Zürich without a map

Today I went walking. In Zürich. Without a map. I had only some brief instructions from Ingrid on a piece of paper.

I do know how to get around in Zürich, been here for various times already. But this time I wanted to explore something new. And new things I found, indeed. One can never tell beforehand in what kind of exotic place one ends up if only wandering aimlessly =)

First I sloughed my way into a jungle,
where all the traditional pot plants grow high as houses.

(Apologies for the lousy quality of these photos.)

In the jungle I exchanged some intel with a very friendly tucan bird,
who just wanted to get closer and closer. Didn't bite me, though.

These guys just minded their own business and
paid no attention whatsoever to me.

The details of the fine designs of Mother Nature
just blew me away.

Spiraly wonders.

If you're into seeing such things personally, visit the Stadtgärtnerei, in Hubertus, ZH. Quite nice greenhouses and gardens. Also a good option for a rainy day, because of the indoors.

After the jungle experience I decided to familiarise myself with some samples of Zürcher contemporary art. For this I chose Helmhaus, which is presenting some new sculpture at the moment and located conveniently downtown Zürich.

The exhibition "AZB for ever" didn't move me at all. Or perhaps I'm just too thick to understand the finesse of sculptural art. Most of the exhibits were in my opinion very minimalistic and geometric forms with fancy names that didn't really connect. And the other end of the style scale was very detailed and bright colored genital figurines. This also continued in some of additional sketches.

So, if I put two and two together it seems to me that Swiss sculptors might have some serious issues about their sexuality or have difficulty thinking out of the box. This is totally personal impression and opinion, so don't take it too seriously. Check it out yourselves, rather =)

Very plastic and detailed. Jumped out of the collection.

Willies & co. aka "Get Physical" by Mickry 3

After Helmhaus I wanted to get a second opinion about art and found my way to Löwenbrau in Limmatstrasse. Kunsthalle and various galleries are located in these premises. But no major quakes on the emotional front there either. I ended up spending ways more time in a very decent artbook store they have there than prowling through the exhibitions.

All in all I think that my "Zürich without a map"-experience was quite enlighting in the end. And it gave me sore legs by the end of the day, so one can say I got at least decent excercise out of it. And after this my in-built citymap also got bit more connected and detailed. So why heck not to spend a sunny afternoon on following your nose?

Moodflow from Zürich

I've been in Zürich since last Sunday with our latest bigNOTWENDIGKEIT production "Keep on searching for a heart of gold". We are about to have five shows here within next week, starting tomorrow.

Nothing much happened since my last entry, but since I have some time to kill, I can contaminate some innocent minds with some moodflow.

It's been pretty relaxed and easy to set everything up in Fabrik Theater. At this particular moment I'm laying on top of a pile of mattresses in the foyer and waiting for a rehearsal on a monologue to end and run-through to start. The staff in the theater are all nice and friendly and I anyway like to work with this particular ensemble.

I've made some new friends while been here. It was pretty hairy to get myself a place to stay for couple of nights in ZH, because it seems that there is a "baby-boom" among my Zürcher friends at this very moment. So, my usual accommodation options were not available. And being forced to be innovative, I ended up at Ingrid and Claudio's home. This turned out to be a very big strike of luck in the end. These people are very nice and openhearted and they serve the best coffee in Zürich, so I'm very happy that I got to know them!!!

The weather is hideous since I don't remember when. I've never experienced such warm days in the end of April and so freaking cold in all May until now. I admit without any second thoughts that I've been wearing my long-johns the whole month up until yesterday. I just hate to freeze my ass off and see no reason to do that if not forced. And all this added to the notion that Finland is the hottest region in whole Europe at the moment. Go figure, something is rotten in climate...

But anyway, having spent most of the time in a black box lately, I don't really mind. Children of the darkness, I'll say.