The Paris Museum Pass

The Paris Museum Pass pays for itself once you've gone into four museums. You can buy passes that are good for 2, 4, or 6 days. All we should need are the 2 day passes. The really wonderful thing about getting these is that they allow you to skip the line at nearly all museums. This can definitely save hours of time over a couple of days. It's good for over 60 museums in and around Paris including the Louvre, d'Orsay, Notre Dame towers, St. Chapelle, l'Armee, Versailles, and Arc de Triomphe. I recommend we buy it either at the airport in Paris or at whichever site we visit first. Ordering over the internet is not cost saving since it costs over $20 to have the pass shipped to the US. You cannot buy it online and just print it out on your home printer.

A Museum for the Men!

A short walk from the area of Paris where we plan to lodge is a museum that the men of our trip will certainly enjoy. If you are a history and/or military buff, this is a can't miss spot - the Musee de l'Armee located at Les Invalides. This is a large complex that was once a hospital for soldiers and also contained a golden-domed church. The hospital portion has been converted to the French Army museum and the church is now a shrine that contains the tomb of Napoleon and General Foch (of WWI fame.)

Just under the golden dome of the cathedral is where the tomb of Napoleon is located. I've always been fascinated with this low-born man from a nondescript island who rose to become the most feared military mind of his day. He was the "little corporal" who became the mighty emperor and later fell to the bottom and died on a lonely island. Prior to 1803, had I lived in the exact place I live in now this man would have been my ruler, since he owned the Louisiana Territory. He was the most powerful man in Europe, if not the world, by the time he was 34 years old. It was said that his personal charisma on a battlefield was worth an additional 10,000 men. Above is a picture of his tomb.

In addition the remains of Napoleon, this huge complex has one of the best military history museums in the world. Loads of old cannons, guns, and artifacts. There is also a whole wing of the complex that is dedicated to WWI and WWII. This museum could easily take up a whole day of your time. I recommend we let those less interested in this stuff take the whirlwind tour and then go sight-seeing nearby.

Musee d'Orsay If You Don't Like Paintings

The Orsay has quite a collection of priceless antiques in addition to its paintings. For those of you who aren't into art, this may be just the ticket. Some of these furniture pieces have particular interest to me since I've dabbled in woodworking.

Lorraine Forest Desk, Emile Galle

Lady's Writing Desk, Henry van de Velde

Clock, Christian Ferdinand Morawe

Chiffonnier, Jean Dampt - notice the handles are carved mice

Paintings of the Musee d'Orsay

Even if you are not into art very much, you will probably recognize many of the paintings in Musee d'Orsay. Everyone has heard of van Gogh and Monet! If you really love art, then this place will be a paradise for you. Below is a taste of what you can see in this fabulous museum of the Impressionists and their contemporaries.

Circus, Georges Seurat

Poppies, Claude Monet

The Angelus, Jean-Francois Millet

Starry Night, Vincent van Gogh

It shouldn't take more than two hours to get through this museum. It is located a short walk from the area of Paris where we plan on lodging.

Musee d'Orsay

The Musee d'Orsay is the finest Impressionist museum in the world. It contains more originals of famous Impressionist paintings than any other museum. It used to be a huge railway station, but was converted into this museum in the 1970's. It contains paintings of Monet, Degas, Gauguin, van Gogh, Cezanne, Renoir, and Seurat among its treasures. It also contains some really neat furniture and decoration pieces from the period 1850-1914. The museum is not far from many other sites so those not interested in Impressionism can see other sites. This museum is also only a short walking distance away from the area where we will likely be staying in Paris. I'll be posting more concerning this site in later updates.

Other Stuff in the Louvre

Besides just having art, sculpture, and ancient history stuff, the Louvre also houses many priceless antiques from the last 1,000 years. Some of these may be more interesting to people in our group than any amount of art pieces.

This first piece picture above is the actual writing desk of Queen Marie Antoinette. This is the queen that the French revolutionaries sent to the guillotine.

Next up is the scepter of King Charles V of France.

This third piece is the jewel cabinet of Empress Josephine, Napolean's wife. Pretty impressive cabinet work, if you ask me.

This fourth piece is the actual helmut of King Charles IX of France. His shield is also in the museum. Doesn't look very comfortable, does it?

This last piece is the crown of Empress Eugenie. She was the wife of Napolean III. This impressive crown contains countless diamonds and emeralds.

There are also lots of tapestries and other antiques that the French call "objets d'art." You can also see the living apartments of Napolean III in the Louvre. They are supposedly set up just as they were during his reign in the mid-1800's when he lived there.

Sculpture in the Louvre

The Louvre has quite a few sculptures in it besides those in the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman sections. They have a large section of French and Italian sculptures. Most of them are ones I've never heard of. That doesn't mean they're insignificant, it just means that I know little about the subject! There are quite a few busts of the upper torsoes and heads of famous people too. Some of the more famous busts and whole body sculptures are those of the famous French atheist and writer, Voltair. If you see portraits of Voltair you will understand why he reminds me of Bill Maher. I imagine he had much of the same attitude as Bill Maher does too. Bitterness, sarcasm, and biting humor seem to exude from both men.

Voltaire, by Houdon

Probably the most famous sculptures in the Louvre (besides Winged Victory and the Venus de Milo) are the two "Slaves" of Michelangelo. One is called "Dying Slave" and the other is called "Rebel Slave."

Rebel Slave, by Michelangelo

One other sculpture that interests me is that of the infamous Cardinal Richelieu by Bernini. This was one of the most powerful men in Europe for a very long time. He is usually portrayed as villainous and power-hungry.

Cardinal Richelieu, by Bernini

Italian and Spanish Paintings

If fanciful pictures of saints, Virgin Mary's, and naked cherubs is your thing, then you should love the Italian and Spanis department of the Louvre. This collection is primarily contained in the most famous area of the Louvre, the Grande Galerie. There are paintings by Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, and Titian. Here is where you'll see the Mona Lisa. This is also where you'll find the biggest crowds.

Portrait of a Woman, Leonardo da Vinci

Northern European Painting

The Northern European Painting department of the Louvre is contained mostly on the top floor. Here you can see stuff by Durer, Holbein, and Rembrandt. I'm really interested in seeing this collection. I've also read that this area is less crowded than other sections of the Louvre, mostly because it's on the top floor and people get tired before they get this far!

Portrait of Erasmus, Hans Holbein

Self Portrait, Rembrandt

French Paintings in the Louvre

The French Painting department is, justifiably, the largest in the Louvre. What comes as a surprise to many is that their favorite French painter(s) are not even represented here. That's because the Louvre only has paintings up to about the mid-1800's. Nearly all the Impressionist paintings and later are in other museums. If you want to see Monet, Renoir, van Gogh, Seurat, and etc. you'll have to go to the Musee d'Orsay, which is the repository for all things Impressionist and post-Impressionist. All that being said, there are some fine and famous French paintings in the Louvre.

The Monkey Painter - by Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin

I get a kick out of this Chardin painting. Is he making fun of all the artists who did self-portraits?

There are also plenty of neo-classical paintings that are impressive and interesting. They usually tell a story and try to show some famous moment in history. Below are some of my favorites.

The Oath of the Horatii, Jacques-Louis David

The Raft of the Medusa, Theodore Gericault

Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities in the Louvre

The Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities area is another department of the Louvre. It has two of the most famous pieces in the whole museum, which are the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. I know these pieces are justifiably famous, but they don't have the appeal to me that maybe they should have. Below is a picture of the Winged Victory. I might skip this area of the Louvre or maybe just blitz through it.

Oriental Antiquities in the Louvre

Call me weird, but I'm not all that interested in seeing the Egyptian antiquities in the Louvre. There's a huge section of them, but nothing that I just can't stand to miss. On the other hand, there are several objects in the Oriental antiquities that I am fascinated with. Hammurabi's Codex, shown above, is one item I don't want to miss. This thing comes from a time possibly as old as Abraham and he may have even seen one just like this in his day.

Or how about this Assyrian winged bull which the Assyrian King Sargon II had built at his palace? This is the king who took the ten tribes of Israel captive and destroyed the northern kingdom. His name is mentioned in Isaiah 20:1. Do you think Jonah saw some of these very statues when he visited Ninevah? Incredible! These are two things I'd love to see.

The Gemaldegalerie

That name sure is a mouthful! This is Berlin's version of the Louvre with Germany's top collection of pre-1800's paintings. It's free to visit on Thursday evenings after 6:00PM and is open till 10:00PM on that night. There are famous paintings displayed from such artists as Durer, van Eyck, Rembrandt, Raphael, and etc. It's located in the Kulturforum in Berlin next to several other nice museums -the Musical Instrument Museum, the New National Gallery, and Museum of Arts and Crafts. Might be a really good area to visit while in Berlin besides Museum Island (which has the unbeatable Pergamon Museum.)

The Un-Romantic Rhine

Mainz Cathedral

In Rick Steves' Germany guidebook, he has a small section on where NOT to go in the Rhine valley of Germany. He really bashes the university town of Heidelberg. He calls it "stained almost beyond recognition by commercialism." Harsh words for a town that is so popular with tourists. Even more interesting is this quote: "Mainz, Wiesbaden, and Rudesheim - These towns are all too big or too famous. They're not worth your time. Mainz's Gutenberg Museum is also a disappointment." Wow! Mainz is one of the towns we may be spending time in. Despite this, I still would like to see the Gutenberg Museum but maybe I'd be willing to just do a quick trip through the museum then move on to other better towns. Jeff, do you have any ideas about this? Anybody else?

Packing List

On the right side of this blogging page I've added a packing list section. This will have some of the "must-have's" that we should be sure to bring with us. I am not including no-brainer items like cameras and toothpaste. It will be for those things that we are more likely to forget and regret. Y'all let me know what you think should be added to this list.

The Great European Trip of 2010

I am currently reading through several books on travel to various parts of Europe. From those books I'll try to post various tidbits of information that might be useful to us on the trip. Check back often for new stuff.