Interesting and Unusual Museums

The Medieval Crime and Punishment Museum in Rothenburg is a personal favorite.

The Hunterian Museum at Royal College of Surgeons in London (medical oddities & free admission), Deyrolle (not a museum, but cool nonetheless, especially before they lost a lot of their collection in a fire) for taxidermy in Paris, Musee de l'Erotisime in Paris (all about the history of sex & a fun gift shop to get souvenirs), anything made entirely out of human bones artfully arranged (Cappuchin crypt in Rome, Sedlec Ossuary near Kutna Hora/Prague, Paris Catacombs), St. Michan's "mummies" in the crypt under the church in Dublin (you get encouraged by the guide to touch the mummies hand).

The Royal Museum of Military History in Brussels, for the huge collection of material from the world wars. The Musical Instrument Museum in Brussels, because it´s so cool. The Nederlands Spoorweg Museum in Utrecht, because I´m a train nerd. And the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, because it displays subject matter and themes found nowhere else on the continent.

There is a stove museum which traces Dutch stoves over the centuries. Its north of Amsterdam (is that Alkmaar? - where the cheese waag is - and there is a nice pancake boat where we had great pancakes).

The Hearse Museum in Barcelona, which has some amazingly elaborate hearses and mourning carriages, including one with a special low-profile black velvet interior for mistresses that is the closest thing I've ever seen to an actual black body.

The Coach Museum in Lisbon and the quirkiest museum we've visited The Frog Museum in Estavayer-le-lac in Switzerland. http://www.museedesgrenouilles.ch/net/Net_grenouilles.asp?NoOFS=201510

The Museum of Communism in Prague...it's over the casino. Very eery parts and interesting enough to keep my attention to end. There was no love lost when the Russians left.

The Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh is fun. You get to see items similar to all of the stuff you threw away when you helped clean out your grand-parents attic.

The Duetches Museum in Munich was fascinating (and huge). Lifesized airplanes, models of water pumps, cruise ships, very interesting. Schindler's Factory Museum was amazing too. Tons of multimedia.

We love the Villeroy & Boch Ceramics Museum in Mettlach, Germany (on the Saar River between Trier and Saarbrucken). Situated in a 16th century Benedictine Abbey, the museum gives a fascinating look at the company's ceramic production from the mid-1700's until modern day. .........Don't miss the Museumscafe - a fabulous re-creation of the famous Dresden Molkerei/Milkladen (dairy store). Here is a link to a photo of the original in Dresden - made with Villeroy & Boch tiles back in 1880: http://www.pfunds.de/start.htm ........And here is the link to the re-creation in V&B's company headquarters museum: http://www.villeroy-boch.com/de/us/home/unternehmen/unternehmen/erlebniszentrum-von-villeroy-boch/museumscafe-im-stil-des-dresdener-milchladens.html?deflang=0&no_cache=1 ............While there, be sure to also visit "Keravision" - a look at V&B products throughout the centuries, along with a film narrated by Peter Ustinov. Here is the Keravision link: http://www.villeroy-boch.com/en/us/home/the-company/the-company/discover-villeroy-boch/keravision.html Schoene Reise! :)

I am not a "museum person". But, there are exceptions. I will now mention two museums that I liked - these are not strange or creepy : The National Archaeological Museum at Athens in Greece. The Benaki Museum at Athens in Greece. One item in that National Archaeological Museum could be perceived as being creepy : the gold mask that was ripped off of a dead king's face. I think of the Benaki museum as being a museum for people who do not like museums. I thought I was not interested in seeing more ancient Greek pottery, but I liked seeing the ancient Greek pottery in the Benaki Museum, and the carved stone items. And that museum has some ancient items that are not Greek, and some Greek items that are not ancient (swords made in the 1800s, ...). That museum, in an old mansion, is sumptuous. The afternoon I was there, in November (2005), a couple of people could slowly walk through a room, looking through clear glass at the items, no other people in the room. And the Benaki Museum has a good cafe' on an upper floor, with an outside large balcony (a view of mountains). People can ride in an elevator to an other floor, or walk on the grand stairs. That museum has a gift store (retail business). The white marble sculpture of people (life size, and 3/4 size) are in the National Archaeological museum. The month October is better than November, for being at Greece. (Better weather in October)

The Art Nouveau and Art Deco Museum in Salamanca, Spain was fun! Also, the Museum of Ham in Madrid!

Well, my favorite visit is the German Banana Museum about 50 miles NE of Hamburg. They have a website http://www.bananamuseum.org/ and it's quite the place.

There's a museum of chocolate in Barcelona. Of course, the "museo de jamon" in Madrid is just a place where you can sample different kinds of ham, not a real museum. (But no less worthy of a visit.) In Berlin, there is a museum of life under the DDR, but I think it is probably aimed at locals suffering from a dose of Ostalgia. I used to love the Museum of the Moving Image on the South Bank of the Thames in London[INVALID]a shame that it closed.

The Resistance Museum in Fontaine de Vaucluse (Provence).

And the Museum of Ham shops are all over Madrid...it's a chain/sort of like fast food tapas. Very cheap, though, and not that bad. Kids (girls) would enjoy the doll museum in St. Goar. I recall they had teddy bears, too.

there are Fairground/showmen Museums in Essen and paris, as well as recreated steam fairgrounds in Hollycombe and other plces in England. (operating) Tram Museum in Crich Derbyshire

The Pathological-Anatomical Museum in Vienna, a small but cool museum, could be the antecedent of Body Worlds.

The Viking Museum at Roskilde. They recreated five vikings ships using the methods and materials that would have been originally used by Viking shipbuilders. You have the opportunity to sign up to row a viking replica boat in the harbor as part of a group. Very funny to watch people trying figure out how to use the oars!

I found the Mechanical Musical Museum in Rudesheim most interesting.

One of my favorites is the Museum of Costume in Bath UK. It can be combined on the Roman Bath ticket. There was a time when there were no left or right shoes. There is a large collection of undergarments. This is very instructive on the lives of women through history. Also the regimental Museum at Rutland Castle. It is very sad because most were lost in the "Charge of the Light Brigade".

Teyler's Museum in Haarlem. It's so old it feels like a museum of a museum. I realize it's cheating because it's not in Europe but I love the Toastworks toaster museum in Stewart, British Columbia.

I know I am getting some great ideas here for my future travels! The Viking Museum sounds cool. If you are in Mainz, consider going to the Romer Passage and visiting the Isis Temple ruins. It is under the little shopping mall. It is a small museum, but the music and background audio, smoke coming out of the sacrificial fires, and the film they play is fun.