Tate or Tatty?

OK, let's admit this right at the outset. Some of us don't care for much of what is called modern art. Go ahead, put us in the Philistine category! We've tried. We've read the art critics. We've looked at the coffee table books. And now we've attended the famous Tate Modern Museum on the banks of the Thames. With few exceptions we don't get it. (If you're a fan, well it's just one of those taste things.)

The Tate Museum itself is quite spectacular -- the building was built as a large electric power plant that was taken out of service some time ago and fully refurbished. The exhibits actually only consume a small fraction of the available space; there are three shops and two restaurants. It's nicely done. Then of course there's the art!

Cameras are not allowed in the building, with the exception of the large (former) turbine hall, so we don't have much photography of the art. But you can see here one of the artistic displays -- the contents of someone's attic spread artfully on the floor. (We loved the technique..... chill, Chuck!)

The most memorable exhibit is a can (Number 4 of a series of 130) of the artist's feces -- labelled, very accurately as the artist's s - - t. Thank goodness he bothered to seal the cans.

Well, enough of this criticism. Let's look at some art we really did appreciate. Look at this one. Just received from our grandson Tyler. We think it's far better than much of what we saw in the Tate Modern. Of course, we might be considered a bit biased. (Did YOU get your "e" right all the time when you were 5?)

Here's another from the same artist. Eat your heart out Jackson Pollock!

And for some even more spectacular art, try this one for size. We call it "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man".

Genoa Times Three

Genoa, Italy, was the site of a conference I attended from 21 to 24 June. It was my third visit to this ancient Italian city-state, now a prosperous modern city. The subject of the conference was Ship and Shipping Research -- and Genoa, the home city of Christopher Columbus, with its centuries-long seafaring traditions and its great harbor is a natural setting for such activities.

The conference was held in the Palazzo Ducale -- the Duke's Palace, a magnificent building dating from the days of the Genoese Republic, whose construction was undertaken in the 1290s. The plasterwork, gilding and magnificent ceiling and wall frescos of the main salons make a fantastic (if somewhat distracting) venue for the exchange of scholarly ideas and information. (Unfortunately, since I forgot to take the camera with me, this article will not be accompanied by any photographs.)

Day one of the meeting was capped by a beautiful dinner in the old Dominican monastery (no longer active as a monastery) in the nearby waterfront town of Sestri Levante. The dinner paid homage to Genoa's fishing heritage, featuring seafood in several courses. The views from the two large terraces, one facing landward and overlooking the lovely little cove of Sestri and the other looking to the open Mediterannean, were spectacular in the late evening light. What a perfect place to have a glass of crisp Italian white wine -- and what perfect pictures they would have made, if only I had brought the camera!

On the evening of day two, I joined my Italian ship-engineer friend, Natalino Dazzi and a Dutch shipyard engineer who I've also become friends with -- Bob Van de Graaf (and his wife Gea). We took an incredibly beautiful drive over and through the Appenine Mountains (which come nearly to the sea at Genoa, making the city a long, narrow one, hugging the seashore) to a fine local restaurant in the nearby suburb of Recco. With Natalino's expert guidance, we all chose delicious traditional dishes of local Italian favorites and the food was excelled only by the company and conversation.

Day three included a trip, by boat, to the shipyard of the Fincantieri company in Sestri Ponente, an area in the northern part of Genoa, where a massive new cruise ship is nearing completion. The ship, when finished in a few weeks, will take 3500 passengers (served by 1500 crew members) to sea. The ship (the Costa Concordia, of Costa Lines) is truly massive, approaching a US Navy aircraft carrier in size. Experienced ship designer, Chuck, found his jaw dropping repeatedly with each new revelation of how truly large the ship is.

The harbor, where we boarded the boat to the shipyard, is a short walk from the Palazzo site of the conference. The last presentation of the day ended at about 1, and the boat was scheduled to leave at about 2:45. So I found myself walking to the harbor through some of Genoa's medieval, very narrow streets, during the siesta hours -- yet the neighborhood was simultaneously alive and resting. Strains of opera being played on a stereo in a distant flat mingled with the piano musings of someone a bit nearer -- the laundry hanging on the lines strung between windows in adjacent buildings viewed against the bright blue sky -- the smells of Italian cooking coming from the alleyway just passed -- the scene could not have been more Italian or more reminscent of the ancient culture represented by this vibrant city. After the tour, it was another 15 minute walk through this area of twisting, climbing passageways and tiny squares, to my hotel.

Then, on Saturday morning, it was back to London. The only negative aspect of this trip -- and it was a huge negative -- was the fact that Kathi wasn't able to accompany me.

Birds and Bows

One of the UK sights we've wanted to see for some time is the rather famous Warwick Castle (which our house guests, the Cains, visited recently). On a beautiful June weekend we took the just-under-two-hours train ride and stayed in the beautiful Ardencote Hotel just outside the town of Warwick.

The castle is one of the best-preserved in the UK and they have done a great job of augmenting the experience with historical re-enactments and displays. One of the most interesting was a display of the use of trained predatory birds, such as hawks, eagles and others. The "show" included an American Bald Eagle, a Scandinavian Fish Eagle (even larger), a vulture and other birds. It was very impressive -- amazing what expert trainers can do. The birds were totally free during the show and, based on hand signals from the trainer, circled, swooped and otherwise wowed the crowd.

Other displays included demonstrations with the English longbow (that proved so devastating to the French at Poitiers and Agincourt) and a re-constructed medieval catapult.

The castle was originally built by William the Conqueror, the Norman king who defeated England in 1066, though some claim the site was originally fortified as long ago as 914 A.D. King William made one of the members of his court the Earl of Warwick and Warwick Castle has been associated with that Earldom ever since. In later centuries, additions turned it into a combination of a great English country home and a Castle and in the late nineteenth century the castle was famous for the weekend country parties hosted by the Earl with guests including members of the royal family, as well as other prominent Britons, including the young Winston Churchill, then a promising junior member of parliament.

The Castle has recently been purchased by Madame Tussaud's -- the wax museum people -- and the things to see include the state and family rooms as they were in the 1890s -- with wax figures of people enjoying the weekend's activities. (For some reason, one of the rooms includes figures of the six wives of Henry VIII and Henry himself -- though these have no particular connection to the castle.)

The hotel we had booked over the internet proved to be extremely nice -- a country resort hotel that is obviously very popular. Some of our pictures will show you the beautiful hotel grounds as well as the castle; visit: http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/1579943

Prague

Chuck has had a visit to Prague in the works for some time -- since before Christmas -- and, since we had heard wonderful things about that city from everyone we know who has visited it, Kathi decided some time ago that this was one of those trips where she would accompany Chuck. Unfortunately, at the last minute, the plans had to be truncated so that Chuck could return to the office for a "can't-miss" event. Therefore the visit was quite short -- we went on Sunday morning, 11 June, and had to return on Tuesday morning, the 13th.

But our short time in Prague was enough to show us that all those great things we'd been told were true. It is a city filled with interesting things and places and is very, very beautiful. Our hotel was only a 5 or 6 minute walk from the main square, which we visited on Sunday -- going on later to the Charles Bridge over the Vltava River and to the "Lesser Town" on the other side. The incredible Prague Castle, the largest castle/palace in Europe, is on that side of the river, atop a hill that's a great aerobic workout! St. Vitus' cathedral, a great example of the European gothic cathedral, is actually located within the Castle.

Being a bit of a nut about architecture, Chuck was in his element for all of our time walking about this city of thousands of beautiful buildings from many different centuries. (Prague was fortunate enough to make it through World War II with relatively little damage.) Art Noveau buildings are in evidence everywhere, with their classical decorative motifs of heroic statues and the elaborate stonework on the second floor exterior, which is their trademark. And, of course, being the ancient city that it is, Prague also abounds in buildings from the medieval era and even a few from earlier periods. And, classic and neo-classic, baroque and rococo are all well-represented. Very narrow medieval streets, barely wide enough for a single car to pass, run right through the same neighborhoods with tree-lined, leafy boulevards.

For several centuries the Czech people (and Prague) were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with its capital, of course, in Vienna. During this period many Czechs harbored a desire to have their own nations. The victorious Allies, at the end of World War I, decided to combine the Czechs with the Slovenians in Czechoslovakia, with Prague now a capital city. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Czechs and Slovenians each decided to establish their own independent nation -- and today's Czech Republic was one of them.

The Czechs have a long history of mechanical and technological competence and it is one of the most highly developed nations in Europe, industrially. The famous Skoda works, which now builds cars (and is owned by VW), was famous in the past for its armaments; and today the Czech Republic has a flourishing chemical industry. Of course, it has always been famous for the fine glasswork that is one of its biggest exports and Czech glass is a very popular tourist purchase.

Our visit included dinner on Sunday night in a rooftop cafe looking out over the main square. Our companions were Jim and Susan DeCorpo (Jim is the Chief Scientist in Chuck's office) and Martin Navratil (our host and the Chairman of a small Czech chemical company) and his wife Milada. They are part-time residents of North Carolina, when not in Prague -- and both their daughters have attended UNC at Chapel Hill. The food was great and the company fascinating.

On Monday, while Jim and Chuck were visiting Martin's company to learn about some new technology, Kathi and Susan did some exploring together, including the beautiful gardens of the Wallenstein Palace. Susan had to depart on Monday to return to London where she was expecting the arrival of houseguests. Monday evening, Kathi, Chuck and Jim dined together at an outdoor cafe just off the square.

It was an interesting time to be at the square -- it was the night the USA played the Czech Republic in the World Cup football (soccer) matches and the game was being televised on two enormous screens to a huge, densely packed crowd of (mostly) Czech fans on the square. Other than the fact that the USA lost 3-0, it was a pleasant experience -- the Czech fans were unfailingly pleasant and they, and the hundreds of Americans present (many on both sides wearing very prominent markings of their soccer loyalties) behaved in a friendly, very civilized way. If the US had won the match, it would have been a perfect evening.

Reluctantly, on Tuesday morning, the three of us returned to London on the same flight so that Jim and Chuck could be at the office by noon for the important event they had to be present for.

We join the hundreds and thousands of others who have sung the praises of Prague and recommend it very highly as a destination to visit. We intend to return for a longer stay at the first opportunity.

Visit http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/1563021 for our gallery of Prague photographs.

Museums we DID NOT visit

While in Prague, we visited as many sites as we could in 2 days. But there were two we saw advertised and chose to miss:

Happy Birthday, Ma'am

Queen Elizabeth was born in April -- but the official monarch's birthday is always in June. (The weather's better for the celebrations.) One of the biggest and most colorful celebrations is the "Trooping of the Color", held at the Horseguard Parade -- a large parade field just behind the Admiralty building and the Horseguard barracks.

It's an elaborate military ceremony, involving all the army units which (on a rotating basis) form the household guard. These are all regular, serving soldiers, who are fully trained for combat, but who also have mastered the art of military ceremony. To give more tourists the chance to see the ceremony, it is repeated on three successive Saturdays.

The first Saturday is called the Major General's Review; the second is the Colonels' Review and the third is the Birthday Parade -- but all three ceremonies are the same. Although, in the case of the Colonel's Review this year (which we attended), the Queen did not take the review -- Prince Charles acted in her place.

The ceremony goes back several centuries and represents an old tradition (what doesn't in the UK)? Each regiment had its own regimental "color" -- or flag -- and it was considered a great disgrace for a unit to lose its flag in battle. The regimental color served as a rallying point for the troops in that regiment during a battle and if the color bearer were killed or wounded someone else always took the color. It was, then, very important that all the soldiers in a regiment know what their regiment's "color" looked like and that they could recognize it in the stress and smoke of battle. So, periodically, the regiment was assembled in ranks and a junior officer (an Ensign* in rank) "trooped the color" -- carrying it slowly down each rank of the regiment so each soldier could get a close look at it.

*Interstingly, an Ensign in centuries past, was a junior infantry officer; today it is the lowest commisioned officer rank in the US Navy (and some others). The national flag flown from a Naval ship is also called an "ensign" or, usually, the "national ensign" in the USN. (In the Royal Navy, the ships fly a distinctive form of the national flag called the "White Ensign" and British merchant ships fly the "Red Ensign". [By the way, from the dictionary: 1 : a flag that is flown (as by a ship) as the symbol of nationality 3 a : an infantry officer of what was formerly the lowest commissioned rank b : a commissioned officer in the navy or coast guard ranking above a chief warrant officer and below a lieutenant junior grade.]

We took a number of pictures of the "Trooping the Color" ceremony and they can be seen at:
http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/1559020