CHAPTER IV
KARLS-RUHE
GALLERY OF THE HAMBURG KUNSTHALLE
We woke up around midday. Yes, it was already daytime, but we were tired after a hard night. I looked like a skinned cat. The scratches from women’s nails shone harmoniously and clearly on my shoulders. My right knee hurt a little, and the skin on my knee was slightly worn away. I had received all these injuries at night, when I accidentally hit the headboard with my knee, but my health in general was excellent, and my mood was in harmony with the sunbeams that broke through the glass windows in our bedroom.
There she was, the woman of my dreams. My love. Goddess. The beauty of this whole world, peacefully sleeping next to me. Yes, I did not want to wake Lena and my eyes contemplated this beautiful picture of our morning bedroom. Our clothes were scattered all over the room in a chaotic manner. I lifted our blanket a little. We were completely naked and slept huddled together in our birthday suits.
Such relaxation. A state of flight and some kind of bliss. It seemed to me that I would grow wings now and the two of us would fly high into the sky.
We were lying on a large bed, which was very reminiscent of something French from the region of France. A huge bed with forged steel backs. The metal of the backs themselves was forged and twisted into some kind of ornament. This entire metal structure was covered with wood with powerful wooden legs, which were huge wooden bars and on each bar at the top there was a round ball. The powerful construction of the bed was impressive. Made conscientiously.
About 30 minutes passed like this. My sweetheart was sleeping soundly, and I wanted to reach the phone with my right hand, which was lying on a small wooden nightstand and vibrating, but I couldn’t reach it. The vibration signal on the phone disappeared. Someone was persistently calling…
A few minutes later, Lena woke up and, still sleepy, looked at me and a smile appeared on her face.
Good morning, my love, I said and smiled back at her.
Lena, in a very quiet, sleepy voice, said hello. After some time, we changed our position on the bed. I pulled Lena closer to me with my hands, as close as possible, and kissed her. Her left hand was lying on my right shoulder. Very pleasant morning sensations, when your beloved girl is lying practically on top of you and you are trying to wake up and get out of bed. There was absolutely no desire to get up and crawl out from under the warm blanket.
As a result, we woke up at one o’clock in the afternoon. Lena went to the bathroom, and at that time I took the phone. Put on jeans. Went to the kitchen and turned on the kettle, and then went to the living room, where I turned on the TV and the apartment filled with music from the hit parades of German TV. Made a couple of calls to indicate to my relatives that I was alive and well, but now I was in another city with my beloved woman. The relatives were a little stunned and surprised, but I absolutely did not give a damn about any of them. To hell with them all, I thought. How tired I am of them all, so that I never see them again, I thought. Lena got out of the shower and still shone like a night star and went to the kitchen. At that time, I lightly ran into the bathroom to freshen up, wash my face and brush my teeth. At that time, my comrade and friend from Greece, David, my fellow believer and guide, who showed me all the hot spots in the city of Frankfurt am Main, called me. We agreed that we should definitely meet at a bar and maybe go somewhere to have fun. That’s it, David, don’t be bored, I’ll see you again and I hung up on the phone.
After some time, we were sitting in the living room and drinking freshly brewed coffee with Lena. The aroma of coffee spread throughout the apartment and crashed into our sense of smell, which was clearly heightened in the morning after a stormy night. A very hot, strong and invigorating smell of coffee woke us up completely.
I thought that we could get by with the most ordinary and instant coffee, but Lena was trying, maybe she wanted to surprise me. We started getting ready. I bowed to Lena and said: “You know how to make awesome coffee.” I hugged her tightly and kissed her, and then kissed her palm.
We had plans to go to the Kunsthalle art museum in the city of Karls-Ruhe and see the gallery that Lena promised to show. The state was spiritual, because it was time to touch art, to touch the paintings of old masters, to touch art and see everything with my own eyes, to see the masterpieces of world artists.
We did all this and at about 15:00 we were finally able to leave the house and go down from the fourth floor. We did it, damn it, I thought. Downstairs, next to the house where Lena lived, her friend Vanessa was waiting for us. Vanessa had a Canon camera with her, it was obvious that she loved photography and some time ago she worked or earned extra money in a studio doing photo shoots. Vanessa was, in a sense, an amazing girl. Very fast and strong. She did sports for a long time, but then quit. Track and field. Triathlon. Running. Pole vaulting. Sand jumping. Women’s athletics in all its glory, which was emphasized by Vanessa’s figure. Strong legs, rounded hips. A sculpted belly, or rather a sculpted athletic female figure. Short hair. Brunette, with curly hair, and the ends of her hair were dyed light. Green-brown, hazel eyes depending on the lighting. The three of us were walking along the street past the park and decided to go through the park and find a cafe to have a bite to eat before visiting the Hamburg Kunsthalle gallery." When we were walking through the park, Vanessa stopped us with a gesture and pointed to a place suitable for filming. I didn’t know or understand German very well. My level of German was in understanding certain German words and expressions, which built up the entire semantic load in my thoughts. Somehow it worked for me. The brain itself somehow built up the meaning based on certain words, based on a meager vocabulary, but it worked and it was enough for me. The same situation was with English. All the rest of the work was done by the translator on the phone. I simply asked to write me a text in English or German, and the translator on the phone showed me the translated text in Russian. Although, what is important is that when I studied at the university and went to English courses, I showed an average, and sometimes high score, but in life all this does not work.
When you get into a language environment where people live who speak German or English, then you cannot understand at all what they say to you or only after some time you begin to understand the words, and then the phrases that are said to you, but not always, the more complex the phrase, then you need a translator in the phone.
Vanessa, she stopped us in the park and I understood from her words what she wanted? Work (arbeiten); to do (tun); movement (bewegung); photo (foto)?
Anyway, Vanessa, we talked for a long time and in the end it was not all clear what needed to be done. She took my iPhone and wrote in it in German what was required of me for the photo. Everything became clear to me. To take some unusual photos. Improvisation is needed. Surrealism.
Vanessa, okay. I heard you, what should I do that is so unusual, I thought?
In the end, I picked up Lena in my arms. Lena put her arms around my neck and crossed her fingers.
I said loudly in German so that Vanessa could hear: “Wir sind bereit”! It turned out to be the first wonderful photo from our portfolio, but we did not stop there. With a deft movement of my hands, I sat Lena on my shoulder. Lena seemed very light, an airy girl, but how much did she weigh? 50 kilograms or maybe 55 kilograms? It seemed to me that Lena was airy and weighed nothing at all.
Yes, this was our second photo. Vanessa took a huge number of shots on a Canon camera, 50 or 100 at a time, to choose the best photo.
In the end, we all started laughing. Passers-by or people who were walking in the park with children looked at us and also smiled. We are young. It was all fun. We performed all these different gymnastic figures. In the end, there was a cool photo. Very difficult to do. Yes, it looked something like this. Lena raised her right leg 90 degrees. I grabbed her leg with my huge hands and pretended to bite her left breast with my teeth. We almost fell. Vanessa shouted something so that we could record this scene of madness and debauchery and get great shots and photos on the camera!
We walked around the park for a while. Vanessa took another 1500 photos of some people, dogs, children and cats. A real artist. She was looking for the perfect shot for her professional photography exhibition.
After some time, we settled down at a small table in a cafe with an epic German name “Hunting Grounds” or something like that. Perhaps the name itself is some kind of German joke or folklore “Swaja igich” or something like that. We had a small snack there. We waited a long time for the waiter, who did not want to come up to us so that we could pay the bill. In the end, the bill was very modest - 30 euros and our order was not much at all.
Somewhere near this cafe, our paths with Vanessa diverged. I asked Vanessa as a joke before we parted, where is that Jamaican rum that she stole from us?, but it turned out that the Jamaican rum ran out on the train when we were traveling between Frankfurt am Main and Karls-Ruhe. We laughed a little about the topic that we are complete alcoholics and, Vanessa, got on the bus and left our company. Aufiedersein!
All this moment of truth was approaching, with every minute, and Lena and I set off on our final journey to learn art.
No matter how many paintings you look at, each time a new understanding appears from what you see, you will feel the style of the artists, you will see with your own eyes the skill and fears of the artists and how amazing it looks, each artist is unique, individual and has his own style. Many people think that it is impossible to understand this, since there is an incredible number of paintings around the world. Millions and millions of paintings, but this is not so. In paintings, as in books, there are world classics. For example, like Fyodor Dostoevsky, who is read all over the world and known by everyone. Van Gogh Vincent painting “Sunflowers” is also known all over the world and, if you do this fascinating business, then over time you will come to both understanding and knowledge and the desire to see and study more paintings and artists. To see the European classical school of artists. To understand different styles.
We came to the gallery and it was already about 17:00. Time always flies so quickly in galleries and is not noticeable that in the end you want to go back, since it is impossible to see everything and understand the depth of art in six hours.
By the way, Vanessa said that Lena was an introvert in life, that it takes a lot of effort to get her out of the house, but in my opinion, Lena was not an introvert, but it seemed that she was an easy-going person, but perhaps it is love that turns everything upside down for people. You were an introvert yesterday, and tomorrow you’re an optimist. Vanessa, she said something like that, that my influence on Lena is very good and positively affects and reflects on her, and the “sleeping” beauty came to life and woke up from a long sleep, that we are ideal for each other. The perfect couple.
The day went wonderfully and the rest of the day was completely dedicated to the gallery and art.
Here are the top 10 Most Famous Paintings of the Hamburg Kunsthalle, which you should all see to improve your spiritual and intellectual component:
1st place. “Wanderer above the Sea of Fog” - Caspar-David Friedrich.
2nd place. “Source of the Lou” - Gustave Courbet.
3rd place. “The Grabow Altarpiece” - Master Bertram.
4th place. “Nana” - Edouard Manet.
5th place. “The Arctic Ocean” - Caspar David Friedrich.
6th place. “The Entry of Charles V into Antwerp” - Hans Makart.
7th place. “Phryne Before the Areopagus” - Jean-Léon Gérôme
8th place. “Madonna” - Edvard Munch.
9th place. “The Terrace of the Restaurant “Jacob”” - Max Liebermann.
10th place. “The Viaduct Revolution” - Paul Klee.
It was already evening. The gallery was noticeably empty and Lena and I were probably the last ones to leave it. We were tired. Our legs were especially tired, since we had to walk a lot along the gallery and cover dozens of kilometers, which, by the way, is good for our health!
As a result, we got into the first taxi we came across. Lena, where? Where are we going? To the supermarket? Lena explained to the taxi driver which supermarket we wanted to go to and where we needed to go.
Lena’s refrigerator was completely empty. There was nothing to eat, which caused a certain sadness, grief and anxiety.
The supermarket was half empty in the evening. There were practically no people left. It was late. In Germany, stores close very early or work until 18:00. I could not understand the concept and figure out which stores work until 18:00 and which close after 18:00. It is important to know in which places in the city there is a store or supermarket that works after 18:00. In Germany, there is complete discipline with this. It’s 2024 now and I don’t know how shops and supermarkets work in Germany.
What’s in the supermarket? We took a large cart to stock up on provisions (provisions) to the fullest extent. We picked up vegetables for a salad, fresh raw chicken for the oven, several bottles of French wine. We really wanted to add some meat snacks. Meat. So I put 2 kilograms of smoked beef and a bottle of Russian vodka in our cart. Lena refused at first, but I insisted and we added apples, an orange, grapes and several pieces of kiwi to our diet. Our cart irreversibly gained weight from all these wonderful products and was already completely loaded with supplies and food. Of course, a lot of all sorts of goodies, some cookies. Lena chose something for herself that she likes, and I chose something for myself that I like.
As a result, our check at the checkout was 350 euros. I took out my wallet and was about to swipe my credit card (VISA), but at that moment, Lena took my hand and beat me to it. It is important to understand one thing here. Yes, in Germany and the USA the culture of relationships between men and women is slightly different. 50/50 or everyone pays for themselves. A different mentality. A slightly different culture, which is fundamentally different from Russia and the Russian life industry. I did not know this then and did not really understand who pays for what. Women in Germany show their independence and freedom on an equal basis with men. There must be this balance between a man and a woman. You must not violate her rights and freedom. There is a strict and iron German discipline. Somehow it works… Perhaps I am mistaken in something.
As a result, Lena’s eyebrows and forehead sent me a signal of all this meaning. She frowned, it was something similar to perhaps resentment or misunderstanding. I slightly raised my hands up at the checkout where we were standing. Okay. Okay. Good. I put my arm around Lena’s waist and kissed her, and thought to myself that I was not against it, but only FOR it. Let it be the way she wants it. Personally, for me, all this was not so important and did not make any sense at all. The impulses of our feelings and love always inspire a man. Beloved and dear, I am ready to give you this whole world.
Of course, I tried to figure this out later, if the check at the cash register was for 350 euros, then obviously I should have given Lena 175 euros, at least, it would have been fair. You are young and do not yet understand all these nuances and how the capitalist world works in the US and the EU. In the end, justice was restored. In future events, I still paid 180 euros on another bill to declare my male rights. “The justice of male rights must be restored.” Although it still seems to me that all this is big nonsense. The main thing was that we love each other and we are together. That is the most important and the most important, and everything else was secondary!
After some time, we returned home to Lena and I proudly brought ten bags of food, wine and other various tasty products into her apartment. We did a normal grocery shopping. I liked it.
I opened this wonderful French red wine Château Gruaud-Larose. Yes. it was a very tasty wine, I cut a little fruit, a piece of smoked meat and a piece of bread, so that there was a successful combination of tastes. Mademoiselle Your wine, your glass, your order. Lena said “Merci”. I repeated the same for myself. Lena definitely liked the successful combination of cut fruit, smoked beef, wine and one piece of bread. We ate and drank with the taste of French cuisine. At three o’clock in the morning the oven happily rang in the kitchen and this was a signal that the chicken, which weighed 3 or 4 kilograms, was ready. Chicken is not difficult to make. You need foil. A little greenery. Spices. Place a whole lemon in the body of the chicken and rub the chicken skin with some sauce. Put all this in the oven for one hour. You need to watch all this so that the chicken doesn’t spoil or burn.
As a result, the chicken turned out awesome and delicious. Perfectly cooked. I quickly chopped the chicken into pieces. I poured a little more wonderful French wine to eat the chicken dish with honor and dignity. We watched some movie all night and went to bed when it was already 5 am. We were completely tired from a hard and working day. We completely spent all our energy and went to bed!
The next day we planned to go to Frankfurt am Main, but that will be the next chapter under number V Chapter under number V.