This could be a post about an ugly travel poncho.  Or more likely, a tribute to the earnestly brooding Romantic landscapes of German painter Caspar David Friedrich.  However, I’d prefer this to be be a story of how an undignified rain coat can transform the experience of traveling in crappy weather from dreary to hilarious.

So, is it The Infamous Blue Traveling Poncho or a Caspar David Friedrich painting?  Let’s see if you can tell:

The Infamous Blue Traveling Poncho in Paris, in front of the Institut du Monde Arabe, contemplating the futility of human achievement in the face of the beauty of nature.

Winter, by Caspar David Friedrich, 1808, oil on canvas.

The Infamous Blue Traveling Poncho pondering the ruins of ancient civilization in Agrigento.

Landscape with Temple Ruins, by Caspar David Friedrich, 1797, oil on canvas.

The Infamous Blue Traveling Poncho in Matera, ruminating on the tension between a simpler past and the oppressive present.

Morning in Riesengebirge, by Caspar David Friedrich, 1810 -11, oil on canvas.

The Infamous Blue Traveling Poncho wonders about human folly in the shadow of the immortal at Bramante’s Tempietto in Rome.

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, by Caspar David Friedrich, 1817-18, oil on canvas.

A masterpiece in the Romantic German Style: The Infamous Blue Traveling Poncho in Chauvigny.  I’m so proud of the image–I pretty sure even Caspar David Friedrich himself would be fooled.

Thank you Wikipedia for the CDF images!