Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
The Museum of Modern Art in Երևան, Armenia, is a little bit hard to find and placed in a rather unusual location. It can be found at the Mesrop Mashtots Avenue near the city centre and the Blue Mosque – but it is located in the basement of a building standing in the second row and above the museum there are flats. It therefore looks a bit improvised from the outside but it is really worth a visit.
Continue reading “Modern art”
You can find the national gallery of Armenia at the Republic square of Երևան. It is within the building that also hosts the historic museum and you have to get up to the first floor to enter it. Looking through the very high staircase you can see that there seven floors full of art to discover – and an ancient elevator obviously from Soviet times. Already the building is like travelling in time. In 56 halls you can see Armenian, but also Russian and European art.
Continue reading “National gallery”
If you want to learn more about the past of Armenia then the history museum at the Republic square of Երևան is your best choice. You can’t overlook the impressive building at this main square. On three floors you can learn about the past from the stone age until today. It is a big collection of ceramics, carpets, ancient cloth, stones, weapons and paintings.
Continue reading “History museum”
To be honest, the city of Mönchengladbach, Germany, isn’t such a beauty. If you want to visit a wonderful building you’ll have to travel a bit and search the castle Schloß Rheydt in the outskirts of the city. No worries: buses from the train stations (Hauptbahnhof, Rheydt) bring you there easily. It is a water castle created in Renaissance style between 1558 and 1591. The manor house is very beautiful and it is especially nice to get here in the evening hours when it is enlighted in warm colours. In 1940 Joseph Goebbels wanted to use it as a guest house, today you’ll find a good restaurant and an interesting museum here.
Continue reading “Schloß Rheydt”
The Abteiberg is a hill next to the city centre of Mönchengladbach, Germany, which received its name when the Münster St. Vitus was built on top. Visiting the Abteiberg can also mean to visit the Städtisches Museum Abteiberg not far away from the church – which I recommend. It is a museum with interesting modern architecture and a lot of modern art within. It was founded somewhen between 1901 and 1904, the current building is in use since 1982. It is one of the most important museums for contemporary in Germany and has a focus on works of the 20th and 21st century.
Continue reading “Abteiberg”
The Museum Morsbroich is a museum for contemporary art in Leverkusen, Germany. It is located within the baroque castle Schloss Morsbroich from the year 1389 – later belonging to the German Order. The castle is beautiful and around it, you can find an English landscape garden. The museum was founded in 1951 as the first German museum for contemporary art after World War II. I didn’t know what to expect when coming here, but it really was worth a visit. When I came there an exhibition of Belgian photographer Francis Alÿs was presented there.
Continue reading “Museum Morsbroich”
If you like to learn something about the past you’ve got many good options in Dublin, Ireland. The capital city is rich of national museums which don’t charge an entrance fee and it’s worth to have a look into all of them. The National Museum of Ireland has an archaeological section in Kildare street where you also can learn about the influence of the Vikings. Many ancient treasures of all ages are on display.
Continue reading “National museum”
The US-American industrial Sir Alfred Chester Beatty had an interesting hobby: how collected old books, book fragments and papyri. His collection is today on display in the Chester Beatty Library at Dublin, Ireland – located within Dublin castle. The very well-designed and modern museum dates back to the year 1950 and contains many beautiful and important books from all around the world. Most of them are religious, some secularistic.
Continue reading “The Art of Making Books”
It sounds a bit strange but I really love to visit cemeteries. Sometimes they have a fantastic atmosphere like the Cimetière du Père Lachaise in Paris, France or the special local burial traditions are fascinating like at the Cementerio Cristóbal Colón in La Habana, Cuba. And often they are the starting point for interesting stories. The most beautiful graveyard of Dublin, Ireland is Glasnevin; here you can find a mix of all religions and the typical Irish combination of Catholic crosses and pagan symbols.
Continue reading “Glasnevin”
The most important sight at Dublin, Ireland – and all tourist guides and guide books share this view – is a jail. Kilmainham Goal is a typical jail of the Victorian era located in the city quarter Kilmainham in the west of the city. It was built in 1796 and plays an important role in the history of Ireland: when in 1916 the Easter Rising happened and Irish rebels fought against British occupation, this was the place the caught fighters were brought to. The Easter Rising was unsuccessful, the rebels were executed in Kilmainham Goal – but their goal was partially achieved in 1922 when Ireland became a free state.
Continue reading “Kilmainham Goal”