The Oxford University Museum of Natural History is today's #MidweekMuseum and it's a place worth seeing for the building itself as much as the exhibits. It's a great example of Victorian Neo-Gothic design in iron and glass. There are some lovely pieces to see in the museum, of course, but we took most joy in being allowed to touch the 4.5 billion years old Nantan iron meteorite.
#Museum #Oxford #NaturalHistory #Meteorite #Architecture #NeoGothic #Victorian
My #MidweekMuseum today is the #Vasa #Museum in #Stockholm, #Sweden. Vasa was a 17th century #warship, intended to be the flagship of a squadron based in the Swedish Archipelago, but she was over-designed to be dangerously top-heavy by the king, Gustavus Adolphus, sailed out before a watching crowd, caught a small breeze, flooded through the open gun ports, and sank into mud that preserved her this well.
My #MidweekMuseum recommendation is Zadar Archaeological Museum. If you like Roman artifacts in very good condition and the sense of stepping back in time when you're up close to them then this is a great place to explore, and right outside the museum are more ruins of pillars than you can shake a historical stick at in the old Roman Forum.
My #MidweekMuseum today is the Norsk Folkemuseum (or Norwegian Museum of Cultural History) at Bygdøy in Oslo, Norway. It's an open-air museum housing dozens of historical buildings relocated to this area for preservation, and home of the Gol Stave Church (circa 1200 CE), one of three stave churches we've now visited in Norway when travelling. Who doesn't love a stave church?
#Travel #Photography #TravelPhotography #Museum #Norway #Church #StaveChurch #Oslo #Bygdoy #Norsk
My #MidweekMuseum today is the Centre for Computing History (or Computer Museum) in Cambridge. I took so few photos when we visited here because we were so busy playing games or trying to remember some BASIC or COBOL, or, in the case of vintage machines like the IMSAI 8080 that was used in the movie WarGames, simply enjoying the sound and feel of flicking the switches. Stupidly fun feast of nostalgia.
#Museum #Computer #ComputerMuseum #Cambridge #WarGames #Nostalgia #Vintage #Classic
My #MidweekMuseum this week is #Arundells in #Salisbury, the former home of former UK Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath. He was Conservative but before you immediately start booing and throwing things at your screen, he didn't like Thatcher, was very pro-European, was strongly anti-Nazi following his wartime experiences. He still had some "Ah, not so good" moments because he was a politician but the house is fascinating and the garden incredible; well worth a visit.
This week's #MidweekMuseum recommendation - after a short break - is the Nonsense Museum in Ísafjörður, Iceland. This is a museum dedicated to collections of collections. The pictures here show alcohol miniatures, playing cards, police helmets, shot glasses, Pez dispensers, and perfume testers, but there were also airplane models, pens, cigarette packets, monkeys, spoons, and more. All fascinating and fun nonsense.
#Museum #Travel #Isafjordur #Iceland #NonsenseMuseum #Nonsense
Today's #MidweekMuseum is Bangsbo Fort and Bunker Museum, located in Frederikshavn, Denmark. This World War 2 structure is a series of wartime bunkers built as part of Germany's Atlantic Wall coastal defences. Fabulous views out from this high vantage point, and the various bunkers you can enter and large guns you can see up close give a good feel for conditions of the time.
#Museum #BangsboFort #Bangsbo #AtlanticWall #WorldWarII #WorldWar2 #Denmark #Frederikshavn #Bunker #Travel #Photography
#MidweekMuseum moves to #Oxford this week and the #Ashmolean #Museum. Oxford isn't short of museums to visit, but if you're going to just see one of them then this is probably the most famous in the city and the one you're most likely to hit. Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Assyrian artifacts will satisfy your deep historical cravings and there is plenty for fans of paintings and objects such as violins and timepieces too.
This week's #MidweekMuseum is the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Dulles, Washington, part of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. This was the year I went to America and left my camera at home so excuse the old Nokia phone shots. Some incredible craft to see, spent ages looking, and pictured here are an early MiG jet fighter, the Enola Gay, an SR-71 Blackbird, and the Space Shuttle Discovery.
#Museum #Travel #Photography #Smithsonian #SpaceShuttle #Blackbird #EnolaGay #Dulles
Mark H