The Deutsche Bahn (German Train) offers "state tickets" - for € 27.00, up to 5 people can go anywhere in a given state for the day, from 9 am to 3 am the following morning. That's a real deal.
We bought a Niedersachsen Ticket (Lower Saxony - Bremen and Hamburg are independent city-states but we're both surrounded by Lower Saxony, so they let us in on the deal) and with Klaus and Johanna, serious Art Fans, went to Hamburg for the Mark Rothko Exhibit. Weather forecast: sunny with showers late in the evening. Great. From Bremen to Hamburg is 1 hour and 15 minutes. You can't do it faster by car, and then you have to find a parking place and pay. Love the train.
Hamburg is so much more sophisticated than Bremen. We are a VILLAGE, rubes, hayseeds, compared to Hamburg. We go there less than once a year. Not enough.
Here's the approach to the Kunsthalle (art museum) from the main train station. Dome, Ionic columns, pilasters, Oh the References to the Classics. The exhibit has been there for three months and has been so popular that they've extended it for another month.
Usually, I prefer more representational art, but Rothko and a couple other abstractionist painters have found a special place in my heart. I was not disappointed.
Here's an example of a Rothko in the collection that you might recognize. He probably didn't have it in mind, but the German flag popped into my head when I saw this painting. After three hours, we had to have a break and find something to eat. Viewing Art is work. So of course, we didn't want to do anything but go home. So off to the station.
Then came the storm. Can you believe it, we have TORNADOS (tornadoes) in Germany!!?? Yes, we do. We got to the last station before Bremen and s t o p. Trees on the rails, broken electric wires. Busses then to Bremen. What a mess. But that takes a while.
But here we are safe at home, a full day of art and nature behind us.
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