"Before getting to Munich I reached out to some artists living in the region, including the artist Daniel Man (Codeak). Back in 2002, Daniel was part of a project in Greece for which he painted large murals through the country, including my hometown Patras. Watching Daniel work as he painted this huge mural gave me a lot of inspiration and motivation for life to become an artist myself. Daniel welcomed me to his home and studio, where we discussed a lot about our practice, perspectives and the life/work balance. Being able to meet with Daniel again after twenty years was incredible and a unique opportunity.

In my mind the trip would have been about the city, museums, the streets, meeting people and possibly the mountain. But being open to experience a trip in a spontaneous way, like I did, was a real pleasure and I found myself enjoying the nature a lot, especially with the beautiful lakes and mountains I visited. Even though I didn't plan to go for a swim, I couldn't help myself and jumped into the lake, living in Bulgaria hasn’t given me many opportunities to swim, so jumping in a lake was a very welcome and pleasant surprise.

One of the my most cherished memory during the trip was another spontaneous decision to follow a trail up the mountain from Tegernsee to Neureuth and Gindel Alm. It was a long 1,5 hour hike and I think the last time I did something similar was about ten years ago. It was a very sunny day, with stunning views anywhere you looked. Walking up the hills and through the forest, immersing myself in nature felt like a true escape. For my artwork I wanted to capture that feeling of hiking and reaching a totally green area under a clear sky and the hot summer sun. It was one of the best moments of my trip!"

Friday, June 24, 2022
I landed in Munich at 07:00 AM this morning and didn't want to waste any time. The first impression I got from the city is that it's very organized and tidy. It was very easy to find places I was looking for or things I needed. I managed to walk through the city all day, which was great as I want to see as much as possible.

After I grabbed a quick bite I walked to Pinakothek Der Moderne. A complex which houses four museums under one roof devoted to art, works on paper, architecture and design. Great inspiration, especially by looking at abstract works by Cecily Brown, others by Cy Twombly, Picasso, Louise Bourgeois, Willem de Kooning but also many different objects like vases and teapots, perfect for my continuous research on forms.

Next was Kunstlabor2 , an project in what used to be a building of the Ministry of Health. More than 100 rooms host the work by artists with a background in street art, graffiti and fine art. Hera, Mina Mania, Biancoshok, Form76, Faith47, Shepard Fairey, Katalina Koss, Tony Spira, Isaac Cordal, Base23, Bona, Isakov to name but a few of my favourites. Last but not least, I visited MUCA, the Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art. Seeing works by Barry McGee, Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Os Gemeos, Kaws, Swoon. It's always amazing to see their works in the flesh and great to have the opportunity to experience it once again.

Saturday, June 25, 2022

Today I got up and tried to decide where to go by train, somewhere away from the city. Garmisch Patenkirchen was my decision so I checked once again the departures and photos of the place. While checking things online I came across many articles that mentioned the G7 summit that takes place these days very close to Garmisch Patenkirchen. People are also protesting and there is Police in every corner. I got ready and decided to head to the train station either way. There was indeed police everywhere, also train delays were mentioned at the station. So I had to adjust my plans for the day.

I made a long walk in the centre and ended up at the Five Continents Museum. I didn't even know that there was such a museum here in Munich. I spent about two hours there and saw many tribal masks, all sorts of objects, statues and artworks in general. Great way to start the day. Then I decided to go back to the train station an explore some place near by as the weather was great. I chose to go to Starnbergsee (Lake Starnberg). I had a really nice walk there and eventually I jumped in the water.

Later I went back to the city and managed to meet one of my all-time favourite artists, SatOne (Rafael Gerlach). Rafael is one of the most talented and influencial abstract mural artists. We had a great chat and walk, thank you for your time Rafael! Afterwards, I met my Greek friends, Yiorgos and Athina, with whom we had food and drinks on a boat on a bridge. Let's see what tomorrow brings! Plenty of things still on my list.

Sunday, June 26, 2022
Today was my chance to explore away from the city. I got on the train at 10 o'clock and in about an hour I was at Tegernsee, a big lake in the Bavarian Alps. I am not much of a hiker myself but I spontaneously decided to follow a 1-hour trail that would lead me to Neureuth. It was a great experience, fantastic views, pure oxygen and good exercise. I was motivated and focused on the trophy waiting for me at the top, cold beer and some good food. I reached Neureuth after about an hour, it was a serene place, green and with great view.

Unfortunately the restaurant was closed due to renovations so I kept hiking for another 30 mins in order to reach the next place where I could have lunch. That was Gindel Alm, a mountain cabin at 1242m alt. The food was very rewarding and the people were so kind and friendly. There I found the time to pause for a bit, enjoy the view and sketch surrounded by green hills and the sounds of cow bells. I made my way back to the train station to catch the 16:30 train back to Munich. It was the most tiring day so far but I don't regret it one bit!

Monday, June 27, 2022

Today was a special day. I traveled by train to the city of Augsburg to meet the artist Daniel Man, (Codeak). Daniel was part of a project that took place in Greece back in 2002. The project's name was 'Chromopolis' for which two teams of artists toured Greece in order to create large murals. One of the cities they visited was my hometown Patras. Watching these guys create a huge mural gave me inspiration and motivation for life to become an artist myself.

Daniel welcomed me to his home and studio, we discussed a lot about our practice,  perspectives and the life/work balance. I was amazed to see Daniel's work in the flesh. It was incredible to also see some gems from his archive. Like original OsGemeos pieces or physical joiners of murals dating back to the late 90s early 00s.

Later in the afternoon we also surprised another amazing Chromopolis artist with a visit. That was Daniel Doebner (Besok).  Pretty special to meet these guys after twenty years. I couldn't have asked for more.

The day ended with some nice food and more sketching. Looking forward to gathering all the inspiration from my trip for the creation of  my limited edition print!

Tuesday, June 28, 2022

On my last day in Munich I could still visit a couple of more places as my flight back home was at 20:00. First, I popped to Bahnwärter Thiel, a music venue and alternative cultural center. The place is full of containers and old train cars with every surface covered with multiple layers of graffiti and other artworks. There are shops, cafes and restaurants but also artist studios.

Next on my list was Lenbachhaus, an art museum hosting various works by Munich painters and contemporary artists.
There I had the opportunity to see and experience many works by Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, The Blue Rider group of artists as well as textile pieces, installations and original sketches by Rosemary Mayer.

Last stop before the airport was to have lunch in the beautiful garden at the back of the Augustiner Brewery. Great way to say goodbye to Germany, or shall I say, 'Auf Wiedersehen' ? Five full days of new places and a lot of art, I met old and made new friends. Thank you The Jaunt for making this trip possible!