Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Are You Reading This From...?

Are you reading this blog from London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, Naples, Venice, Florence, Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Istanbul or Athens?  If you are, I'd love to meet you in person!  On February 25 I'm heading out for six weeks or so of work (and some vacation) in all those places.  I'll be doing professional development workshops for Context Travel but I hope to squeeze some museum-going time in as well.  I'd love to meet colleagues, so please be in touch if you'd like to meet up (I'm very sorry that my schedule doesn't synch with the Museums Showoff in London!)

Already on my list of to-dos if there's time:

The Museum of London:  my colleague and city museum expert Rainey Tisdale rates it as one of the best in the world. Currently on exhibit,  "Doctors and Resurrection Men,"  described by Time Out as "well worth coffin up for."  (groan).

In Berlin, I follow the DDR Museum on Pinterest, so I want to check them out in person.  RegistrarTrek's Angela Kipp has provided some great ideas for other museums there, and I'm hoping to spend a day there with Uncataloged guest blogger and fellow adventurer Katrin Hieke.

In Rome I'll be spending some of my vacation time taking a Context Tour of the Coliseum and Forum--I visited the sites in November, found all of it hard to make sense of, and am looking forward to a great scholar-led tour. 

In Budapest,  Terra Haza (the House of Terror)  greatly intrigued me the last time I visited, on a crowded Museum Night in May several years ago.  I'm hoping for another visit to delve deeper.

In Istanbul, of course, the Museum of Innocence, opened by Orhan Pamuk and based on his novel is on my list.

And for Context, in addition to the workshops,  I'll be getting to observe and enjoy more walks on everything from baguettes to the Bourbons.   I've been surprised how many of my colleagues have, or know of people who have, taken a Context Tour somewhere along the way.  And I even met a new Context docent at the Small Museum Association conference this week!  Their in-depth, scholar-led tours present unique experiences that we, as museum people, can all learn from.

So, dear readers, if you want to meet, get in touch, and if you have a museum in any of these cities that you love, or want to see me write about, comment away or contact me directly.   One of you suggested the surprising Museum of the Hunt in Paris, so I know there are great, off-the-beaten track places to see.   Field reports to come...








6 comments:

Leslie Howard said...

Churchill's war rooms in London (I may have already mentioned that one to you but it is a favorite!) and the Imperial War Museum in London. Have a fantastic trip!

Rachel Sayers said...

It's such a pity that your work does not take you to Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland(where I am from, working as young museum professional).
There are so many historic houses, museums, galleries etc in Belfast and Dublin! I would recommend the Sir John Soane Museum in Lincoln Inn Fields in London, near Holborn tube station on the central line.
www.soane.org
And the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green, East London. Also on the central line, Bethnal Green stop. Go right at the ticket barriers and right again, museum is right at beside the station.
http://www.museumofchildhood.org.uk/

Linda said...

Leslie--I visited the war rooms in November and your comment reminded me that I never got around to writing a post--and Rachel--same for Soane and Childhood, both of which I loved. But Northern Ireland/Ireland--I've visited as a tourist--and would love a way to come back for way. Invite me anytime! :)

Angela Kipp said...

Have a nice trip and say hello to Katrin from me (and remind her that there is still a coffee in TECHNOSEUM waiting for her).

Rachel Sayers said...

What parts of Ireland/Northern Ireland have you visited? I would love to invite you back! We're currently the host of the City of Culture in Londonderry, Titanic Belfast opened last year- a lot is happening!
Hopefully you could find a way of coming back even for work!

Linda Norris said...

Hi Rachel--I've been to Dublin, Galway and Connemara on a lovely vacation several years ago. So yes, a trip for work would be fabulous! Any ideas?