Sleep was hardly present last night, as there were twenty-two beds in the dorm room. People came and went all night long. The bars don’t really close here until about five in the morning so there was a constant stream of loud drunken college students making their way home to bed. Inevitably someone has to have a discussion with someone else, and in their stupor, deafness seemed to be a side affect because volume control wasn’t even an option.
Maybe the lack of sleep made me punchy, but as I walked to the museum in the quiet weekend morning hours a shop sign cracked me up. Great, now there's a place where even "Schmucks" have their picture hung in a gallery. If you want to see who's a schmuck just look in the window. Actually, "schmuck" in German is jewelry, but the word-play gave me an insomniac's giggle.
Today I was returning to the Deutsche Museum for a second round of learning. Given that it was Sunday morning, the streets were practically empty and this provided a second chance for pictures. The only real bummer was that the grey sky still provided little opportunity for contrast.
One of the reasons I absolutely love this museum is that it never fails to impress.
(The Career Starts Here.)
The first exhibit was for the mining industry. To begin one must walk three flights of stairs down into the basement. Instead of neat little panorama displays behind glass, the museum had been transformed into a mineshaft. Out of the ceiling, extending down some thirty-six feet was a three-meter ore drill that had apparently bored right through solid rock. As the exhibit continued there was actual heavy mining machinery.
Given that the museum takes up the better part of five square blocks and the mining section had three stories to wind through, after a while I actually felt underground. Chambers would open up and a coalmine, or salt mine would be displayed in life size form. How did they get literally tons of machinery and support equipment into the basement of the museum?
After the mining exhibit the industrial casting section naturally followed. The crowd was treated to a an actual sand casting demonstration from start to finish: creating the sand mold, pouring the molten aluminum, and breaking the mold to reveal the two metal emblems.
Another reason that this museum is a favorite is the natural cross-generational excitement. Both days I saw grandparents sharing the museum with the next generation. Grandparents were never a part of my childhood so there must be some vicarious living happening now.
(Learn to fly with an active model simulator.)
(Or check out the "Red Baron's" airplane.)
The interactive design of the museum makes everything fun. Almost everything can be touched or activated by push button. This is so much so that as kids we asked to go to the “Push Button Museum” because that was how we thought of it. I enjoyed activating physics and chemistry experiments (like this bending laser exhibit) as well as playing in the musical instruments section.
There was only one exhibit to find and then my re-living would be complete and that was the nine-story pendulum. This giant used to fascinate me, as it casually swung from side to side counting off the minutes. It can run for nine hours from a single release.
An advantage of the high pendulum tower is a great view of the river and surrounding historic buildings.
After five hours in the museum it was time to meet up with my friend Katrin for coffee or in this case iced hot chocolate. She gets the red badge of courage award for coming into town just two days after having her wisdom teeth removed. To meet her in the main square I wandered through the famous beer gardens and farmers market stalls that were full of produce just the day before (closed for Sunday).
Keeping with the theme that most of the world's historical monuments are currently under restoration the main clock tower was covered in protective sheeting, but some of the moving parts were still visible. The difference here, unlike Prague, when the clock struck the hour no celebratory clock mechanisms moved. The tourist crowd will just have to return some other time or more likely watch the show on a television travel show.
With time to spare before meeting Katrin, I decided to check out a local church. The front was fairly plain and consistent in period design with the surrounding buildings.
But, after opening one of the massive wooden doors no reminder was needed as to how amazing seemingly simple German churches can be.
Somewhat in awe of the interior of this particular church, when I ventured back out into the plaza I was suddenly aware of the the wide variety of impressive church structures in just a 360 degree viewing...
(... towers so high it was hard to capture foundation and pinacle in the same shot.)
(... the classic dome.)
(... Bavarian country architecture.)
(... and towers evoking an Italian Renaissance feeling.)
The day continued to get better with billowing clouds and blue skies replacing the drab grey morning canopy. The added contrast and light made the combined curves and angles of Munich's architecture shine.
(This curving street and buildings were awesome.)
(Notice the contrast in this picture from the same shot above, taken earlier in the day.)
After meeting Katrin, she suggested walking to the English Gardens that are Munich’s equivalent of Central Park. The stroll through the old city of Munich only reinforced my love of German city planning and design. Each structure serves a greater purpose than just its mere functionality. Large avenues end into major structures and bridges aren’t just bridges but add to the total design of the area.
For instance, the Opera House and plaza serve as an anchor for one end of a massive avenue that ends more than a mile away by crossing over a bridge, highlighting the old Bavarian Parliament building.
(The parliament building is just visible in the lower right corner.)
(The parliament building is perched on a small hill just across the river which adds to the visual impact, making it visible from the mile or so distance back to the Opera House.)
The park itself is appreciated for functionality and design as well. It is strangely reassuring to know that if a tree is positioned in a certain place it was not by accident.
Then, talk about design, check out this two wheeled contraption that serves as half newborn car-seat carrier and wheel barrel for the older brother.
1 comment:
Were there any pictures of rubber duckies in the schmuck gallery?
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