Schloss Oberhofen is a postcard-perfect historic castle with a toe in the water of the lovely Thunersee near Bern in Switzerland. Oberhofen Castle, directly on the shores of Lake Thun, is a popular subject for postcards and tourist brochures advertising the beauty of Switzerland. This historic castle even has a small, much-photographed tower inside the lake itself. The … [Read more...]
Visit Schloss Spiez Castle on Lake Thun in Switzerland
Schloss Spiez is an interesting historic castle beautifully located on the shores of the Thunersee near Bern and Interlaken in Switzerland. Castle Spiez is a small romantic castle with lovely gardens, a fine Romanesque church, and spectacular views of Lake Thun and Alpine peaks of the Berner (Bernese) Oberland region of Switzerland. The castle has a history going back to at … [Read more...]
Visit the Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum in Bayeux
The MusĂ©e MĂ©morial Bataille de Normandie in Bayeux is one of the best D-Day Landing / Operation Overlord museums to see in Normandy, France. The Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum (MusĂ©e MĂ©morial Bataille de Normandie) in Bayeux covers the invasion of France by the Allies in June 1944 from the D-Day Landings to the end of the Battle of Normandy. The museum has a large … [Read more...]
Visit the German War Museum of Military History in Dresden
The War Museum (Militärhistorisches Kriegsmuseum) in Dresden offers a very rare glimpse in Germany into warfare, military history, and fighting equipment. The museum shows how the military, armies, and war influenced politics and society, and vice versa. Some of the most famous large items in the museum include a V2 flying bomb, Germany’s first submarine, the Horch cabriolet … [Read more...]
Vienna: Top Exhibitions in Art Museums and Galleries in 2016
In 2016, Chagall, Klimt, Kiefer and Kaiser Franz Joseph are top attractions in the major temporary exhibitions in Vienna’s best museums and art galleries. During the first half of 2016, the Albertina will have major exhibitions on the Russian Avant-gardes (From Chagall to Malewitsch) and woodcuts by Anselm Kiefer. The Belvedere will show Formkunst (Klimt to Braque) and Baroque … [Read more...]
Visit the Roemer-Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim, Germany
The Roemer-Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim has an excellent collection of Ancient Egyptian and Peruvian art, Chinese porcelain and temporary exhibitions. The Altes Reich (Old Kingdom) collection in the Roemer-Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim is considered one of the top four in the world making a visit to this interesting museum a fascinating addition to visiting the Romanesque … [Read more...]
Visit the Volkswagen Auto Museum in Wolfsburg
AutoMuseum Volkswagen is the official museum of the Volkswagen brand in Wolfsburg. It is a great visit, quite different from the nearby glitzy VW Autostadt. At the Volkswagen Museum, the historic cars rather than the branding and PR are the stars. The Volkswagen Museum is separate from Autostadt (and its ZeitHaus car museum) but in close proximity making it easy to visit both … [Read more...]
See the Munch : Van Gogh Special Exhibition in Amsterdam
“The Scream” by Edvard Munch is one of the highlights of special exhibition of art works by Munch and Vincent van Gogh in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The Munch : Van Gogh temporary exhibition is on show in The Netherlands from 25 September 2015 to 17 January 2016. Around 100 works, including 80 paintings, by the two artists will hang side-by-side to show the common ground … [Read more...]
Daily Life in the DDR – Museum in der Kulturbrauerei in Berlin
The free Museum in der Kulturbrauerei in Berlin explains everyday life in East Germany (Alltag in der DDR) and the influences of Communist party planning. The museum shows how the Socialist United Party was involved in every aspect of life in East Germany. It also illustrates how this collective approach came into conflict with individual choice and how East Germans, at least … [Read more...]
Visit the Topography of Terror Documentation Center in Berlin
The Topographie des Terrors is a free documentation center, memorial and museum in Berlin on the regime of official state terror during the Nazi period. The permanent exhibitions focus on the period 1933 to 1945 when the headquarters of the Gestapo and SS were located here. The longest surviving piece of the Berlin Wall is directly adjacent to the documentation center with the … [Read more...]
Visit the Tränenpalast (Palace of Tears) in Berlin
The Tränenpalast at the FriedrichstraĂźe S-Bahn train station was the main departure point for travelers from the former East Germany to West Berlin. During the Cold War, travelers crossed the border here rather than at the far more famous Checkpoint Charlie. A free museum in the Tränenpalast – literally Palace of Tears – explains the role of this border post, as well as the … [Read more...]
See Carolingian Frescoes in St John’s in Müstair
The Carolingian and Romanesque wall paintings in the abbey church of St Johan in MĂĽstair are the greatest series of medieval figurative murals in Switzerland. The church architecture of this UNESCO World Cultural Heritage-listed site in GraubĂĽnden is still predominantly Carolingian despite later Gothic additions. However, the cycle of Carolingian wall paintings featuring the … [Read more...]