So, two weeks ago, i made one of my whirlwind tours through Germany and France. I started out flying from JFK in NY to Frankfurt, Germany….the major hub there. Frankfurt airport is HUGE…if you ever have to go there and make a connection, leave yourself lots of time if you aren't familiar with it. So, i started in Franfurt and then flew to Zurich, Switzerland. From Zurich, I took a train to Konstanz, Germany for my first show at Galerie Mensing. It was only my second time in Konstanz and it's absolutely gorgeous – the region is right on the biggest lake in Germany and when you look out on it, it's like looking at one of our Great Lakes. The bank is lined with cute restaurants and that's where the gallery is. Konstanz is very close to the Swiss border and there were a lot of Swiss at the show. My work has been shown in Switzerland for almost 15 years also.
After the show, i took the train back to Zurich where i spent the night…in the morning, i flew to Dusseldorf which is the closest big city to Baden-Baden, the site of my next show. This was my first trip to Baden-Baden, as Galerie Mensing had only recently opened their new location there. I took a taxi from Dusseldorf airport to Baden-Baden for the show…the landscape along the way was very interesting…and the city is a nice mixture of old and new….wonderful old churches there. It's known as “The Spa City” and people come from all over Germany to visit the Spas. Famous German Model Alexandra Kamp was a the show and i had never met her before either….what a wonderful person…just so down to earth…and of course, beautiful! We had a great time together.
After Baden-Baden, i took the train back to Dusseldorf where i had a show the following day. I love Dusseldorf and have been there many times. It's a big “shopping city” and Galerie Mensing has their gallery right in the heart of it…the Konigsalle…in a famous indoor mall called “The Sevens.” I knew a lot of the collectors who came to that show…it was like seeing a group of old friends again…lots of fun.
Then it was off to France…. plane to Paris….did you know they have MOTORCYCLE TAXIS in Paris???? I have been there many times and never noticed…i couldn't help it this time because as i stood on the back of a long taxi line, a gentleman tapped me on the shoulder and tried to get me to go on his motorcycle taxi…i actually thought about it…but only for a minute…which was a good thing because a few minutes later, as I went through the tunnel in a taxi/van headed into the city….i spotted the same guy on his motorcycle taxi. He had a passenger on the back who had a backpack and i guess the poor guy had left the backpack open because his papers were flying all over the place behind him…oops. What a disaster….and those motorcycle drivers there are CRAZY. He was weaving in and out and zooming by…i think i would have had a heart attack if i'd driven on the back of that thing!
Well, my neice Sylvie met me in Paris … she lives and works there and i always look forward to seeing her when i go there…and together, we took the train to Lyon. They have a new bullet train so the ride only took 2 1/2 hours…..but it made both me and Sylvie sick. ugh. We soon recovered though and Sylvie helped me the next day at a wonderful show at Galerie Nuances et Lumiere…..the show was packed and Mr. and Mrs. Azoulay, the owners of the gallery, did a fabulous job of gettting people there and showing them my work.
Sylvie and I didn't leave the gallery until after 10:30pm…we grabbed a quick pizza on the way back to the hotel and CRASHED. Next morning, it was a train back to Paris and a plane back to JFK….four cities in five days! Whew! No wonder i'm a little jet lagged still.
–Charles
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