you can kiss my a**. And then all of the 50 year olds turn around and face away ... it's very funny ... but also sooo special ...

Afterwards, we all have a dinner in a nearby restaurant ... It's not easy to describe the conviviality and the joy of this day ... but I hope that you can begin to feel it in the following photos. I will try my best to keep you up to date on my travels throughout Germany and - if I go to Antibes - also my exhibition in the Chateau de Saint Martin in the south of France.

Schwaebisch Gmuend, 2011

Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival • 10th Annversary !

Voila !

Here is the official poster for the Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival 10th Anniversary. This great event will once again be held at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in New York. The dates are September 10th and 11th, 2011.

I'll be there to sign your posters. The 24" x 18" posters are printed on 100 lb. archival, acid free paper with fade resistant inks. That's a nod to the only person that I will have do my prints ... you know who you are ...

So, I hope too see YOU there !! It's a wonderful event. Trust me ... I've been fortunate to be the artist for the event for the last five years ... and counting ...

hudsonvalleywinefest.com

If you would like to purchase a 6" x 6" oil painting on stretched canvas that you see on this site, or commission a painting that is special to you, please email me.

These paintings are priced at $100.00 plus s/h.

info@annelizabethschlegel.com
www.annelizabethschlegel.com

Thank You!

If you have found this entry through a search engine and would like to see the complete Painting Each Day blog, just click on PAINTING EACH DAY at the top of this page

Antibes Juan les Pins is the most beautiful place in the world

Jar of Olives

Jar of Olives

Today we have our 'First Friday' celebration at the Banana Factory ... so ... if you happen to be in the Lehigh Valley area this evening please stop in to say hello ! First Friday hours are 6:00pm until 9:00pm.

We would love to see You !!

If you would like to purchase a 6" x 6" oil painting on stretched canvas that you see on this site, or commission a painting that is special to you, please email me.

These paintings are priced at $100.00 plus s/h.

info@annelizabethschlegel.com
www.annelizabethschlegel.com

Thank You!

If you have found this entry through a search engine and would like to see the complete Painting Each Day blog, just click on PAINTING EACH DAY at the top of this page

Antibes Juan les Pins is the most beautiful place in the world

Bartlett Pear

Bartlett Pear

History says that the green-gold Bartlett pear first originated in Berkshire, England sometime in the late 1600s. The sweet taste of a fresh Bartlett pear is one of the hallmarks of late summer and early autumn.

The Bartlett carries a true pyriform "pear shape:" a rounded bell on the bottom half of the fruit, then a definitive shoulder with a smaller neck or stem end.

Bartletts are extremely aromatic pears, and have that definitive "pear flavor." Often, the Bartletts found in grocery stores are green, and then they change to yellow as they ripen at home when left at room temperature. Red Bartletts are another variety to choose, and they are usually located in produce departments right next to the Yellow Bartletts.

Aside from color, there are only slight differences in flavor between the two Bartlett pears. Consider Red Bartletts as a second color alternative for displays in fruit baskets and bowls. Together in a beautiful fruit bowl, Red & Green Bartletts make a striking table-top centerpiece.

If you would like to purchase a 6" x 6" oil painting on stretched canvas that you see on this site, or commission a painting that is special to you, please email me.

These paintings are priced at $100.00 plus s/h.

info@annelizabethschlegel.com
www.annelizabethschlegel.com

Thank You!

If you have found this entry through a search engine and would like to see the complete Painting Each Day blog, just click on PAINTING EACH DAY at the top of this page

Antibes Juan les Pins is the most beautiful place in the world