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So far Kim has created 603 blog entries.

28 Sep Dream Woods

Today we drove along a 5 km unpaved, bumpy road to visit the Dream Woods, a lifetime project by a German outsider artist (Manfredo) in a beautiful forest up in the Tuscan hills. He collects his stones & other stuff where he can find them and then relies on gravity to hold them together.

Grumpy lot


Old glass as well as old stone


A stone-faced tree with heart


Buddha in the sink


A Mandala


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High rise art


This was called „The gates to hell“. The devil‘s gatekeeper seems quite friendly.


Let me whisper in your ear


Dog?


Kim‘s lost in the big city


A handsome fellow

28 Sep Dream Woods2025-09-29T11:56:45+02:00

27 Sep Sovicille

Today we drove down to a very nice campsite – Camping La Montagnola in Sovicille, near Siena.


There’s a pleasant walk through the woods leading to the village and its shop.


Loads of cyclamen growing wild around here.

27 Sep Sovicille2025-09-27T22:21:07+02:00

26 Sep Pisa


The Gotthard pass as the day staggers to its feet


It’s a cheerful +1°C up here, but we are going down.


Can you find the horse?


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Guess what town we are visiting?

Convenient campsite but very muddy and you have to walk along an extremely unpleasant road tunnel to get into town €39

26 Sep Pisa2025-09-27T22:23:38+02:00

25 Sep Gotthardpass

Today we left the Black Forest and drove up to the Gotthard Pass in Switzerland. We didn‘t use the road tunnel and went up the road full of hairpin bends. Eventually we left that road for the „old road“ with its cobblestones and regularly spaced lumps of rock to keep you on the straight & narrow. We had rejected the idea of spending over €60 to stay on a campsite in Zurich and chose instead to camp for free at 2600 m in the Alps next to the road.


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We put the heating on when it started to snow…

25 Sep Gotthardpass2025-09-25T18:02:33+02:00

23 Sep Rosenhöhe


Löwentor – the Lion Gate. I wonder why they call it that?


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Well look at that. We skipped a visit to see Tony Cragg in Wuppertal and now here he is in Darmstadt‘s rose garden – Rosenhöhe.


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Looks nice next to the Grand Duke‘s buildings.


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What‘s going on in there?


Mirrors!


Look at that sky.


Two?


Three here?

Vera Röhm – Spiegelbaum (mirror tree), 2017, bronze and stainless steel

23 Sep Rosenhöhe2025-09-23T21:24:49+02:00

22 Sep Breakfast with the boys


A rainy night in Eberstadt with rain drops drumming on the roof followed by a sunny atmosphere at breakfast with the boys!

22 Sep Breakfast with the boys2025-09-22T14:53:58+02:00

21 Sep Birgit & Lindes

Today we drove to Eberstadt and visited Birgit and then the Lindes.

21 Sep Birgit & Lindes2025-09-22T14:49:15+02:00

20 Sep forest walk to Hottenbacher Hof


Another fine day for a stroll through the forest to Hottenbacher Hof for a delicious fish lunch (salmon trout with potato salad – 😋 )


Gerhild calls this a Waldschrat (hobgoblin)

20 Sep forest walk to Hottenbacher Hof2025-09-20T17:53:38+02:00

19 Sep Apples & Ruth


Dragonflies having fun at our breakfast table.

Autumn windfall apples line one of the paths out of the campsite.


Teriffic tree with tasty apples


There are loads on the ground and some are quite unspoiled!


Old school friends at the golf club.


All of the girls together.

19 Sep Apples & Ruth2025-09-20T11:17:43+02:00

18 Sept Claudia


All quiet as day breaks.


Sitting next to the pool in Odenwald Idyll.


Delicious apple jelly from Seeheim-Jugenheim

18 Sept Claudia2025-09-20T09:36:03+02:00

17 Sept Michael Sowa & Odenwald Idyll

Today we drove into Frankfurt to visit the Michael Sowa exhibition in the Caricatura museum.


How the cow came to be on the ice.


Road Hog


The herring


Putin kills the gay jellyfish spy with the holy sword


Rather read a book


No-go area


Underwater stalkers


Taking the moth for a walk


Home made jam from a house near Schloß Lichtenberg

Odenwälder Latwerge

4 kg pitted plums
400 g sugar
4 star anise
2 medium cinnamon sticks
5 plum stones

  1. Wash, stone and halve the plums. Put the sugar and the spices with the seeds and the halved plums with the cut surface down into a cast iron roaster and let it steep overnight.
  2. Place the roaster in the oven for 4 hours at 180 °C and let the plums simmer. Stir once an hour. After 4 hours, remove the stones, the star anise and the cinnamon sticks.
  3. Blend the latwerge with the blender and fill into clean and dry jars and seal them.
17 Sept Michael Sowa & Odenwald Idyll2025-09-21T12:29:20+02:00

16 Sep Bonn’s art museums

Today walked to Bonn’s Bundeskunsthalle to see a Wim Wenders exhibition.


An angel looking down at Gerhild.


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Wim Wenders painted too.


He experimented with different styles.


He experimented with video cameras.


Photos of Cuba from the filming of Buena Vista Social Club.


We enjoyed some street food for lunch and then visited the Bonn Kunst Museum to see some shadows.


What a load of rubbish…


Olafur Eliasson’s contribution


Who’s hand is that?


Hans-Peter Feldmann – ZWEI MÄDCHEN MIT SCHATTEN 1999

16 Sep Bonn’s art museums2025-09-16T18:56:32+02:00

15 Sep

Today we had a fine breakfast in the Stift zum Heiligen Geist


And then we drove to Bonn – once at the steely centre of West Germany.


A dry toilet next to our camper parking spot!

15 Sep2025-09-16T18:20:26+02:00

14 Sep Hanover

Today we drove to Hanover and visited the Sprengel Museum


Takashi Murakami


Self portrait


Yayoi Kusama


Old school friends


Infinity mirrors

Nikki de Saint Phalle

 

14 Sep Hanover2025-09-15T08:37:03+02:00

28 June the Vernissage


The poster


After Matthias’ excellent introduction, Kim waffled a bit about cheese & herb bread from the Neal’s Yard bakery.


The spark from 1982 that, years later, ignited Kim’s work as an automatist. This automaton was next to the Neals yard bakery queue.
The sign in the door pops up saying ‘Sorry, no bread left’.
The old lady’s eyes pop out.
The girl’s jaw drops.
The gent frowns.
The man at the back turns & spits water at you.


Hands on!


Chatting with the artist.


What is going on here?


Teatime


It’s a very sunny day today.

Visitors can make their own automaton too, based on a clothes peg.


You can win a prize too! Have a go yourself!

Here is a short TV report from JenaTV.


We rounded off the evening in Grünowski.

28 June the Vernissage2025-07-05T18:02:17+02:00

27 June set up the exhibition

The catalogue has been printed


The Berlin arrangement.


Much tidier in Jena.


In the evening we sat next to the river Saale in Der Strand 22.


Summer fresh ambient Open Air. Guests can expect musical discoveries from ambient and experimental listening music this summer evening. Filigree, floating, researching, liberating. Ambient concerts with: Alex Albrecht Live, Margaux Gazur Live, Module One Live, Inannia DJ

27 June set up the exhibition2025-06-28T11:00:22+02:00

26 June drive to Jena

Today we drove through the heat from Berlin to Jena, to Campingplatz Jena “Unter dem Jenzig”.


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It’s a very fine campsite- for “slow camping”.


How do you like the roof to the picnic table?


A caravan which you tow behind your bike!


There’s a roof terrace on top of the sanitary block.

26 June drive to Jena2025-06-26T19:41:43+02:00

20 June return to Berlin


Ancient friends


And still full of beans

Long drive to Berlin through the sunshine.

20 June return to Berlin2025-06-20T20:36:33+02:00

18 June walk next to the Dreifelder Weiher


Nice day for a stroll next to the lake – much favoured by our feathered friends. They even have official goose-pooper-scoopers on the lawn here.


Four feet


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It’s a bit hard, but otherwise really quite comfy.


Cool clover

18 June walk next to the Dreifelder Weiher2025-06-18T17:21:20+02:00

17 June Bundeskunsthalle

Today we walked around the United Nations Campus to visit the Bundeskunsthalle

There was an interesting bunch of videos on attempts to escape from the traditional way of life at various times in the 20th century.


A picture called Fidus’ Lichtgebet (Light Prayer) – apparently the life reform movements’ key painting.


A Robert Rauschenberg collage from 1972


In a second exhibition about building techniques this is a pavilion made of seaweed.


Not only is there a lawn on the roof, you can play crazy golf too!

After lunch we drove to the Haus am See campsite.

17 June Bundeskunsthalle2025-06-17T20:10:42+02:00

16 June move to Bonn

Today we drove through some heavy traffic, made considerably worse by the German police, carrying out illegal checks at the border to The Netherlands. Eventually we made it to Bonn.


In Bonn for €12 we settled down next to the Rhine in a camper spot on Charles-de-Gaulle Straße.


It’s a quiet location only a short walk from the Bundeskunsthalle which we will visit tomorrow.


21:40 and the sun sets over Bonn . . .

16 June move to Bonn2025-06-16T21:42:44+02:00

14 June Verbeke Foundation

Today we visited the crazy Verbeke Foundation.


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The mushrooms are real.


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Gerhild is sitting in a skull.


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I’ll have to look these up in Wikipedia.


Coffins!


Where did all of the flies go?


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There’s such a lot of strange stuff here, you can’t imagine.

In the evening we checked in to Fort Bedmar campsite.

14 June Verbeke Foundation2025-06-14T21:03:09+02:00

13 June Calais beach


Leaving the white cliffs of Dover on an Irish ferry!


Calais has a terrific beach.


French graphic design- c’est merveilleux!


Banksy certainly gets around. His thoughts about Syrian refugees.


Just like Gerhild.


So many reflections about our trip.


What a beach!

13 June Calais beach2025-06-13T20:45:03+02:00

12 June Goodwood Art Foundation


Not yet!

Today we visited the Goodwood Art Foundation.


Wild meadow


Rose Wylie – pale pink pineapple/bomb


Isamu Noguchi – Octetra


Rose Wylie – Pineapple


Nature – Thistle


Rachel Whiteread


More Rachel Whiteread


Inspired by these two images.


More nature

Susan Philipsz- As Many As Will


The waitress’s grandfather made the wings for Spitfires, which you can book for a flight at Goodwood!

12 June Goodwood Art Foundation2025-06-12T22:13:03+02:00

11 June South Downs walk


Foxgloves everywhere we go!


Different landscape today.


Pine trees planted in the 1950s have been removed thank goodness.


Some of the older trees are simply amazing.


Nature doing what it does.


Gerhild is in there somewhere.


A forest duck pond appeared out of nowhere.

11 June South Downs walk2025-06-11T20:43:34+02:00

9 June St. Aldhelm’s Head walk


We’re going to do an 8 km walk today.


This way.


A snack seat built into the wall.


Busy bees.


The coast looking towards Weymouth.


A heck of a lot of steps down.


Followed by a heck of a lot of steps up.


Time to leave the coastal path and head back inland.

9 June St. Aldhelm’s Head walk2025-06-09T19:05:49+02:00

8 June move to Worth Matravers


Leaving the folk music festival was a muddy, wheel-spinning affair. With much heaving & shoving by friendly musicians we managed to get out.


We stopped at a farm shop.


To clean off the mud.


And get Kim’s dinner.


Nice place to camp today, in an old farm which is being returned to nature by the National Trust.


On the way to the pub, the village is made of Purbeck stone.

8 June move to Worth Matravers2025-06-09T09:44:55+02:00

7 June Tangled Roots 2


The main stage


It’s a bit wet today . . .


Straw bales for seats

Farefeld

Tango Calor

Jackie Oates & John Spiers

A Different Thread

7 June Tangled Roots 22025-06-08T09:58:20+02:00

5 June stroll through Bristol


We took a bus into Bristol.


Alice in wonderland still wonderful.


Walking up to Stokes Croft.


There’s so much going on in the street art here.


Fishy!


The colours.


Another Banksy – we are in Bristol after all.


One relaxed lion.


How often that wave is used as a motif!


Bristol’s architecture is such a mixture.


Bristol rules.


One last Banksy before we catch the bus home.

5 June stroll through Bristol2025-06-05T20:37:11+02:00

3 June drive to Shropshire

Today we left the coast and drove through central Wales into Shropshire (England)


Picnic spot somewhere in the Welsh hills, near Bala.


An infamous lake, the valley dammed by the English to improve their water supply.


Our stop for the night in Shropshire. Parking for walk up the hill, with or without dogs.

3 June drive to Shropshire2025-06-03T18:01:44+02:00

1 June Porthdinllaen walk


Who does this make us think of?


Nice walk through the golf course, along the peninsula.


That pretty hamlet is called Porthdinllaen.


Our campsite is over to the left somewhere.


Part of the Welsh coastal walk.


Gerhild and the Welsh dragon.

1 June Porthdinllaen walk2025-06-01T22:19:51+02:00

31 May fly a kite


There was a good, stiff breeze today. Just right for kite flying.


Later on the sun came out.


The tide’s out too.


Evening approaches.

31 May fly a kite2025-06-05T13:28:25+02:00

30 May ferry to Wales


After breakfast we went for a walk along the beach Dolly mount Strand.


It’s a big beach.


And a sunny start to the day.


The parts that aren’t golf courses are nature parks.

We took the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead.

Our splendid campsite for the next few days.


Very beautiful location.


There are even foxgloves! What’s not to like?

30 May ferry to Wales2025-06-05T13:32:26+02:00
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