Why Europe?

I live in Gyeongju, South Korea. I've lived in Korea for 5 years now. In that time, I have only ever traveled to one neighboring country - Japan, and I've only had money/time for one trip home. My co-workers always seem to be jetting off to Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and other Asian countries, to swim in pristine looking waterfall-laden swimming holes, to drink beautiful-looking drinks and eat beautiful-looking mangoes, visit ancient temples and basically live the good life. These vacations cost them a mere fraction of what I will likely end up spending to fly to and enjoy Europe. So why Europe? Why not 'love the one you're with' and travel Asia? Here are my reasons, but you can feel free to tell me if/why you disagree in the comments.

1. ART - Seeing the great European artworks has always been one of my main motivations for traveling to Europe. I have always been a fan of impressionism, expressionism, and symbolist art. However, I'm also interested in many individual artists from older traditions, including Albrecht Dürer, Francisco de Goya, Peter Brueghel, and, of course, Leonardo da Vinci. Though there is some Western art in Seoul, there is nothing on the scale of what's available in Europe, not to mention the art in situ - art that was created for a specific building/location, such as the works of Gustav Klimt in Vienna. I admire Asian art, but I grew up with Western art. My cultural context allows me to decode Western art much more easily than I can read the cultural signs in Asian art, not to mention the fact that I can't even read the literal signs under the paintings in Korea, which often lack English even for the title. (Yeah - I'm one of those information-plaque-readers at the museum). I long to connect to the great works I've seen from a distance all my life. I dream of seeing Claude Monet's waterlilies at L'Orangerie (and his garden at Giverny), Leonardo da Vinci's "Virgin of the Rocks" at the Louvre, and Albrecht Dürer's "Young Hare" at the Albertina in Vienna, along with so many others.

You can see Gustav Klimt's work in situ on these wall panels at the Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna, as well as on the ceiling at the Burgtheater. By Culturawiki (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

2. BEAUTIFUL CITIES - I love nature, but I also love cities. Specifically: beautiful, clean, architecturally diverse, quirky, pedestrian-friendly cities. Korea is still playing catch-up on many of these counts. While there has definitely been progress towards more green space even in the short time I've lived here, (Busan just added several new parks, for example), a normal day's walk in Korea will generally include dodging scooters and even cars on the sidewalks, spitting on the sidewalk, few to no garbage cans, and a certain sameness. Korean buildings have a tendency to be tall and utilitarian, perhaps due to the country's quick development into an economic power. Though I'm not under the illusion that Europe is perfect, I do know that many of the city centers are very livable, with cobbled streets, architecture in a wide range of styles and periods, quaint little shops, and pedestrian-only quarters. There are also beautiful places in much of Southeast Asia, but I've also heard from friends about wild traffic that makes Korea's scooter and car traffic sound downright peaceful. What I want is a full rest.

One of Europe's many pedestrian-only zones looks peaceful and inviting! "Strøget, Copenhagen" by Olga Itenberg - originally posted to Flickr as IMG_9995.jpg. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Str%C3%B8get,_Copenhagen.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Str%C3%B8get,_Copenhagen.jpg

3. USING MY LANGUAGES - I speak intermediate French, intermediate Spanish and beginning level German.  I want to use my languages in their native environment. It's like I've been rehearsing all these years for a performance and I'm ready to finally go on stage.

4. VEGAN/GREEN CULTURE - Europe, especially Germany, seems to have a growing awareness towards vegan and green culture. I'm eager to explore what they have to offer. See my previous post about Europe's awesome grocery stores! http://jensroadtoeurope.blogspot.kr/2014/07/eco-europe-green-grocery-stores.html

5. LIBERALISM - I want to be somewhere where I can sunbathe topless and it's not a big deal. I want to be somewhere where kissing in public isn't considered uncouth. I want to attend wild street festivals and funky late night flea markets. Other than a very high tolerance for drinking (which I'm not into) Korea is a conservative culture, as are many of its Asian neighbors, and I am not a conservative person. I want the antidote.

At the Englischer Garten in Munich, people can sunbathe and swim with clothes or without (in designated areas - do check first!) The garden is, moreover, one of the world's largest public parks, at 1.4 square miles it is larger than Central Park in New York. Photo creative commons by Marcio Cabral de Moura https://www.flickr.com/photos/mcdemoura/

6. THE HEAD START FACTOR - Finally, I just have an overall head start on Europe. I have a fair idea about its general history and an active interest in World War II history. I have a good amount of knowledge about European languages, culture and geography. I have a way to put Europe into a context. When I travel, it is primarily cultural sites which interest me. Maybe this is a product of my upbringing - our usual family vacations were to Civil War battlefields, presidential houses, and museums. Might sound boring to some, but I have very fond memories of these early trips, which were enriched by having some interest in U.S. history and some background knowledge of what we were seeing. To go to Thailand, Vietnam, Laos or even China and Japan, I'd find it necessary to do a whole lot of research in advance so I could have some context. It's not that I don't enjoy just relaxing on a beach, and, in fact, I hope to relax on some beaches while in Germany. However, I'd also like to understand the language being spoken around me at the beach, and I'd like to know something about the castle or museum I'm going to visit the next day.

My family on one of our many, fondly-remembered, nerdy vacations, circa 1993 or so - this time at George Washington's home at Mount Vernon. Check out our tourist garb, which I thought was very sophisticated at the time, believe it or not!

In the end, we all travel for our own reasons. Some people just want a break or a rest. Others want a party. Some people want to go somewhere none of their friends have ever been (or maybe even heard of). Others feel more comfortable at a popular resort area. Some people want to shop. Others want to hike or camp. Me, I want to see art, deepen my understanding of history, enjoy the good life (cafes, good food, pleasant walks, lovely scenery), and speak the language. For me, Europe is my perfect fit, and it's worth the sacrifice of 4 trips to Thailand or 2 to Japan to finally get there. 

What about you? Why do you travel? Do you prefer to visit places with which you're already familiar or to try something new? Please feel free to share in the comments!

Art in Europe: Why Do We All Want to See the Mona Lisa?

The most popular woman in the world. A crowd viewing the Mona Lisa. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Lee pointed me to an article today about overcrowding at the Louvre and other European museums. According to the article, museums across Europe are feeling the strain from too many visitors, and in some cases they are worried that artworks will be damaged.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/29/arts/design/european-museums-straining-under-weight-of-popularity.html?_r=0

Images of visitors clamoring to get their selfie with (or even just their shot of) "The Mona Lisa" seem ridiculous from a distance. Why would you subject yourself to such a crush simply to get a bad photo of a painting that is endlessly reproduced? I mean, here it is again:

"The Mona Lisa" isn't a painting; it's the painting.

It's a great picture, no doubt. I am not one of those, like my husband, who feels it is overrated. While I do prefer much of Da Vinci's other work, I am not immune to the mysterious smile and knowing eyes, the hazy sfumato effect, and the cultural weight which comes with being a classic. In a way, "The Mona Lisa" is so classic, that it has become a sort of cultural template for "painting" from which all other paintings depart. 

Therefore, while at first glance the museum crowds seemed ridiculous, I decided to ask myself a few questions:

1. When I go to Paris, will I want to see "The Mona Lisa"? - Yes. 

The answer came to me, even as I tried to be cooler than that, the way I wish I was too cool to want to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

2. If I find myself in front of "The Mona Lisa" will I then want to take a picture of it? - Probably. 

Even though I realize that it will be a bad picture which will probably end up being deleted, and I'd do better to take pictures of the straining crowds, since they will be more representative of my actual experience, I have a feeling that a weird groupthink may take over in the moment and I will feel compelled to do what it is that you do when you're at the Louvre.

 This instinct to "collect" experiences is strong in most people. People add the seven wonders of the world to their bucket lists even if they have no idea why they became wonders. People who couldn't care less about Egyptian history nevertheless take a photo by the Great Pyramid. People crowd into the White House, Congress, and Jefferson's home at Monticello who couldn't tell you accurately what the Bill of Rights consists of. (For this last, perhaps, they are blameless, since I doubt some of our Congressional representatives could do any better.) At any rate, people collect, and I wonder how many of the people in these "Mona Lisa" queues would disappear if only the art lovers, the Da Vinci lovers, and the people who know what "sfumato" means remained. It's hard to say, however, even though I care about Da Vinci and art, whether I will visit "The Mona Lisa" for the right reasons either. I can see perfectly well that I won't be able to get any kind of decent view of the painting at the Louvre. I can see that there's no chance of quietly contemplating the work. For that, I'd do better to buy a poster and hang it on my wall. So even though I care about art, are my motives for visiting any better? I will be there just to share the same air as the famous painted lady. I'll be there to say that I was there.

There's not necessarily anything wrong with collecting experiences, either. In a sense these collections of experiences add up to a collective sense of belonging to the human race. By appreciating "The Mona Lisa", taking a picture at the Great Pyramid, visiting the White House or Monticello, we reconfirm with each other our values - what we consider beautiful, worth protecting, significant. The crowds to see "The Mona Lisa" also, doubtless, help to fund the preservation of countless lesser-known art masterpieces which may then be protected for years to come. Moreover, it is possible to take things too far the other direction and refuse to see even places which might be very enjoyable for fear of being too conventional. I had an ex-boyfriend, for example, who would purposely travel to the most obscure places possible, simply for the pleasure of being original. 

Still it is funny how we have settled upon this one great portrait and these few great museums as the pilgrimages to make. Perhaps if we could spread out more - give our love to more diverse works of art, and take part of our time to explore some lesser-known locations - these European museums wouldn't be in such a jam. 

I will, then, see "The Mona Lisa," though I will try to resist the urge to take a picture. I will also ascend to the top of the Eiffel Tower - possibly even while wearing some sort of scarf and fancying myself very Parisian. But I will also make a point to visit some lesser-known art treasures.

One I have my eye on is the Gustave Moreau Museum. http://www.musee-moreau.fr/ Moreau is a Symbolist painter I have long admired, and a visit to his house/museum is included with the Paris Museum Pass. Below is a video, featuring, strangely enough, of one of my favorite screenwriters, Julie Delpy,  http://jensroadtoeurope.blogspot.kr/2014/07/movies-about-or-around-europe-2-days-in.html, giving a little tour of the museum. The light in the video is not so great, so I'll also include an image below the video. 

Oedipus and the Sphinx, Gustave Moreau

Finally, I'd like to include one more from Da Vinci, also in the Louvre. I hope that the crowd around this painting is not so intense, and that I might, after all, get a chance to gaze deep into a work by Da Vinci in person. 

The Virgin of the Rocks, Leonardo Da Vinci

How about you? Would you want to see "The Mona Lisa"? Does an attraction's popularity increase or decrease your desire to see it? Share in the comments. 

Art in Europe: "Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry" and the Chateau de Chantilly

In this first art-themed blog entry, I think of an artwork I want to see, hunt down the place where it is kept, and then (despite reading in several blogs and travel articles that I can see it there) find out that it is no longer on public view and has been replaced by a facsimile version. Nonetheless, the whole process turns out to have been worthwhile.

The artwork is "Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry", an illuminated manuscript and book of hours created in the early 1400's, most famous for its calendar pages. A book of hours is essentially a prayer book, but the calendar pages of this particular illuminated manuscript are famous for their vivid depiction of daily life at the time, including both the nobility and the peasants. Most of the work was created by the Limbourg Brothers, but it was later added to by other artists. Here is the image for February: 

February from "Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry," depicting winter in a peasant village.

I learned about this artwork through my one and only art history course at Smith College when I was about 21 years old. It's hard to articulate exactly what strikes me about the images - but I think it has to do with how rich in narrative possibility they are. You can really enter into these people's lives through the manuscript, and it's a picture of a whole community rather than portraits of individuals. Unlike historical or biblical paintings, you can fill out the story with your own imaginings about the people and situations. It is the type of art I would have loved to have had in a storybook when I was a child. In a weird way, it's like a fine art version of those Richard Scarry books I used to spend hours poring over in my grandparents' TV room. The Scarry books helped me to understand my own world, while this manuscript gives me insight into another age.

Les Très Riches Heures du Busytown.

It isn't just the narratives that attract me, however. The vivid colors and the playfulness of many of the scenes have also remained in my memory all this time. Here is a website where you can see each of the calendar pages followed by a brief description. http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/labors-of-the-months-from-the-tres-riches-heures/

It was, then, with great excitement that I learned that "Les Très Riches Heures" might be found on display at the Chateau de Chantilly, a mere 45 minute day-trip from Paris, and that, moreover, entrance to the Chateau was covered under the Paris Museum Pass, which I already intend to purchase. I began researching the chateau and all its other attractions. 

Overhead view of the Chateau de Chantilly and some of its grounds.

What I found was exciting. First, the gardens are reportedly quite beautiful. They are divided into an English garden, a Chinese-English garden which includes the Hameau (hamlet, said by some to have inspired Marie Antoinette's own rustic hideaway), the small park (a wooded area with statues), and the Grand Parterre (the grand landscaping in front of the castle, visible in the picture above.) 

The "Isle of Love" or "L'ile d'Amour" in the English garden.

 Second, the chateau's museum contains a great collection of older French and Italian art, including works by Raphael, Titian, Delacroix, Fra Angelico and Antoine Watteau. Its collection cannot be loaned out to other museums, so the only opportunity to see them is either in reproduction or in the chateau. While none of these artists, other than Delacroix, are among my favorites, I'm always looking to educate my eye and explore the works of famous (and obscure) artists. Here are some of the images on display, as selected by the official Chateau de Chantilly website:

"The Oyster Lunch", Jean Francois de Troy, one of the many works on display at Chateau de Chantilly, and the kind of fun, slice of life painting I am inclined to appreciate the most. 

"The Three Graces" by Raphaël, probably one of the most well-known works in the collection.

"Self-Portrait at Twenty-Four" by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. Apparently the artist worked on this over his lifetime, only feeling it was completely finished in his sixties.

"Stained Glass Window of Psyche and Love Story", French School of the sixteenth century.

In addition to the gardens and the works of art on display, there are a number of other attractions which don't necessarily hold much interest for me, but may interest others. The stables are said to be palace-like, and equestrian shows are presented at the chateau. For you non-vegans out there, apparently they have really amazing locally made whipped cream which you can sample at the restaurant at the chateau or in town. The chateau and its grounds apparently featured in the James Bond movie "A View to a Kill." Additionally, Chantilly is apparently one of the places where "Chantilly lace" originates from, and there is a lace museum in the town.

The seventh prince of Condé, Louis-Henri Bourbon, believed he would be reincarnated as a horse, so he had these grand stables designed for his future life.

Due to all these attractions, there's a strong possibility that I will visit this chateau, despite having found out through more careful research that the original impetus for the visit - "Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry" was taken out of public view for preservation purposes in the 1980s and replaced with a facsimile.  Many travel bloggers and even book authors seem unaware of the switch, however, which makes one wonder how important authenticity is.  There are many facsimiles of artworks and architecture throughout Europe and the world, and often, due to wars, the original of something doesn't even exist. The entire town of Munich, for example, was rebuilt after World War II, based on photographs taken by the Nazis in anticipation of the city's destruction. If the facsimile of a great work can bring aesthetic pleasure and intellectual interest, isn't it still worth seeing? 

However, the most famous images from "Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry" are widely available on-line, and full facsimile versions are available in book form. It certainly wouldn't be worth a journey across the seas just to see a copy you might buy from Amazon. In the end, though, a 45-minute day trip from Paris and the promise of leisurely walks in gardens said to be much less crowded than those of Versailles are a good draw. That and the possibility of falling in love with another of the Chateau's famous artworks, perhaps one that is currently unknown to me, have put the Chateau de Chantilly on my travel plans map.

To explore the Chateau de Chantilly for yourself, please see their official website: http://www.domainedechantilly.com/en