On a mid August afternoon, late in the day, I got the chance to ride through the countryside of Bavaria and it was so lovely. I’ve been in Germany for about a month now, but most of my time has been spent in the city centers of Berlin and Munich. It was very nice to see something of the countryside. I love how green it is and all the land is so well cared for.

The sleighs. In my last post on this museum, I showed you a hearse carriage. But, did you ever stop to think about what princes and princesses did in wintertime? Well, they went sleigh riding of course! And this amazing collection houses some of their incredible sleighs!

There is something else I want to remark upon before I close out these posts on the Marstall Museum. The exhibit of the sleighs is particularly well done! Note the icy looking glass upon which the sleighs are displayed. Also, as one walks through the mews in this area, you hear, just barely, the sound of sleigh bells ringing. It isn’t obvious and I doubt everyone notices it. But, it’s there and I say, hat’s off to the curators of this fabulous collection! From one curator to another, bravo!

I’ve seen a lot of paintings in my lifetime. This is the first one that I’ve ever observed in which a horse is eating from a table. He was obviously considered a pet, not just a means of transportation.

If you’ve read my earlier blog posts on the Nymphenburg Palace, you will know that Ludwig had a gallery hung in the building with painted portraits of the most beautiful women. When I saw these galleries in the mews, I thought that he treated his horses as well as his women.

When we think of princes and princesses, I doubt we typically think of them dying. I know I never have. But, the Marstall Museum will make you understand that it did happen, and I assume any well-fitted palace would have to be prepared.

And, finally, a reminder of the recent past. The Nymphemburg Palace was nearly destroyed during WWII bombing, being so close to the center of Munich. The rebuilding is quite astounding, when you stop to consider all aspects. I salute the men and women who were able, during that tragic time, to save these and all the other collections in Germany.

Above is a mane cloth. I grew up in the American west, riding horses from the time I was 3. You can tell I love decorative things from this blog. If only it had occurred to me to decorate my horses, life would have been much more interesting!

More still to come. I’m thinking of you, RD, Jr.

What a splendid collection! I was amazed and, in spite of myself, delighted. I mean that I was fatigued by the time I arrived at the equestrian section of the Palace, yet, fascinated.

As you scroll through these photos, I think you will be impressed as well!

There’s more to come on this amazing collection.

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In the 1920s and 1930s, Berlin was a hub for technology enthusiasts. Simultaneously, traffic grew at a rapid pace. In fact, Potsdamer Platz was a crossroad with more traffic than any other in Europe. The traffic jams were just getting worse and there were lots of accidents, many involving pedestrians. Every day, for example, 83,000 passengers used the overground and underground station at Potsdamer Platz alone, not to mention more than 20,000 cars, 26 tram lines and 5 bus lines. The police, armed with trumpets!, could not keep this chaos under control. Consequently, in 1924, the first traffic lights in Berlin were ceremonially put into service on Potsdamer Platz.

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Across the world, pedestrian traffic lights were created in a variety of versions. But no other symbols were as well researched as the famous East German Ampelmännchen. Berlin’s symbols were preceded by extensive, well-founded development on the basis of traffic psychology.

The developer of the Ampelmännchen, Karl Peglau, was a traffic psychologist and technical draftsman. His wife Hildegard was frequently the first person to test his new developments. His secretary Anneliese Wegner had a gift for drawing; she added a few details at Peglau’s request, making her contribution to the personality of the Ampelmännchen. Peglau credited her with the shape of the hat in the symbols.

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Peglau submitted his suggestions in Berlin for new traffic light symbols, including very specific ones for pedestrians; thus, the little East German traffic light men were born.

On the basis of these suggestions Peglau had submitted, he “was commissioned in 1962 by the Chairman of the Permanent Transport Committee of the City Council of Greater Berlin to develop a concept for control and safety in road traffic.”

They endure to this day, fortunately.

Dr. Claudia Peschke of Jacobs University in Bremen stated in her study of the visual effectiveness of the East and West German Ampelmännchen: “Our findings show that the East German Ampelmännchen are not just iconic of the East German nostalgia, but actually have an advantage over the West German Ampelmännchen in terms of the signal being perceived.”

In the years following the fall of the Berlin Wall, amongst the turmoil that accompanied the phasing out of many East German institutions, the Ampelmännchen became cult figures: “Symbols standing against the unreasonable post-fall mentality of getting rid of things,” Karl Peglau remembered. “They were originally – and will hopefully remain – figures of the street, psychologically thought out symbols of the rules of behaviour for pedestrians in street traffic.”

He saw no reason to drive the symbols out of their traditional places in the East – but “plenty of good reasons to introduce them in the West.”

And, Berliners preferred the 1960s pedestrian traffic signals! That they have been maintained throughout the city seems to me to be one of the most charming things about the contemporary city. I love them!

I couldn’t resist using the stilted English with which Google maps describes this neoclassical monument in Munich.

I was on my way to visit the Villa Stuck in the city when I was new to Munich, when I happened upon this striking monument. For a brief moment, I thought I was in Athens on the Acropolis! The caryatids! But no, I’m in Bavaria.

I approached the monument from the back, because Villa Stuck is closed for renovation despite the fact that the internet says it is open. For a second I felt like I was in Italy, where this kind of thing happens all of the time. And now I’m finding this in Germany as well.

Let’s ask Wikipedia to tell us about this monument:

The Angel of Peace (Friedensengel) is a monument in the Bogenhausen district of Munich. The architects were Heinrich Düll, Georg Pezold and Max Heilmaier. It is part of Maximilian Park and a point at the eastern end of a line of sight forming Prinzregentenstrasse. Next to the Isar River, slightly elevated above street level, is an open space with a fountain; this has a dolphin waterspout surrounded by four smaller waterspouts. Two staircases lead to the observation deck . A column 38 metres high and in the Corinthian style is located here, on top of which is a six-metre statue of the Angel of Peace. It is a replica of the Nike of Paeonius.

The Angel of Peace is a reminder of the 25 peaceful years after the Franco-German war of 1870/71.The monument with its small temple shows the portraits of the German Emperors William I, Frederick III, Wilhelm II, the Bavarian rulers Ludwig II, Otto and Luitpold, the Imperial Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and the generals Helmuth von Moltke, Albrecht von Roon, Ludwig von der Tann, Jakob von Hartmann and Siegmund von Pranckh. In the hall of the temple are gold mosaics which depict the allegories of war and peace, victory and blessing for the culture.

The foundation stone was laid on 10 May 1896; the unveiling was on 16 July 1899. The sculpture of gilded cast bronze was a collaborative work of the architects were Heinrich Düll, Georg Pezold and Max Heilmaier. The Putti Fountain is a work of Wilhelm von Rümann.

Below, I am looking from the monument towards the city. I never got a view of it in reverse, which is the way it is meant to be seen. Typical of that day.

We’ve had nothing but rain the past few days, so like hundreds of other people in Munich today, I had to get out and enjoy the city.

My time here is drawing to a close this week and I wanted another taste of the famous market, so away I went.

There are so many different types of apples for sale here! It’s apple season, of course.

Oktoberfest starts this week, so I thought I’d better get shopping!

In fact, however, I’m leaving town prior. I’m glad too!

If you read my recent post on the Great Hall at this summer palace, you will recall that I said I was interested in the inventive way the chains/cords holding up the chandeliers are decorated. Here are some other examples of what I saw in the palace, along with a few other miscellaneous interior shots.

A little bronze kitten sits on a stool in front of the fireplace. I appreciate that someone took the trouble to decorate this room in this way.