Posted on

Day 8 – Bending the rules

I have really enjoyed my time in DC, but this morning it was time to get on with my trip and make my way North-West to the shores of Lake Erie.

My original plan was to make all my travel during this trip by rail. However, Amtrak’s “creative planning” came in the way, and since I really did not want to miss the Cleveland Museum of Art I decided that Art would trump Train this one time. The problem is that Amtrak’s service from Washington DC to Chicago (the “Capitol Limited”) does stop in Cleveland, but it takes almost 11 hours and arrives in Cleveland around 3am. Considering the museum only opens at 10 am, that clearly would have left way too many hours to kill… So I ended up renting a car 🙂 .

While it is obviously a pain having to focus on the road instead of the scenery around, driving from DC to Cleveland only takes about 6 hours, with the added bonus that I also get to swing by Detroit before making my way to Chicago.

What I was not expecting was however how incredibly beautiful the scenery would be on the way. From the shores of the Potomac into Maryland and then the hills of Pennsylvania, with the shifting green of the forests and the farms, and a sky that would have made Magritte envious, with clouds looking like peaceful bombers in formation escorting me along the way. A truly magnificent experience! Sadly, having to drive meant I missed the most amazing photo opps, but hopefully these will do 🙂

Also, in true American spirit, the gas station where I stopped for coffee was blasting Springsteen as if there were no tomorrow 🙂 .

The other great surprise of the day was the break I decided – just last night – to take on the way to check out the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. The city itself – famous otherwise for its steel and Heinz Ketchup – is actually very pretty, with small houses scattered around the hills as the  Monongahela and the Allegheny rivers come together to form the Ohio river.

The Museum has a very interesting and varied collection, ranging from the French masters to quite a few great American pieces, including some of the artists like Dewing and Hart Benton that I have got to learn better in the past days in DC. The museum also has a pretty nice collection of design objects, including some lovely stained glasses from Tiffany’s.

The Carnegie Museum of Art however also shares the building with a Natural History Museum, and as I walked into the next section I suddenly remember why I had heard about the Pittsburgh museum before… Namely for its absolutely astonishing collection of Dinosaur skeletons and fossils, often referenced in many documentaries.

I’ll be honest, I am typically not easy to impress. But as I turned the corner and suddenly faced 2 massive Apatosauruses (and a T-Rex on their tail) my jaw dropped and a pretty loud “Oh Shit!” did come out of my mouth… The couple next to me laughed pretty hard 🙂

Posted on

Day 7 – American icons and new discoveries

Besides binging on art museums, the objective of this trip is also to experience some of the more “iconic” pieces of American life.

While in DC, this meant sampling one of the local delicacies, the Half Smoke at Ben’s on U Street. the Half Smoke is a special sausage made of half beef and half pork meat, with a flavour halfway between smoked sausage and a regular hot dog (hence the name).

This DC delicacy is then smothered in chilli sauce and onions (hope you don’t mind, but I skipped the mustard, which is not something I particularly like). This is a famous and special place for the DC community, with many celebrities among its regulars. For instance, Barack Obama dined here the night before his first inauguration as President in 2009.  To be honest, I was expecting a bit more punch from the chilli sauce, but all in all it was a pretty decent hot dog.

Yesterday night I also decided it was time to check out the local music scene and went to a former funeral parlor turned rock venue, the Rock&Roll Hotel, to check out Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, which put up a pretty good show. The real treat was however the opening act, Laura Gibson, a very talented singer-songwriter whose latest work is called after the long-distance train connecting Chicago to Seattle, the Empire Builder.

Considering I’ll be travelling on another epic long-distance route from Chicago to San Francisco (the California Zephyr) in a week, this was quite a nice touch (a sign maybe? 🙂 ).

The laundromat

This last day in DC was also spent in 2 other “symbols” of American culture. The first was the Laundromat (for the record, I did not strip down to my underwear to wash the clothes I had on me like in a famous Levi’s commercial… I doubt the old ladies in the Laundromat would have appreciated 🙂 ).

After taking care of the important task of having clean underwear, I took a break from the streak of art museums of the last week and headed for the Smithsonian institute, checking out first their Air & Space Museum (where I could meet face to face many historic aircrafts, including Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis”) and finishing it off with some old bones at the Natural History Museum.

Tomorrow, it’s time to make my way west. Next stop: Cleveland!

Posted on

Day 6-7 – The days when the rain came

Almost a full week on the road already has passed (hopefully tomorrow I’ll have some time for a quick recap of my experience in the US and A so far 🙂 ). On Friday the rain hit the DC area, followed by something I suspect is quite a problem around here, particularly during the summer months: an insane level of humidity.

Anyway, the rains clearly did not bother me much, since I ended up spending most of the day (and a couple of extra hours on Saturday morning) checking out the impressive collection of the National Gallery, which includes several masterpieces of French impressionism (and some great stuff from more recent times). In particular I quite enjoyed the choice of placing 2 paintings with a similar motif by Monet and Derain next to each other, to appreciate even more the different and yet similar approach to colour and perception of these 2 great artists.

The visit to the NGA gave me however also another chance to discover new artists and expand my knowledge of American art.

From this perspective, the real highlight of the visit to DC was however the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where I ended up spending a few hours yesterday afternoon. Here one can truly appreciate the richness of American art, tracing its evolution from its European roots and influences, but that quickly found its own voice in presenting the reality of the new continent, inspired by the incredible sceneries and the melting pot of cultures.

On one side, I loved to see more the traditional, romantic themes in the glowing portraits of John Singer Sargent and the decadent melancholy of the turn of the XIX-XX century of Dewing and Thayer.

But even more of a delight was seeing the depiction of modern life, the big cities of lights and industrial work, but also the alienation and the longing for something lost (or something that was never there) often seen through the eyes of new Americans that were born somewhere far away in Europe or Asia and came to the US in search of refuge and a better life.

Posted on

Days 5: Getting to know Washington

The first full day in Washington DC has been quite a pleasant surprise, starting from something I did not think I would do again on this trip: a morning run.

But since I woke up relatively early yesterday morning and I am staying downtown just a couple of blocks from the White House, I figured this could be a good way to get my bearings and check out a few of the more famous monuments around the Federal Triangle.

The first day in DC has also given me a chance to catch up with a few good friends and sample some great Mexican and Ethiopian food. Ethiopian is a cuisine I enjoy very much, but which is quite hard to find back home in Sweden (unless I want to fly up to Stockholm to get some dinner 🙂 ). Apparently DC has quite a sizeable Ethiopian/Eritrean community though, so I was happy to take the chance when the suggestion came.

But I obviously came to DC also to see some Art Museums, and so far I have been very happy on that front too. Yesterday I started my day at the National Museum of Women in Art, which is a very interesting institution focusing on the work of female artists, highlighting their perspectives, their themes and their talent. The NMWA is definitely worth a visit, with a great collection including pieces from Alice Neel, Frida Kahlo, Mary Cassat and Georgia O’Keeffe.

Wolfgang Laib, “Wax Room”

After lunch, I had the chance to explore another smaller, but very interesting museum: the Phillips Collection. This museum is famous for its Rothko room, but to be very honest I am not much of a Rothko (or Pollock) fan, so for me it was a lot more interesting to see Jacob Lawrence’s “The Migration” serie (well, half of it, the rest is at MoMA 🙂 )

I also quite enjoyed visiting the “Wax Room”, an installation consisting in a small room covered in wax and with a single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. It’s a simple place for meditation and the wax had an amazing smell, sweet and flowery without being too overwhelming (sadly, you can’t take “pictures” of smells).

So far I must say Washington is a much more enjoyable city that I had anticipated. People are friendly (staff at museums for instance always said hi and were very welcoming and helpful, not quite the same could be said for NYC 🙂 ), so I look forward to spending a few extra days exploring it further.

Posted on

Day 4 – Leaving on a Southern train

The sun reflecting on a skyscraper makes for a great effect on Carnegie Hall

The first four days of this American adventure have already flown by, and I am already sitting on a train riding in the sunset taking me to Washington, DC.

NYC has been, unsurprisingly, an amazing first stop and the time there has literally flown by: I definitely got a lot done, but a lot is still left for next time (which can’t come soon enough).

This morning I was very happy to meet my friend Sara – also visiting NYC from London – for an interesting breakfast at Má PĂŞche, a cute little Asian-inspired restaurant in the basement of a downtown hotel that makes some pretty lovely matcha pancakes.

Before it was time to catch my train, I did manage to squeeze in one more museum visit. I headed out to Brooklyn to  check out the Georgia O’Keeffe exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum (something I had originally missed, and only found out by accident yesterday as I was writing my previous post 🙂 ).

The exhibition features a number of her artworks spanning her entire career, but what is particularly interesting is the focus on the development of the image (and brand) of O’Keeffee the artist.

Many of those black and white outfits that are typically associated with her (thanks also to the many photo portraits that her partner, the photographer Alfred Stieglitz, took of her) were on display, together also with the more “relaxed” denims she started wearing when she moved to New Mexico in the late forties.

It was particularly nice to see again some of her later works from this period in New Mexico, inspired by the deep connection she felt with the flat-topped mount Pedernal (apparently she once said that she believed that if she painted Pedernal Mountain enough times that God would give it to her). Here I particularly love how the flatness and uniformity of the desert landscape blurs often the difference between depiction of real objects and pure abstraction.

The rest of the Brooklyn Museums exhibit and permanent collection (including quite a lot of amazing pieces of furniture, particularly the art deco stuff) were equally impressive, and I am quite happy I took the time to come visit.

The first train ride (for this trip)

A couple of years ago I rode on the Pacific Surfliner from LA to San Diego (and back), so I am not a total stranger to the little oddities of Amtrak.

To cover the roughly 350km between New York and Washington, DC one can either spend a little over 3 hours on the National Express service , or opt for the super-modern, fast service of the Acela Express, which for roughly 3 times the price of the National Express will get you to DC in 2 hours and 54 minutes… I think someone should explain the concept of “fast train” to the Americans 🙂

While I think this trip is probably more enjoyable in the fall, with the shifting colors of the trees alongside the track, I must admit that particularly the last bit with the train practically hoovering over the waters of Chesapeake Bay as the sunset was turning everything around red made the arrival into DC quite special.

Posted on

Day 3 – seeing “old friends”

For the past 10+ years I have been spending the large part of my time on the road, travelling to many amazing places around the world and enjoying every new discovery.

At the same time, one of the things I like the most about travelling for work is the possibility of returning regularly to cities and places that are extra special to me. It takes away the “fear of missing out” and the stress of having to see “everything” and replaces it with a nice sense of “home away from home”. I love the feeling of knowing my way around the city and having my special spots to rediscover every time. This is particularly the case for many museums, from the Musee d’Orsay in Paris to the Tretyakov gallery in Moscow. Here the anticipation of new discoveries is replaced by the kind of warm feeling one gets right before seeing an old friend again after some time you have been apart. By now, I often remember in which room certain artworks I am more fond of are located, and the walk around the museum is a build up to that last corner before I turn into the room and the “old friend” will be there, almost waiting for me to come say hi. At the same time, I also cherish the feeling of rediscovering painting I had forgotten about, but that when they appear generate the same kind of happiness as the first time I got to see them.

While I have only been to NYC on quick trips a couple of times before, the city is fairly easy to navigate and I can fake the “being a local” enough not to be harassed by the guys selling bus tours around the city. Yesterday I took the chance to go back to a couple of museums I had visited in the past, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Guggenheim.

While I do spend a lot of time in art museums, I am not exactly an “art expert” and my connection with these artworks is more intimate and spiritual, often more related to how the specific combination of shapes and colours makes me feel rather than who the artist or the subject is, or whether the piece was meant to have a special message.

Here are a few of my favourite pieces from yesterday’s visits, from Kandinsky to Delauney, Marc and Severini.

Posted on

Day 2 – living the high (line) life

Having spent the previous 10+ hours sleeping, I woke up on the morning of May 1st ready for yet another great day around NYC.

After spending the fairly grey morning meeting a few friends downtown, I was ready to hit another great art museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, an incredible institution housed in a building designed by Renzo Piano in the Meat Packing district.

Currently the main event at the Whitney is the Biennale, which had a few interesting pieces but to be very honest was not exactly my cup of tea.

Jasper Johns peeking from the other room

The exhibition drawing from the Whitney’s collection gave me however the opportunity to see works from a few familiar artists like Edward Hopper, Jasper Johns and Georgia O’Keeffe, but also get a glimpse into the production of some interesting African-American artists like Jacob Lawrence, whose dark and heavy paintings from the War Series, depicting his experience in the US Army during WWII, reminded me of the oppressive, claustrophobic feelings generated in the paintings from WWI veterans like  Otto Dix and George Grosz I have seen in European museums in the past. I was also happy to see again works of another great African-American artist, Archibald Motley, whose amazing work I had had a chance to see at LACMA in Los Angeles a couple of years ago (but back then I had forgotten to write down his name, so I had been left wondering until now 🙂 ).

The Whitney is also well-positioned to enjoy the High-Line, an amazing urban re-qualification project that has turned an old train line into an elevated garden and promenade that locals and visitors love to enjoy on a sunny spring day.

Odd sightings of the day

I am not much of a celebrity stalker and when I do see one I typically tend to leave them alone. It was however a bit funny walking down the West village on my way to the Whitney to run into Matthew Perry (Friends’ Chandler)… He was having a conversation with a woman who seemed to be giving him a hard time about something, so not exactly a good idea to interrupt them to ask for a selfie 🙂 .

At Whitney I then ran into Italian footballer Andrea Pirlo… But considering I haven’t watched an entire football game since 2012 I really could not be bothered with him either.

 

Posted on

Day 1 – Jetlag wonderland

Saturday night I was pretty proud of myself for managing to stay awake until 10pm, and I was looking forward to a good full night sleep… It did work out, to a point, but at 5,30 am the following day I was wide awake anyway.

Considering the museums would not open until 11am and that my hotel (which btw turned out to be very comfortable and reasonably priced) is just a couple of blocks away from Central Park, I eventually had the radical idea of making the best of the situation and go for a run in this epic location. While I typically prefer to run in the evening and I did not push myself particularly hard, it turned out to be quite an enjoyable experience, and a good preparation for a respectable serving of blueberry pancakes for breakfast.

Odd sightings of the day

NYPD Smart car (update: I spotted it again and took a picture 😉)

Apparently the NYPD is expanding its vehicle fleet with a “European touch”.

While this is definitely cute and modern, I wonder what this does to the NYPD image we have grown accustomed to thanks to many movies and TV shows.

To be very honest, I’d love to see a movie with a massive car chasing scene (Blues Brothers style) featuring a bunch of these 🙂

Getting on with the day

On the agenda for this first full day I had a couple of smaller museums: the Frick Collection and the Neue Gallerie.

The Frick collection is a former mansion of an old American industrialist with a passion for European old masters. The house is actually quite interesting, as many of the rooms have been decorated in a style you would most typically associate with an 18th century French palace. From my perspective, the highlight of the visit was the large number of paintings by Turner, including an interesting exhibitions of a series of views of ports from various parts of Europe.

But for a massive fan of the Viennese Secession the Neue Gallerie was most definitely the highlight of my day. Their collection of paintings and drawings by Klimt, Kokoschka and Schiele is impressive and well worth a visit on their own, but the famous portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer makes the experience incredible. While the intricate golden decorations are certainly mesmerizing, what I personally find amazing of this painting is Klimt rendered the colour and texture of the model’s skin: it looks almost like porcelain, with imperceptible shifts in tone and shades that can only be truly enjoyed in person (even high-res pictures of this painting fail to reflect accurately this amazing detail). The visit was also made if possible even more enjoyable by a very complete exhibition of the works of Alexei Jawlensky, a Russian-born Expressionist and one of the leading figures of the Blue Rider movement together with Kandinsky.

After spending the big part of the day feeding the eyes and the mind, I then thought it would be a good idea to also feed my belly and headed down to the East Village to sample some amazing South American food at the Arepa Factory. I must say it was very hard resisting the temptation of ordering a second one 🙂 .

 

Party Party (??)

At that point, I figured I’d head back to base to rest a bit before finding something fun to do in the evening… What a rookie mistake: the quick little nap at 6pm ended up lasting until 4am, the true revenge of the jetlag I was so quick to deem defeated (not to mention that the longer-than-expected break put me off my blogging schedule, as I was planning of writing this post then… Guess I’ll need to figure out a way to catch up soon 🙂 ).

 

Posted on

Day 0 – Wasting no time

It was definitely not a “cold and wet December day” when I landed at Newark airport… Having left 5 degrees and rain in Copenhagen just a few hours earlier, the 28 degrees C that met me in New York were even a bit too much for my taste… Luckily the wind made the heat a bit more bearable, and already the day after the temperature was a lot more pleasant (says the only guy who was walking around wearing just a shirt with rolled-up sleeves while everybody else was in winter jackets).

As my flight arrived around lunchtime, the obvious thing to do after dropping off my bags at my hotel was to get right onto the first item on my to-do list: the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This is one of those massive complexes with a collection of pretty much everything which alone would justify a 3-day trip to NYC, so even though this place is open until 9pm on Saturday I had to make some though choices, so I headed straight to the section holding the Modern and Contemporary Art collection, where my eyes could feast on the impressive variety of artworks on display, and enjoy the inner peace that looking at of some of my favourite artists, including Degas and Seurat, always brings to me and that makes this type of experiences enjoyable and slightly addictive.

Before closing time forced me out of the Met, I also managed to see the exhibitions showcasing Irving Penn‘s incredible career.

Having spent 4 hours in this amazing museum and having only seen about 1/6 of they have to offer, I really hope to get a chance for a second visit before it’s time to head off to Washington on Wednesday. 🙂

 

Posted on

Up in the air

Just short of two hours left on this flight that is taking me to New York, I look outside the window over the clouds and think of the 30 days ahead of me travelling around the US.

Meeting friends and seeing new things along the way will certainly keep me busy, and I am happy of my decision to take some time off and to do this trip. At the same time, I obviously also wonder what it will be like to be on the road on my own for such a long period of time. Will I be bored? Will I feel lonely? What kind of people will I meet along the way?

I am a practical man that spends most of his time travelling around the world, so this is certainly not intended as a spiritual trip to find myself, even though I do have questions I bring with me that I hope this ”me” time and the long stretches spent looking out the window of a train somewhere in middle America will give me a chance to reflect upon.

This is also why this is intentionally not an exotic trip. The US is a comfortable, to a certain extent familiar destination. It’s a country I have visited many times for work and that I’d like to get to know better, and this is a great occasion to get to see cities I have not had a chance to see before.

One thing I have always enjoyed doing while travelling is visiting Art museums, so it made sense to build my itinerary with the objective of spending as much quality time as possible in some of the best Art museums in the world (which means you will probably not see me blog about the Statue of Liberty this time either 🙂 ).

Another American ”excellence” that I look forward to investigate further is ”breakfast”, so expect to see quite a few shots of breakfast burritos and French toasts along the way. Particularly in this department, I’d love to hear your best tips on the most amazing breakfast joints along my way 🙂 .

At the other end of the day, I have already put in my calendar quite a few gigs of bands I have mostly never heard of before playing in tiny clubs… That should be fun!

Guess it will be interesting to look back at this post on my way to Seattle airport in a month from now.

Ok, time to hit ”publish” so that I can brag a bit about blogging at 10000 feet…