DEUTSCH ♢ FRANÇAIS

Christmas Letter

Dear friends,

─── It was the year of the horse, say the Chinese. In such years, things move forward, adventures take over everyday life. However, the horse cannot always be taken by the reins, so that a lot may happen, but not necessarily according to one’s exact wishes. For my life, I can say that this year, as placidly as it started with a five course New Year’s dinner at Obecní dům in Prague, it certainly did not remain so.

─── On a cultural level, the horse definitely kept its promise: Over the year, I saw three operas, three ballets and two musicals. At this point, I would like to thank the city of Berlin for providing that much advertising space featuring the half-naked dancer of Don Juan and Kristina, who found that Frank must go there. Also a mild summer night at Erfurt, Beate and I eyes to the steps before the cathedral, where the Mistress of Jedermann is singing that it is getting darker, when around night is, in fact, beginning to fall, are smile-conjuring, everlasting impressions. Above all, I enjoyed having my parents regularly around at our place in Leipzig.

─── I was also able to pass on a memory from childhood days to the next generation: A visit to the open air theatre on the mountaintop in Thale with Konstantin, who spent a short week of his holidays with us. The sun was burning, so that Olaf fled to the last rows seeking refuge in the shade and I was forced to explain to the evermore un-sophisticated population that they cannot simply open their umbrellas, as others will consequently not be able to see. The wolves at the zoo did not mind and also the fascination of a little boy was endured with composure. It is also thanks to the sun that I know what a clever little eight-year-old Godson I have. When he was trotting lethargically beside me, dazed by the sun, I asked cheerfully whether we should go and have a beer. Should I have forgotten that he is not allowed to drink beer, then yes, came the prompt answer.

─── Also otherwise, I was a lot on the go. So much so that not only on the train, but also with Lufthansa I am now a frequent traveller. My trips led me to Salzburg, where Claudia, Martini and I were chased away from the evening terrace of the aged hotel Stein by hail. The 3D convention of the Brits in Bowness-on-Windermere awaited with a Victorian hotel with antique pink coloured flowers on curtains and bedspread as well as a constant drizzle that drove us into arts&crafts houses and Dickens pubs that had chamber pots hanging from the ceiling. Moreover, Vienna saw me again at the 3Dimensionale, where I could get to know better further stereoscopy enthusiasts and my first own 3D show was projected for the second time.

─── Barcelona is noisy, noisier than New York, I feel, but a very nice city. Spanish modernism, you can only love it or hate it. Olaf and I much enjoyed Sagrada Família and the Casa Batlló by Gaudí. Also the Font Màgica, which, enormous in size, is a musical fountain playing in the evening with water and light, is brilliant. We were slightly irritated, as the street in front of our hotel should run right past it, but the guidebook listed it under Montjuïc, the local mountain. The thesis that the street must then lead up to the hill, could be sufficiently disproved empirically, when we, starting at the hilltop, walked down several miles of stairs and, yes thank you, escalators, in order to finally reach ground level again.

─── With my parents, I went to the Loire as interpreter, where we visited twelve castles in four days. Now, to some this might seem like CIA torture methods, but I can truthfully say that it was a lovely holiday. The hotel’s garage caused some moments of panic, since it was, as is custom in France, very narrow. After my father had touched the neighbouring car once with the wing mirror and another time with the front wheel, my mother and I had to summon all our persuasive powers, since obviously he, being an orderly man, found that he wasn’t yet well parked.

─── At professional level, several projects have started, but nothing is definite yet. My website has a new design. So revolutionising changes will have to be announced another year.

─── The New Year will have to find us, Olaf and me, at Hamburg. We will get into the true New Year’s spirit on the 31st at the Ohnsorg-Theater. That only leaves me three wishes to be made:

  

Happy, relaxed Christmas holidays,
     a good slide into the New Year, as we say in German,
         at least several meet-ups next year

wishes you in particular your

Frank