Hiking in Austria

Easter vacation in Austria is skiing time... for my family, that is. I, myself, resort to exploring the surroundings on hiking trips. I am not just terrible on ski but also a pain as a hiking partner! Chances are, I take a lot of unannounced long breaks, pulling out the book, sketching whatever strokes my eye. Consequently, I am on my own most of the time. Which does not really bother me, though.

Two days ago, we brought our daughter to a doctor, about 20 km away from where we stay. Since it was just a harmless precaution visit, I felt free to roughly plan out the trip back on foot. Walking on the sunny side of the valley Kaunertal, I passed Castle Berneck, which sadly was closed at this time. I peeked through some holes in the door, but that was just about it of what I saw of the inside. Castles, in general, are a prominent site: Built to impress, taking center stage of the surrounding area. Could I resist?

Occasionally, I had to guess or just ask around for my way home. A friendly fellow named Klaus, living right by such a confusing crossroad, invited me in and we started to chat. We got along pretty well and watching and listening to him, I remembered one of my favorite artists doing sketches of interesting people he meets. Giving it a shot, I asked Klaus if he would be alright with me drawing him. He probably did not expect this question, but since we created a comfortable atmosphere, I found the courage and he his trust.

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One Grande Latte, please... for here

There were way more participants than there are on my cup! Actually, our Urban Sketchers regional group Duesseldorf/Cologne broke its' record last Sunday at the Starbucks Café Leverkusen, Germany. More than 15 people got together to sketch in this cozy store and spend the afternoon with a welcoming host, yummy lattes and tastes of juicy cake.

There was some commotion going on, I was told, since it was an unregular open Sunday at the mall. People streamed into the place the whole 6 opening hours. Despite overly human concentration on my part and so, not being aware of much around me, I ultimately failed my set goal to draw every single member of our happy group of sketchers. Tells you something about my work speed. Also, I took some time off, giving a radio interview for a local station (which sucked on my part, by the way... hope they cut out, like, everything!).

So much creativity and felt interest of the people watching us sketch... I dearly love our monthly get-togethers. Starbucks, the embodiment of urban and lifestyle, and the team (or shall I say partners) in Leverkusen did their part to make this memory last.

What else... here are some close-ups of the penciled Starbucks cup, I took home with me:

A little... ok, way over my head: The Extra-Special-Making-Of, which you get only in this blog:

Thanks for reading... and leave a comment, if you like!