{"id":15637,"date":"2017-03-24T12:28:01","date_gmt":"2017-03-24T12:28:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/?p=15637"},"modified":"2017-03-28T12:55:18","modified_gmt":"2017-03-28T12:55:18","slug":"babys-first-art-gallery-the-buchheim-museum-starnberger-see","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/babys-first-art-gallery-the-buchheim-museum-starnberger-see\/","title":{"rendered":"Baby’s First Art Gallery – The Buchheim Museum Starnberger See"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Buchheim Swan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A lovely Instagram photograph<\/a>\u00a0I chanced upon yesterday of Louisiana<\/a> – my favourite art gallery on the entire planet – prompted me to think about this place, a<\/a>nd how it could possibly be a very close second…<\/p>\n

A word of warning. \u00a0On arrival, the sign posts for the Buchheim’s car park are quite confusing. \u00a0If it feels like you are driving through the gates of the museum itself, believe me when I tell you that you are, as you will soon find yourself driving through the main part of the sculpture garden (whilst in complete hysterics, and not much help at all to your good friend who has agreed to be designated driver for the day!)… \u00a0 \u00a0Do act all nonchalant once you have reversed all the way back through the sculptures and through the gates to find the correct car park. \u00a0Then, take time to admire the completely off the wall pieces that are exhibited in the grounds of this mind-blowing museum, whilst acting like nothing’s happened…<\/p>\n

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Octopus Car…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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I hasten to add, before I start on the art stuff – that you really should visit even if art’s totally not your cup of tea. \u00a0The architecture of the building itself is stunningly beautiful, and the grounds that lead down to the banks of the Starnberger See are vast and free to explore. \u00a0 \u00a0Plus you can also venture out on the museum boat – The Phantasie – if you prefer that kind of thing to paintings and the like…<\/p>\n

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Graffiti Wall featuring “the Pirate” himself…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This museum was built especially for the vast\u00a0private collection of\u00a0 Lothar-G\u00fcnther Buchheim – a German author and painter (those of us of a certain age might remember one of his most famous works – Das Boot – about the crew of a World War II German U boat film that was made into a TV series back in the eighties. \u00a0Not that I watched it first time around, but was instead subjected to it as my Father mostly controlled the TV remote back in the early nineties. \u00a0 I have to say that with nothing else to watch, it was definitely watchable, and made a nice change from Star Trek at the time!!). \u00a0 His collection concentrates mostly on German Expressionist paintings that he was able to collect quite cheaply after the war, as the subject matter was considered degenerate previously. \u00a0 There is also masses of European crafts, Graphic art, and Ethnological art (lots of cultural and folklore exhibits from around the world, check out the tuk tuk in the basement on the ground floor of the gallery, and you can’t really miss the fairground animals dotted about the place) to inspect.<\/p>\n

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Fairground horses<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I have to say that I was completely petrified about taking a then much smaller Baby into the museum itself. \u00a0 I am well versed in taking children to galleries<\/a>, especially when they encourage young minds to delve into the world of art with exhibits and workshops (this place is no different by the way, I had a quick peak around the corner into the kids workshop and it looks really inspiring); but the thought of taking an often shrieking, quickly crawling baby \u00a0into such a place was quite daunting. \u00a0I needn’t have worried, he behaved impeccably, enjoying the vast gallery space to crawl and explore, and more often than not, to sit and look quizzically at some of the works on display. \u00a0Thankfully, the staff were smiling and friendly towards us. \u00a0Do look out for the fantastic benches in the main gallery. \u00a0Upon sitting on one to take in a massive painting, we found ourselves unexpectedly trundling off across the gallery. \u00a0The benches are motorised and are actually pieces of art in their own right!<\/p>\n

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baby’s first gallery<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Not sure about this painting obviously…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After a lengthy Expressionist painting appreciation session (and a bit of stair climbing experimentation for one member of our group) it was then on to explore pieces of work from around the globe that include strange and wonderful furniture, ethnic ritual tools, and models of restaurants – complete with Beryl Cook-esque diners.<\/p>\n

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Towards the end of his life, Buchheim had to wear an eye patch after a botched operation, and, famous for his bad temper, he became known as “The Pirate”, and was quite the character by all accounts. \u00a0 It’s worth bearing in mind that a lot of the paintings and sculptures were done by Buchheim himself, and given the wide range of subjects, he must have had quite an imagination. \u00a0Which incidentally, is the other name for the place – the Museum of Imagination.<\/p>\n

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After a decent lunch, (refreshingly not overpriced for such a place) and a mooch around the shop (decent but not quite as good as Louisiana’s), we ventured out into the grounds again for a walk by the lake. \u00a0 \u00a0I am glad I made it here before we left Bavaria, and I will always remember it as Baby’s First Art Gallery….<\/p>\n

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outside space<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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And look what we found as we left… \u00a0I knew it reminded me of somewhere else…<\/p>\n

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Tips:<\/h5>\n

Look out for the correct car park!! \u00a0Open all year round, apart from Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day from 10am daily. \u00a0Museum entrance – \u20ac8.50 per adult, \u20ac3.50 per child. \u00a0Tickets available separately for the Museum’s boat. \u00a0Do set aside the whole day to explore the museum, grounds and have lunch in the restaurant too, plus you can always go out on the boat if it’s sailing. \u00a0Photographs are allowed without a flash, and bags must be left in the lockers on the ground floor. \u00a0It must be beautiful all year around, but if I were to visit again, I would make it an autumn day for all of the tree colours which must be just spectacular!<\/em><\/p>\n

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