They say the only hills in Berlin are buried Nazi bunkers. Before the Second World War, over 200 bunkers were built to house the entire population of Berlin, 4 million people. Only about twenty bunkers remain, and one of them houses the Boros Art Collection. Originally built to be an air-raid shelter for nearby train …
Monday, I wrote about how much we enjoyed the playgrounds in Berlin! Our children were not old enough to visit the official “adventure playgrounds,” but they are old enough to start one in our backyard. In preparation for our favorite outdoor season, here is a video playlist on playgrounds from around the world that are built by …
After visiting Italy for two weeks, we took our family to Berlin for a few nights. And I can’t wait to go back. I loved that rose gardens and graffiti can go together in Berlin and that there were 5 different playgrounds on the 7 minute walk from out hotel to the KW Institute for Contemporary Art. Below is our basic travel list for …
I would have bought this picture book when I was 2 years old because of the flaps, rhythm, and animals. I would have bought this book when I was 13 years old because it is poetic. I bought this book this summer because it captures a lifetime of conversations in a very short story. Each …
In Tuscany, we visited two site-specific art collections, Marco Pallanti’s collection at Castello di Ama and the Gori Collection at Fattoria di Celle. In both cases, the collection is built by commissioning living artists to make a new work for their property. The place becomes part of the artwork. You see both where the artwork is …
When I hear people talk about visiting Tuscany, their itinerary reaches from the coast to the mountains. But the sunrise to sunset touring was not our plan. We wanted to have adventures while also saving time to eat relaxing meals on the terrace at sunset. The time we spent sitting while our children made things in the gravel …
In June, we visited Christo’s most recent art installation on Lago Iseo in northern Italy. I posted pictures and thoughts about our expierence here. The catalogue, “Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Floating Piers,” was published in late August and arrived in our mailbox minutes later. Each page is full of crisp, stunning photographs and succinct captions. The book congruously pictures the logistics, …
Bruno Munari is described as a prolific artist, designer, and inventor. Pablo Picasso called him “the Leonardo of our time.” Pierre Restany described him as “the Leonardo and the Peter Pan of Italian design.” And these are two characters parents know little preschool boys can relate to. During Munari’s lifetime (1907-1998), he created a long list of children’s …
The Chianti region of Tuscany is best known for it’s wine. Traversing from Florence and Siena, many people detour off the highway to the windy roads and rolling hills found here. During our tour, my three year old and I stopped at the Chianti Sculpture Park. There are over 26 artists represented, but there were two artworks that …
Yesterday I wrote about our visit to Galleria Continua in San Gimignano, Italy. The hill town is a walled city famous for its towers. We followed a gallery staff member around the city to unexpected gallery spaces and art installations. Then she told us that Anish Kapoor had a permanent public artwork inside one of the old towers. We were happy …