The Horse and Rider Statue

Every city has its own unique statues, fountains and monuments, some of which are very famous. When you hear Eiffel Tower; you think Paris, when you hear Big Ben; you think London, and when hear Statue of Liberty; you think New York. But when you hear about a statue of a man riding a horse, are you able identify the city? You could actually name a number of cities and you would be right. It seems that every single city I have visited has one of these statues. It’s common, and after you've seen 10 of them, they no longer seem special. It's just another man on a horse.

It made me wonder what the significance of a horse and rider were. Why are there so many of these statues? Apparently riding a horse depicts the heroic character of the rider. It usually meant he was a warrior or hunter.
Source: Freud Museum London

And in case anyone was wondering, the number of feet the horse has off the ground does not indicate the rider's fate. It is a myth and done for aesthetic appeal.
Sources: Snopes and The Equinest

The following pictures are of nine common Horse and Rider Statues and one Horse and Rider Statue that ACTUALLY depicts hunting.

Cologne

Munich

Regensburg

Prague, Czech Republic

Berlin

Nürnberg
Source: Vitold Muratov, Wikimedia

Düsseldorf
Source: Our 7 Worlds

Bamberg
Source: Hochmittelalter

Paris, France
Source: Daderot, Wikipedia

Finally, the one statue that brought on a bit of excitement.

The other Horse and Rider in Berlin  

What's in YOUR Fairytale? Guess what's not in mine!

This past weekend, Matt and I went to Füssen, Germany. There is quite a short list of attractions to see in Füssen, but the two that sit at the top of the list, make this spot a very popular tourist destination. They are the Neuschwanstein Castle and the Hohenschwangau Castle.

After the guide at the tourist office strongly recommended we do NOT go to the castles on a Sunday (the lines are much too long since all the stores are closed on Sunday’s in Germany) Matt and I hopped on the jam packed city bus, just down the road from the tourist office. This was the second best choice we could have made. Everyone else had boarded at the previous stop, the main station. When we arrived at the castle, we were the first off the bus and first in line for castle tickets. This meant we were able to join the next scheduled English tour that began within the next 30 minutes. By the time we left the cash, there was a line up behind us to the edge of the door…I am sure those at the end of the line missed the first scheduled tour.

 
We walked the 5 or 10 minutes up the hill to Hohenschwangau. We had about 15 minutes before the tour was scheduled to begin so we took the opportunity to walk around the castle and take a few photos, and that’s when we saw it… The legendary Neuschwanstein Castle, the one that looks like it came straight out of a fairy tale and is said to have “inspired Walt Disney to create the Magic Kingdom”. However, despite the large amount of fog engulfing the castle, we noticed there was something wrong with this view…

Can you see it?

 

But we will come back to this later.

On with the tour of Hohenschwangau! This castle was built in 1837 for King Maximilian II of Bavaria and was later taken over by his son King Ludwig II of Bavaria. As this castle is under 200 years old, it is not your stereotypical old stone castle with grey walls. The castle is gorgeous inside and out and contains brightly coloured walls, pillars, and pictures and original furniture. As photographs are not permitted inside the castle, I will not be spoiling the tour for you. 

The outside of Hohenschwangau however, looks like this. Still pretty on Winter's harsh canvas.

 Once the tour was finished, we had a few minutes to take some outside photos before embarking on the 40 minute walk up hill to Neuschwanstein. Oh ya, the buses up the hill don’t run in the winter, so you can either walk or wait for a horse drawn carriage to pull you up. At the 30 minute mark, you can stop to purchase some souvenirs, grab a small drink or snack and either unload from or load onto the horse drawn carriages depending on your direction as this is where they stop. During the last 10 minute stretch, after we rounded a large corner, we were finally presented with a full view of the western and northern walls of the castle. The problem also came into full view. 

Can you see it now?

 

Yep, it’s covered in scaffolding. We were really disappointed. I was really disappointed after reading and hearing about how it REALLY looked like it belonged in a fairytale. I’m sorry, but none of my fairytale images have scaffolding in them. Two minutes later, we overheard a tour guide telling his group that the scaffolding had actually been there since 2001, but that the eastern and southern sides were free of this blockage. Well that’s a bit of good news, I thought. We eventually made it to the top and I got to see the bit of brick still showing. 

I had to crop a bit off from the right because it contained a random AND scaffolding.

Neuschwanstein was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Building began in 1869, but as the king wanted this castle to be perfect, it was not even finished by the time of his death in 1886. Again, the castle was gorgeous. It had the original furniture including his wood carved bed which took 4 carpenters 4 years to complete and brightly coloured, walls, pictures, and pillars. 

Here’s where the second disappointment came. It also contained a number of rooms that echoed, a very large group of tourists straining to here the guide, and 3 jackasses having their own little side conversation the entire time, making hearing the guide, almost impossible at times. I was ticked. I really wished my mom had been there to “pull a Cheryl” and tell them to shut up! If you know her, you know she would have said something and it would have gone either a little like this:

 “Hey guys…” All of her speeches to people adding their own soundtrack start this way…

“The rest of us paid for this tour as well, but we can’t enjoy it over your carrying on, so shut up or I’ll come over there and help you to do it” 

Or like this: 

“Hey guys…could ya shut up for 30 minutes so the rest of us can hear the tour?” 

The ladder is the general speech given to the movie chatterers and the first is generally reserved for the large drunk parties managing to scream over a musical concerts sound output. I’m not sure where castle tour fits into that.

However, I was too afraid to interrupt and draw the group’s attention to myself. So I tried to move a little closer. We were also a little disappointed that some of the people thought they were above the "no photos" rule. A large string of people had digital SLR cameras slung around their necks and hung down to their waist. They attempted to hide amongst the large group, aim their waists at some part of the room and click the little button. I have news for you, you aren’t being as conspicuous as you think you are, your expensive SLR camera may be better than mine, but it still makes a sound when the picture is being taken. Everyone can hear it.The security guard who has just been kind enough to yell a general "no photos, please!" was talking to you.

But despite being annoyed by the other tourist’s stupidity, the castles were definitely worth the trip. And now that I have come home and read more about the two castles, I have found an additional Neuschwanstein website, the one that mentions it’s covered in scaffolding, and the scaffolding is only scheduled to be there until the end of 2012. So future German tourists, you might get the full fairytale vision that I had been hoping for!

Searching for Fun: Museum Edition

The majority of cities you go to will have a museum that houses at least two (if not more) of the following: History and/or War, Science and Technology, Art, The life’s work of (insert name of composer, artist, or inventor), or maybe even Archeology or Space. This is great, if that’s YOUR thing. I however, have discovered that I really don’t enjoy spending hours walking around a museum, reading the many facts I read/learned about in High School or staring at paintings that are in all the books or all over the internet. To be honest, I wasn’t even really interested in them back in High School.

I have nothing against the Science and Technology Museums. They generally have interesting things to see and allow you to touch the items and be part of the scene. However, I don’t want to see the same thing over and over in each city. So as I research all of the cities I want to see, I find myself checking out the museum section of the tourism sight, looking for something fun and different. Unfortunately, the internet isn’t always pulling through for me. I Google phrases such as the: “Best Museums in Germany” or “Most Interesting Museums of Germany” and the top 5-10 results are for history and art museums. So, I find myself Googling each individual city I may want to visit and book marking those with interesting museums. I am sad to report that a number of sites, while boasting over 30 museums, having nothing I want to see.

So, what is it that I’m looking for? I haven’t completely ruled out history museums…just the ones about city history, war and fur trading, etc.

Here is a list of some of the museums that caught MY attention and they didn’t disappoint.

1. Chocolate Museum Cologne (Schokoladen Museum), in Cologne, Germany

Learn about the history of chocolate, cocoa farming, and how chocolate’s made. Learn about your favourite products and beauty supplies that contain cocoa and what the old fashion chocolate shops look like. And if you weren’t impressed with that, part of the tour includes touring the Lindt Chocolate Factory where you can get an up close look at how the Chocolate makers make those delicious Bunnies you get in your Easter baskets or those creamy Lindor balls you get for every occasion. The Lindt store is located on your way out and will be sure to satisfy the Chocolate craving
you developed throughout your visit.

2. German Sport and Olympic Museum (Deutsches Sport and Olympia Museum), in Cologne, Germany

Located right beside the Chocolate Museum, you can plan on making this your second stop. A close look at the actual items used in both the Winter and Summer Olympics through the years. These items include, the torches you might have seen in your community, the outfits, clubs, gloves, etc worn by winning or participating athletes, including Shaq O’Neal’s very large running shoe, patches of grass from the stadiums, tickets to the final Canada-U.S hockey game at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, and the list goes on. When I visited, they were in the process of designing the interior of some new rooms…my guess is that it will be for the 2012 London Summer

Olympics. 

3. National Leprechaun Museum in Dublin, Ireland

 While this museum is both quite new and small, it’s the red headed tour guide that made the experience. Learn about Irish mythology and the story of the Leprechaun. Listen, as your tour guide tells you the tales of how he almost caught a leprechaun and feel what it’s like to be a leprechaun as you try to climb into the chairs that tower above your head.

4. Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland

If you like beer, this tour will not disappoint. Discover how Guinness beer is made and pour your own perfect pint of Guinness at the end of the tour. One beer included in the price of admission ticket.It doesn't stop there, head upstairs to the Gravity Bar where you can take in a 360 degree view of the city. Don't forget to hit-up the Guinness Store on your way out to pick up some Guinness merchandise.

And here is the list of Museums that I might possibly entertain, should I have time to explore the location:

1. The Nordic Museum of Daily Life in Stockholm, Sweden

2. The Museum of Bags and Purses in Amsterdam, Netherlands

3. The Heineken Experience in Amsterdam, Netherlands

4. Madame Tussauds- A collection of Wax Figures in Berlin, Germany

5. ModellPark Berlin- Brandenburg in Berlin, Germany

6. University Museum in Krakow, Poland

7. Budapest Memento Park (Statue Park): Gigantic Reminders of the Past in Budapest, Hungary

8. Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany

My ultimate goal is not to hit a museum in every city; they are just nice to visit on a rainy day or a Sunday, when nothing else is open anyways.If you find yourself looking for something similar to I am, I hope you have found this list useful! I would also love to hear about some of the fascinating European museums that others have hit, and where I can find it!