Day Out: Gent Museums II

STAM is Gent's City Museum, housed in a restored 14th century abbey.  

We were more fascinated by the way the exhibits were presented at this museum, rather than the exhibits themselves (until today, we are still not sure what they were about, lol).

The first room that we stepped into was breathtaking!  

The entire floor and part of the walls were covered with high definition satellite photos of Gent, 

lighted from within.

We had to wear special shoe covers to protect the floor.

If you were living in Gent, you could literally step foot on your own home.

The beautiful 14th century Gothic refectory.

Here's a sample of the state-of-the-art way in which the exhibits were presented:

Even the signages were cool.

Lounge-like atmosphere at the museum.

Gothic buildings made of architectural lego. 


Visitors can try their hand at creating a building or a mess, depending on your age.




Breakfast at NH Gent Belfort before setting out for the day:

Day Out: Gent Museums I

We made a side trip to Gent and Brugge with Lucas' grandparents in early May.  We spent a day at 2 museums in Gent: MSK and STAM.

The MSK (Museum voor Schone Kunsten) is the museum of fine arts at Citadelpark in Gent.  Below is a sampling of the gorgeous paintings at the museum.

Adolf von Meckel's Saint Catharines Monastery on Mount Sinai (Egypt) (19th century)  

(couldn't identify this one)

Leon Frederic's Allegory of Night (19th century)

Alfred Stevens' Mary-Magdalene (model: actress Sarah Bernhardt, 1887) 

Edward Atkinson Hornell's Springtime Idyll (20th century)

January Vernhas' The Master Painter (1877)

Mum and dad at Mub'art, the museum's brasserie.

 Lucas had a field day running around and playing in the huge spaces.

Wheeeeee!

In the background: Theodoor Rombouts' Allegory of the Court of Justice of Gedele in Ghent (17th century)
In the foreground: 16-month old with chicken on wheels (modern day)

Talking shop with the guide.

Working with daddy.

Wheeeee, again!

Whenever we are on holiday, Lucas has the most fun in the hotel, not outside.

Drive NL: Kasteel de Haar

Yes, there are castles in the Netherlands.  

Kasteel de Haar lies outside Utrecht, just under an hour's drive from The Hague 

(Thanks, Laura, for telling us about this!)

Lucas had a great day out with his grandparents.

But on a leash as there were many moats and canals.

 Climbing steps to nowhere.

Visitors can enjoy the huge grounds, as well as join a guided tour of the castle interior.

I think the best part was that it was so empty (of tourists).  It almost felt like we were private guests :)

More photos here: https://picasaweb.google.com/110776657145071773017/KasteelDeHaarNL

Drive: Bremen, DE

In early April, we headed north and crossed the border to Bremen for the long Easter weekend.  Our scheduled 4-hour drive became 5 hours due to road works.

'Fast food' at 150km/h

On arrival, we were greeted by super cold weather and lots of rain.  Not a good start.


Luckily, Swissotel Bremen was a lovely hotel.

It is the first hotel we've ever stayed in which provides a diaper bin, plus a really nice bath towel and toys.  Moms will know that these are not standard items.  Most times it is just a mattress in the cot and a bath towel as a blanket.

Who wouldn't want to sleep here?

They brought out this gorgeous porcelain dining set for Lucas at breakfast.   I wanted to eat off them.

 

Every morning he gets served a cup of warm milk in that double-handled mug.  And the milk promptly goes into our coffee.

Lots of space to play

   

Daddy was happy that his PS3 worked

Easter decoration

We spent a very cold day walking around Bremen town.  

The Brothers Grimm's fairytale of the four Bremen musicians

The most interesting part was Bottcherstrasse.  It is a collection of buildings showcasing 'Brick Expressionism', a form of expressionist architecture.

 

Floating bottle at Aioli in colourful Schnoor.

Schnoor is Bremen's oldest quarter, dating back to the 15th century.

We spent the next day exploring the lakeside town of Bad Zwischenahn.

The small one had no time for photos

Busy doing his rounds at the playground..



Hand-crushing his Easter eggs..

And sitting on toilet brush holders..

More photos here: https://picasaweb.google.com/110776657145071773017/Bremen2012