[Guest post by Daniel Nies in Munich]
In September this year I joined around 120 other urban sketchers in Munich for the second meeting of Germany‘s Urban Sketchers. This post shows my sketches of the great time we had. Our base was the Seidlvilla (see above), a nice Art Deco building from 1906.
Before the meeting started we were out in little groups sketching at various places in Munich. This sketch was done at the Marienplatz. A lady came up and asked me whether I come from Armenia. I wondered why - my hat apparently had the Armenian colors on the hat ribbon. I must have put it on the other way because usually people ask me if I was from Ecuador when I wear my hat :).
Then we walked through the famous English Garden where we had lunch at the
biergarten "Gaststätte Chinesischer Turm". Of course with time to sketch...
All of a sudden two nice Italian boys stopped by and watched me sketching. Soon Lorenzo and Pietro helped me to do a new version of the Beergarden. It was great to have those boys be part of this moment. We sketched together on this drawing and we all had great fun!
In the evening the organizers had a big surprise for us: The performance burlesque duo "Isar Gold" kept us sketching them while doing a great performance with different postures. It was wonderful!
Back at our base the Seidlvilla. I was facinated by the architectural style of the Art Deco villa designed by Emmanuel von Seidl. There were so many interesting details to sketch. To me the architect had a great sense of humor. So I sketched some of the animals he integrated in the building, like a rooster on a rooftop and a rhino water drain. Now the Seidlvilla is an art and cultural exchange. They used the rhino for their logo.
In the night we were out to sketch and drink. This bar had the name "Keg".
At the end some of us sketched at the Odeonsplatz Farmers Market. It was very crowded and rounded up a great weekend of urban sketching, meeting old friends, gaining new friends, and being loaded with new inspiration for months.
Daniel Nies is a Garden Designer based in Augsburg, Germany. He is a member of Urban Sketchers Augsburg and the Augsburg correspondent for Urban Sketchers Germany. Visit Daniel‘s Flickr stream HERE.
"Sketching is one of my passions. I don't feel comfortable when I leave home without a sketchbook and some pens in my bag. I think that my way to put things in my memory is to draw them. And taking pictures isn't the same thing.
"The dictionary says that a hobby is “an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation.” Although urban sketching certainly provides both pleasure and relaxation, I don’t think of it as my hobby. I think of it more as a way of life – something that has become such a normal part of my everydayness that it shapes how I view the world. 
"I was born in Mumbai (Bombay) and lived in different parts of India until I moved to San Jose, California, where I now live.
"I was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where I studied architecture. I moved to Kassel (Germany) in 1999 to accomplish a master degree.
Although I have always drawn and paint, it was not until I started studying in the Uni-Kassel, that I started keeping a travel sketchbook. I had a teacher there who used to do a lot of sketches when he travelled on university excursions. When he retired, I helped to organize an exhibition of his sketches. He brought a huge box full of sketchbooks he had filled since he was an architecture student. I spent a whole day selecting the most interesting drawings. It was a wonderful experience that opened my eyes to a new world.
In the last 10 years I have the feeling of being in a long journey. I like to discover the cities where I live, to understand why a place is the way it is and what makes it different and unique from others. Drawing is for me a way to learn to love a place, to become part of it.
I like to draw architecture but I am more attracted to urban scenery, portraying how people live in the city. Since I’m a foreigner, everything that locals find normal and taken-for-granted, for me is exotic. I always carry a small watercolor travel set from Windsor and Newton and my sketchbook in my bag.
I always thought that drawing was a solitary experience until I found Urban Sketchers. It was amazing to find so many people doing the same thing. It is a great place to share!"
• Omar's blog.
• Omar's art on flickr.
• Omar's website.
