Fünf Höfe Photo Fun

On the way home from a Sunday photowalk through the English Garden, Herr J and I cut through the Fünf Höfe, one of Central Munich's shopping centers.  I've always liked the architecture there, particularly the modern and airy passages in the middle of a historic city block. But we were shocked to realize what fun photo opportunities were in there. All of the textures and reflections were great fun for playing around with HDR photography. 

 

"Fünf Höfe" means "Five Courtyards" in German, an appropriate name for the building spanning a block with passages full of cafes, restaurants, and shops.  And, as a typical German real estate asset, it has offices and apartments on the upper floors. Sitting between the Frauenkirche and Odeonsplatz, the building has an important history as the home of HypoVereinsbank, one of Munich's oldest banks (its roots trace back to the late 1700s). As is often the case here, they sought to keep the historical facade of the building while building something modern and new inside.  According to the center's website, the design was inspired by the courtyards of the nearby Residenz palace.  I often take a shortcut through there as a nice change of pace - it's usually peaceful and with comfortable "weather" inside.

It's quite a nice place to spend a rainy, wintry Sunday afternoon, visiting the Hypo Kunsthalle art museum, followed by coffee in one of the cafes or lunch at Vapiano (reliably good and open late and on Sunday).  During the week, you can shop at a variety of clothing, home, and art stores, as well as Munich's Muji. (Muji is a Japanese home/small good store that's worth a browse, if you've never been in one.  Their focus is on no-brand, minimalist products, usually made of recyclable materials. But they have a great blend of form and function, so that you'll have a really hard time walking out without finding several things you "need"). 

The museum entrance is on the Theatinerstraße side and, though small for a museum, often has good exhibits. There have been a wide variety of themes, artists, and time periods, with the exhibit changing every few months. The Mark Rothko retrospective a couple of years ago was particularly good.  As it's an exhibition gallery rather than one with a permanent collection, you'll need to check periodically to see what's there.

In addition to the open entrances to the passages, there are other areas with open roofs, blurring the boundaries between indoors and outdoors.  

As the complex houses the small museum that Hypovereinsbank sponsors, they also integrated art into the architecture. The hanging gardens through the Salvatorpassage actually are a living installation by Düsseldorf artist Tita Giese.

They blend in so well that they almost escape notice, but you'll also find 12 laser-printed panels throughout the building. These are prints of photos by German photographer Thomas Ruff, meant "give onlookers the impression that they are floating over cityscapes and the countryside." These scenes are of nature, the Munich area in which the Fünf Höfe sits, and Manhattan streets.  You'll see one on the floor in the picture below (bottom right corner).

And the most noticeable art piece hangs in the Viscardihof - a giant steel lattice-work sphere by Olafur Eliasson, an Icelandic artist. The shape and structure is supposed to represent "global openness and worldwide networks."

 

source - Fünf Höfe website

The Summer in Munich

I'm chomping at the bit for our upcoming vacation - we haven't taken time off in over 6 months.  But despite the lack of a real holiday, this past Summer was great.  Munich has a lot to offer and it doesn't take extraordinary measures to take advantage of it.  The Alps are only 90 minutes away, the Isar river runs right through the city (and lakes are not far either), plus there are a continuous stream of local events and fairs.   NOTE:  I've exchanged emails with a lot of you recently after you visited this site -- if you come visit I'll really set up some great things to do and see!

Some summer highlights...

Spring Skiing

OK, so it's not actually summertime, but on March 20 we went to Austria for a day of skiing.  Our last ski-day of the season, although you can ski on glaciers much later.  In the photo you can see an instructor with a student in the foreground, an Alpine hut on the left (ski right up to it and get some schnitzel and mulled wine), and a gorgeous backdrop of Tirolean peaks.  A good ramp down to Winter and transition to warmer weather.

Bayern Munich Soccer Games

In the German Bundesliga, Bayern Munich is basically the New York Yankees.  They have the highest payroll, most stars, a beautiful stadium, plus long & rich tradition and the most championships in history.  And like the Yankees, fans love 'em or hate 'em.  This photo is an action-shot of a corner kick at the Allianz Arena... in between sips of beer and bites of bratwurst.  Bayern beat Bochum 3-1.

The World Cup

Bayern Munich has its fanatics and haters, but when the German National Team plays, everyone goes bonkers rooting them on.  The best option to see the World Cup games is outdoors in the biergartens, where they put up big screens and speakers for every game.  The atmosphere is an interesting combination of energy and relaxation.  This photo is the large Augustiner Biergarten, not far from the main train station, where we watched the the U.S. and Ghana.

            

Canoeing on the Isar

When the weather got really hot, we took a canoe down the Isar river.  It is so easy here:  get on a train for 45 minutes to a town upstream, walk to the launch point, and push off.  Some people bring inflatable rafts on the train, others rent a canoe (and owners put it on a trailer to take it back).  We stopped for a swim and lunch, and finally "landed" around 4pm.

 

Hiking in the Alps

Two hikes stood out this summer.  The first was through a river-gorge near Garmisch, the Partnachklamm.  This is especially nice because you take the train south and avoid traffic, and it's different that a "to-the-top" trail.  The second was up to a small peak called Breitenstein.  Great weather for both outings, and there are always huts along the way serving food and drink.

        

Fairs and Street Festivals

It's good practice for Oktoberfest that Munich has summer fairs and street events.  Here, you see the devotion to grilled wurst - over real charcoal.  The second is in this post for a different reason... it looks like a typical carnival ride, but check out the background graphic.  Not exactly NSFW, but shows you the tolerance Germans have for, um, exposure, at a family-oriented activity!

              

Schnitzelbahn

This summer also marked the start of this web site, and the beginning of our beer tournament.  This picture shows the collection of 64 German beers for the tournament.  A labor of love.  Thanks for visiting!