Plaster cast goes classic in Munich

No! It’s not the Louvre. One can see Nike from Samothrake here though!

Plaster cast of Nike from Samothrake. 

The words simplicity, authenticity and beauty describe the Museum of plaster cast of classical sculptures the best. It belongs to the chair of Classical Archeology of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich. If a trip to the Louvre in Paris or to the Uffizi in Florence is to hard to manage, this is the place to go.

Entrance at the Katarina-von-Bora-Straße, 10, Munich.

Hundreds of plaster casts of the most famous classical Roman and Greek sculptures are distributed in the two blocks of the building in the Katarina-von-Bora-Straße, 10 in Munich.

Plaster cast of Laocöon.

Plaster cast of  Marsyas under Apollo's punishment.

Plaster cast of the discobulos.

The exposition is nicely organized in the foyers, along the corridors and between the offices on the basement and in the further 2 floors. This very informal structure for a museum gives it an unpretentious atmosphere.

Foyer of the first block.

Foyer of the second block.

View of the basement.

Through the transparent ceiling the whole ambient gets naturally illuminated, specially in sunny days, and makes out of the whole museum a laboratory for the ones interested in photography like me. With my music on and my camera I literally lost the notion of time in there and spent hours taking lots of pictures.

View of the ceiling.

View of the ceiling.

I took me a few attempts till I finally managed to visit the Museum of  plaster cast but believe me, I was truly amazed by it after I did. So amazed I came back a few days later.
I strongly recommend it, specially for those who enjoy a quiet and unique environment, whether for a coffee with a friend, some drawing study or a few photographic experiments.
In the little coffee corner upstairs in the second building one can unwind and enjoy the whole atmosphere.

Plaster cast of the "discobulus stepping up".

IMPORTANT: The museum is opened from Mon. - Fri. between 10am and 8pm. Not during the weekend since it is an instance of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität.
For the very same reason NO entrance fee is charged ( It's true!). A donation by leaving the facility is most welcome though. Once being there everyone will realise where to do it.

For more information visit http://www.abgussmuseum.de/

Plaster cast of the kneeling Persian.

Plaster cast of pan and olympus.

Plaster cast of the dead giant.

Hope you enjoyed as much as I did!
Cheers!

The ones Im proud of: part II

Here I come with the second and last selection of the pictures I took in East Africa in the end 2012. While working for a few days in Chwele, Kenya and travelling in Tanzania and Uganda I could manage to take a really nice pictures, which made me really proud.

Lady in the market. Chwele, Kenya.

I had a great time in East Africa meeting people, making friends, learning about the local traditions and languages, as well as, giving them some impressions about the way of life people lead in Europe and in my home country, Brazil.

Ladies in the market. Chwele, Kenya.

African People were mostly very welcoming and chatty people, always ready for a good conversation and contrary to what one may think, straightforward and open minded.

Mum with baby in the market. Chwele, Kenya,.

Going through the market in Chwele almost everyone wanted to be photographed by the "mzungu" ("white man"), where these first four pictures were taken.

Onion sellers. Chwele, Kenya.

Damaris and Edmond belong to the Matimbai clan, my hosts in Chwele, in the Western region of Kenya. The children were so curious and welcoming with the "mgeni" ("visitor" in kiswahili), the way they called me, and made me feel like at home.  

Damaris and Edmond. Chwele, Kenya

Kampala, the capital of Uganda, is a huge chaotic city, where one can visit the Gaddafi's mosque, a present of the dictator to the city. This mosque, is the third biggest in the world and can be visited by everyone. There is where the one below was taken.

Children going to the Gaddafi's mosque. Kampala, Uganda.

Ruth. Chwele, Kenya.

Children on the field. Chwele, Kenya.

The next picture portraits the almost constant fight of the locals against the scarcity of water in the Western region of Kenya. It's very common to see people transporting water with bicycles, motorcycles or carrying themselves some containers on their heads. Most of them are children.

Children carrying water. Chwele, Kenya.

Hope you enjoyed see them as much as I did taking them!

Cheers!

The ones Im proud of: Part I

Around 1500 pictures resulted from my three week work and travel in East Africa, more exactly Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. I practising the photography more for fun and learning purposes than something else, and this is the reason why it makes so much fun. What else is it supposed to be about?

Anyway, from that amount of pictures there are a few I am really proud of having taken. What makes me that proud is the fact that I photograph mostly people, human beings, what is really a big challenge for me. First because I am not used to it and latter, not everyone is up to be picture by someone, so I generally hesitate on asking someone for a picture. Since the latter wasn't any problem in Kenya, because everyone is so willing to get pictured,  I didn't have to ask. So! I could "try and experiment" freely. That made things much easier!

Below the first selection of the ones I am proud of. Enjoy them!

Grandma with baby in the market in Chwele, Kenya.

Most of the pictures were taken during my wanderings in Chwele, Western Kenya, where I spent few days doing some voluntary work.

Boy with onions. Chwele, Kenya.

In the streets, in the market and shops everyone wanted to get pictured by the mzungu (Kiswahili word for "white men"), specially the children.

Onions seller in the market. Chwele, Kenya.

After learning the sentence "unapiga picha?" ("can I take a picture?" in Kiswahili) things got more easier.

Children. Chwele, Kenya.

The picture below shows Esther and her mum preparing lunch in their place. Esther is one of the children supported by the German Open Hearts e.V. (www.openhearts.jimdo.com). She goes to the Western Special School for death and mentally challenged children in Chwele, also supported by another international aid. She lives with her mum in one room clay house in the outskirts of Chwele. We visited them while they were cooking beans and corn (meize) for lunch. Since they don't have any kitchen they do it outside using wood to cook.

Esther and her mum cooking. Chwele, Kenya.

Boy repairing his cart. Chwele, Kenya.

Nicole, in the picture below, and her siblings were my hosts in the house of the family Matimbai. Such brave children! They were my Kisiwahili teachers. I had a great time with them.

Nicole. Chwele, Kenya.

Children transporting sugar can on the bicycle. Chwele, Kenya.

This one I am specially proud of. It was just a great surprised seeing this mum with her twins asking me to picture them. I love it!

Mum with twins. Chwele, Kenya.

This is also a great one! The girl first refused to be photographed but after a second try she accepted and made me really happy, since I wanted picture her badly.

Girl with a knife. Chwele, Kenya.

Policemen. Chwele, Kenya.

Part II with more of my favourites coming soon!

To Nkoroi with Gladys

Back to Nairobi I had to meet Gladys again (see post "How I met Gladys). And I did!

We celebrated the New Year's Eve together in the club K1 in Westland. Being in Nairobi it's a good option for partying.
On the next day, and my last day in Nairobi and Africa at all, she invited me to meet her family. We took a matatu and headed to Nkoroi in the outskirts of Nairobi, where her mum lives.

In the matatu on the way to Nkoroi.

I was most welcome and invited for lunch. Then I got to know "mukimo", kind of mashed potato with beans, corn and green leaves, and "kachumbari", a tomato and onions salad. And "capati" couldn't miss. Really tasty!

Capati bread and mukimo. Hmm!

All family was very friendly and welcoming. Gladys showed me all the stuff her mum grows on her backyard and introduced me to her sisters, with whom I had a good talk. Oh! They also helped me out with the transport from Nairobi to the airport.

Gladys' mum.

... and the whole family.

... not without me.

Gladys Ndung'u Wangari.

Happy day!

Lovely people! Thank you so much.

Cheers everyone!

Back in Nairobi

In a small bus we left Moshi in Tanzania and headed back to Nairobi after crossing the border. With the "one entry" visa I got at the Nairobi as I first entered the country was possible to re-enter without any problem, as they informed previously at the airport.

The whole journey all the way from Moshi took around 7 hours, including 2 or 3 stops and the time at the border. The bus ticket costed 30,000 tsh (approx. 15€) per person.

I had 3 full days available to explore Nairobi, meet Gladys, the crazy girl who helped me out as I first landed in the country, to buy some presents for the friends and, last but not least, celebrate the upcoming New Year's Eve.

Hints:
-Nairobi National Museum is worth visiting. Locals and foreigners residents pay 100 ksh (less than 1€) entrance fee. For us wazungu (foreigners non residents) it costs 800 ksh (7€)
-For shopping and partying the best places are in Westland Land. A few shopping malls and night clubs are concentrated in the area. Costs are generally lower than in Europe.
-For African stuff like carvings, colorful fabrics and souvenirs in general the best place is the "Maasai market". Check out on the Internet for the locations. It is in different places depending on the week day.
-Try the park: giraffe center and the Nairobi National Park. I still didn't manage to see them and can give more detail.

As usual, a few shots follow! Enjoy a bit of Nairobi.
Cheers!