… or so they say. At least in German. You might have guessed that it means you should not make out a problem worse than it is or something like that. Which I am not going to do…

But seriously, the mosquitoes in Germany are huge and evil. Unlike the African mosquitoes, which I am used to, they are not deterred by wearing long clothes. They sting right through your pants or shirt. They arrive in huge swarms. And their stings lure my immune system into a huge battle, showing off giganormous red spots and itching like hell.

So during our holiday we encountered beautiful beaches just like in this photo, hanging in our rented bungalow. We had a really good time and weather just like in the picture.

Cheap calendar print of beach scene in our holiday appartment

Still, this photo alone does not sum our memories of this holiday, as one important aspect is missing. Killer-mosquitoes en masse. At some stage I actually think the sky turned dark from them flying by.

… and I caught myself wondering if it were not actually much more pleasant to see a herd of elephants calmly passing by, instead of these blood-sucking beasts. I cursed myself for having forgot my natural mossi repellent and being too health conscious as to buy the chemical version in the pharmacy. I also remembered the time when I turned into a serial killer (of mosquitoes) and made some art about it.

Pencil study of dead mosquitoes

All over the ages people have left signs for fellow travellers, so that they could find the best spots or be warned of danger. I decided to follow suit and leave my warning on the wall for the next visitors to be better prepared for the inevitable.

The rebel in me also decided to not to listen to the Germans and indeed make elephants out of mosquitoes.

Detail of my Hotel-Deco-Busting Intervention Nr 16.

Intervention Against Tasteless Wall Decorations in Hotels and Holiday Apartments.(Part 16)
Intervention gegen geschmacklose Wanddekoration in Hotelzimmern und Ferienwohnungen.(Teil 16)

Since 2010 I have secretly been slightly altering tasteless or boring hotel or holiday apartment art whenever I had the chance to.

Wie man aus Mücken Elefanten macht
Deco print with my Hotel-Deco-Busting Intervention.
Ball-point pen and eraser on found calendar page

Detail of elephant mosqitoes

Before and After Picture of my Hotel-Deco-Busting Intervention Nr 16

If you enjoyed this, you can view more Hotel Deco Busting Interventions Hotel Deco Busting Interventions by Imke Rust.