TRAVEL AND ART IN GERMANY

by Lerato Mokhethi

Germany’s art and history is one of the finest examples of just how varied this country’s people are and how each region is rich in its own culture and traditions. 

The best way to experience the vastness of this diversity is to travel and explore the cities and towns; in order to discover the real hidden treasures. For as the two adventurers in the famous indie film Weit say “Fantasy leaves, as experience takes over.”

Domestic travel in Europe is something very affordable which comes as a surprise as someone coming from South Africa would think otherwise. My experience with public transport (*though limited to within the state of Barden-Wurttemberg) is that using the public trains and bus system to visit nearby towns and cities is not only efficient, but very affordable. 

To give a rough estimate, a return bus trip from Tubingen to Freiburg costs about the same as a one-way Uber ride from Cape Town to Franchoek +- R350. A 24-hour bus and tram pass for 5 people costs +- R200, with accommodation at a decent hostel setting you back anything from R300 upwards for a single night stay; which more or less what you can expect to pay for similar lodging in South Africa. 

Basically, if you want to do a weekend getaway anywhere in South-West Germany, it won’t hurt you bank account too much, which is really nice given the Euro to Rand exchange rate does not work in a foreigners favour (particularly when traveling on a student budget!).

Something that is really cool, which might come as a surprise to the art lovers, is that you can find the works of the legendary Picasso in Stuttgart, with the works of Neue Sachlichkeit movement pioneer Otto Dix all within a 5 km radius. #VisitStuttgart

These two artists are mentioned here, are not just juxtapositions, but are mentioned to briefly signify the deep culture of appreciation for creative expression and inclusivity in art. 

This can be seen not just in the art available within new and old art galleries dotted all over; but also within the different styles of architecture that can be found in the old towns of each city where inspiration can be found almost everywhere.
 
Whether in cute little towns outside the Main City of Freiburg en route to a hike in the Black Forest, or on a weekend stroll up the hill to the Tubingen University Museum for an exhibition. 

One more thing to add, to wrap things up. Art in Germany is not just appreciated in the architectural and traditional sense, but also within pop culture and modern art, which personally I found to be a beautiful mixture and resulted in some very rich and engaging conversations with Strangers, including marvel’s Deadpool character. Truly, the amount of culture on offer is just overwhelmingly abundant.