Bavaria

INTERMEZZO

One will find the real Berlin in hidden court yards, the local Beijing in the deepest corners of the hutongs, in Tokyo you have to look up.

The whole day we have been walking the streets of Tokyo. Akihabara, Roppongi, Shibuya. My eyes hurt, too much impressions. Before yet another deep dive into the night we decide to take a time out. Intermezzo. A look at the many high rise buildings and a couple of minutes later we find ourselves on the  seventh floor of a nondescript building. A bowling center, here? One story higher part of our group is challenging the locals for a round of table tennis.. Playtime

-Matt.

FISH WITHOUT CHIPS

It is the end of the year and damn have I been lucky. A business trip to Tokyo, the big jackpot,  a long awaited dream becomes reality. We are here to visit the local motor show and in the meanwhile will enjoy everything that crosses our path. Four days and three nights lost in translation. I better talk about hours instead of days because we suck out every minute we can as night and day blend into a fantastic and exhausting cocktail flavored with sweet Japanese blends.

As a starter, let's talk sushi. Fish without chips for a change. Raw, but refined. Our evening meals as a stabile reference in a hectic, jet lagged parallel universe. Three dinners, three locations, three atmospheres. Somehow we immediately feel at home at the Gonpachi. No wonder the restaurant figures as the hot spot for Tarantino aficionados. Kill Bill has been heavily inspired on this place. Traditional, wooden, without the blood splattered bodies, but with great sushi.

Our second stop is more minimalist, a nondescript and ultra compact cookery in the Roppongi district. Think of your bamboo cutting plate at home and extrapolate it to a restaurant. Silently and with great care the master and his assistance slice and dice fish and rice into a wonderful orchestrated Gesamtkunstwerk. We feel good and very Suntory to take another dive into the city of lights.

 Our last pick of town is a spontaneous one, somewhere in a dark alley in Shibuya. This time we get as local as we can get. We order, well, a bit of everything. A blind date with Japan, surrounded by unreadable menus.

-Matt.

CHRISTLUM

The end of the year and the beginning of the season. Our tradition is kept alive once again. Before the holidays start we hit the snow, knee deep this time. Curving the slopes of Christlum on and off piste. The weather conditions are sub prime, but the snow is close to perfect this day. Grippy, deep, prepared. Some jumps here and there and most of all biting the dust every other minute. More of this as soon as possible. Thanks to Uli for his sort of water resistant capturing device.

-Matt.

VISITORS VIEW

2011, a look eastbound. Three times this year I have travelled to Asia. Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo. New impressions, food for the mind and a hard disc full of images. Read my visitors view on our newly found sister blog called Carfreax China. Enjoy!

-Matt.

MUNICH

I have been here before. A couple of months ago the Haus der Kunst in Munich was the starting point of the Pass Masters '11. Back then it was the setting for a rainy breakfast, today I come back for some culture. A mellow "indian Summer" sunday. No car culture, or maybe a little bit? 

We start with the Goetz Sammlung, located in the revamped basement of the complex. Video installations in tight rooms that once functioned as bomb safe hide outs for the locals. One short movie after the other, surrounded by thick concrete walls.

The reason we are here is the main exhibition upstairs. Carlo Mollino. Architect, dandy, furniture designer, inventor, photographer, alpine junkie and speed freak. A room full of original sketches, prototypes and pictures. No cameras please. Nevertheless very inspiring. Downstairs in the foyer the vehicle is a fusion between motor cycle and car. An architect joining the 24 hours of Le Mans. Somehow a da Vinci of the 20th century. Go visit!

On our way back a final look at the Eisbach surfers. Locals looking for the ultimate cut back, riding an endless perfect wave. 

GOING LOCAL

The Waldorf Astoria comes with a great view and wifi. Another day before the hectic of the car show starts. I zoom in and out on google maps and realize that this city has no limits. A look at the glossy city guide put together by my employer. Places to see in Shanghai. Something cultural would be nice for a change. Let's go local. Ancient temples and a relaxing atmosphere in the midst  of a changing city. 

The Yu Garden should be in walking distance. I follow the road signs and get lost. Yes this is a garden, but not much Yu is going on. I look at the guy who has some glass bottles filled with turtles as I hear a voice beside me. "In Chinese culture the turtle symbolizes personal luck and health. The goldfish you see over there stands for financial wealth". "You are looking for the Yu Garden, it is around the corner, follow me, I am a cultural teacher, very important". Surprised somehow I follow the guy who gives me a turbo charges lecture in local culture. "Holland, Rembrandt, van Gogh, very interesting, Chinese painting black and white, no color"." Follow me, I show you garden". Walking through narrow streets the guy paints a picture of the foreigner within minutes like Yoda. "Very independent you are, creative indeed, cultural given".

Before I realize I sit on the first floor of a tea house, just above a shop with tourist stuff. Equipment is put on the table within seconds. Chinese culture lands on textile with a few strokes. "Very original, no copy". No color indeed. A customized tourist program or a friendly gesture from a local or ? I am still mixed up, but believe in the latter. A couple of minutes later I enter the Yu Garden, packed with a drying painting, accompanied by a bunch of Brazilians. Nevertheless one will find peace within these walls. Beautiful details and 700 hundred years old. A piece of Shanghai that survived the cultural revolution. An hour in tranquility and then out on the streets again. Should I grab a tea? The Starbucks is situated in a Yu Garden style building next door. I refuse to be part of the Disney tour, stick my painting deeper into my bag and dive into the late afternoon action of Shanghai.

WALK AROUND

The multi lane streets that swing along with the Bund are empty. I have limited time here so where to go? Taking a taxi somewhere is easy, on every corner a ricksha stops to ask the tourist with the camera if he needs a ride. Cheapy, cheapy. Thank you, I will take a walk around. Workers clean the street and meticulously reposition plants. Ancient brooms. The contrast with the sky scraping buildings can't be bigger. Everything here is build to expand, a scale beyond imagination. New York must have made a similar impression a century ago. After a long walk and dozens of architecture pictures I decide to take a look what is behind the clean walls of the boulevard. 

I am struck by yet an another view on Shanghai. A business man has his Passat hand washed in front of a wrecked house, chicken on the pavement. A photo opportunity for the book. Too close to press the button. I am still trying to find the comfort after a guy started to shout at me after aiming the lens at him earlier this morning. Do I feel safe? Obviously this not a vavela in Rio. This rough part of the city must be one of the many Chinas where things present themselves in a strange mix, a clash of times. Worn out places and lively streets. A social fabric spread out in between concrete blocks. An Audi A5 parked next to a rusty bike.

After a while I am more relaxed. When the streets get narrower the intension rises. The guy in the flash blue ski jacket becomes part of Shanghais street live were everything happens outside. People playing games, carts filled with food, action, shouting and laughing. Guys in business uniform return home to there dusty neighborhood, grabbing some food on their way. The streets filled with endless piles of stuff. Empty cardboard boxes, a family somewhere will enjoy a new television set. Will this "China" still be there in five years time, witnessing the accelerating speed at which things change here? 

I return to the hotel and finish my book, a guide to China. I have seen so little, but experienced so much. A point and shoot tour with my camera, trying to find words is not easy. China is hard to grab, no place for quick judgements. A cocktail which ingredients are changing everyday. Happy hour. 

TOUCH DOWN

Shanghai, the Bund. The key card of the hotel deeply stuck into my pocket I head up to the boulevard for an evening breeze. Confused by the jet lag that starts to kick in, or is it the bombardment of so many impressions. A couple of hours ago I landed on Chinese soil for the first time ever. The scale of the city, the people, the ceremonies, I am a stranger here. On the other side of the river a skyline so overwhelming, but with a scale that is hard to judge. Big, bigger, biggest. A room with a view that is.

Now, at night, the architecture comes alive. This is Las Vegas. Colorful lights everywhere, changing colors every couple of seconds. LED bill boards the size of buildings reflect in the water. The boulevard is crowded. People taking pictures. A language I don't understand and signs I can't read. My only reference are some numbers here and there and international luxury attributes parked in front of boutiques. Not fake, but with local touches. The blow of a whistle. A official in a uniform gesticulates and orders some tourists to keep their feet of the benches.

Colonial buildings on one side and the new powerful landmarks at east bank . In between I am caught in the mix, lost in translation,an extra in a Blade Runner-esque scenery. The deep bass of ship engines roll over the water, pitch black silhouettes slice through a bath of color. Raw materials on a journey to the next building site. China is booming and knocking in my head. I touched down, but did I land?

A BEAUTIFUL DAY

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". A friday off for another day in the Alps. "A beautiful day" on FM4, windows open, warm weather, spring time. We drive through several Bob Ross paintings before we park our car. We are ready for five hours of boarding, let's hit it!

The panorama is great. This is our arena, we will use every patch of untouched snow, searching for that ultimate line downwards. I plug in my ear phone, for safety reasons I will enjoy a mono soundtrack for the day. During our time in the several lifts we update our on the fly playlists. Chemical Brothers, Snow and.......Escape Velocity. And yes, propelled by the music, a couple of minutes later I hit the air and land softly after.

Flow time. We explore the landscape beyond the limits of the pistes. Uli glides along a big rock decorum, click. A couple of rides later I follow him on the steep surface. A perfect spot to take a dive into the valley and get the adrenaline rushing. Under these circumstances it is easy to underestimate nature. MC 900 ft Jesus accompanies us  as we try  Bertelman style cut backs around some rocks. The City Sleeps, but I am fully awake as my board grinds on stone.

A perfect, beautiful day......

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

We are here for el bastard, the fantastic light of spain. After a long and busy day we quickly check in at the hotel and climb into the van once again. It is late and we are hungry. Spanish food for thought. It is good to be back in Barcelona. El Born, Barri Gotic, another late night filled with impressions. El arte es basura and trash becomes art. Music, food, colors. Mediterranean spring.