Frank's Sketchbook Entry of the Day

Bonn, Germany is a bit nuts about Beethoven. But it's pretty understandable, since, well, he's Beethoven and was from Bonn. So there are a lot of buildings commemorating the composer, as well as statues and sometimes things with a little less, um, gravitas. The Altes Rathaus in the Old Town is Bonn's old City Hall, and in front of the majestic stairs is a plaster-ish statue of "Ludwig Von" (as Little Alex from Clockword Orange would say). It's got colored paint on it. And when I was walking by, there were a bunch of colorful trash and recycling bins in front of the statue, whose hand was extended.

It was at the edge of the pedestrian-only cobblestone plaza and with a sigh, I new I was required to take a picture of the statue, positioning myself so that it looked like the hand was about to open one of the bins. I figured it was just something that every tourist had to do. So do I did. I think it's kind of amusing.

A few days later a few of us from the conference were walking by the plaza and I wanted to point out the statue. When we got there, there were no containers near Beethoven, it was just him. So maybe it was a rare moment when they had just taken the trash out and the timing and position had worked. I think they could (and should) use Beethoven to promote reusing, recyling, composting, and all that. Here's the full size picture.