Tag Archives: museums

Stockholm – Hustle & Bustle

StockholmCardLet’s start with a travel tip. I’m always a little leery of package schemes and deals aimed at visitors, but the Stockholm Card is the exception and a great deal. This is a real godsend, which, if you keep busy, offers significant savings. It is also hugely convenient to not have to dig for cash or use a credit card everywhere you go. Besides giving you free passage on all of Stockholm’s public transportation you also get free access to over 75 major museums and major historical sites.

Our public transportation map after 6 days.

Our public transportation map after 6 days.

Stockholm is a big and busy city, not big and busy in an otherworldly sense like Hong Kong, New York or London. There are no skyscrapers and the church spires are still the tallest structures in town. There are no giant cloverleaf overpasses like arteries in some huge beast, but Stockholm is spread out over 14 islands with a complex overlapping transport system that incorporates ferries, buses, trams, subways, bridges, walkways and roads that tie the whole thing together.

CityMarket2

The City Food Market

CityMarket

The City Food Market

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Shopping on Drottninggatan

Shopping on Drottninggatan

Shopping on Drottninggatan

Harbor1

In Blasieholmen

Dij3

On the ferry to Djurgarden

Harbor2

In Blasieholem

Dij5

On the ferry to Djurgarden

Harbor6

On the dock in Skeppsholem

Statue

Hotorget Square

Harbor5

Across the water towards Ostermalm

Harbor3

Across the water towards Ostermalm

Dij1

Kiosk in Djurgarden

Clock

Clock near Kungstradgarden

Old Tram Sign

Old Tram Sign

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Building in Ostermalm

City1

Walking in the old city.

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Near T-Centralen

Outside T-Centralen

Outside T-Centralen

Outside T-Centralen

Outside T-Centralen

Gamla Stan

Gamla Stan, or “Old Town”, is our favorite part of the city. It is situated on the island of Stadsholmen and is one huge warren of narrow medieval streets and heritage sites. The Royal Palace, museums and 17th century churches are just steps from each other. The entire atmosphere is of a bygone era.

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Stortorget was the site of the old Stock Exchange is now a lively square in the heart of the old town but in 1520 it was the site of the Stockholm Bloodbath when the Danish King tricked the Swedish Regent and beheaded more then 80 Swedish noblemen in this very square.

Stortorget

Stortorget

The Hotorget Flea Market

No trip would be complete without a flea market. The square at Hotorget is a flower and produce market all week but every Sunday it transforms to a great little second hand market. Just try to keep Wendi away. I dare you.

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Sinking Expectations or The Very Short Voyage of the Vasa

VasaB&W4

When the Vasa was designed by two Dutch brothers in 1628 it was the largest and most heavily armed war ship in the world. With this vessel the Swedes hoped to strike fear in their enemies and control all trade on the Baltic Sea. Unfortunately, there was no engineering, as we know it, at the time and all construction was essentially done by trial and error. The massive ship proved to be just a whisper too tall and slightly too narrow. It was a lovely sunny day on August 10th in 1628 when the Vasa set out on it’s maiden voyage. In a slight breeze it listed a little to starboard, took in water through the gun ports and sank to the bottom of Stockholm harbor where it lay until being rediscovered in 330 feet of water in 1956. After a complex salvage operation and a 17 year conservation project the Vasa now sits proudly in it’s own especially designed museum.

http://www.vasamuseet.se/en/The-Ship/Life-on-board/

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The Bavarian Shuffle

Munich

The first stop on our swing through southern Bavaria was Munich. It’s a big place, Germany’s third largest city, with a population of around 1.5 million. Although it’s an old city, 1158, it feels very young and is presently undergoing a huge facelift with new construction and restoration everywhere. Munich may be one of the most prosperous and fastest growing cities in Germany but it’s not all business, people are having a pretty good time here.

An afternoon beer garden

An afternoon beer garden

Reconstruction is everywhere.

Construction is everywhere.

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The Lowenbrau Beer Garden

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Candy Shop

The plaza was full of huge rolls of plastic straws. Art?

The plaza was full of huge rolls of plastic straws. Art?

Ice Cream Vendor

Ice Cream Vendor

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Walking Men

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The Olympiaturm was built for the 1972 Summer Olympics.

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Marienplatz

The Rathaus at Marienplatz

The Rathaus at Marienplatz

Marienplatz is the central plaza in the old town and like most everything in central Munich it is overfowing with tourists.

Marienplatz

Marienplatz

The Rathaus in Marienplatz

The Rathaus in Marienplatz

The Rathaus in Marienplatz

The Rathaus in Marienplatz

The Rathaus in Marienplatz

The Rathaus in Marienplatz

Probably the largest tourist attraction in Munich is the Glockenspiel located on the Rathaus in Marienplatz. Every day at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m in the summer mass crowds of tourists and locals fill the plaza to watch this low-tech marvel chime and re-enact two stories from the 16th century. Consisting of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures, the whole show lasts somewhere between 12 and 15 minutes. At the end of the show, a very small golden rooster at the top of the Glockenspiel chirps quietly three times, marking the end of the spectacle.

Glockenspiel

Glockenspiel

Urban Surfing

The Grandstand

The Grandstand

Despite being many hundreds of kilometres from the nearest ocean, Munich has a reputation as a surfing hotspot, offering one of Europe’s best waves. The Bavarian capital is the birthplace of river surfing and has been the center of surfboard riding on a stationary wave since the early 70s. Up to 100 surfers daily hit the Eisbach wave in the city’s Englischer Garten. Munich has produced the best river surfers and has around 1,000 active surfers, while 10,000 people have tried it at some point. An annual surfing competition is held on the standing wave. 

Urban Surfing In Munich

Urban Surfing In Munich

Urban Surfing In Munich

Urban Surfing In Munich

Hans der Kunst

Munich_22

Hans der Kunst

Hans der Kunst - Closed Christmas & New Years

Hans der Kunst – Closed Christmas & New Years

Hans der Kunst was constructed from 1933 to 1937 as the Third Reich’s first monumental structure of Nazi architecture and as Nazi propaganda. The museum was opened on July,18 1937 as a showcase for what the Third Reich regarded as Germany’s finest art. The building’s original purpose can still be seen in such guises as the swastika-motif mosaics in the ceiling panels of its front portico.

Hans der Kunst - 1937

Hans der Kunst – 1937

Opening Night

Opening Night

We were there to see a great exhibition called “Mise en scene” by American photographer and filmmaker Stan Douglas.

Lenbachhaus

Lensbachhaus

Lensbachhaus

The Lenbachhaus is a great museum with outstanding art and a terrific cafe. It was built as a Florentine-style villa for the painter Franz von Lenbach between 1887 and 1891. The building has been remodeled, modernized and expanded many times over the years but some of the rooms of the villa still have kept their original design.

Lensbachhaus Courtyard

Lensbachhaus Courtyard

Lensbachhaus Courtyard

Lensbachhaus Courtyard

Lensbachhaus Courtyard

Lensbachhaus Courtyard

If money is what we use to keep score then Gerhard Richter is an MVP. He held the auction record price for a painting by a living artist at $37.1 million until last November when the Balloon Dog (Orange) by Jeff Koons sold for $58.4 million at Christie’s, and knocked Richter off his perch. The museum has 8 large scale Richter abstracts and up close, they are amazing.

Gerhard Richter

Gerhard Richter 7′ x 7′

Ludwig’s Houses

Further south near the Austrian border we stopped by three of Mad King Ludwigs most popular castles.

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Neuschwanstein Castle – Disney’s Inspiration

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Hohenschwangau Castle

Alpsee from Hohenschwangau Village

Alpsee from Hohenschwangau Village

King Lugwig of Bavaria was an enigma. Even before he died, the king was already somewhat of a legend. He once told his governess, “I want to remain an eternal mystery to myself and others”. With his palaces the king built an ideal fantasy world and refuge from reality. He conducted no matters of state and strangers were barred from his palaces during his lifetime. Called the Moon King, he stayed up all night reading alone and slept during the day. Although engaged twice, Ludwig never married or took a mistress. His hugely expensive and eccentric interpretation of his role as king was ultimately his downfall. From 1885 foreign banks threatened to seize his property. The government viewed Ludwig’s actions as irrational, had him declared insane and deposed him in 1886. The very next day both he and his psychiatrist died under mysterious circumstances at Lake StarnbergThe shy dreamer palaces have been visited by over 60 million people since his death. Due to tourist revenue over the past thirty years these properties are now firmly in the black. It seems that tales of craziness, murder, deception and an obscene amount of money will work every time.

King Ludwig II

King Ludwig II

Linderhof Palace

Schloss Linderhof

Schloss Linderhof

Construction was completed on Ludwig’s Schloss Linderhof in 1878. It is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived to see completed. We took the tour and enjoyed every minute.

Schloss Linderhof

Schloss Linderhof

Schloss Linderhof

Schloss Linderhof

Schloss Linderhof

Schloss Linderhof

Schloss Linderhof

Schloss Linderhof

Schloss Linderhof

Schloss Linderhof

Schloss Linderhof

Schloss Linderhof

Schloss Linderhof

Schloss Linderhof

Plansee

Further south to Reutte, Austria we passed by Plansee, one of the lovelest lakes anywhere.

Plansee

Plansee

Plansee

Plansee

Plansee

Plansee

Spent the night at the Kroll Gasthof – Hotel in Wangle, Austria. A family institution since 1731.

Kroll Gaushaus

Kroll Gasthof – Hotel.

Good Food

Good Food

We finished the whole thing off on the top of the Höfener Alpe with apfelstrudel and a small dollop of whipped cream!

Höfener Alpe

Höfener Alpe

Coffee and apfelstrudel with just a little whipped cream.

Coffee and apfelstrudel with just a little whipped cream.

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The Cold War

25 years ago this poster would have landed you in prison.

25 years ago this poster would have landed you in prison.

For most Americans, unless of course you happened to work for the CIA or were unfortunate enough to have friends or relatives behind the Iron Curtain, the Cold War always remained a sort of conceptual notion, like the Boogie Man hiding in the closet that could burst forth at any moment and annihilate us all with hundreds of unseen thermonuclear devices, more of a threat then something real and tangible.

Not so for the Hungarians. After the Soviets drove the Nazis out at the end of WWII, the Communists held this place in a grip that was total and absolute and lasted over 40 years. In Hungary the Iron Curtain was not some scary ethereal miasma. Here it was very real, fashioned out of guns, spies, interrogation, propaganda and fear.

Iron Curtain Sculpture

Iron Curtain Sculpture

Capitalism, with all it’s pluses and minuses, is now the system du jour and virtually all signs of Soviet domination have been eradicated with a few notable exceptions. Flea markets, where the sale of Soviet era paraphernalia, i.e. coats, hats, pins, etc., is an ongoing enterprise, and two museums, the House of Terror Museum and Momento Park, stand as constant reminders of life under the Communist boot.

The House of Terror, located at Andrássy útca 60, is a memorial to the victims of the fascist and communist dictatorial regimes who were detained, interrogated, tortured or killed in this building.

The House of Terror

The House of Terror

Pictures of victims stretch the length of the building.

Pictures of victims stretch the length of the building.

 The Nazi’s took possession of this very fashionable location during WWII. When the Soviets and Hungarian fascist Arrow Cross Party took over, they expanded it to include almost the entire block and converted the basement into a labyrinth of cells and interrogation rooms.

Iron Curtain Sculpture

Iron Curtain Sculpture

Memento Park is an open air museum about 20 minutes southeast of Budapest. It is filled with monumental statues from Hungary’s Communist period (1949–1989).

Main Entrance

Main Entrance

Cubist monument of Marx and Engels.

Cubist monument of Marx and Engels.

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Onward Comrades

Memento14

Hungarian-Soviet Friendship Memorial

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Together we will dominate the world.

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Monument to the Martyrs of the Counter-Revolution

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Break Free of Imperialist Tyranny.

Memento20

The Republic of Councils Monument

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The Republic of Councils Monument

Memento25

The Hungarian Fighters in the Spanish International Brigades Memorial.

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Red Army Soldier

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Lenin Relief

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Soviet Heroic Memorial

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Soviet Heroic Memorial

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Most notably absent are any statues of Stalin. Apparently all of them were destroyed after the Soviets fled in 1989. All that remains are Papa Joe’s boots.

Stalin's Boots

Stalin’s Boots

And finally, just for scale.

Wendi is unintimidated.

Wendi is unintimidated.






The Russians Come To Assen

We are here to see the exhibit “The Soviet Myth” at the Drents Museum.

The Drents Museum

The Drents Museum

This show has been put together on a scale that could rival a Hollywood production. Barnum & Bailey would be proud. It starts with the gigantic, spotlighted Lenin statue, erected at the apex of the major roads and canal adjacent to downtown. Because of the scale, its presence is slightly surreal, like being transported to a different time and place.

Super Lenin

Super Lenin

Welcome

Welcome

The paintings themselves are as massive as they are fanciful. Bright carnival colors, huge images of dedicated, industrious, self-assured, healthy and purposeful young men and woman. Ever striving.

The Joy Of Communal Work

The Joy of Communal Work

Death Defying Feats

Death Defying Deeds

Completely engaged super solders forcing back a faceless evil.

Pushing Back Evil

Benevolent leaders like fathers and super heroes all in one.

Massive. About 40' wide.

Massive, over 40′ wide.

My Trusty Partner Steps In For Scale.

My trusty partner steps In for scale.

And that Red! Always that Red!

Always Red

Facility

At first glance these images seem designed to simply motivate, inspire and create an overwhelming sense of pride and confidence in the people they are supposed to represent. But then, in the west, we were taught to distrust these images, as I’m certain they were taught to distrust images of us. Perhaps, with all that behind us now, these iconic paintings have simply moved into the realm of a classic, incredibly well done and very enjoyable advertising campaign.

Bye Now.

Big Lenin - Little Wendi

Big Lenin – Little Wendi

A Rainy Day In Leeuwarden

Leeuwarden St. Bernard

Leeuwarden St. Bernard

It’s not really drizzle. But then it’s not really rain. It’s rizzle. And with rizzle you have to persevere. In this case persevering constituted a short drive to Leeuwarden, the capital of Friesland. Leeuwarden’s most celebrated daughter was probably Mata Hari, a Dutch exotic dancer, courtesan, and accused spy who was executed by firing squad in France under charges of espionage for Germany during World War I.

Mata Hari

Mata Hari

This is a lovely little city despite the wind and cold and rizzle. Nice lunch, small shops, culture and beer.

Leeuwarden

Nieuwestad – Downtown Leeuwarden

Leeuwarden Cheese Shop

They got cheese.

Wendi_Leeuwarden

Coffee at the Fire Cafe

Keramiekmuseum Princessehof is an amazing structure and has a huge collection of Asian and European ceramics and tiles which, quite frankly, can make me a little nervous. When I was a kid we weren’t allowed anywhere near the “Good Dishes”. This is an entire palace full of the “Good Dishes”.

Keramiekmuseum - Leeuwarden

Keramiekmuseum – Leeuwarden

But then you get to the attic and they have life size contemporary pieces.

Yellow Dog -Keramiekmuseum

Yellow Dog -Keramiekmuseum

Boy -Keramiekmuseum

Boy -Keramiekmuseum

Just a little wacky.