Last Saturday was Die lange Nacht deer Museen (Long Night of the Museums). For €12,00 (€8 for students) you could visit 53 museums between 18:00 and 02:00. The ticket also included transportation and was even valid for the following Sunday.
I missed last year's Hamburg affair, but had participated in Vienna, so this was definitely on my 2013 to-do list.
When I bought my ticket earlier that week, this is how the conversation went (in German of course):
Me: I'd like to buy one ticket, please.
Lady: A student ticket?
Me: No.
Lady: Are you sure?
Me: Yep, I'm sure.
Lady: OK...
I probably should have just gone for it and said I was a student, but I figured someone would ask for an ID at some point (no one ever did).
To be honest, I've never been that interested or intrigued by the selection of museums in Hamburg. That's why I had been to only one of the museums on the list: Miniatur Wunderland. As a
However, for me, the point of visiting multiple museums in one night is more about the overall experience as opposed to making major cultural advances in oneself.
Yvonne, Kristi, and I started at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (art and industry). We wanted to see the Pixar exhibit that we've seen advertised for the last four months. We were not alone. After battling through a bit of a Pixar crowd, we moved on to the rest of the exhibits. We focused on instruments, Islam, and samurai.
Next, we walked over to the Rathaus (city hall). You can always enter the main part of the building, but beyond that you have to pay extra. Before heading to the large and golden rooms, we watched the Rathauschor (city hall choir) perform a concert. They mostly sang Beetles songs (it took me a while to notice...), so we decided to leave before they ruined any more songs for us.
Then, we walked over to Hafen City near the harbor with the Internationales Maritimes Museum which looks spectacular lit up at night. But before entering we were drawn to the sound of some eclectic music. Kristi took a video of the guy who after some impressive Internet research turns out to be Konrad Kuechenmeister. The weather was turning chilly, so he had to disband and move inside.
We took this opportunity to begin our maritime adventure -- which included pirates! The inside of the museum gave the feel of being on a ship. There were ship models, various uniforms, weapons, and fascinating tales from sea life. Promptly at 10pm, the pirates started singing. German pirates basically sing in English, in case you were wondering. But we danced and clapped along side them.
At this point, we were all hungry, so we had to make a necessary food stop. Getting off of our feet was also desperately needed. It was 11:30p, when we finished and we decided to forge on to one last museum which was in the direction of our three separate homes. Luckily for me, it was the Museum für Völkerkunde (ethnology, which is branch of anthropology). This museum has eluded me for a year and a half. I've walked past it so many times, with minimal curiosity, but never enough to actually go inside.
Before heading in, we caught a fire show by the entrance. I was impressed, but mostly concerned for the two girls' hair. It all ended well though. Inside, we saw a Native American and a Samoan exhibit. We ended the evening with our shoes off relaxing in a rauru.
I was home in bed by 1:30 with throbbing feet and my cultural itch scratched.
My friend Kristi also blogged about the night for the The Vancouver Sun.
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