I already wanted to go to Atlanta. The High Museum is hosting a Dutch painting exhibit from the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague. Since the paintings are from the 17th century--the same time some of my series' characters are living there as royal refugees--I was most interested in seeing them. The Violin Player by Honthorst was especially exciting to see because Honthorst was Sophia of Hanover's art teacher. Actually, her sister Louise was the real painter of the family; she painted a playful portrait of her sister, my own Princess Sophia with a red feather in her hair, and that painting came to mind instantly upon seeing Honthorst's painting of a playful girl in costume. I've heard that some paintings attributed to Honthorst are actually Louise's work, as they brought in more money when attributed to him. Honthorst did paint numerous, more serious portraits of the family, but those weren't in this exhibition.
Oh yeah, Rembrandts and Vermeers were there, too...yawn. ;)
Rembrandt was my favorite childhood artist. We had a big family Bible with many copies of his religious paintings, and I spent a bit of time gazing at them. I loved his dark, rich palette and meticulous work, with such attention to detail, though my husband pointed out that at least one of the paintings we saw yesterday looked almost Impressionist.
Rembrandt was my favorite childhood artist. We had a big family Bible with many copies of his religious paintings, and I spent a bit of time gazing at them. I loved his dark, rich palette and meticulous work, with such attention to detail, though my husband pointed out that at least one of the paintings we saw yesterday looked almost Impressionist.
From the museum, we traveled north to Amicalola Falls state park, where we camped in our old tent. It'd been so long since we used it that I was glad to see it was still intact. While Fiona and I lay on an air mattress, exhausted from climbing the waterfall trails, she began musing about the tents from the Harry Potter movies. When Harry Potter walks in the spacious house-tent and his jaw drops, he says something like, "I love magic..." While ours isn't quite that size, it is tall enough to walk in and has a screened-in front porch area. It is rather incredible to set up those rooms 'magically' from the tent bags!
We brought an even older tent for my teenage son, and he had a separate dwelling for the night. He loved sleeping on the hard ground. I think there's something of that high-testosterone longing to be a hardened soldier in him. I keep thinking of young George Louis (Georg Ludwig, later King George I), who was a mercenary commander at war by the time he was my son's age.
We also stopped by Anna Ruby Falls today, with a measly half-mile easy trail (thank goodness!), so my little girl should be happy on the waterfall front. While these falls don't touch the grandness of Niagara, they are lovely, set in the beautiful Appalachian mountains. The cold water seems a bit mystical on such hot days!
Near Ruby Falls is the tourist town of Helen, Georgia. We stopped at the Hofbrauhaus restaurant, where we enjoyed our meal of sides (being vegetarian, they didn't have a lot of options for us--but we did enjoy the choices available). Though the town's Bavarian theme included traditional costumes on the restaurant's wait staff and half-timber facades on many buildings, the homes don't feel German--there aren't the little gardens in front of the houses and the signs aren't in German. It's a little redneck Southern town pretending to be German as if for Halloween! So, needless to say, my wistful pangs for Germany weren't appeased. I spent several childhood years there, and after reading so many German tales of my Palatine and Hanoverian ancestors, some distant nostalgia has crept up on me.
That said, we may plan to go back next summer. The kids were dying to go tubing down the stream, but we didn't have the time, or, in my case, the energy. Ouch, come to think about it, my hips are still sore from climbing the trail up Amicalola Falls!
We brought an even older tent for my teenage son, and he had a separate dwelling for the night. He loved sleeping on the hard ground. I think there's something of that high-testosterone longing to be a hardened soldier in him. I keep thinking of young George Louis (Georg Ludwig, later King George I), who was a mercenary commander at war by the time he was my son's age.
We also stopped by Anna Ruby Falls today, with a measly half-mile easy trail (thank goodness!), so my little girl should be happy on the waterfall front. While these falls don't touch the grandness of Niagara, they are lovely, set in the beautiful Appalachian mountains. The cold water seems a bit mystical on such hot days!
Near Ruby Falls is the tourist town of Helen, Georgia. We stopped at the Hofbrauhaus restaurant, where we enjoyed our meal of sides (being vegetarian, they didn't have a lot of options for us--but we did enjoy the choices available). Though the town's Bavarian theme included traditional costumes on the restaurant's wait staff and half-timber facades on many buildings, the homes don't feel German--there aren't the little gardens in front of the houses and the signs aren't in German. It's a little redneck Southern town pretending to be German as if for Halloween! So, needless to say, my wistful pangs for Germany weren't appeased. I spent several childhood years there, and after reading so many German tales of my Palatine and Hanoverian ancestors, some distant nostalgia has crept up on me.
That said, we may plan to go back next summer. The kids were dying to go tubing down the stream, but we didn't have the time, or, in my case, the energy. Ouch, come to think about it, my hips are still sore from climbing the trail up Amicalola Falls!
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