Deutsches Museum – A Quest For The Quirky

“I want to go to the museum.” Those were the words I never thought I’d hear. Ever. Not from the mouth of my brother. But he said them. And off to the museum we went. To the Deutsches Museum in Munich, to be exact, whose ample bowels are a splendid repository of science and technology paraphernalia. Germany has come up with quite a lot of this stuff over the years.

I won’t bore you with the fascinating details of the various exhibits (not being sarcastic for once, I love all that stuff!) – my photo hunt was rather aimed at the quirky side of things.

Like this staircase! Without…

…and with people on it 🙂

Or these windows reflecting a building site:

Knitted coral reef, anyone?

How about some knitted…

MEAT?!?

“Meat oysters” – don’t ask…

Ditto. So much for “the food of the future”.

Abstract art? No, mum and bro as seen by a heat sensor camera

Structure of a crystal

Can’t remember… something do to with microprocessors

Ship’s propeller

Some rooftop views:

Beautiful Munich 🙂

People swimming in the Isar… it was a hot day!

 

I shall leave you with some famous last words (as displayed on a wall behind the knitted coral reef):

 

Princess Leia Surrounded By Ancient Penises

A few months ago, my friend Maria informed me that the National Archaeological Museum had opened its doors again after having been closed for aeons (6 years!) for renovations. And finally, this Friday, we scurried off to Madrid to edify ourselves on a dose of culture.

Everyone loves a perky reception 😉

They let you take photos inside. Since flash is not allowed, the pics are a bit fuzzy, apologies for that. Let’s go straight to the museum’s most glamorous A-lister:

The Lady of Elche (Elche is a town in Valencia, where this beauty was unearthed), believed to date from the 4th century BC

It is rumoured that she was wearing a gold bikini on her (unfortunately still missing) bottom half.

This one’s drawing much admiration from his brethren…

..because he’s the only one who needs a wedge under his pedestal to keep him upright

The devil’s in the detail

*WANTED* Suspect fleeing crime scene. Last seen ca. 2000 yrs ago

A beautiful maiden bringing some freshly picked fruit along for a picnic…?

Uhm…nope. It’s a frisky fertility god named Priapus with a different kind of proposition… The marble statue dates from the 1st century and turned up (or on?) near Málaga.

Food? Of course there was food!

Our Ethiopian lunch 🙂 So pretty. So spicy!

I may be responsible for some of what’s missing there…

An Afternoon Of Pop Art And Vietnamese Nosh

Q: What do two freelancers do on a Tuesday afternoon? A: What they bloody well like!

So, off to Madrid we went, Maria and I, to peruse  the Mitos Del Pop exhibition laid on by the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. (Whoever decided on this tongue twister of a name???)

Madrid Metro – Puerta Del Sol. A bit ‘Pop Art’, don’t you reckon?!

Entrance to the exhibition, with Maria waiting for me to get a move on.

There can be no Pop Art without Soup cans! Photo taken in the Museum shop, not the exhibition itself. And the staff told me off 😦

Let’s move onto the food. We opted for Vietnamese 🙂

Spring rolls, the non-fried version. Fresh, crunchy, chewy and delicious.

Stir fried pork with peanut sauce