Laglio from the Middle Road

Oil on board   11x14     $495.00

     Each morning, during our stay in Laglio, we watched the sun come up over the hills across the lake.  On our last day,  Laura,  the B&B owner, told us about the "middle road" that stretches all the way to Cernobbio about 10 miles south.  She used this road to train for her lightweight boxing matches. (she holds a lightweight world boxing title).   We hiked the middle road about 6 miles to Moltrasio for lunch.  The sights along the road were almost "medieval", and an artist's dream.  We witnessed the sun peaking up over the hills from a new perspective above the Lake Road where we usually walked.  Once again, the San Giogio church tower was in the right place to be bathed in the glow from the rising sun.

Laglio from Lago Como

  My first painting from our European trip is a very special one to me.  I painted this for our friend from Kansas City, who did so much to help us have a wonderful stay in the Lake Como area.  John lived in Como after WWII.  He and his family left everything they had in Croatia before the war and came to Italy seeking safety from the Nazis.  His family found tremendous help from the Italians during the war. He and his family were hidden from the Nazis in Florence and later came to Northern Italy.  John attended school in Como City and made friends with people from Laglio.  His friend, Aldo, found us our bed and breakfast i Laglio and had us to his home for dinner.  John did so much to familiarize us with the Italian culture.   I knew this view of Laglio from the Lake would bring back some good memories for he and his wife Evie.
   I liked the repetition in shapes and color that the homes supplied.  I thought of Cezanne painting at Mont Sainte-Victoire near Aix en Provence when I was trying to decide how much detail to add the these cubistic shapes.  Like all villages we saw in Northern Italy, each village centers around the church so the steeple became my focal point.  The ebb and flow of warm and cool colors became the challenge du joir.  The large yellow villa on the left is George Clooney's home.

Good News!

          It was exciting to receive the latest copy of "Door County Magazine"  and to see the article Donna Marie Pocius wrote about my book, "Lasting Impressions of Door County".  The nicely written article describes the journey I traveled while writing my book in 2009.  

          I have received my "Door County fix" four times a year, since we bought our cottage on Kangaroo Lake in Door County in 1999.  Door County Magazine is a quarterly publication that has everything about Door County, especially the arts.  I read it from cover-to-cover the day it arrives to our home in Kansas City.   I have read numerous stories about artists in Door County through the years and have enjoyed learning more about them.  When my friend, Ed Fenendael, was a featured artist in the magazine a few years ago, I set a personal, private goal of someday being featured in the magazine.  I knew it was a long shot, not living in Door County, but nonetheless, it was a wish that I held privately for years.

          Last May, I decided to do the Sturgeon Bay Fine Art show over Memorial Day.  I thought it would help launch my new book into the area and would be helpful to the many retailers in the area who were selling my book.  One of the visitors to my booth was Donna Marie Pocius.  She didn't introduce herself right away, but asked several questions about how I self-published the book.  She gave me her card and said she would like to write a story about the book for the winter edition of Door County Magazine!  I was thrilled!  We met last summer while I was attending the Plein Air Festival for an interview.  She was very thorough with her questions, including how I got the idea for the book, and what steps I took to get the book published.  She said she thought others would be inspired to do the same.  

           Donna Marie's article explains the process I underwent in finding Bible verses that spoke to my paintings and the "light-hearted tone" of the accompanying messages.  She also listed, by name, most of the Door County retailers that are carrying the book.  I am waiting for my second printing of the book to arrive, so I hope the article will encourage people to consider the book for all their Door County lovers this Christmas.

Looking back and forward

     Our trip has ended but the memories will last a lifetime!  We are slowly returning to normal but our thoughts and conversations continue to process our recent experiences in Europe.  Here are some conclusions we have talked about:
1.   Most people want to help you despite language barriers, time constraints or any other difficulties.
2.   Despite what you may hear on TV, we didn't find any anti-American sentiment in 21 days.
      Everyone we met was cordial and kind.
3.   At times, traveling in a foreign country can be difficult with different languages, customs and
      practices making it difficult to navigate, especially when we were not with our tour group, but it is
      so worthwhile to experience a different culture and way of life.  Ultimately, while it is sometimes
      difficult, it can be done.
 4.  We are very grateful that we were able to travel in Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Germany but it is
       true,  "there is no place like home!"

     Looking forward, I am anxious to begin painting from all my photos, sketches, and memories!  I was able to sketch a little while traveling but my memories and photos will provide the resources to begin recording my "Lasting Impressions" of our adventures.  Here are a few of my quick sketches:

View of Lake Como from Como City

Laglio pencil sketch

Laglio Piazza from the water. (George Clooney's home on the left)

The Alps at Kleine Sheidegg

I plan to start painting my European Impressions as soon as we return from Door County at the end of October.  I will post my paintings on my blog as I complete them.  I would love any critique you wish to offer.  You can press the link back to my blog at the bottom of each post and post your comment  or just reply to me personally.  After posting, I will place each painting on my website http://lastingimpressions4u.net . I have enjoyed sharing our travel experiences with everyone who has subscribed to my blog.  Thank you for being a part of "Judie's World".

    

Memorable Munich

   The last stop on our tour was Munich.  My emotions ran the gamut during our stay in Munich.  From the heart wrenching story of Dachau and the evidence of Hitler’s presence in the build up to WWII to the highly festive celebrations surrounding Octoberfest and the brew houses, the contrast of Munich was sriking.

     A rainy day greeted us as we picked up our guide for our city tour of Munich.  Michael’s enthusiasm for the history of Munich could not be dampened by the weather.

We drove around historic Munich and could not help but learn about its history with his entertaining narrative.  Our tour ended at noon in the Marienplaz center where we all witnessed the 3 times daily ringing of the glockenspiel. 

Later that day we were treated to a festive banquet at the "Historische Wiesen" one of the many beer tents on the grounds of Octoberfest !  We had a great time with our liter mugs of beer and our ½ roasted chickens, the traditional food of the fair. .  After dinner we walked the midway and I couldn’t but help thinking I was at one of our Midwest state fairs!  It was a “been there done that” moment.

     Thursday morning, we boarded our bus for the last time for a trip to Dachau.

After a brief orientation and movie, we walked the grounds with the help of our audio guide.  It was truly a moving experience to think of all the suffering and misery that man’s inhumanity to man caused in this very place.  The memorials were touching but horror was the emotion of the visit.  It was good to see so many people, especially young students, visit this sight.  Hopefully this will insure that a holocaust, such as this, never happens again.

The gate the prisoners entered from the railroad cars, that marked the loss of their rights as human beings.

A memorial sculptor stands at the yard where role was taken each day.

the Jewish Memorial Chapel

      We took one last swing into the Marianplaz area for some last minute shopping and a lunch at the Hofbrau house.  We said goodbye to the “Royal Family”, Thursday night. We had a wonderful 10 days with this group and have made some good friends. We had lots of laughs and some exceptional memories.

        Friday morning we made our way back downtown on the subway  to our hotel for an extra two night finale.  During our final two days in Munich, we walked through the Viktualienmarkt (food market area0, did some shopping, more eating, visited some spectacular churches, and on Saturday we took the subway out to the site of the 1972 Olympics and the BMW headquarters. This was the final weekend of Octoberfest and Munich was alive with a festive spirit.  As we walked the streets of this huge party, we decided this was the perfect ending to a wonderful Europe experience. Auf Wiedersehen!

Sophisticated Salzburg

Mirabel Gardens where scenes from sound of Music were filmed

View of Salzburg walking over the Salze River to the old town area

     Were were greeted with sunshine Monday morning and enjoyed a beautiful ride 
from Oberammagau to Salzburg.

When we arrived our tour guide was waiting to take us on a historic walking tour of
 the old town where Mozart was born.  Only licensed guides are allowed to give tours 
in Salzburg and the history lesson we received from our guide was remarkable!  She 
was also valuable in giving us a tip as to where to find "real" Austrian cuisine for our 
free night in Salzburg!

     Monday evening we dined together at a dinner theater and saw a lively performance
 of Austrian favorites from "Sound of Music" to Mozart.  Gary was handed the 
microphone by one of the performers and got to join the group in singing "Edelweiss",
 a real crowd pleaser!

     On Tuesday, our group ventured out to the Kehlstein mountain area to visit a very historic site. The " Eagles Nest " was a mountaintop retreat completed in 1938 by leaders of the Nazi party, and presented to Adolph Hitler as a gift  for his 50^th birthday.  The expertise of German engineering is apparent everywhere.  From the road that was carved into the back side of the mountain, to the brass-lined lift that elevates visitors the last 1838 meters to the mountaintop retreat, a project was completed in 13 months, before the start of conflict in WWII.  When we reached the top, the view was breathtaking!  A short walk to a cross placed near the top of the summit provided an overview of the “teahouse” as it was called.  Most of the inside is a restaurant and the large marble mantel presented to Hilter as a gift from Mussolini, is the centerpiece of the huge octagon dining area.  Enroute to the site, we watched a video that provided information about the construction of the site and viewed film clips of Hitler’s 14 official visits to the retreat.  The film also showed the Allies take over of the site, which was spared from bombing, and renamed “The Eagle’s Nest”.

 

      The weather at the top was very chilly, so a cup of hot chocolate by the huge fireplace hit the spot.  Our next stop proved to be a real surprise.  We visited a nearby salt mine that dates back to 600BC.  Salzburg gets its name as the producer of much needed “salt” that cured and preserved the meats before refrigeration.  The mines at Berchtesgaden are no longer producing much salt, as the extraction process is more expensive than water ( hydro )  processes.  A tour into the mines has become a favorite stop for bus tours in the area.  We were given overalls to wear, and lowered by a narrow train into the mine.  The tour included amazing information about this early extraction process, a ride across on a salt water basin, and two incredible slides that lowered us deeper into the mining area.  All in all, it was an educating and entertaining experience.

      Back in Salzburg, we feasted on Austrian cuisine preferred by the locals on a tip from our guide Isabella.  The Gastwirtschaft served up large helpings of saurbraten, pork, ham sausage, saurkraut and potato dumplings to name a few.  For dessert, warm crepes, ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate…to die for!   “Prost”!

Breathtaking Bavaria!

We finally lost favor with the weather gods, but our trip into the Bavarian countryside was still spectacular. Our first stop was Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a picturesque ski area and the site of the 1936 Winter Olympics where Jesse Owens became a household name.

We were greeted at the Gasthof Fraundorfer (pub) to a typical Bavarian feast with the long tables, big steins of beer, local cuisine and , of course, the ump-pa-pa band.

Enroute to our destination we stopped for a tour of King Ludwig II’s castle.  After the tour, we hiked down the hill from the castle, so we didn’t feel guilty having a second mug of beer at the Gasthof!

King Ludwig II's Castle

Fun at the Gasthof Fraundorfer

Olympic ski jump 1936 style!

Our experience in Oberammagau borders on surreal.  The day that was the main motivation for our  trip to Europe was cool  and cloudy.  Dressed in layers and carrying blankets we arrived in Oberammagau, and were ready for an experience of a lifetime.

The entire village is involved in the production of the play.  After a wonderful lunch in a cozy “gasthof” we got to our seats for the 2:30 start.  The play was performed in German, but we had a book with the English text.  The acting was so powerful, (with no mics used),  the language barrier wasn’t a problem.  This is the ultimate “community theater” with hundreds of people of all ages on stage at times. 

The first act ended at 5:00.  We walked back to our “pub” through the busy streets of the city, with all the shops filled with wood carving and souveniers.  After another wonderful Bavarian dinner and stroll though the shops we took our seats at 8:00 for the second act.

Evening in the open air theater provided a compelling back drop for the last hours of the passion of Christ.  The 4700 attendees sat quietly huddled in blankets and were rewarded with an unbelievable experience.  From the scourging, to the carrying of the cross and the cruxifiction and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the dignity and reality of this event was sobering and spiritual.  At 10:30, we left the theater ans had a very quiet trip back to our hotel.

Passion Play Theater

View of the stage from our seats (Sorry, no cameras allowed during the performance!)

Village shops are all decorated with religious murals.

Local sculptor works on a wood carving

Lovely Lucerne, the Majestic Alps, and old friends

Royal Family meets in Zurich

 Tuesday, we traveled by train to Zurich, where we met up with the Royal Family, who arrived from KC on Wednesday morning. It was great to see some of the friends we have met on previous trips.  After a brief stay in Zurich for lunch, we traveled to Lucerne, the first stop on our tour.  Our hotel was near several historic landmarks including the 13^th Century Chapel Bridge and the Lion Memorial, which was made in the 1700’s as a tribute to the Swiss Army Mercenaries who protected the King of France.

Lion Memorial

Chapel Bridge

 Thursday morning, after all the KC travelers got a good night sleep to recover from their jet lag, we took an hour ride by bus to the Alps for our “mountain adventure”.  Our first stop was the village of Lauterbrunnen, where we boarded a cog-wheel train to continue our journey up the mountain range.  We decided on the option to stop at Wengin and take a gondola to a summit where we could take a 90 minute “level” hike to Kleine Scheidegg, where we would have lunch. What a great choice!  The hike was spectacular!  The weather was perfect  for hiking, and taking in the incredible sights!

The cog wheel trip down the mountain was equally magnificent!  We made a brief stop to visit the Trummelbach Falls, which is an interesting “internal” waterfall that flows inside a mountain.  After all this exercise, we didn’t feel guilty about having some local fondue at the nearby Fondue House back in Lucerne.

Arrivederci Italia!

View of Laglio from the middle road

    Sunday night, when re returned from Padua, we were invited to have dinner with our host family at the B&B.  This was another wonderful evening and a delightful meal.  Included were homemade gnocchi with a mushroom sauce. roasted pork shank (Gary's favorite). and cheesecake.  While visiting with Laura and Giorgio we learned of a third road that goes along the lake.  This is only a "footpath" and is midway between the Panorama or upper road and the via Lago or ( along the lake) lower road.

    Monday , after doing some packing, we decided to go for a walk on the "middle road".  It was a narrow path that provided some wonderful views as well as  great subjects for future paintings.

This is an example of what we saw on our 5 mile hike to Moltrassio.  (maybe like the "Appian Way to Rome)?

Our destination was Moltrassio, because John said he and his wife Evie always had a good meal at the Posta Ristorante, while visiting the area.  He was right!  We had a delightful meal after working up a huge appetite!  Gary had Veal Marsala and I had homemade Ravioli with Pine Nuts!  Delicious!

After our wonderful lunch, we took the bus on to Cernobbio to do a little shopping at the "mall". When we returned to Laglio, (this time by bus) our friend Aldo was fishing in front of the Piazza!  We waved to him and said good bye to his wife Anna who stopped by with her daughter and grand daughter.

All in all, it was a perfect ending to an incredible experience in Italy!

Arrivederci Aldo, grazie!

ARRIVEDERCI  ITALY!

Historic Padua

I can best describe our visit to Padua in three words: eat, pray and love!  The skies were grey for the first time since our arrival in Italy, but the "sunshine" we felt from our new friends who greeted us in Padua more than made up for the clouds.
I will begin with "pray" as the eat and love part are closely related. We had met Sergio and Guilianna at our friend, John's home in KC.  When they heard we were coming to Italy, they invited us to stay with them in Padua.  They don't speak any English, so Sergio arranged for a young woman, Guilia, who works for him in his travel agency, to be our translator and guide for our tour of Padua. Guilia lived in America for 3 years and speaks fluent English.  After a traditional Italian lunch, Sergio, Guilia, Gary and I set out to explore Padua (and wear off some of the pasta).
In the 1200's, Padua was similar to it's neighbor, Venice, with a system of canals throughout the old city.  The canals no longer exist but their existance is very evident.  Our first stop was a visit to the Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua.  Pope John Paul II recognized this beautiful basilica as an international shrine in 1993, as one of the most important destinations for pilgrimages in the world.  St. Anthony is considered the patron for lost and impossible needs.  As we walked through this beautiful church we came to the shrine where his remains are buried.  It was so moving to see the hundreds of photos left by pilgrims from all over the world, who are in need of a "miracle" and are hopeful that St. Anthony will intercede for them, to the Almighty.  Mass was being said in the center of the church in 4 different languages and was a celebration with slavic music and customs.  It was a very moving experience.

Basilica of St. Anthony  (Main altar below)

We continued to walk through the streets of Padua where Guilia pointed out all highlights of the
old and new blending together.  She showed us the ghetto which now houses many trendy boutiques and some of the architecture of the Mussolini era.
Our tour ended with 6:00 reservation at the Museum of Medieval and Modern Art to view the Scrovegni Chapel and the frescoes painted by Giotto in 1303-05.  This has recently reopened to the public after some extensive restoration and was similar to our experience at "The Last Supper" in Milan.  After a 15 minute video, (with English translation), 25 people at a time are allowed into the chapel to view the three layers of frescoes which depict the lives of Christ, the Blessed Virgin, and the Scrovegni family, who commissioned the project.  It is amazing to see the degree of depth Giotto suggested in each scene long before the principles of perspective were discovered.  Magnificant and truly a "prayerful"moment.
Of course, cameras were not allowed and our personal belongings were checked, so to give an idea of what we experienced, I took a photo from a book that we purchased to learn for about this chapel.

The Arena Chapel at Padua

I can combine the "eat" and "love" parts together because they are intertwined.  We were treated to two wonderful, home-cooked Italian meals while visiting our friends in Padua.  The love these wonderful people put into their meals and the pleasure they get out of sharing this experience with their guests is amazing.  Their friends, Victorio and Rosa joined us for dinner.  We have also met them in KC.

Rosa brought her homemade tortelini as well as a special torte for the "feast".  We met some of their children who stopped by for a visit before dinner.   Our meal included Rosa's tortelini in chicken broth, baked salami and cold cuts with crusty bread, a main course of roast rabbit and salad, fruit and cheese, Rosa's special torte, expresso and of course Limoncella!   Bon appetit!

Judie, Guilia, Sergio, Guiliana, Rosa and Victorio 

Rosa's tortelini , with Guiliana's broth

Guilia and Judie,  New friends!