Page 14 – La Muse Blue

Dining Experience: The best meals are more than food

The best meals I had recently were far more than eating at the finest, most coveted and hard to book restaurants in the world, but about the dining experience per se.

Raising the bar of eating out, many globetrotting foodies seek to learn something as well as to enjoy the dining experience in a great company. Sharing is not just caring, but connection is a deeply ingrained need that we crave. By enjoying a great meal with authentic and happy people, two fundamental needs of humanity are fulfilled. What a force such satisfaction generates! Within minutes, life feels bright — intensified by the emotional rollercoaster fed by a sublime meal and the spirit of companionship. Redefining “luxury” in a world when more individuals can afford it and write about it on social media is natural. The ‘sharing’ environment had to dig into creating a memorable dining experience. I do not mean just posting photos and videos boasting of one’s luxuriant experience, but authenticity has further snagged into the AI world.

The best restaurants in the world today often grasp the importance of the dining experience

Some bread-breaking chefs injected more into the restaurant meal than just the noblesse expected from fine dining. The Adria brothers in Spain were the forebears of this trend. The dining experience, the wow effect and presentation fascinated not only the diners, but the chefs who passed through their kitchens. Jose Andres, the Roca brothers or Heston Blumenthal would not exists without El Bulli, as much as the authentic farm to table movement would unlikely had taken off without Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stonebarns and L’Arpege or foraging without Noma. Rewind a few decades further back to Paris, where the presentation of the food was a spectacle bulging the eyes at La Tour d’Argent. The creative gimmicks would draw in eccentrics like Salvador Dali. Impressive dining out is not that new after all, but the techniques have evolved into the 21st century tech.

The best meals I had in 2019

I have dined at what are viewed by some influential awards and guides “the best restaurants in the world” over the past twelve months (and in the years before). I traveled purposefully to some destinations for food. I returned to my old favourite dining dens. I followed the insider advices from the globe-trotting foodies I trust and booked into some up-and-coming restaurants. I begged others to get me into some notoriously hard to book places. The last has curiously unfolded in Bangkok (read further down).

It was not the meal and yet another faulty service (we live nearby) at Mirazur, labelled as the World’s best restaurant in 2019, that imprinted the wow into my memory. Even our great company could not overlook the waiter dropping the food on the floor and some of Mauro Collagreco’s austere plates. Although, some dishes this time were excellent, but these were cooked by another three Michelin guest chef from Odette, Singapore. My best meals were more balanced and surprising, while including lasting impressions from the dining experience.

In New York, the friendly team at Atomix initiated us into Korean dining. This experience ushered our new appreciation for the food that I thought of as being the most overrated. After visiting Korea over a decade ago, I was not curious about having more of the ultra-spicy, I cannot taste the taste of anything else, rice with ‘things’. When a chef flips your opinion upside down, I am impressed and humbled by my own ignorance. Benu in San Francisco has also deepened our fascination with the Korean culinary techniques, its ingredients that blend China and Japan in their geographically natural heritage. Corey Lee has directed the tasting menu in a balance between the yummy ease and complexity. We continued our Korean discoveries in America by finally sitting at the counter of Momofuku Ko. Not only was every course in the tasting menu orgasmic, but the wine list was so well priced that we ordered for the first time over half a century old bottle of Cheval Blanc! How barbaric we were to forego such a gem in the city we spend at least a month each year? We changed. Nevertheless, I have to return in 2020 to write a fair review of all.

In Paris, Eric Frechon at Le Bristol stroke the perfect cords on our palate’s instrument. The culinary maestro’s disinterest in fleeting food trends, faithful to the French culinary heritage, took the precious time to master so many dishes on the tasting menu. If consistency is what you seek, come and rejoice. The patio garden on warm days pleases the soul, while the frescoed dining room awakens the regal spirit in you. Ledoyen by Yannick Allèno offered at least as satisfying splendour in a more contemporary French meets global influences concept. The fine dining experience in Paris still can be as classic as the French gastronomic meal can realistically be. Honestly, that is what I want right here in this hub of French culinary creativity.

108 restaurant Copenhagen

In Copenhagen, 108 got me with their Rausu Konbu Ice Cream with house-pressed hazelnut oil and sustainably raised Royal Belgian Caviar. Not trying to impress so forcefully as its sister restaurant Noma 2.0 does, the chef Kristian Bauman split from Rene Redzepi to head his own, more approachable culinary baby. Further, the zeal of the sommelier at 108 opened our palates to the natural wines without flaws. Comparing the quirky and often unpleasing gustatory ‘offness’ of the Noma dining experience (including their choices of natural wines by the glass), cycling there and back was perhaps the most pleasant part of that dinner. We ate twice at 108 during our first trip to Denmark, and we enjoyed the sourdough pizza at Mother more than almost anything served that summer at Noma 2.o.

All these stood above the rest in Asia, the US and Europe, that I indulged in over the past year. Some praise The Alchemist in Copenhagen. The new, rather provocative concept is intend on shocking the diner with their presentation of brain, plastic waste and other pressing issues on your plate. Food being so radically politicised does not taste that great to me. Stuffing you with opinions when you want to enjoy a great meal cannot lead to a true joy from the dining experience. Love it or hate it, the futuristic Vespertine in Culver City, LA is more fit in its Hollywood setting with the imaginative concept of dining. The four-to-five hours experience is yet unmatched in the City of Angels. The creative breath touches upon the fashion attire of the staff, even the perfume that you take home was masterminded by the chef. I am intend on returning.

Casual street food in the spotlight

In Bangkok, my local friend, whose father has been frequenting Jay Fay‘s street eatery for decades, managed the first seating at this Netflix phenomenon. Only because of this loyalty that the family of the septuagenarian wok chef levied a table for us with only a few week notice. It was fully booked until the end of January when we ate there the first week in November. The meal was so worth the effort. Sharing the Chinese-Thai seafood plates at Jay Fay with Thai friends was an unforgettable dining experience. Bourdain started it, yet 21st century sealed the recognition of an authentic, unfussy excellence of casual food. The Michelin-starred street food has redefined the French guide global expansion. In Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong, now the coveted star is awarded to often outdoor stands, perfecting their food above the local standard.

On the opposite spectrum of the hot Bangkok dining, Sorn, the fine and proper Southern Thai restaurant is rumoured to be biased against the locals when trying to reserve a table. To be fair, there are only a few tables and many locals might be more critical about their native food, although cooked very well, being priced so high. Our table’s experience glimpsing at the clay pots sizzling in the open kitchen went with a gratitude to a foreign foodie, frequently bringing other farang to this restaurant, who vouched for our booking. We would love to return. Read my post on The Best Thai Restaurants in Bangkok now.

I should include the superb sourdough pizza in Tokyo or the exquisite cheesecake I had to order a week in advance. It was after all the experiences that set them apart from anything else we did food-wise last year. At Savoy, the neighbourhood pizzeria in Roppongi, we ended up after a three Michelin kaiseki dinner in in Tokyo. The cosy interior warmed by the wood-fired pizza, and the camaraderie inside creating a pure hedonistic oishiii sighs felt fantastic. The sourdough crusted Margarita and Marinara were so superb that we ordered two rounds. Adding to my already hedonistic trip in Japan, after yet another multi-course kaiseki meal on my my birthday, I devoured an entire cheesecake by Mr. Cheesecake. A tip off by foodie friends directed me to pre-ordering this limited edition treat. Worthwhile that week-long wait was! The best cheesecake I had in years, if not ever (after quite a lot of great sake and wine my judgement is not a 100% spot on).

Breakfast (as I mused on the first meal of the day last year) is a meal too, so enjoying one of the best croissants and pain au chocolat with a friend visiting Paris must count in. We picked up the freshly-baked gluten marvels at 134 RDT, sat in a nearby park, and indulged in our perfect brekkie a la parisienne shielded from the summer drizzle by a giant oak.

best pastries in Paris best bakeries in Paris

Still, that would be unfair to the above, more complete and complex meals. Also, it is a sin to omit what many in America called the dessert of the decade — the Corn-husk meringue with corn mousse at Cosme, NYC, but that was prior to 2019, when I indulged in that incredible ice cream combo at 108 in Copenhagen. My favourites in 2018 were different. My choices for 2019 reflect my personal dining experience over the past year. I do not claim these are the best restaurants in the world, for I do not even agree with such a discriminative titling, but these were the best meals I had over the past year, while transversing the world east to west from my base in Europe.

Over the past decade “Cooking served as both a commentary on the times and a refuge from the tumult, just as music had in the Sixties”, writes the US food critic JEFF GORDINIER in the December issue Esquire. Such a cultural appropriation of food and eating out in the highly globalised world today is fascinating. On a personal level though, it is friendship, and sharing my special meals with the wonderful people close to my heart that made all the best meals I had. Salut to friends and to my food loving husband, who is still my most frequent dining companion!

The Louvre Abu Dhabi: the Middle Eastern art scene surges beyond its desert horizons

The Middle Eastern art scene will never be the same. One of the best living architects in the world, Jean Nouvel, created yet another masterpiece with the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Through its elegant harmony, the contemporary mirage in the desert may well excel any other buildings the Frenchman has designed to date. While most of Nouvel’s buildings literally punch the eye — consider the phallic Barcelona’s Torre Agbar, his coloured asymmetry boxes of Musée du quai Branly and the shimmering snake skin of the Philharmonie de Paris or the motorised heliostat bridging over the One Central Park tower in Sydney — rather off than in sync with their environments, this museum was more astutely fitted into its surroundings and culture. The Louvre Abu Dhabi may well become the pylon gauging in tourism from the east and the west. The Chinese buses have already parked in, but it did not feel crowded at all, not yet. Having the space to enjoy the art is a luxury at its godmother’s Parisian institution.

For your comfort and to recharge at The Louvre Abu Dhabi, a small garden cafe brews locally flavoured coffee specialties such as saffron, pistachio and rose latte with the barristers artfully adorning each cup. Inside, a large, busy cafeteria with a rooftop terrace rarely attractive in the ultra hot Emirate, but the view is worth climbing up.
Jean Nouvel architecture

Pinning Abu Dhabi on the global art map

A partnership with The Louvre in Paris is an unmatched leap in the global art world. Renting priceless inventory from other museums is always complicated, thus betrothed to the French Queen of all the museums was a winning stroke of genius. Having an easier access to the world’s finest museum’s treasures, positions The Louvre Abu Dhabi as the world leader in cultural tourism.

Most of the Arabian Peninsula, awash with oil money to spend on precious pieces, can also effortlessly commission the world’s greatest architects to design structural wonders in their desert landscapes. No other Emirate is richer than Abu Dhabi. There, the oil wealth has not been as ostentatiously spent on entertainment as Dubai has lavished. Instead, the savvy leader of Abu Dhabi has patiently knitted the finer, yet longer lasting strings of fancy. The Louvre Abu Dhabi offers an art and education outlet to boost the intellectual potential of the UAE capital.

I have not been to the island state of Abu Dhabi for over a decade. Nothing has attracted me back to this suffocating concrete metropolis with palm trees being the only plants thriving without ceaseless irrigation. Yet, reading about the stunning desert mirage, I had to stop over on my way to Asia. The location on the Saadiyad Island where NYU has a branch is practical as you can drive directly from Dubai without passing through the business district. If you are stopping over in Dubai or locally-based, venture in.

An interesting glimpse behind the curtained scenes of an artist’s work, The Bohemian of Eduard Manet was presented solo as usually, but an information board nearby revealed that it was originally part of a larger work by the French painter titled Gypsies.

Still, in an agreement with some better studied art critics, I think that the inaugural exhibition themed around the intersections of global history itself is not worth flying over. It does not stir or inspire. Entering our documented history, the highlights included the Monumental statue with two heads from 6500 BC found in today’s Jordan and other objects from the first cultural hotspot of men purchased or lent to the Louvre Abu Dhabi. The special exhibition on Luxury did not convey anything meaningful or revealing. Just fancy objects assembled together under one roof.

The light and breeze playfulness of the architect Jean Nouvel at The Louvre Abu Dhabi

The placing of a stone wall chiseled with hieroglyphs and the headless Rodin sculpture in the breezy outdoor atrium puzzled me most. As if our head was lost in letters and not connected with our body. When intellect governs life, we often forget the body’s needs. Our ignorance of the spirit and intuition cuts us off these precious resources. This is, however, my personal interpretation of this installation’s coupling, assisted by the architecture itself.

Strolling in the late autumn breeze between these patched buildings over the Gulf, the light glistened a natural art show around me. Since Nouvel considers his cultural buildings as living neighbourhoods and wanted to preserve the outdoor feel, he had to shield the visitors from the high temperatures with a vast steel umbrella. The dome’s eight layers of Islamic patterns were savvily combined so the penetrating natural light changes all day long. Reflecting art and light on multiple surfaces is the stroke of genius by the architect with The Louvre Abu Dhabi. Hiding from and letting light in architecture is not a unique to the Frenchman as others like Lee Ufan, the South Korean maestro, also plays with natural light in his minimalist constructs.

The natural elements meet in a further reverie here as the sea water enters into many spaces. Flushing in natural freshness is a welcome relief to the heavily air-conditioned interiors in the country. Plus, which museum can boast with a lifeguard on duty? Aimed at families, while spicing it up with some natural fun, this cultural and educational centre must make children safe.

My photo essay showcases the building and the inspiring interior. The later complemented with quotations in arabic and english printed on the glass windows connects the mind with the philosophers intellect.

The architecture by Jean Nouvel is on its own a reason to fly over or stop by on your way to Africa, Asia, India or Europe. Like the ancient Silk Road, the Middle East once again benefits from its paths-crossing geolocation. While, the world is rich on Nouvel’s steel forms erected as tributes to boundless imagination and creativity, working ‘in countries, where he might not agree with social and political norms’ [he disclosed in a recent interview with the FT] “is very important to show that there are different cultural standards, that aren’t narrowed by religion or fundamentalism. Being there and creating buildings can help the mentality to evolve. Just because a culture is in the Middle Ages, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go there. I’m an optimist. If one can make things better, one must. I want things to change.”

Not far from where I live, in Eze, Nice and in Provence there is a magnificent winery at Château la Coste by Nouvel. Still, France is a small plate for the architect. The surfing-wave-browed Nouvel’s work has now redefined the iconic MoMA in New York and the millennial China attracts him. In the above quote from the Financial Times, he mused on his relationship with concert halls, museums, and other art institutions: “Contemporary art is always in advance of its times; architecture is always produced afterwards, in response to its times. Architecture is an art — that’s what people forget more and more. It has the potential to affect us, to move us — that’s the aim of all art. In fact — it’s really the mother of the arts, it can nurture the others.”

Inspired, I am eyeing another Nouvel’s art project in the Middle East, the National Museum of Qatar in Doha. Its space-like oddity seems rather suitable for the desert-scape.

Inner Calm: Learning the Art of Chinese Calligraphy with a Master in Beijing

Learning the art of Chinese calligraphy with a master of the craft was on my wish list for a few years. I only wanted to study with someone truly eager to share their knowledge, a passionate expert in calligraphy. I have a long history with China. I have been visiting the country for more than 15 years. Cruising the Mainland from the North through the coast to the South, megacities to villages in the “clean” Southwest where nature casts its magnificence over the millions of visitors today. When I came in the early 2000s, the Chinese tourism was incomparably minimal. How profoundly has that changed! Then, the experience was uncluttered by the masses eager to snap as many self-promoting photos with their mobile devices as the space allows for. In their rather uncultured and rough disregard for others, I was struck by these people who were clumsily ascending back on their saddle. We live in a global world, with an easy commute and travelling so cheap the billion nation can fly where it wants en masse.

Return to ancient traditions fostering inner calm

Witnessing the upheaval as a Western bystander, I desired to do something ancient. Living in Taiwan about 15 years ago illuminated the treasures of the ancient Chinese culture for me. There, unimpeded by the Cultural Revolution that stiffened the heritage on the Mainland, Chinese crafts and traditions thrived. Rewinding to the rich culture of the East and the essence and greatness of China itself, I took on qi-gong, tai-chi and eventually grasped the brush. Soaking it in ink, I stroke the paper with my own calligraphy. These ancient Chinese arts taught me a lot about myself and the nature of experience.

Power of calligraphy as vehicle of art, culture, information and mindfulness

Learning Chinese calligraphy is about understanding better the spiritually advanced culture of China. Printed word and art has always been censored or burned by power-gripping rulers anywhere. The First Universal Emperor Shih Huang Ti shortly after unifying China in 221 BC ordered destruction of works by Confucius and his scholars. As change is the universal rule of life, the author and translator of Sun Tzu‘s essential The Art Of War, Samuel B. Griffith writes, that “the later Emperor Wu offered generous rewards to all those who presented copies of ancient works”. Times change, and the lucky surviving works continue to enlighten us. Information has always been valued highly by humans, and art as well as calligraphy inherently preserve and transmit ideas as the data in our electronic devices do today. Information wars may yet to surprise us in the near future.

Oneness mediated through brush, paper, and the mind on paper

Paper, ink, paintbrush and tea – the utensils for learning the art of Chinese calligraphy were mainly invented by its people. I linked each to Britannica if you are curious to know more about the tools of this craft. The practice has penetrated the Chinese culture in a more even gender distribution – high class ladies enjoyed calligraphy and tea as did their educated male compatriots. Compared with the traditionally misogynist Japan, China was well ahead with female empowerment, preceding the West in such matters by centuries. Broadly shared with the world fascinated by their usefulness and sophistication, some of the holistic aspects of calligraphy have not travelled successfully. Practicality stole all the attention in the written craft, yet it is changing now. As we type, something is missing, and so these slow craft skills are now being rejuvenated by quality life seekers. I attended a popular Western calligraphy class by Quill in London, while a friend in Tokyo teaches the elderly who have the time as much as children to perfect their kanji.

The art of focus and self-cultivation

Tea keeps one’s focus on high yet relaxed wavelength. Like meditation, yoga or to China closest Qi Gong and tai-chi, calligraphy and mindfully savouring tea are the practices of cultivating one’s potential — the energy to create and do what is best for you and the world. The Qi energy is the life force that ayurveda, the oldest system of medicine, and yoga, define as prana, that what makes life moving. I’ve been intermittently practicing all these ancient cultivators of calm, bliss and health. I learned that when done properly with mindful attention, they all bring about a wonderful state of being. An existence that flows smoothly and can transform what you do or create artistically. Calligraphy can visually express this state. The feeling that these body-mind unifying techniques harness and free is hard to match in all other human experience. We need this sensation more in this age of distractions.

Technical aspects of Chinese calligraphy

Black ink still dominates calligraphy. Light, the intensity of the paint, the pressure exerted by the artist on the brush, open a rainbow of possibilities for all shades of black. I spent a day with a Kyoto-based, Hawaii-raised Japanese brush artist, who opened my perception to a broader understanding of the colour black. She said: “Black is never so simple. There is enough depth. Other colours would steal it.” And so does white paper. The bright, cellulose-based canvas, highlights the black ink best. For art, it is still handmade to a desired thickness and grain size like the washi paper in Japan (read more about mywashi making experience). See below the brush art by Rei Omori to understand why.

Rei Omori art in Kyoto japanese art

In the book The Way of the Brush, Painting Techniques of China and Japan (in my library), Fritz van Briessen distinguishes the lines as “gold-line”, “splashed ink” and “broken-ink” styles next to “watered shaping lines”. He references painting, not calligraphy per se, yet the two have been linked for millennia, and artistic calligraphy uses these painting techniques as well.

In fact, as with the endless interpretations of the classical “Six Principles of Hsieh Ho” for Chinese painting (471-501) it is a proof that art has no boundaries, and no limits can be cast on the art of Chinese calligraphy. Sometimes, you can hardly decipher the characters and the meaning. When done skilfully, the meaning reveals itself through the shapes and the energy radiating from the piece. Don’t you look at Chinese calligraphy, but also Japanese, Islamic, Farsi, Hindu, and other calligraphy art hanging in museums? Sometimes the meaning is not translated, for the curators believe that the viewer shall feel instead of analysing logically the scroll or engraving.

Chinese art Chinese characters

The Tao of Chinese calligraphy

Learning and practicing calligraphy inspired some of my poetry. No wonder that the Chinese poets were masters of the brush art as the two are siblings. Beyond typing on my keyboard, poetry calls for a deeper connection and I believe that only the brush, pen or pencil can deliver that wholesome sense in one’s brain. At least in my own experience. I can type factual articles or stories when I employ my logical right brain. The reason is doing just fine without a deeper, spiritual connection. Poetry is different — it floats above the rational and streams from the unconscious with an inlet from the subconscious mind.

The art of calligraphy is not about developing certain style or doing it perfectly. These are robotic duties of codified scholarly writing. Learning Chinese calligraphy as art is more about the state of mind installed by the practice. Freed from distractions of the outside world, you dwell in a deep focus, guiding the brush according to your current mindset. It can be smooth, fuzzy, interrupted, even violent. The brush can reveal so much about your inner state. As with painting, pottery and drawing, calligraphy has a meaningful potential for psychotherapy.

As with so many learning experiences, trying the art of Chinese calligraphy myself, I was transformed. My appreciation of and understanding of this craft deepened my admiration of the Chinese culture. I am more able to perceive my own state of being and also the mind of the masters whose brush work we admire in museums, galleries and books. The sense of balance, calm and deep penetration into the moment like droplets of black ink realize themselves on the canvas, paper or other medium. This connects me closer to the artist, the gifted creator of the lasting imprint on my own experience.

Photo essay: Autumnal beauty and poetry of Kyoto

The autumnal beauty of Kyoto stirs the inner naturalist in any one of us. It is poetic and by far my favourite season to be in the former imperial capital of Japan, where the manmade meets its organic setting in a rising awe. My awareness of nature’s changing patterns increases in the fall. In winter one may be nostalgic for the sun’s rays, yet fall sparks with a renewal, hope.

In Kyoto, the no-mind zen meets artisanship of the shokunins and the manicured perfectionism reflected in the Japanese gardens. Wabi-sabi, seeing the beauty in imperfection is deeply imprinted in the Japanese aesthetic psyche, and the temple gardens as well as the widely admired crooked trees mirror this sensibility. Beyond the treasures of coloured fall poetry of Kyoto, the city is surrounded by wild lush hills. Particularly in the North, away from the tourist crowds, the leaf show unleashes a fine display late each November and early in December.

I have been visiting the UNESCO heritage beauty for years. In summer − too hot, in winter too damp and grey sad, while spring brings an abundance of sensai (wild mountain vegetables) to the plates in the local kaiseki restaurants, plus all nature blooms. Still, Kyoto is not the ideal spot for the cherry blossom watching. Tokyo and other regions are known to be better for the golden gingko (hence its nickname the Gingko City) and the pink-white ruffles of cherry petals. Fall sparks a rainbow of natural hues on the entire island country, but the ancient capital offers more of a blend of history and nature worth a special trip.

The sprawling city is easy to navigate on foot, by bicycle, bus, subway, train or car. The trains are particularly helpful in reaching the leafy suburbs. Beyond the buddhist and shinto temples gardens, the Imperial Palace and the Northern wilderness, the UNESCO heritage Arashiyama forest in the Northwest unleashes the poetry of Kyoto and casts an unforgettable photographic show. The crowds flood in thousands everyday right after the sunrise. The earlier you arrive the better, so you can savour the magic in tranquility. Ideally, stay in the area so can flop off your hotel before the sunrise and beat the ravenous visitors as we did.

I want you to focus on each image fully, so please mind the gaps. Scroll and roll your consciousness into the immense beauty. I created them intentionally for full immersion and appreciation of each single unit of a photo that captured the spirit of the place.

Inspired by the poetry of Kyoto, I composed

One sees more with the magnifier of awareness

Such beauty accessible to all

Heightens the awareness

Elevates the mundane to celestial awe —

— the leaf turning crimson, painted gold, marvellous!

Change, ageing, all that we call fall

The cycle is hope

The wind’s fan rains the leaves down

I see magic, the metasensual

In this ephemeral experience of my own

The rested mind floats into the whole —

— zen nothingness captures happiness

Offering hand to the lost or lonely

Understand, and be one within all.

Practical tips for visiting Kyoto during the autumn leaves season

Climate change has been pushing the locally celebrated autumnal leaves changing season later into the year as warm weather signals to the trees to wait a bit longer before shedding their annual weight. Read more about the mysterious behaviour of trees in my review of Peter Wohlleben’s book The Hidden Life of Trees.

Since this is the high tourist season in Kyoto, you need to be savvy about which sights in which part of the day or night you visit.

The smaller or off-centre temples with marvellous gardens that have been so far to a great extend shielded from the human influx are Anraku-ji, Reikan-ji, Myokaku-ji and the Rinkyun-ji. A very limited access to the must ahead book Shugaku-in Imperial Villa also guarantees a less crowded experience. Avoid the Ruriko-in near the sacred Mount Hiei, Nanzen-ji and the surrounding temples on the eastern hillsides of Central Kyoto. The gated Kyoto Imperial Palace park is accessible from early morning so beat the ticket holders visiting the buildings by arriving before the palace opening.

The garden view at Myokaku-ji

The trickiest side of the trip is to snap rooms well ahead and to be lucky to strike the heart of the leaves bright display. Hotels and ryokans are the most expensive in this period, the cancellation periods strict and inflexible (typically Japanese), so you can only pray. In particular the Hoshinoya Kyoto ryokan can be heroic to book. After years of trying, we took the rare opportunity to stay for a night in this historic property located at the leafy bank of the Hozu river in the heart of the Arashiyama valley.

Further, I was lucky enough to visit Kyoto multiple times during the fall season as it coincides with my annual Asia trip. At times, it was damp, grey and the leaves past their peak, looking as if they were caught in the open without an umbrella, their trunks and branches soaked by rain with the leaves withering on the floor. Luckily, the endless supply of temples, museums and very long kaiseki meals saved the trip. This fall, was blessed with scheduling the best week, so if you won’t make it, console yourself with my poem and the photo essay above. The poetry of Kyoto is in its pure existence.

Street art in Tel Aviv: feel the liberal resolve of Israel through its walls

Street art in Tel Aviv imprints one of the most culturally resonating expressions of diverse opinions in the world. Like in many other global hives of street art, conflict, social and emotional struggles and longing for freedom, are the engines for creativity exhaled on the Israeli walls. Legally commissioned or spontaneous, off-permission wall collages, paintings, sketches, even poetry call for your attention and, perhaps, engagement. Particularly, the aching walls — battered by relentless winds, humid salty sea air and the human desire for conquest — welcome artful beautification. Over four-thousand-year-old Jaffa port and nearby hoods in the South concentrate much of the street art in Tel Aviv.

Jaffa is one of the oldest ports: “Floating out there the sea is large covering two thirds of the world. Leave the door open”

Sitting on a stone wall above the wide stretch of its Mediterranean sandy beach, the autumn wind flagging my hair in a breezy dance of liberty. I gazed south on the sun-setting collage of warm gold, dusted over the limestone-washed phenomenon. The bodyboarders and surfers rode the waves smoothly as the sunset was dawning over the sea horizon. I penned down a poem.

As if the lighthouse of the ancient Jaffa port stepped out of its place in time, the eternal unison of beauty flashed through my soul. The glaring rays’ glitter yielded to my sensual cords. Strung with the fingertips of some god that perhaps only a sensitive artist can echo the sacred messages from the Universe, I relished my relaxed, nonchalant joy in free writing.

That cosily warm weekend morning in Tel Aviv — a blend of an old, rusty Bangkok exoticism, East Berlin urbanism with clean Miami Beach superficiality — sublet an architecturally eclectic charm to this Eastern Mediterranean natural beauty.

Guided into Street art in Tel Aviv

I was interested in the street art in Tel Aviv well before visiting Israel this fall for the first time. Along with Berlin, Buenos Aires, New York, São Paulo, and Athens, this liberal coastal metropolis hives with boundless creativity. Much of the free expression is exposed beyond the local galleries (I recommend the non-profit CCA), and even its superb museums (thumbs up for Tel Aviv Museum of Art). Urban art is exhibited free of charge for anyone strolling the the city’s diverse hoods.

Visually engaged, yet linguistically limited, my ignorance of the Hebrew script called for assistance if I were to decipher the meanings sprayed on the walls. So, I booked the Street Art in Tel Aviv tour with a local female guide specialising in the Israeli urban art and its food scene (my favourite combo of life-bettering human creations). Some wall art is merely in text form. From quotes of Hebrew poets to dialogues between different graffiti artists, most though mixes the pictorial with the written such as my favourite Puzzle Poem by Murielle Street Art (riddle it out on the snap above).

‘Give me a bit more almost’ – Adi

Ancient beauty of Jaffa meets millennial liberal expression in bohemian Florentin

The most interesting street art in Tel Aviv is in the hip Neve Tzedek, bohemian Florentin (פלורנטין) named after a Greek Jew who purchased the land in the late 1920s, and the blistered Jaffa. All south, minutes from the long sandy beach.

Kis-Lev. shows off his talent on re-enacting Banksy’s Girl with Balloons set in a Palestine settlement. He also highlights the musical greats and, I guess, their addiction to drugs (Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, et al.). He added his own blurred face.

The Eastern-most pearl of the Mediterranean authentically expresses its mixed heritage. Geographically in Asia, mentally in the US, while politically encroached in the Middle East, the Israel’s strongly educated eight-million strong population has never had it easy. Israel’s prime Minister’s wife was targeted by one of the digital artist going under #TAG (her saying “Stop being poor” stirred plenty of dissent), who also mirrors our problematic relationship with the social media (see bellow). Political messages have always prominently engaged street artists, and it is no different in Israel. Street art in Florentin often has strong political message through graffiti battles on the walls of the gentrifying neighbourhood. Current day issues and peace activism are relieved on the walls.

Still, the expression of human mind, its struggles and current social issues broaden art’s reach. Identity is flowing free in Tel Aviv. LGBT-friendly, beach-body buoyant, tech start-up savvy, young energetic creativity, a Jewish tax heaven, Russian oligarchs’ low-key playground (the billionaire Mr Roman Abrahamovic just bought a boutique hotel turning it into his residence) — Tel Aviv blends it all.

Female street artists are currently widely expressive. Their strong presence and distinct voices inject more emotional beauty into the street art in Tel Aviv. Kim Kong painted the inside walls at the vibrant Raisa bar and cafe in Jaffa. Nitzan Mintz, a poet and a partner of Dede Bandaid, a pseudonym for a graphic artist known for his inclusion of band-aids and stencil technique. Immigration caught her mind, writing on Dede’s masterpiece in Jaffa: “Floating out there the sea is large covering two thirds of the world. Leave the door open”. Not limited to the city walls, his art was exhibited at local galleries as well as abroad from Switzerland to New York.

Other themes featured in the street art in Tel Aviv were: food trends (cabbage and veganism), animals (local street cats, even a tiger), local dudes, love, plush ladies, ‘wise’ graffiti quotes in english (“Marriage is friendship first“; “Be brave and kind“), zionism, and surprisingly anti-zionism proving that freedom of expression through art in Israel is still respected.

The creative forms beyond graffiti blurbs and painting included doll houses, sculptures, an urban mini-garden dug into a rain water pipe, and other free for all artistic blurbs across the city. Tiny Tiny Gallery is the cutest phenomenon in- and outdoor, featuring up and coming talent. Outside, its walls are covered in a melange of wall painting and scribbles – from miniatures to large scale art. Some traditional artists such as the female sculptor Sophie Jungveis set up their studio in plain sight in the centre. In her garden giant slabs of yet unpolished stone await her artistic hand.

The Applied Art Gallery in Florentin commissioned a local artists to spray its walls. He reinterpreted it as a queue of aspiring artists, black and white waiting for their entry to the gallery world, coloring them exiting the door from the other side. As if suddenly their talents shone brightly from the exposure the gallery granted them.

Not all of Tel Aviv rejoyces in a hurrah seeing its walls hammered with some disparate ‘art’ and graffiti. The beauty of most great architecture stands out best on plain walls. The curves, arches, and the overall geometry of a building, when overshadowed with other art forms illegally plastered over it, suffer. In Jaffa I admired the simple purity of an archway, hoping that nobody tags on it.

It is all about sensibility after all. Crumbling walls can be beautified by creative touches, but a truly great, responsible artist has the ability to discern where his expression fits, and where it contributes to the urban ugliness.

Lodging at design treasure — the Norman Hotel opened our eyes to the interior crafts hidden behind the white walls of the city’s poshest district off the leafy Rothschild Boulevard. There are frescoes in the annex suite building, even a poem by the owner’s father, Norman Lourie, entitled “Castle in the Sand” rolls down four floors of the hotel’s atrium. Emotionally capturing the tender feelings for one’s homeland. Still, one does not have to be Jewish to fall for Tel Aviv and Israel, and if you want to grow even closer to its contemporary culture, you should check out the street art covering its walls. I cannot wait to see all the new creations on my next trip this coming spring. I am not waiting for long before visiting the creative country again!

Kichisen: refreshing the taste and style of traditional Kyoto-style kaiseki

My photo below tells it all: the focused gaze of the Kichisen’s master chef Yoshimi Tanigawa shows how much focus goes into his food and how much he cares to ennoble each customer’s delight from it. Tanigawa’s studies of traditional Japanese cultural arts such as tea ceremony, flower arrangement (ikebana), incense ceremony, calligraphy and poetry (beyond Bashō) widened his perspective on Japanese traditional gastronomy as he incorporates these cultural elements at Kichisen in Kyoto.

Kaiseki highlights nature: keeping it grounded at Kichisen

The skilled chef participated in 1999 in a TV program ‘Ryori-no-tetsujin‘ (Iron Chef) defeating another Japanese master chef Masaharu Morimoto (now based in New York), yet his culinary star has not shone over his focus on his multi-Michelin star restaurant.

Kyoto kaiseki art seasonal kaiseki Japanese traditional food
At Kichisen Japanese kaiseki is served in a multi-course procession of seasonal delights. This traditional Kyoto cuisine is a mix of imperial court cuisine (yūsoku-ryōri), samurai cuisine (honzen-ryōri), Buddhist temple cuisine (shōjin-ryōri), and tea ceremony cuisine (cha-kaiseki). Kaiseki was originally a set of small dishes served during the tea ceremony that was perfected in Kyoto by buddhist monks centuries ago.

It is quiet, almost monastic inside every room in the house. After a warm welcome you will be ushered in. Take off your shoes and slide into the offered slippers. Wear your socks if possible. You might sit down in small, with tatami mats covered room, in a larger Western high table room or alongside a wooden counter in the Kai-no-ma room. A special room for the tea ceremony (Suisho-an) has to be specifically booked ahead. Located in the vicinity of Shimogamo-jinja Shrine, a UNESCO site, and the millennia-old forest of Tadasu-no-mori enriches the natural traditional ambiance as you venture in and out.

Kaiseki is an art form rather than just a simple meal to sate one’s appetite. Each course is unique in taste but also in presentation including the utensils. As is characteristic of Kyoto cuisine, seasonal ingredients stay in the forefront. Reverence of tradition, triumph of ingredients while striving for new forms of presentation set apart Kichisen’s spirit of ‘discovering new things by studying the past’.

Michelin Kyoto Japanese wagashi

Nature unveils itself in front of you in the “sakizuke,” which serves as an appetiser before the meal. Seafood, pickled vegetables and mushrooms were laid out like a foraging bonanza in a straw basket decorated by colourful local autumn leafs.

fatty tuna Sashimi course in kaiseki

Following clear soup called “o-wan” prepared our bellies for the protein fellows of the kaiseki procession. “Mukōzuke” a sashimi (raw fish) often changes daily according to best possible quality available and served with a wide variety of seasonal condiments. Served under a straw cage decorated with the autumnal palette of the washed leafs picked in the surrounding garden, natural beauty was brought to our lips. O-toro fatty tuna was served simply over nigiri rice with freshly grated wasabi and pickled daikon.

The soggy material in a gold-painted bowl may look weird, but this is one of the chef’s signature dishes – the runny (onsen-style) egg à la Kichisen. Sprinkled with diced seaweed, an airy foam and a morsel of freshly grated wasabi. Its particular gooey texture can be challenging.
“Nakazara” (middle dish) was more simple but also simply delicious as the whole ‘nemo’ steamed fish stared at me from the plate. The white meat was infused with fragrant japanese condiments and softly dissolved in my mouth with a sip of saké.

kaiseki

More art on the plate came in “hassun,” a mixed platter of tastes from both the mountains and the sea. The November sea catch of boiled crab legs was enveloped in a thin wooden wrap, while the mushrooms from the mountains were hiding inside the beautifully painted ceramic house. I bet that children would enjoy eating anything served in this fairy manner.

A “nimono” (boiled) soup-like dish arrived with radish and wasabi topping, followed by a “yakimono” (grilled) dish, which was my absolute favourite. I am biased to anything pineapple so I need to confess here though. The grilled thin slice of pineapple was rather in the background though, underlining the delicate sweetness of the fish and balancing the oily nature of the mushroom tempura.

gohan in kaiseki Japanese ceramics kaiseki courses

Then came gohan, a rice dish. A giant claypot of steamed rice arrived with two beautiful bowls to be filled. Autumn mushrooms, egg and condiments accompanied the first serving of gohan. After came a more complex pairing of the rice with gingko nuts and seafood.

The palate cleanser ( “kuchi-naoshi”) in the form of chilled pumpkin soup was refreshing. Later we were presented the suite of deserts. Announced by an exquisite devil-red iced apple with its sorbet mashed inside and refreshing chilled tomatoes so light and crisp like an autumn breeze in the gardens of Kyoto. This is a signature palate cleanser at Kichisen, sometimes served on ice snow together with other sweets. Next miniature delicate sweets balanced by powdered green tea (matcha whisked skillfully by the chef) to help with digestion. Balance achieved! Seasonal fruit delights and Japanese greenhouse strawberries can also brighten the finale.

Kichisen

Japanese lacquer
Drinks: The wine list is concise yet impressive with the giants of Lafite, La Tour, Petrus and Mouton Rothschild figuring on its pages next to the Domaine de la Romaine Conti’s Montrachet. All hideously expensive, so going for a bottle of saké is not only justifiable but advisable if you do not know what to do with your yens. We love the chef’s suggestions. Served in small carafe so you can taste more or in a bottle, like the superb sake we had on our second visit.
The pure and delicious sake is wonderfully presented in a crystal jar served on a mountain of soft ice to keep it cold. It works just perfectly with the kaiseki style of Kyoto food at Kichisen.

Glass of sake Japanese sake

It’s been a treat to our senses, a creative discovery of Japanese ceramics and glass work, as well as always a perfectly balanced meal for our dinners at Kichisen. Surely, this is one of the rare Kyoto restaurants where tradition meets contemporary sensibility.

Visits: November 2o13 & 2019 (this article was updated after the fall 2019 meal)
Price: Very high (superb ingredients, mastery of cooking and private atmosphere). Lunch starts at ¥8,000, dinner at ¥14,000.

Opening hours: Lunch: 12:00-2p; Dinner: 5-9pm
Address: 5 Tadasu-no-mori (Morimoto-cho), Shimogamo, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan.
Contact: + 81 075 711 6121

Tel Aviv, a poem

The wet, salty breeze of the Eastern Mediterranean gusted my hair into bohemian nests. As if the naturist body sublet its beauty in the imperfect form to my nonchalant joy. I was flowing in the moment. When creativity showers upon you, do not question anything. It just comes, you feel it, and become one with whatever befalls upon you.

zen mind

That morning in Tel Aviv, teasing me out of the freshly dressed bed at The Norman hotel’s suite, only the dark voices of crows tinted musically the crystal-lit sky. Such a perfect lazy Sunday with a touch of mystery that I am very much attracted to. Teasing me out, the beauty called me on the deck. Inhaling, voracious for the local sea air, my expanding lungs relished the simplicity. I had to write.

Still, this was only the beginning of my poetical affair with the White City that enchanted me so profoundly. After I strolled through the ancient Jaffa port, engaged by its eloquent street art, I sat in a spontaneous break by the sea. The expansive sand stretched North towards the new town’s marina, and a sunset was unfolding — boundless and emotionally charged — right in front of me.

I sighed and penned whatever arrived to my mind down; certainly it was connected to Tel Aviv of then and now:

RESTLESS

The breeze of distant adventures

thrusts soil into my mind

weighing the vast experiences of explorers,

and their ancient stories wrought

Fissures in my heart,

plasters over my soul —

— I cannot cease to seek

hope, more for, more

Fierce winds chissel wounds

in my rarely resting soul —

— I crave, thinking more

hope, more for what could be

If now did not exist,

where and who I would be?

Dreaming, feeling, too deep,

observing the fishermen,

patient — oh, they know how to simply be!

Tel Aviv, The White City that enchanted so many, indeed feels like a place where the ghosts of the millennia past mingle with the liberal coastal beauty, hand in hand, somewhat naturally. One of the best urban scapes to enjoy street art, modern architecture, beach volleyball, surf or to launch a start up, just an e-scooter ride from an office to the beach. Like in Rio, the spirit is free, the beach a social scene, eating out casual yet festive, but the lifestyle here is much more safe, guarded by the imminent threat from Israel’s enemies, most its neighbors. A tough geopolitical situation in the promissed land of the Bible. The major three religions congregate on its soil despite their disagreements. Still, the bombs blast from time to time, rockets are fired wickedly, so security must remain stark. Living in that, the locals need to entertain themselves either with intellectual or creative pursuits in order to remain sane and happy. The Tel Aviv street art scene is vibrant.

Hearth East Village: a political meal that cures your Instagram bug and more

What do the rest-deprived New Yorkers need more than anything for health is a truly nurturing, slow-paced meal at Hearth. Even in the medical field it has been proven that mindful eating, next to meditation and walk in a forest can powerfully remedy the pressures of urban life. While not many kitchens in Manhattan’s apartments are used beyond reheating a delivery, at Hearth your grandmother’s generosity is served casually enough that a weary mum can venture in for a supper with her school kids. Hearth’s hospitality invites awareness and care about what and how you eat to the table — welcome to the family!

Real world social meal in New York

First, a note on your table discourages from taking photos during the meal and sharing them on social media. A guilty perpetrator, for this article I had to — secretly and with my cheeks aflame, snap a few. You also eat with your eyes, don’t you? Still, I dined at Hearth so many times that I managed to stay off distracting technology during most of our wholesome meals there. Deepening further your social awareness, food waste, local produce, sharing plates and vegetable-centric menus include educational manifestoes by chef Marco Canora, who knows a great deal about sustainability, but will not force you eating vegan.
Offal, seasonal vegetables from root to tip, fermented grains, sourdough, for long hours simmered broths, sustainably-caught fish and grass-fed, wild grazing cattle cooked with care, Hearth further avoids artificial anything, including sweeteners.
The Italian-American chef laid ground for dining with awareness in the hip East Village on Manhattan. His market-driven cuisine feels satisfying, richer for example than Jean Georges’ ABC projects. Hearth makes a perfect meal in a breezy fall, freezing winter or the rainy spring in New York.

Hearty locally-sourced food with a homey feel

Italian recipes inspire some of the menu, but the American melting pot defines the rest. Europe’s food traditions emigrated to the Americas, but the ingredients at Hearth are local. Google describes Hearth as a Tuscan restaurant, the heartiness, perhaps? They serve whole grain pasta, gnocchi, polenta, and bistecca, but the tweaks on the plates are far from the Tuscan tradition I’m familiar with (Tuscany is less than five-hours drive from my home in Monaco). Let’s settle with American-European cuisine.
The popular weekend brunch alleviates stress from any home cook’s shoulders. Seasonal fruits (pomegranates, apples, pears in fall), house crunchy granola, stacked pancakes, plus a warm mug of coffee or tea set you up for the day.

A must order, warm, long-fermented whole grain bread with grass-fed butter, extra virgin olive oil, and whipped lardo (the bread service costs $6) introduces the costs of real bread to the New Yorkers. Vegetables star. Like the whole baked potatoes nesting on whipped ricotta to start, not just the sides are veggie-centric.
The famous Hearth broths change slightly seasonally. Recently, mushrooms dipped into the vegetable bowl of warm comfort.
To share, the whole Spatchcock chicken is an organic, formerly free-grazing tender beauty, served with sautéed greens and Calabrian chilli. Not spicy, but tastes like your Sunday family lunch if someone cooks very well.
For a serious nose-to-tail indulgence, the bone marrow and the savvy Variety burger (think a blend of brisket, chuck, heart, liver, …) with melting fontina cheese and sweet potato fries is a feast.

Hearth nurtures rustic romance in the East Village

Although in the evening it gets cosy dark inside, transparency about its provisions’ provenance, like at Raaka chocolates in Brooklyn, is the heart of Hearth. The purveyors list is spotlighted on their website and on the flip side of the menu.
The wine list at Hearth in the East Village is one of the broadest and savviest on the entire Manhattan. Chateau Musar from Lebanon is known for its red Bordeaux blends, but after a broad tasting with one of the family members, I learned that the whites are treasures to age into breathtaking magnificence. On the Hearth list recently a 1975 vintage kicked the splendour off. From the oldest wine regions, greek and georgian wines may inspire your vinous adventure. Still, we often order a bottle from Italy or California, equally far-flown. With a sweet spot on Riesling, find multi-regional selections accompanied with a trip-inspiring, creative musings on the wines, the makers or their location. From Austria to the New York state.
Chocolate is paired with wine as a dessert option, but we love the cheese made from grass-fed dairy to end.

Heart is a complete food business. Its generous broths became so popular that a few branches of Brodo opened on Manhattan. A scaled-down convenience, the window selling their slowly simmered broths comforts more healthfully than any take-away in New York. From vegan through chicken, beef and the house speciality the bone Hearth broth either in a paper cup or the more ecological, re-usable (get a dollar off with your next refill of the same! broth) glass jars sold cold for more convenient transport. When renting in New York recently, my time-constrained schedule, welcomed the wholesome additions in my fridge to heat up when feeling down or too tired to cook late at night.
Hearth also offers “take-home, CSA-style package to provide you with the tools you need for quick and healthy cooking”, so stock up with their wholesome ingredients for that rare meal in!
403 E 12th St, New York, NY 10009
+1 646 602 1300
Dinner Mon-Sun: 6-10pm (Fri 11PM); weekend brunch 11am-2pm (Sun 3:30pm)

The Beauty You Must See

Another dimension in the world well trod

Opens to those unfolding the true self to oneself

Unafraid, liberated, strong,

Owning yourself is the path to wealth

Contentment — appreciation of what is now —

The beauty of every morning, the trees simply standing here,

Rivers abundant with life, your wife, friends, a dog

The walking corpses in a crowded city, familiar strangers in a village

Aware of what is and seeing the beauty in all is happiness

That love grants space, a place to thrive, your own hive

This love never clings, owns, possesses

It works, simply clicks

Like listening to poetry when walking up the mountain,

layers multiply, joy grows greater,

the verses bloom with each inhale

Feel, live this nirvana

Now in this moment is the only time to be

Not strived for in the afterlife —

Will future ever happen as you want it, think of it, crave?

The Beauty You Must See is here and now.

~RB

The best teachers in our life are the wise others, some great books we read and our own direct experience. A combination of all these inspired this poem on joy — The Beauty You Must See in the everyday life, the mundane. As the Japanese art of Kintsugi, repairing broken ceramics with tinted, often gold-dusted, glue to create even more beautiful objects, the wabi-sabi of seeing beauty in imperfection changes your outlook.

When I was selecting the images to accompany this poem, I found way too many in my 100k-rich photo library. This made me smile, as I realised that I truly live by what I write about in my poetry. I see beauty in so much that surrounds me every day, minute, place and space. I hope, that you will find inspiration to see it clearly too.

If your lenses wear the magic, the spell empowers your entire life. A positive attitude, marvelling at all there exists, the wondrous joy of a child, these all teach us to be appreciative of all that becomes ‘normal’ for most adults. Kids can teach us so much, as any good mother would say.

In Brooklyn, there is Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. book store, a part of a community schooling group where you can get books written by those who just learned to compose sentences as well as sensitive teenagers. I encourage you to browse around. You might be surprised how much wisdom dwells in those young souls! I grabbed a few.

book lovers

Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co
372 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Open daily except for holidays 12noon-6pm

The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben

Feeling, emotions and communication are not just human and some higher animal distinctions, trees do have something like a nervous system and so they react and talk. In The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben opens the gates of our awareness towards life in the natural world. Not the life we can easily grasp though ignorant eyes and without sufficient knowledge.

plant behavior

oldest trees

In order to decipher the life cycle, feelings, behavior, character and communication between trees, a sensitive person engaging all the senses, intuition and experience is needed. The Japanese mindful practice of shinrin-yoku or bathing in the forest requires a full immersion into its life-giving presence. In the archetypal realm, the forest is feminine and dark. In fairy-tales the hero usually faces challenges in the treedom, yet while I am not a Little Red Riding Hood, my personal solitary treks throughout the European and Asian forest attest, it is us that the forest shall fear.

The best-selling author, forester and researcher Peter Wohlleben was born for his profession that illuminated the path to his life’s mission. His surname — Wohlleben — when translated from German literally means “living well“. Wohl was explored by Goethe poetically:

Wohl is a very versatile word.
A word with multiple meanings it seems.
Evading your grasp, just like a bird
its core and its essence totally blurred
but crow because a new hope for us gleams.

A life-changing book

Reading this naturalist book by Wohlleben will change your relationship with trees. Every stroll in a forest, a breather in an urban park or a verdant, shaded alley will talk to you as your awareness sharpens. For example, trees send around 220 herz strong electric signals through the fungal networks around their roots (like phone lines or the internet cables). They produce their own insecticides, but when weakened or ill their immune system does not kick on and the bugs like germs devour them.

Countless “Discoveries from a Secret World” were famously brought to life in the fiction of Tolkien, who was inspired by his nativist predecessors, the Celts. The Hidden Life of Trees pushes further. Scientific research, decades of experience and an extraordinary sensitivity to trees, cast the work by Peter Wohlleben as a pioneering holistic observation where reason meets imagination. The forest he managed in Southern Germany inspired his research, and the University of Aachen supported his endeavor to decipher the workings of mutually dependent ecosystem.

Like humans, heads down

In a smooth, genuine, and empathetic voice, The Hidden Life of Trees talks about the social security (immune system) of trees, community housing, language, friendships, school system, as well as aging gracefully like humans. Demystifying some climate myths, migration, and underlining the healthy (primal forest) trees’ importance in the ecosystem. The vulnerability of tree street kids, even a burnout from overworking negatively affect trees as much as they do.
Wohlleben repeatedly likens trees’ behavior, manners, nourishment and communication to a human character. Not just in his fantasy, but in a thorough scientific process. Linking his shocking findings with substantial research persuades even the urbanites without a direct access to a proper forest.

Emotional beings that love

Emotions like love manifest in the trees’ behavior. Procreation through seeds involves a communal agreement in the deciduous trees strategy though. Since beechnuts are such a delicacy for wild boars and deers, while acorns mean the ultimate feast for wild pigs, their supply needs to be strategically limited in some years. That’s what these leafy giants do. They agree to bloom on a specific year (the mast year) producing so many seeds that the herbivores cannot eat them all, so enough is left to sprout. The forester adds: “Trees have survived until today only because there is a great deal of genetic diversity within each species”. So not every pine is alike. Beyond superficial differences, their pollen is released in different time, so pollinating its own female flowers can be avoided. Preventing genetic mutations is a smart approach by the trees.

Insects like bees pollinate rarely in the forest but bird cherries are one of their exceptions to wander further into the forest land. Willows, more likely to be found by the ponds and rivers, are also being pollinated by bees. They lure them in with a specific scent. The male colour their catskins yellow so the bees come to them first. The greenish, shy female trees are visited next. An efficient strategy do they have, like peacocks!

birch tree

Wild or planted: the forest behaves accordingly

The Hidden Life of Trees alerts on the essential differences between planted and primeval forest. The suffering, tortured trees on the urban, compact land are being literally suffocated. Lacking the microbial diversity that a healthy, diversified forest has, the soil in our city parks is like junk food. Our footprints further squash the dirt around the trees’ underground roots cutting off the life support that cannot circulate naturally.

contemporary bathroom
Saving native, real forests, is the mission of the eco-warrior who wrote about the natural world in many other books. The Hidden Life of Trees is his internationally most renowned masterpiece. I saw a hardcover copy from the Americas through the UK, Israel, to Hong Kong, and bought a Czech translation for my father, who spent countless weekends managing the protected forests around my hometown. He gasped, after reading it. He was never before been able to imagine all that suffering the trees must go through when being “helped” by human intervention, mainly for a profit. From his own experience, he knew that trees have a sense of time as Wohlleben writes — “Rising temperatures mean it’s spring. Falling temperatures mean it’s fall”, but the vast majority of the content was disturbingly revealing.

So, why we have been ignoring trees recently? We know that we need the photosynthesising giants to breathe clean air, to have oxygen for survival. Yet, in our hectic, materialist culture, Wohlleben writes that “the main reason we misunderstand trees is that they are so incredibly slow. Their complete life-span is at least five times as long as ours.” On the surface trees are inert, rustled only by the force of the wind, pushed down by the galeforce of a storm, devoured by insects or wild animals, frozen to nihilist corpses, or struck by a lightning, but they are active too. “Water and nutrients – that is to say, ‘tree blood’—flow from the roots up to the leaves at the rate of a third of an inch per second.” Quite a metabolism, isn’t it? There is so much more to discover in this compact book, I shared with you only a taste of the wonders inscribed so beautifully inside.

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