On Saturday we went to the Musical Instrument and Armory Museum. They are housed in the Hofburg, the imperial palace in Vienna. James was really excited to see the armor, and Elora and Oliver have been learning about Beethoven, so we were excited to look for anything related to Beethoven in the Musical Instrument Museum.
The front door has been under construction as long as I can remember. This was the very first time we entered this museum through the front door!
I didn’t take many photos as we looked around. We got the audioguide which is fantastic in the Musical Instrument Museum, because you can listen to beautiful music by a variety of composers. The music features different instruments on display in the museum. The kids love to find their favorite songs and play them over and over. We were excited that one of the featured pieces was composed by Beethoven. There was also a great portrait of Beethoven as a 13 year old boy on display. The piano above is not Beethoven’s piano, but he had one like this in his apartment and wrote all of his music to be played on a piano like this. When we first read the description we thought it was actually Beethoven’s piano and Elora said, “His fingers touched those keys?!? Wow!”
James was so excited to go see the armor, especially the little suits of armor that look about his size. Elora and Oliver love the comical looking armor that was used as costumes for different parades and not actually used in battle. James loves the jousting knights most of all.
Above is also a beautifully carved gun powder case. Who knew gun powder was kept in fancy ivory cases? There was also a display showing how all the intricate metal inlays are made in all the armor. It is really a fascinating exhibit and so amazing to see how much work and artistry went into making all the different armor in the museum.
My favorite part about this museum is just walking up and down the beautiful staircases in the large hall where all the museums are housed. It is such a beautiful palace and the kids love the stairs. I love that there were not a lot of people in the museum so James could run up and down the stairs to his heart’s content without bothering anyone!
After the museum, we enjoyed walking home through the large gates. The kids really liked this old guard post and stopped to play for a little while before deciding they were cold and hungry and ready for home!
