Decided to stay in town as Susanne not back ‘till Monday and only 21 miles (theoretically) to cycle there. Plan was to visit a museum and sit and get up to date with daily drawings. Sadly the embroidery and lace museum was closed on Sundays as I’d like to have visited there, so I went to the Vogtland museum instead – which was convenient to walk to, being just around the corner from the Youth Hostel. €5 got me entrance and my own personal escort – a pleasant and evidently knowledgeable lady but one who knew no English. She did her best to tell me about the exhibits (and nearly had apoplexy when I went to touch the knitting sitting in a basket on a bench – don’t touch!). The museum was a grand old house being lovingly restored. There was amazing plaster work – the ballroom had panels with 3 dimensional plaster carvings representing the hunter/gatherer harvests of each month.
There was a music room with the strangest of instruments – a giraffeklavier I think it was called – a sort of upright piano with an extension – like a grand piano on it’s side. My guide told me Schubert had played on the grand piano (there was an ordinary grand piano in the room as well as the giraffe version). And while she was namedropping, she said that Napolean Bonaparte had stayed in this house for a couple of nights too.
Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures as they wanted me to leave my bags in a locker before I went in – and I left my camera too. But I sat quite happily with my paints for the remainder of the afternoon and completed 3 daily draws from the exhibits – bringing my tally right up to date for this year (that’s a daily drawing since January 1st!) I love the mundane so kitchen utensils just do it for me – give me cheese grater and a cast iron stove to draw, over a chandelier any day. My escort left me to it. The place was very quiet – not many other visitors – hushed like a library.
Not long before it closed (and I think I missed the gallery part of the exhibition) I emerged into a rainwashed world – I’d not even noticed it had rained. I went in search of food and headed for a Turkish doner kebab place. Falafel, halloumi and salad in a huge, fresh baked wrap for €4 – perfect and hard to beat that.
There was a music room with the strangest of instruments – a giraffeklavier I think it was called – a sort of upright piano with an extension – like a grand piano on it’s side. My guide told me Schubert had played on the grand piano (there was an ordinary grand piano in the room as well as the giraffe version). And while she was namedropping, she said that Napolean Bonaparte had stayed in this house for a couple of nights too.
Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures as they wanted me to leave my bags in a locker before I went in – and I left my camera too. But I sat quite happily with my paints for the remainder of the afternoon and completed 3 daily draws from the exhibits – bringing my tally right up to date for this year (that’s a daily drawing since January 1st!) I love the mundane so kitchen utensils just do it for me – give me cheese grater and a cast iron stove to draw, over a chandelier any day. My escort left me to it. The place was very quiet – not many other visitors – hushed like a library.
Not long before it closed (and I think I missed the gallery part of the exhibition) I emerged into a rainwashed world – I’d not even noticed it had rained. I went in search of food and headed for a Turkish doner kebab place. Falafel, halloumi and salad in a huge, fresh baked wrap for €4 – perfect and hard to beat that.
RSS Feed
