The Vatican Museums in Vatican City

On July 21, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Italy15 Comments

When traveling to Rome, one of the highlights is taking the time to visit Vatican City and specifically the Vatican Museums. Throughout history, the Popes have collected artistic treasures from throughout the world. The majority of the artwork that the church has collected is not on display, but what is on display is overwhelming and can’t be taken in during a single visit to the museums or even to just one of the museums. We were on a tour of Vatican City and our guide asked us whether we wanted to focus on the paintings or on the sculptures since there wouldn’t be time to see both. We decided upon the sculptures, but we really wish we could have had enough time to see both.

There are 54 galleries spread out inside of the museums and even 4 museums dedicated to the various sculptures. With over 50,000 pieces of art and approximately 20,000 of them on display, the total area of the museums is daunting. Included in the galleries is the final stop on any tour to the museums, which is the Sistine Chapel. You often get very limited time inside of the Sistine Chapel, but we were fortunate to be able to stay as long as we wanted, which was truly a memory that we will never forget. Photography is not allowed, although some people were sneaking photos, but we chose to obey the rules and not take any photos ourselves.

The very first piece of art collected and put on display at the museums over 500 years ago is the Laocoön and his Sons, which truly is an amazing marble sculpture with incredible details. It was put on display one month after its discovery in 1506 at a vineyard in Rome. There were so many interesting pieces of art that we couldn’t come close to describing them all here, but one other statue that we found fascinating was of a man with a child on his shoulder with such lifelike eyes. One thing that is hard not to notice is that many of the statues have been “censored” by the church through the addition of fig leaves, which we think is a shame since it modifies the original sculpture.

Like many other large museums, to truly appreciate all of the artwork you would need to visit many times and spend more time truly enjoying each piece of art. At a certain point, when you are walking past masterpiece after masterpiece, the mind starts to tune out and you stop absorbing the beauty that is in front of you. No visit to Vatican City would be complete without visiting the museums, especially to see the spectacular Sistine Chapel.

Each Pope Proudly Takes Credit for Their Additions

Sigmund Freud Museum in Vienna, Austria

On June 23, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Austria7 Comments

While we were in Vienna, we made a point of visiting the Sigmund Freud Museum. We have always been fascinated with the famous psychiatrist and were looking forward to seeing what the museum had to offer. Our opinion of the museum is a little mixed. The museum is set in Freud’s apartment where he would see patients, but don’t expect to see it as it would have been when he lived there as the only furniture is in the waiting room and the famous couch where clients would lay as they recited their dreams, aspirations, and fears now resides in the museum in London.

You are given a map as you enter and you proceed on a self-guided tour of the apartment. There is a wealth of information on the life of Freud displayed through writings, pictures, newspaper articles, and other documentation. The net result is that it is a little like trying to read a book spread out across the walls of several rooms, so it becomes overwhelming quickly and much is lost.

The building was built in 1891 and Freud moved in after its completion. He lived in the apartment for 47 years where he produced a wealth of writings that were extremely influential to the growth of psychoanalysis and the science of mental health. There has always been some controversy over some of his theories, but it is fascinating to imagine him discussing them with his contemporaries.

We would still recommend that people visit the Sigmund Freud Museum when they are in Vienna, but it is helpful to know what to expect in advance. If you are expecting a refurbished home or typical museum exhibits, you might end up being disappointed. If you understand that it is more of a academic experience, then you will find certain aspects extremely interesting.

Brothers Grimm Museum in Kassel, Germany

On June 5, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Germany2 Comments

Kassel is part of the German Fairy Tale Route and is best known for being where the Brother’s Grimm went to university and lived. The museum itself is dedicated more to the work that the brothers did on documenting the German language and creating the definitive German dictionary than on the fairy tales that made them legendary. The tales themselves were collected by the brothers by visiting the owners of inns on the heavily traveled roads in the area. The owners of the inns would recount stories told by travelers as they passed through the region, which provided the brothers with a rich collection of folklore to work with.

Over time, the brothers wrote down and printed over 200 stories, which are still popular to this day. Cinderella, The Frog Prince, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Rumpelstiltskin, and Rapunzel are just a few of the folklore stories that the brothers published during their illustrious careers.

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were born in Hanau, Germany, which is now the starting point of the fairy tale route. They moved to Kassel to attend the University of Marburg, which only had about 200 students. Jacob became the court librarian to the King of Westphalia and later became librarian in Kassel. Although the museum isn’t solely focused on the fairy tales, it is still very interesting and worth visiting. Children will definitely have fun seeing the various exhibits, but the museum is perfect for people of all ages. If you travel the German Fairy Tale Route or plan a trip to Kassel, you should definitely take a few hours to visit this fascinating museum.