Break Through! (2004) / パッチギ / Pacchigi!

Break Through! (박치기,パッチギ! Pacchigi!) is a 2005 Japanese film directed by Kazuyuki Izutsu and set in 1960s Kyoto. It centres around the tensions between the minority Zainichi Koreans^[1] community and the wider Japanese community.

The film came to my attention for two main reasons based on two other films I had seen (although by the time I watched it, I had forgotten those reasons^[2]  - it was just on my "to watch" list) - both to do with the cast.

It starts simply, and lightly, enough showing a crowd of schoolgirls screaming and swooning at the sight of some sixties moptoppers - not The Beatles. A group of boys see this and decide to copy the haircuts for themselves to become equally popular with the ladies... The group includes the main protagonist Kosuke Matsuyama (Shun Shioya).

That opening is just a little different from the rest of the film, but works as a nice introduction to the characters and era, which then moves onto a slightly more serious portrayal of Korean/Japanese tensions. After some stupid rudeness towards some Korean girls by some Japanese schoolboys on a trip, there is a violent retaliation by the Korean schoolboys resulting in an upturned bus. That leads to the Japanese school trying to "outreach" and offering to play a football friendly against the Korean school. The invitation is to be made by Kousuke and a friend. Once there, he becomes smitten with a girl,- Kyung-ja Lee (played by Erika Sawajiri), there and tries to work out a way of asking her out. Her older brother, Lee Ang Son (Sousuke Takaoka), also happens to be the leader of the Korean gang which makes it a little harder. The method is partially successful and involves learning how to play a song that she was playing on the flute. As they cross the divide, the question is as to whether it will work out. 

I personally thought it was a fairly simple film with no particularly easy answers to the questions of discrimination but it was interesting to see a Japanese film that seemed a bit more sympathetic to the Korean side of this debate - though for outsiders looking in, it seems only reasonable. To some degree, it must be seen slightly within the prism of Forbidden Romance genre along with that of discrimination, but maybe all forbidden romances are thus. Watching the story develop is interesting enough and it slightly branches out to encompass the older brother's (Lee Ang Son) troubles with his girlfriend becoming pregnant. On that basis it is a little less focused than it could be but still enjoyable. Once the main character finds himself within the Korean world, the film does become a bit more overtly political with the explanations of tensions spelled out by the Koreans to Kousuke and the audience. It may not be subtle, but it does work and this could be revelatory within the Japanese cinema scene. Some of the themes could be considered similar to GO^[3]  but the treatment and film making styles are very different. The two love stories, although effectively forbidden, are done so from different angles. This film came out in 2004 which was in the middle of a Fuyu no Sonata fuelled Korean boom in Japan where many aspects of Korean culture became suddenly popular and that timing may have helped it both commercially and artistically as there was a greater desire to understand the Koreans living in Japan at the time.

Critical reception for Pacchigi! was very good and it has won some acting awards ("Rookie of the Year" ("Erika Sawajiri"/"Shun Shioya") - 2006 (29th) Japan Academy Prize- March 3, 2006) for the two lovebirds. I was impressed again with Erika Sawajiri, and her acceptance of the phone call from Kousuke was strangely touching – it was a subtle type of acting that I rarely see. It did well enough to warrant a sequel of sorts in the form of Pacchigi! Love & Peace which has similar themes.

I did enjoy the film but I would not say that it is particularly worth seeking out unless you are really interested in the themes or some of the cast. It is good though so if it is something that you can watch easily, I would give it a go. It seems ideal for a late Film 4 slot.

You can see the trailer here:

^{1. This term officially refers to those not Japanese but has often pejorative use.↩}

^{2. After watching Helter Skelter, I checked to see what other films Erika Sawajiri had been in but, seeing the time difference, I was a little put off. Reading of Sousuke Takaoka going off the rails a bit also pointed me to this film.↩}

^{3. I came across this film again when I was reading something about Japanese films and nationalism which mentioned the two [link]. It was not particularly well-written but it was interesting content. I think there is a lesson in there.↩}

Battle Royale (2000) / バトル・ロワイアル

Undoubtedly a modern classic, whatever I think of it, for its depiction of school life and violent action, Battle Royale came out at the turn of the century - and in the UK in September 2001^[1]. Very simply, it is the story of what happens when friends are asked to turn on each other - and are they still friends once they have done so?

Set in a slightly alternate reality^[2] where high unemployment (at a scary level of 15%) has caused many problems with adults unable to work and children and as a crisis develops within society, a BR Act is passed whereby a class is chosen at random, to be placed on an island and kill each other until there is just one remaining. That survivor is allowed to leave and then can live a normal life – as normal as one can be when you have seen all your classmates die. I guess it is supposed to show the scapegoating of those unable to fight back and that it is not too bad to sacrifice these individuals for the good of those in power. I can't help but draw some parallels to a society that so regularly monsters outsiders on the front pages of newspapers or demonises minorities and the dispossessed through policy.
The plot is, in many ways, not so important as it is set up at the beginning and has a clear direction without much departure from what is set up. The crux of the film is how everyone deals with this situation, and the question has to run through the viewer's mind too. What would you do?

The start of the film, as the premise is set up, is really odd and quite difficult to take in as the style is pretty uneven. The students are taking a coach trip to their graduation trip completely unaware of the purpose of their trip and once they find out, they are completely unaware of the BR Act. It seems very unlikely that the kids would not be aware of the act itself and at least have heard rumours of it but I think it is consistent, just, with the world depicted as the children are supposed to be wasteful, decadent and un-engaged with wider society. As they are bundled into a room to start - a truly strange, bubbly instructional video explaining the rules starts to play. It seems to knock all of the seriousness out of the situation but actually makes it feel even more so with the oddness. Let us just say that the number students entering is not the same number leaving.
The premise is simple but it is still quite shocking, and it was even more so at the time to be honest as it was not so long after the Columbine massacre^[3] and so there was quite a lot of debate about school age violence. I think, since then, there have been plenty of films, such as Hostel, that fall into the torture porn territory so this feels a little more tame now. Japanese classes are quite large and often have about 40 children in them so there are plenty of kids that have to die to get to the end, and die they do in myriad ways. The benefit, from a storytelling point of view, is that there are plenty of different ways that can be shown though, of course, only one method can be successful. 

The number of kids also means that the cast is quite large and this ensemble cast have, in a few cases, gone on to bigger and better things. Notable cast members that it is interesting to see are Takeshi “Beat” Kitano (well respected film director and actor) as the class teacher, Chiaki Kuriyama (seen in Kill Bill) as a driven student, Tatsuya Fujiwara (seen in Death Note) as the protagonist Shuya, Sôsuke Takaoka (later seen in Break Out!) and Kou Shibasaki (as a girlfriend in Go) as a murderous and lonely Mitsuko. With it being such an ensemble piece, it can be tricky to grab the screen but Kou Shibasaki plays her part really excellently with a real murderous zeal which is at odds with other roles I have seen her in. Problematically, with the acting, is the style of the film itself which is not exactly a realistic depiction. Many of the deaths are very melodramatic with last breaths timed perfectly to deliver lines clearly and eyes closing and opening throughout. I think it is supposed to convey a partly dreamlike state^[4] but I can definitely appreciate that it is difficult to take the film seriously when it does this.

When the film was released in the west^[5] it built up a reputation as a mindless, fun and violent film but I think it has been misunderstood as a result. I personally think it is fairly dense with social commentary which can be lost within the fast moving action scenes. The main thread that I think runs through the film to give it that weight is just the text at the beginning explaining the high unemployment - and it is understandable that this would not be remembered. This informs the reasons why Shuya finds himself without parents and in a care home, why the scapegoating of the weak has been encouraged and the competitive urges are encouraged in the students. I especially love the depiction of friendship and how it is shown to be so weak and simultaneously strong - a motivation to both kill and protect. The girls, in particular, are shown to be lacking in trust of each other outside of their cliques and that bullying of the students, seemingly chosen at random, is shown very clearly. One scene finds a group of friends holed up in a lighthouse sticking together and cooking meals and keeping watchout as a team. As a plan goes slightly awry, the gossamer thin trust that they all had and the seething resentments come to the boil with a flurry of bullets. Interestingly, all the male killers are shown to be almost acting outside of themselves or are shown to be psychopathic so there could be some gender issues for some viewers. It also seems to be a commentary about how much society forces us all into competition, from school, and tries to enlarge differences until we feel we must crush others. It is interesting that any attempts at co-operation are basically destroyed by lone wolves who also end up being unsuccessful. In many ways, the film plays out like a game of Bomberman/Dynablaster with those that are passive at the beginning often able to get a little further. Well, my games of Bomberman anyway - until everyone gangs up on me.

I forgot how much I liked them all. 

Incidentally, I watched the Special Edition which seems to have a little more exposition which I do not always think is necessary. A little scene showing Mitsuko's childhood hinting at physical and mental abuse seemed a little too proscribed though it was incredibly creepy.

As I think is fairly clear, I really enjoyed Battle Royale and, over the years, I have rewatched it a few times as it is both very easy to watch and it is also quite thought-provoking. It contains one of my very favourite scenes in film within the lighthouse and I love the uneven treatment of the whole story as it leaves a number of unimportant questions unanswered - meaning you can think about it if you want but it is optional. It is a great film and - with caveats about violence of course - it deserves to be watched by as many people as can watch it.

Watch the trailer and decide if you are one of them:

I also reviewed the sequel here but this was done in 2003 and in a different "guise". You can read it here.

^{1. I have a little personal history for this film as I searched it out after watching (and having my mind blown by) Ringu with friends and then watched this at the Curzon Soho. As far as I can remember, this may have been the first time I searched out and watched a film with such a limited release.↩}

^{2. The book, by Koushun Takami, has a slightly different world which I do not think allows such a clear message as that world described, seems a little more removed and much more relevant for a particular type of society whereas this feels as if it is closer to the society we have. The book was recommended by a student of mine and it is sufficiently different to be enjoyed I think.↩}

^{3. Although, it is fair to say that any film released at any point in the last few decades has been in the aftermath of a senseless shooting/killing spree in the US – and often in schools, such is their problem. This particular massacre is often held up as a reason why Fight Club did poorly at release.↩}

^{4. The final deaths shown on screen are really difficult to understand as they are so unrealistic – especially where one is shot and then walks around to answer a phone call and then slump, dead, on the sofa.↩}

^{5. It struggled to find a distributor in the US, even in the wake of Kill Bill which draws from it a little, which was partially due to the level of violence and subject matter. I think this is what has allowed The Hunger Games to be released and not thought of as a massive rip-off. The writer has apparently said that she had not heard of Battle Royale but I, along with many others, am a little dubious.↩}

Memories of Murder (2003) / 살인의 추억

I've not seen a huge number of Korean films and can barely remember which ones I have seen other than the Vengeance trilogy that Oldboy is part of. Another thing that happens rarely is that people recommend films to me that are in a foreign language so this went quite high in my “interest piqued” list ^[1].

Memories of Murder is based in the South Korea of 1986 which was under a military dictatorship at the time. The timing does not seem too relevant but does explain some of the communication difficulties that seem a little odd. It is also based on a true story, but you can never be sure how truthful that means it is. Starting off, quite abruptly, in the middle of a field where a corpse is found in the middle of a rural part of Korea^[2] and kicks off a murder inquiry. The corpse found is of a young, attractive woman and there is evidence that she has been bound up, raped and murdered. Clearly, this is not common anywhere, but even less so in the small towns of Korea and so the police are not exactly best placed to deal with the investigation. They make a fist of it though showing the incompetence of their methods and brutality of gaining confessions. The main detective, played by Kang-ho Song who has been in a few better known Korean films such as “The Host”^[3] and two of the Vengeance trilogy, plays the lead detective convincingly as someone used to his methods and getting results. The first person they pick up “confesses” to the crime after a little violence meted out by the detective pairing and rehearses his confession to be taped outside. By this time, another investigator has come in to assist from the big city (Seoul) and is more than a little sceptical of the methods. The first person that is picked up is known around the town^[4] for being a little simple (or a “retard”) and so the special investigator is not convinced that he could have perpetrated such a complex crime and persuades the rest of the police team to let him go. But, of course, not until after they have embarrassed themselves in the town by publicly shaming him. As similar murders occur, and previous ones are found, the serial nature of the killings become apparent to build the tensions around.
As the rest of the film develops, the main point is about the tension between the older, simpler methods of the rural police force and the more analytical approach taken by the special investigator. Obviously, as time goes on, the more intelligent process does seem to be a little more successful but the original detective team only partake grudgingly and still think their methods work – resulting in a few more fights and beatings throughout the film. In many ways, there are some similarities with the excellent BBC series “Life on Mars” (with the ever brilliant John Simm) although achieved quite differently, the two main characters are clearly signifying instinct versus analysis.

As a film dealing with a fairly serious theme, the first half feels quite uneven in its treatment with a few moments seemingly played for comedy and it feels a little silly. The depiction of the first suspect (that has learning difficulties) seems to be almost entirely for light relief as does a lot of the violence at first. I am usually a fan of this type of flitting between seriousness and silliness but it did not seem quite right for me. It was not enough to put me off and I am glad I was not put off as once the momentum builds a bit, the second half of the film is excellent.
At the point where the analysis has yielded what appears to be a modus operandi, the tension around knowing/thinking about what will happen is really well crafted and from fairly early on, it is quite clear that major events can happen to any of the characters and so that tension is palpable.
The story is told fairly simply, with few gimmicks or tricks played on the audience so the strength of the narrative has to be sufficient to hold interest. This extends to the cinematography where there are very few flashy bits of camera work or transitions but it is made very competently – never obstructing what should be happening to the point where most will not even notice it. In that respect, it feels quite unstaged which is a great compliment for this kind of film. The story, being based on a true story, cannot stray massively from reality but it is dealt with well and still manages to be pleasingly ambiguous at the end. That, in itself is quite a bold finish to the story.

I enjoyed the film and would recommend it to those that like thrillers being a little different but to be wary of the uneven (by Hollywood standards) stylings of the first section. In fact, it may even persuade me to search out more recommendations from people I know rather than just from the wild internet.

Trailer here:

<sup>1. An entirely made up idea, but one that could be worth creating.↩
2. Gyunggi is not too far from Seoul, but the film suggests a dual Korea where there is Seoul and everything else.↩
3. This is also directed by the same person as this - Joon-ho Bong, who seems to be quite popular and so I may try to catch more of his films.↩
4. As it is a small town, everyone seems to be well known – quite a useful dramatic device but also kind of true.↩</sup>

Central Europe evaluation

Was it eastern or central and is it even important^[1]?

In September and October 2013, I went to Hungary, Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic for a holiday of sorts, and you can see them all here:

• Budapest (day 1)
• Budapest (day 2)
• Budapest (day 3)
• Vienna (day 1
• Bratislava
• Vienna (day 2)
• Brno
• Prague day 1
• Prague day 2

I'll place them in order of enjoyment, which may not be the same as how good they are. I found interesting, when looking back on it, how often I missed things or did not get the timing right and just did not plan it properly. I enjoy that aspect of it sometimes and I can get away with it to some degree but there are plenty more things I could have done with a bit more thought. I was also very fortunate with the weather and that has to have an effect. I was glad to go to all of the cities and am also happy to have changed my plans from my initial thoughts.

1. Budapest

I was really taken by Budapest and genuinely very surprised by how much I liked it as I'd only heard a little about it. The scale of the city is ideal for me as it is walkable within areas but it is not a good idea to walk across the whole thing. Architecturally, it is beautiful with well designed buildings that are expertly lit at night. I especially liked the little details in the chain bridge across the Danube. Arguably, the city is made by the Danube as it is a very pleasant width at this point and wide enough to genuinely separate the two sides and give the city an open feel that permeates through. The Pest side is nice and dense with plenty to do and bits of heritage. The castle complex on the Buda side along with Gellert Hill give a great tourist feel with great views and even some fresh feeling air. The icing on the cake was the smattering of social housing and parkland in Obuda.

Transport is excellent throughout with the evocative Millennium line to start with and trams making it easy to get around and have a view. The food was also tasty and fairly cheap with good drinks too.

Budapest is one of the few cities that I have visited that I felt there was more to see as I left and that I would like to go back to in short order. It is possibly, now, my favourite European city to visit which was previously Berlin.

2. Vienna

Vienna is a fairly modern city in many respects with modern buildings interspersed with the older ones. I enjoyed it but I was a little surprised at how small (or intimate) it felt and the more blatant aspects of the tourism industry. The coffee and cake culture has to be appealing to some so I would strongly recommend it for those people. The Danube is not quite as focal as I had hoped it would be so the city feels quite singular as a result, compared to Budapest or Prague. It did not feel quite as organic as a result and the Ringstrasse, whilst making it very simple to comprehend, did feel a little too designed. I really appreciated the cultural parts of the city and it did feel current and progressive rather than just left in stasis, overall. The Museum Quarter is a stunning realisation of what it is trying to achieve and I was glad to see that it was open to modern, accessible designers and artists along with the larger, more famous pieces. The palace is also an amazing place to have but I did not feel an emotional connection with it and so enjoyed the grounds more.

3. Prague

Busy cities can go two ways for me and Prague was just on the wrong side of it. I do not mean busy in the way London or Tokyo are - people getting around with their days and moving quickly, but a lot of tourists and tourists being baited. It felt like a lot of it was for show (even if it was not) and so I was not sure about it. The thing is though, a lot of it is genuinely stunning so even though I was flagging at this point^[2], I am still able to appreciate a lot of it in hindsight and did like it then too. The castle and old town are some of the most sumptuous places I have ever seen with the connection between the two, Charles Bridge, one of the most wonderful bridges I have ever seen. I especially like that it was pedestrianised and felt so alive but it was so busy on the first day that it was inconvenient to use. The connection with the city was helped immensely by the tour I went on and I will search out similar things in the future.

4. Brno

As a city to visit on the way somewhere it was ideal. It is definitely small enough to get around on foot and the people were pleasant and helpful. There is the cliche of it feeling more authentic (as if large cities are not real...) but it did feel different to Prague and in a way, less catered. It was not at all difficult to get around, I did not even use the extensive tram network, but it would have been better for me if I could actually have done a few things that I wanted to do! It is, again, a strollable city centre and the sights are different enough to be worth it. The food was cheap, the views were great and the coffee was lovely. I would definitely recommend it as a break although there is not a great amount to do, you can do that in a pleasant and relaxed environment. I probably had fewer frustrations here than in either Vienna or Prague but I have to consider that this was a day trip and it was not as if I missed a great deal.

5. Bratislava

It is a fairly industrial city and less than ideal as a place to see. It does have, however, an old town that seems perfect for evenings and nights out with low costs and plenty of choice. As it is quite a small city, it would be great for this and I am sure it would be a lot of fun with a group of people or if you were to use it as a base for some other trips. I am pleased that I ended up seeing Petrzalka inadvertently as it really changed my feeling about the city with the housing looking amazing in its scope. The city definitely seemed in two parts and I would imagine that the old town and castle area would be nicer but the south side ended up being a bit more memorable. I guess I would not have gone here if it were not another country, so maybe it is good if you have a completionist streak.

<sup>1. Granularity and detail are important but the point is to communicate, if nobody understands what I mean, was there any point in saying it?↩
2. I have found that in Asia, you can use the phrase "all templed out" and it will make sense to people, but I cannot think of an equivalent in Europe as they are not all quite the same, but it starts to feel like that.↩</sup>

Dancer In The Dark (2000)

“Nothing bad ever happens in musicals” 

It is not often that I watch musicals, partly for the quote above feeling true even if it is not actually true. But a paradoxical mixture of Dogme 95 and musicals (The Dogme 95 manifesto actually forbids music) has to be worth watching, especially with Bjork's one and only major acting role.

The main character is a woman, named Selma, from Czechoslovakia (at this time, that was a single country) who has moved to the USA to live her life with her pre-teenage son. She works in a factory, which she finds simple enough but getting harder and harder due to her deteriorating eyesight. She is, essentially, becoming blind and so is trying to hide that fact so that she can continue working and earning money. Little by little, she is earning money but clearly not to lavish on herself or her son as they live in a trailer at the back of a couple's home. This couple are a little more lavish due to the inheritance that they have picked up.

As in so many situations, all is not as it seems and Selma is working to earn enough to pay for a doctor to perform an operation on her son that he does not yet know he needs. Her deteriorating eyesight is hereditary and so will afflict him, something that she would like to stop and is part of the reason for moving to America - the other is her love of musicals. At the same time, her landlord is in a money trap that he dare not tell his materialistic wife about. How could that resolve itself?

I don't want to say too much but we rarely spiral up in films...

As a film, it is quite a melancholy (though maybe not quite Melancholia) one with Selma's situation played out with her slowly realising that her eyesight is going and that she is losing what she could do. The musical parts grow as her eyesight goes as she enters that dreamlike stance more readily as she escapes from her normal life - or daydreaming. Obviously, the quality of the music is dependant on your own taste for Bjork but I am a fan of hers and a fan of the music here (although the album versions, from "Selmasongs" have better singers than the film versions). As Selma explains, she hears music in the sounds and the music is usually created, or at least started from the background noises of wherever she happens to be. It is actually a jarring transition, and there are visual changes too with a slightly more saturated look and more steady camera work. I think this is to differentiate between the dreary normal life she has and the slightly more filmic image she sees in her head. Visually, the film is generally quite dour with most of it set in very simple rooms or the factory but the musical segments do have a song and dance and a particular scene on a train bridge has got a remarkable sense of movement from the nearby train. I think it is to do with the camera movement but it is a very well done scene.

The film did rather well at Cannes in 2000 and picked up the Palme d'Or, along with the Best Actress award for Björk and I was very impressed by the acting. As so much of the film is quite despairing, it had to show that feeling of defeat very clearly which I think Bjork managed sensationally. Counter-intuitively, a lot of that despair was best captured as a result of the fleeting moments of joy and happiness that you see on her face, juxtaposing with the sullen face normally. As the character goes through the film, you sense her very simple moral framework and I guess it is meant to make her seem like an innocent child although she is clearly not. There are questions of b;lame but it would be very difficult to see her as innocent although there is an element of sympathy for her situation. I found her compelling throughout and very watchable up to the bitter end.

As the film is morally dubious, it is not clear how much sympathy should be had for all of the characters but I am not sure clear delineations are either Von Trier's strong point or a real necessity in films.
It is a brilliant film with a great feeling of unease and a genuinely memorable ending. If that is not reason enough to watch it, I don't think it has much more.
It did have a very mixed reception on release, with The Guardian apparently saying it was "one of the worst films, one of the worst artworks and perhaps one of the worst things in the history of the world."

You can see the trailer here:

And the music video for "I've Seen It All" is here too:

Singaporean clubbing - and what it could mean.

I was sent this video (or a link to the video http://t.co/re1K5i8Vfa, to be more accurate), which could be of interest if you happen to be in Singapore. I was going to ignore it, as I am not a huge clubber but it could be of use to some.

Mainly, I did like the use of Darren Aronofsky style steadicam which i first saw in pi and was used more famously in the classic Requiem for a Dream. The first song in the trail was also a remix/cover of Blue Monday by New Order which is supposedly the best selling UK 12" single ever. And so incompetently (in terms of business acumen) were Factory records run that the single was sold at a loss due to the elaborate packaging. If you are interested in the story of Factory records and/or enjoy good films, I would recommend 24 Hour Party People.

Anyway, you may find the video interesting for many reasons. I did, actually, with the talking heads bit particularly fun.

Prague (day 2)

Prague Castle
It was the last day, and there was a feeling of finality in the air, although there was also a sense of laziness. I made my way toward the old town again on foot knowing there was a time factor with my flight in the evening and that I probably should have left a little earlier.
Crossing Charles Bridge was a little easier in the morning as there were fewer tourists but still quite a few more than would be ideal. Taking a similar path to the previous day, it got busier and busier as I got closer and in the castle itself it was tremendously busy. I think my motivation at this point was flagging quite a lot and the number of people really put me off. I've no idea what I thought was going to happen, but I then went and had a sit down to return in a few minutes when it was quieter.
And^[1], for some reason, it did actually get a bit quieter after I went to another place within the castle area to buy the ticket. The ticket gave access to 4 different places (St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, St. George's Basilica, Golden Lane with Daliborka Tower) which were all pleasant in their own way. The cathedral was stunning, that was obvious, but it just didn't really grab me for some reason and I went through the motions. There are some fairly obvious reasons that it could have been but I could not be sure. My energy levels were poor and the number of tourists was getting me down a bit. I'm not sure it was helped by being the tail end of the trip over all and I was thinking of how to fit things together to get to airport. It also may not have helped that at the end of a week seeing similar (but, in all honesty, not as impressive) buildings had made me a little jaded but I was still a bit disappointed. Was I disappointed in myself or the city?

The last part was in a little section called Golden Lane where there were small shops and a few exhibits about weaponry. At this point, it really felt like a tourist attraction without the sheen and was a bit like a museum shop. Again, I know that it is all touristy but sometimes it feel like they've not quite done enough to hide the curtain (a little like the horses in Vienna).

Lokal to International
I made my way back into town via a view of the Charles Bridge, for a little late lunch at one of the places that had been too busy last night. Klara had directly recommended a place called Lokal so I headed there and was able to get a seat.
At that point, I decided I could probably go to one more place before the metro and bus combination to Prague airport. That place was the Powder Tower which was actually one of the first things I'd seen the day before. It was not too big but it was central and had good views on a clear day. Prague was a pretty city but even now I felt I'd not done it justice and had a bit of buyer's remorse.

I made my way to the airport where I was flying from the non-Schengen^[2] terminal back to London on British Airways. I'd flown on BA before, long-haul^[3], and not been impressed but I was happy to be on a full service airline again. They treated me with respect and put service front and centre. I had some more things in my bag since I flew into Budapest and so I wanted to put my bag in to the hold and take my camera with me onto the flight. I explained this at check-In as I also had a tripod attached to the bag and was unsure about it. Rather handily, I was told I could take it all on as hand luggage, if I'd prefer, as that would save me time. I did so and was not charged for it, let alone a disproportionate amount as some airlines would do.
The flight was simple enough but I can't deny I was pleased to see London in the night. Sometimes you have to say obvious things, sometimes you forget and sometimes you just have to restate your assumptions. London is massive. It really is. To see the carpet of lights having left a major city really does bring it home how the scale differs.
I do always kind of love coming back and quite ridiculously enjoy the painful journey from Heathrow^[4] - I think when that changes for me, something will have changed within me. Until that happens, I'll keep it going.

Prague 2013 day 2 - click for photo album

<sup>1. This should not happen should it? Starting a paragraph with a conjunction has to be even worse than starting a sentence in such a way. Well, it has a purpose and I am aware that it is rule breaking – so what could that mean?↩
2. This is where there is an almost borderless policy between countries in the EU.↩
3. In 2003, I flew to Toronto and Tokyo and both times the entertainment was a little messed up - annoying for longer flights and even more so in those days.↩
4. Incidentally, I also used the e-passport gates when returning and it was nice and easy. I was somewhat more beardy than in my photo so was a bit wary of it working, but work it did. Lovely.↩</sup>

Entertainment - SEKAI NO OWARI

I don't listen to much Japanese music and don't really keep up with it at all. The fact is, the people I know in Japan that were really into music mainly listened to foreign bands so I didn't get much info.

Sometimes, it is just quite hard to explain why you like something and it appears contrary to what you think you like. This may be one of those times, it may not. I did persuade one person to listen to a bit of one song and the question I was asked was "That is a girl, right?".
The band themselves supposedly got popular through a song called "Starlight Parade" which was used in an advert for ^[1] and it was also the first song I heard on television (this is explained at the end in a separate section) and it is appropriately advert friendly being quite catchy although eventually feeling a little empty. It is also the first proper song on the album, although it is preceded by an "Entrance" track.
As a fairly long album, it weaves through to the end via quite a few styles although all rooted in an "indie-ish" punk sound with significant elements of polish. The album is overall, quite a mixture of speeds and instrumentation so it is quite hard to pin down.
This seems to be a fairly central theme in the Japanese pop culture that I have consumed and enjoyed of late but I cannot be sure that this is a particularly central thing in reality. In fact, that is one of the things about listening to music isolated from the culture - it can be hard to know what it means within that culture or the time without a true context^[2]. I have later been told that the band are very popular amongst "young people" - a euphemism I'd imagine!
Fittingly, I had a mild addiction to the album as a whole when I first heard it and I always consider the repeat playing of songs or albums to be teenage and it is a really coherent album with simple, clear hooks. The different sounds and the production style is very fun and sing-a-long throughout (linguistic issues aside) and feels quite carefully crafted. The polish comes from the use of quite spacey post-effects with twinkling, tingling starfalls being implied and the use of many other instruments such as xylophones and piano/keyboards. To be honest, it is probably the production that has elevated the album and I am quite ready to fall for gimmicks and suchlike at time. The last track (深い森/Fukai Mori), for instance has two sections to it and there is not a smooth split between the two but the first section just sounds as if it broken by the second and it is not a smooth transition at all. I loved it and it made me smile - a rarity.
The linguistic issues will be there for a lot of people, understandably, as the album is sung in Japanese (apart from a few sections). My understanding is probably not sufficient to get the lyrics but I was quite struck by how the meaning was still fairly clear without knowing the words. Nemuri Hime[眠り姫] for example has a simultaneously upbeat and downbeat feel to it, as if the happiness is muted and it is actually about (as far as I can make out, anyway) the sadness the singer feels when he is happy, as he knows that happiness will cease in the future. I think that is a relatively complex idea but it was still hinted at musically.
Why not have a listen?

Songs such as Fight Music, 生物学的幻想曲 (Seibutsu-teki Gensōkyoku) and Fantasy drive along with pace, where others feel more sedate and mournful. It is a good mix and one I would recommend to those that are open to it.
Although this has been on my playlist since May, I have been quite unsure about how much of a fleeting enjoyment it would prove to be but it has been a few months and I am still not bored of it so i feel a lot more comfortable with recommending it.


How did I come across this?
There is a programme called J-Melo[link] on NHK-World that I record (amongst a few other things) and then usually forward through and see nothing of note on. I think I have been doing that for a few years and, other than a few songs that were not bad, it is a fruitless task to try and listen to decent music like this. The majority of bands on there very much fall into J-pop and that is not really my favourite of genres. Actually, the presenter, May-J is also a pop star (of sorts, not sure how popular) and she sometimes sings and usually interviews some people.
I usually "watch" J-Melo with my back to it or doing something else and listening to it as if it is radio and so I only look over if my interest is piqued. Apart from the strange costumes of SEKAI NO OWARI, I was also struck by the fact that the interview was done in (imperfect) English. The interview was superb and I actually laughed out at one answer, delivered by the drummer in a clown mask - which is actually what made me continue watching. May J looked genuinely perplexed at the answer and it was brilliant. Upon being asked about why they made music and appealing to foreign fans, the band members spoke in turn of wanting to connect with different cultures and wanting to learn from them. The drummer (to paraphrase):

I want to grow as a person. Not just mentally but physically too. I want to be taller.

^{1.Adverts have a little musical note icon and the name of the song noted on the advert itself when it plays on TV, so it is easy to find out what song is used and who it is by.↩}

^{2.For example, I remember quite liking the first Babyshambles album when it came out but that I did so oblivious to the circus surrounding Pete Doherty at the time and so many friends were somewhat surprised I could like it. I wonder if I would have had I been in the middle of the stories too.↩}

Prague (day 1)

Getting in, to the Museum of Communism
Brno had been pleasant but it was really a pleasant diversion, on the way to the Czech capital. Prague is a city that I had heard so much about as a tourist place and I was looking forward to it greatly.
First of all, I had to get there which I did by coach as it was a little quicker than the train and seemed to be easier. The ride was alright actually with seat back entertainment although not quite the legroom of course. There are benefits to coach travel compared to rail sometimes and the views were interesting once I got nearer to the city. One thing I found interesting (other than little snippets of pixel “street” art) was that the architecture on the outskirts was a little shinier and glassier than I had seen in the rest of the week^[1].

The bus station is in Florenc which is not too far from the city centre so I walked down there to go to the Museum of Communism. This is an interesting museum that has been set up for showing the life under communism which it does with a fairly small set of exhibits but it does tell a decent story. There is also a very good video there about the Velvet Revolution which saw the overthrow of the communist government in 1989 as the winds of change swept through Eastern Europe. It had quite a strange view of the history which could be explained by the fact that the founder is an American businessman [link] and so I can't help but feel it is a little exploitative and possibly disingenuous. The museums is rather strangely based in the same building as a casino and, comically, opposite a McDonald's which, according to TripAdvisor reviews, is hilarious and “ironic”. Another apparently “ironic” thing is that the museum has a gift shop.

Extravaganza Tour
In the museum, I had seen a few leaflets and so I wanted to join a free walking tour  that was setting off from the Old Town Square at 3 (Staroměstské náměstí - corner with Pařížská Street in front of Cartier shop) so I made my way there after a spot of lunch. I had never been on a walking tour at all, let alone a “free” one so I was not exactly sure what to expect. When I got to the Old Town Square, I noticed it was rammed full of people but I did eventually find a tour guide with a blue umbrella – and she was not exactly surrounded by people. After my experience of being unpopular in Brno (link), I was wary but when we spoke, she was very pleasant and said that she would start, and do, the tour even if I was the only one on it. Her name was Klara and she was very interesting and informative so I can thoroughly recommend her tours [link]. She asked me where I was from before the tour and I said “London” as I am now wont to do^[2] but without the mulling over of that question as I had previously done. She said that she liked London and had lived and worked there for a few years (near Wimbledon if I recall correctly) which was good for me as she was able to relate things to London (and GBP) as we walked around. We were joined, before the tour, by another tourist (henceforth rz1) who was from France but was living in Bratislava, which I had visited a few days earlier. As there were just the two of us on this tour, we spoke a fair amount too so it was pretty interesting to get the perspectives of different people. Klara had a spiel to go through as well as her normal conversation which was quite nice actually as you could see that she knew her stuff and she was also able to bring her own personality, and experience, into it. She explained the route would go through the Old Town^[3], Jewish Quarter, Charles Bridge, Lesser Town and Prague Castle. The Charles Bridge was a halfway point so we could split off then or continue but it was also a point where more people could join the tour if they so wished.

Touring
Klara was able to explain a little of the history of Prague and the religious backdrop to much of it. The Old Town Square has many features but the one that caught my eye was the Astronomical Clock (Prague orloj). It is absurdly complicated and detailed and can (accurately, it seems) tell the time, the date, sun position and times of sunrise and sunset.

The Old Town is also closely connected with the Jewish Quarter which is by the river. The reason for this is that this used to be one of the worst places to be in Prague in the past due to floods and poor ground and so the Jewish community were essentially banished here. As defences increased and the area was built upon (especially after it was supposedly remodelled in the style of Paris up to 1913), it has now become one of the more sought after areas of Prague. The Jewish community had been pretty poorly treated and were forced, as later in Nazi Germany, to wear the star of David on their clothing. When the Nazis did occupy, they didn't destroy the area but bizarrely preserved the area. The reason? It was to be retained as a historical artefact – it was to be museum of an extinct race. This meant that many Jewish items from around Europe were collected here to be exhibited later. The idea is quite ghoulish but the number of Jews in Prague, and many of the other cities in Central Europe with Jewish histories is pretty low actually.
In order to get to the Lesser Town and castle, we would have to cross the river and we did so across the Charles Bridge – a pedestrianised tourist attraction like no other I have seen. We also picked up some more tourists – a couple from Denmark.
Lesser Town is really just the outer part of the Castle area and there was not a huge amount to see there but the Castle was excellent. There was not time to look around it with much depth but Klara did explain some of the history and relevance of certain things there so it was interesting. The Cathedrals within the castle walls were stunning and I would return later, I vowed.

Tour's End
The tour finished and as the Danish couple went away (they lived in Prague but had done part of the tour before and so just joined for the second half – I was very impressed that Klara remembered them from a few weeks back.) I chatted with rz1. He was a nice guy and it was interesting to hear his perspectives on Bratislava and Prague, amongst other things. We were heading the same way – back to the Old Town so we did so together. I forget what we talked about, but as we got to the Old Town, it was close to “the hour” and so we waited by the astronomical clock, with about hundred other people, to see the clock putting on a show. Klara had been quite opinionated about the quality, or lack of, of some of the things we had seen so she was not the kind of guide that just said everything was amazing. Which is why we were both pretty shocked at what a non-event the chimes were. There were plenty of camera flashes and lots of filming but there was not much to see – just a little bit of statue movement. It was a massive anti-climax.

The two of us then went on to find something to eat which was made easier by the TripAdvisor website/mobile phone application and the fact that rz1 spoke a little Slovak. We ended up in a pub of sorts after finding that some of the places we thought looked good were a little too busy. I felt it was an interesting dinner but one conversation that I remember was a lament of sorts. We spoke about different countries we had been to and I mentioned that I had taught in Japan [link] many years ago when I was looking for work and something to do. He mentioned that it was easier for us native English speakers in that situation as whereas someone like Klara, our guide, in that situation had travelled to London and worked in bars and cafes for the experience, I was able to go to a totally different continent and secure a relatively well-paid job doing something that gave me skills. I had not really thought of it before but it really wrung true and I felt very fortunate. It is not that often I feel fortunate, although I know I should, so it was kind of eye-opening. He did not say it with any bitterness, at all, rz1 was working in Bratislava and was using English on a daily basis himself. It was just an interesting point.
I was then invited, bizarrely, to a Salsa club which I said I'd go to for a drink but I was obviously not going to dance. And I still had my bags so I had a decent enough excuse – I had been walking all day basically. The directions to the Salsa “bar” were not exactly clear but we eventually worked out where it was and made our way there with a few lost detours. It was actually a salsa class so when we walked in, a lesson was going on but it eventually became a normal bar with dancing. I spoke to a few other people – one of whom became very quickly a trip favourite. She said, without any real prompting, that she loved London and felt very comfortable there. That she would choose to go there compared to anywhere else and that she always felt very welcome there with the cultures and that the British people were friendly, warm and welcoming. It was pretty funny and I explained that people outside London in the UK think of us as rude^[4], cold and unwelcoming but she was adamant. I wasn't going to complain too hard...
After a while, I left as I did want to sleep a little before my last day. I was pretty tired, but I only had one more day so I just needed to push myself a bit more. A little bit more – it wasn't even going to be a full day as I had to be at the airport by about 7pm.

Prague 2013 day 1 - click for photo album

<sup>1. In hindsight, as much as I loved Budapest, as I left it did strike me that there was not much that could be considered new – or at least designed new rather than heritage. I think that is fine for a smaller city but the lack of variety would detract from the overall experience in a longer trip I think.↩
2. As explained in Budapest [link], I now feel a lot more comfortable saying London rather then the UK.↩
3. The Old Town is obviously genuinely old but I did like the way that the “New Town” (or Nové Město) was founded in 1348 and so was not what we would necessarily consider new. I guess it is all relative.↩
4. One of my genuine annoyances is people telling me, knowing I am from London, that people from London are really unfriendly and rude. As if telling other people that they are not nice is showing the social skills of a friendly person. This is either from people living elsewhere trying to justify that where they live is better than where I live or from people living in London explaining why they won't live here forever. I find this intensely annoying.↩</sup>

Brno

It was another early start again from Vienna by train to Brno. The ride was fairly short at just shy of 3 hours and as pleasant as these rides always are, and this time it was also in an old style cabin seat rather than open plan.

Introduction
Brno is the second largest city in the Czech republic after Prague and has not got a huge tourist reputation – definitely nowhere near Prague's level. I actually did not hear from a single person that they had been to Brno and so I was going in a little blind^[1] based purely on a link from a little Tripadvisor thread I read when researching how to get from Vienna to Prague. It is a fairly ridiculous reason, but it was only a day and I think I would have considered something like this as a day trip.
Once I got into Brno, I found my way to what looked like the main square (Namesti Svobody or Freedom Square) after finding a cash machine. Changing money for the third time did make me wish for some kind of single currency across the continent for convenience's sake. I'm not sure if it would cause some other problems though. It was empty in the square and there seemed to be some kind of not quite started festival of sorts being done there. I made my way to a cafe with my bags (called Galerie Cafe) and ordered some coffee and breakfast to find out that it was also “Brno coffee week” which meant that there was a special map and some competition that I could not take part in. The map was pretty handy though. Again, not a huge amount to see in Brno but the map would help me find the cafes from which to get some form of refreshment.

When I got my change, I did notice something and that was that the coins were very ordered. By this I mean that each coin which was worth less was smaller than the previous one. I had not seen/noticed this before^[2] and did this time only as my change seemed to have all types of coins. Putting all the coins together, there seemed a “jump” in size so I hypothesised that I was missing a coin so I did something a little out of the ordinary (extraordinary seems such an inappropriate word) and asked the waitress if there was a missing coin. I have no idea how she understood what I meant or what she must have thought of me but she did humour me and gave me a 2 Kurona piece. It fits!

Hrad Spliberk
Brno Castle (Hrad Spliberk) is home to Kasematy – a prison complex which was also used by the Nazis during their occupation. It was actually considered one of the hardest prisons of the Austro-Hungarian empire and has been part of the castle fortress for most of its life. It is recreated, sort of, here although I guess it is a little hammed up. Now it also contains the Brno City Museum.
It was a bit out of the way but I did enjoy it, and it always helps when you are a little elevated. As it was not a popular (in that there were not many there when I was) place, the feeling of emptiness made it feel a little more eerie which kind of helped.

From there, I followed the path set out on the tourist map to go via St Thomas's Abbey which was where some major intellectual breakthroughs in genetics were made by Gregor Johann Mendel which are commemorated with a small museum. A little garden outside, which I liked, showed Begonias in differently coloured quadrants to show the heredity of that colouration and dominant traits. The “tourist path” marked on the map did take me through an area that you would not think was for tourists as it was unmarked but I was asked, without prompting, if I needed some help whilst walking. I didn't, but I really appreciate that kind of thing and I would imagine most people do – so it left me with a very positive impression of the city^[3] and people.
From there, I made my way to the hotel by walking through the city which is always a good way of getting a handle on a place. As the city is not so big, relatively, I was able to walk across fairly comfortably and did not even need to use the tram network that seemed so good. I went through the Cabbage Market area which is supposedly a sight of sorts. The name was pretty accurate and so I wonder how much of a tourist place it is. Or in fact whether it operates well as a market of veg. I don't really know what the prices are like everywhere though.

The importance of being unpopular
My hotel was on the outskirts of the centre of the city so I decided to route myself towards there and then onto Villa Tugendhat - some futurist housing that is the only example of modern architecture in the Czech Republic on the UNESCO World Heritage list. I'd heard it was very popular but it ended up being a waste of time as it wasn't, and it was not open for a tour. Looking online afterwards, I am not sure I missed a huge amount there.

The main thing I wanted to see in Brno, before I came, was the Brno Underground. It took me a bit of time to find it as was not where it was supposed to be on the map but I did find it, just before one of the tours – which was inadvertently great timing. Or so I thought until the woman at the ticket office said that they need a minimum number of people to do the tour and I was the only one there. Apparently, one is not the minimum – it was four. I was advised to return later (although two more people did arrive in the interim - still insufficient).
Petrov Cathedral (Cathedral of Peter and Paul) dominates the skyline and so that was next on my route and it was very impressive. Well, it was impressive for a city like Brno but with the other places I had seen, it was a smaller version of some larger cathedrals really! I did like the colouring and the view though. I then returned to Brno Underground after a quick coffee. I returned, but nobody else did and this time I really was the only one. This is the thing about being an unpopular person that likes unpopular things – sometimes you just do not get the benefits of other people. If I was travelling in a group, we probably would have got in, but then they probably would not have wanted to go anyway...
The only thing left to do was to retire for the night after dinner so that I would be able to go to Prague with some form of energy. I went to a very nice restaurant called Tulip which also happened to be near my hotel where I had a tasty fish meal and some very polite service.
I was still unsure how to get to Prague the next day but it was not too far and the coaches and trains were near each other, I was sure I could work it out the next day...

Brno 2013 - click for photo album

<sup>1. And deaf, it was pronounced as Brunn, as in the German name, and so misunderstood when buying tickets phonetically...↩
2. I wonder if this is common in many countries actually, has anyone noticed? In the UK, the coin sizes, overall, seem unrelated to the value but I cannot say I have given this much thought. I would appreciate it if anyone could tell me where this happens.↩
3. Whenever I have been asked if I am lost in other cities, it makes me have quite positive feelings which can really colour that trip for me. I try to repay the favour in London and regularly offer guidance if people seem lost. To be honest, people rarely accept my help but I hope that they take away a positive memory about those that live in London. There are times when I should not speak to strangers though – I am learning this slowly – especially at the Barbican when they are ranting about the problems of British culture.↩</sup>

Vienna (day 2)

From wandering about in Vienna, one thing I noticed on postcards was the Schonbrunn Palace which was in the south west of the city.
Vienna was the old capital of the Hapsburg empire and they had a particularly ostentatious style that was laid down onto the capital. The ringstrasse, that the night run was around I saw on day 1, was created to that end as it became home to wonderful building after wonderful building. As a shot in the architectural arms race, it was successful but it was not somewhere that the Imperial family necessarily wanted to live. For that, they built a palace with grounds.

Schonbrunn Palace interior
I went fairly early on the metro and there is a dedicated stop for the palace, with the appropriately named Schonbrunn^[1] station on the U4 line, which is a little walk away from the entrance. Although it was a weekday morning, there were enough people to make the walk annoying and slow mainly because most people there seemed to be part of huge groups touring. The grounds were large enough to hold the numbers but the inside was a bit too busy to enjoy fully.

As you walk in the ticket office, there are an array of different choices for ticket combinations (which you can buy online here) that allow access to different rooms and attractions - the main reason seems to be to make the more expensive combinations seem reasonable. This is a classic tactic as you always think that is only a small incremental cost for what appears to be a big gain. I think this is basically how Sky persuade people to spend eye-watering sums to watch TV - upselling. Anyway, it kind of worked and I paid for the "middle" experience which covered some things outside the palace as well as the palace itself.
As sumptuously decorated as the rooms undoubtedly are^[2], I found it a little tricky to feel really engaged with the place. This may be a personal point but the rooms felt a little bereft of intellectual grandeur due to what they were. And what they were, in my opinion, were recreations of reality - recreations made, paradoxically, by the real items in most cases. But it all felt so removed as a reminder of the past behind glass, or more likely clear perspex, and with hundreds of people doing the same route. There is an element of theme-parkism in tourist attractions like this but it was not disguised well enough here for me. There are quite a lot of rooms showing what the conditions were that the family lived in and an audioguide is provided as part of the ticket so there is plenty of information but I felt a bit removed. The segments on the audio about the relatively sparse (relative to the rooms and how hard the Hapsburg family worked for the people seemed at odds with the ostentatiousness of the rooms and general décor throughout. I'm not sure I can appreciate royal/imperial palaces so much, and I guess this is brought home to me by the visit to Austrian parliament where it felt genuinely evocative of something I cared about and vaguely positive. This just reminds of the unequal nature of history. As I say though, a personal view as it is a clearly a stunning set of rooms and palace in general. The multiple, massive tour groups probably didn't help and I find that these larger groups, usually older too, are totally oblivious to the annoyance they can cause.

Schonbrunn Palace exterior
The grounds were much more interesting for me for a few reasons although the weather definitely helped. I appreciated the extra space and the fact that it did not seem such a draw to the larger groups. The gardens are fairly open to the public although I had paid for access to three separate areas within the gardens - Gloriette, a pergola and the mazes. The palace grounds are also home to the Tiergarten which is the oldest zoo in the world which I did not get a ticket for^[3].
Before I went toward the Gloriette and panorama, I headed to the Pergola. I had only recently learnt what a pergola was due to my stumbling across one in Hampstead Heath which I really enjoyed. This one, although it required a ticket, was not quite as good, or large, as the one in Hampstead Heath but it was still pleasant. I particularly enjoyed the little "tunnels"  around the border that were made of plants which were slightly cooler and shaded and allowed some komorebi^[4] which I always enjoy.
From the small Pergola, I then started to walk around the gardens (which are free to enter) which were very enjoyable. The gardens are really lovely but I was struck as to how highly ordered it was as a space - almost as if part of the remit was to conquer nature and make it do the designer's bidding. I really loved the trees especially as they had been cut and shaped to make them flat within the path. It is a strange effect and one that I had not seen before but I found it really compelling so I kind of soaked it in a bit - and also enjoyed some more komorebi. There were some other fountains and attractions but I made my way to the panorama point which is up a massive slope to the Gloriette (which is a building built on an elevated point). The view is sensational as the palace is, on its own, a great building but it is also great to see it from above and with the city in the background. The ticket to the Gloriette itself does afford a slightly better view but it is not much better and so I would not necessarily say the ticket is worth it.

Once you get back to the palace level, near the zoo, there is a little ticketed section devoted to the maze and labyrinth which are also quite fun. I have recently discovered that I quite like getting, or feeling a little lost^[5] when I am watching films or playing games so it was a good test to see if I did. I did quite enjoy being lost and there were some interesting features at the dead-ends so I got actively lost a few times. The labyrinth was a little too long though, as the walls were a bit lower, you could always see the exit which was frustrating - which I guess is kind of the point! It reminded me, very much, of Unfinished Swan.

Kunst
Within Vienna, I only now really wanted to see some of the interesting cultural sights after seeing the Museums Quartier. There was clearly a lot more to see in Vienna than I was allowing myself to, but I thought I would make my way to the Kunsthaus Wien (via the train station to buy a ticket for my trip to Brno).
Kunsthaus Wien is an art gallery/museum  that is almost entirely dedicated to Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. There is a permanent collection of his and he helped to create the museum in his own image. It was an interesting building with a distinct Gaudi feeling with the use of cracked  tiling and bright colours which also included some of the approach to the museum as well as the building itself. I enjoyed the collection as it is much closer to the type of art that I like, aesthetically and there was little apparent, classical influence with the bright colours. As it was quite subjective, I liked trying to pull shapes and feature out of a lot of the work but much of it was fairly forgettable too. Reading some of the spiel and ideas, he did sound like a bit of an idiot actually and he espoused quite a lot of nonsense about denouncing "rationalism" and the straight line. The floors of the museum are not flat as he suggests that this is more natural if they are undulating. It was quite silly, and inconvenient to be honest but it was quite striking. The similarities with Gaudi were too. I have to say though, due to some of the nonsense that I read, it felt more ridiculous and effected than other artists' work that I have liked, but I did still enjoy it and it was an experience.

Museums Quartier
I was running out of time a little to really enjoy the Museums Quartier that I had been through the other day. Even so, i felt that I could get to the Leopold museum and mumok which I was drawn to because of the building more than anything else.
The Leopold museum contains a lot of interesting pieces by many artists but the main works seem to be by Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt, both of whom created vaguely modern pieces which I enjoyed. The Leopold museum is quite large and there are plenty of pieces by other artists to of the 20th century and I had to rush through as it was closing early due to a private event. The basement, which was devoid of other people, had some nice abstract swashes of colour which I liked actually, but I am never really sure why.

I spent a bit more time in mumok (museum moderner kunst) as it was a bit larger and I felt I had a bit more time. It is quite a mixed space with sculpture, paintings, video and photos falling within its remit. It also has a number of temporary exhibitions so I would imagine that it would be interesting to come back every so often. Internally, it is a nice, big, white space so the artwork is very clearly defined and there were not so many people visiting ^[6] so it is quite relaxed. The art is not always so relaxed. In particular, there was one sculpture of a naked, dead woman which I found quite disconcerting, similar to this (but no perspex). Well, I think she was dead. I think the website gives a better idea of what kinds of things were there but it was an enjoyable couple of hours.
After the galleries, I wandered around the quarter to no real purpose and returned, ready for an early train to Brno - The Czech Republic's second city.

Vienna 2013 Day 2 - click for photo album

<sup>1. Apparently, the closer station is actually Hietzing - it must at least be less busy.↩
2. As in quite a few places in Central Europe, photographs are not allowed inside the palace.↩
3. I don't really see the point of going abroad to zoos, or generally things that I feel I could do fairly simply at home in London - though of course I know the quality could be higher.↩
4. This is a word that I have learnt recently which I saw in a list of words that apparently have no English translation. It means the interplay between the sun's light and trees/leaves and, since reading the word, I am much more conscious of it which has actually allowed me to enjoy it more. This ties in with one of my early beliefs about the power of NewSpeak from Nineteen-Eighty-Four, the strongest idea in the book for me, whereby language is restricted to enable thoughts to also be restricted.↩
5. I think it is a recent occurrence of being conscious of enjoying that confused lost feeling. And also seeing the destruction of a person mentally. See any reviews for examples.↩
6. for example, I do not think I can handle more than one floor at a time at the Tate Modern due to the numbers of people always there.↩</sup>