Hextilda

Back in February, we went on a trip to Berlin. We took the German high-speed rail directly from Paris to Berlin. It was supposed to take eight hours, but took more than ten. Why? Deutsche Bahn (which is notorious for always being late).

Anyway, we had a lovely view on the way there.

We went to a delicious Bavarian-style restaurant for a late dinner, then wandered over to the Brandenburg Gate. It was very cold — you can see the ice all over the cobblestones! There was actually a planetary alignment going on at the time, so the odd double artefacts over the gate and the building to the right are actually planets.

The next day, we woke up bright and early and went to the Museum of Musical Instruments. We were genuinely delighted by the experience there. You can borrow an audio guide — highly recommended — and listen to the instruments being played. Really fantastic stuff. I stopped taking pictures after a while because I realized that I was basically going to photograph the entire museum; they’ve already got a fully detailed, beautifully categorized inventory. It is in German, but a little patience with an online translator will get you far.

That being said… let’s dive in!

Is it time for a whole PIPE ORGAN? You bet it is! Photos were taken by my spouse as I could not safely climb the stairs up. Information on the pipe organ is available here.

• Manufactured by: William & John Gray (1796–1849), musical instrument makers.
• Built: 1810/1825
• Place of Manufacture: London
• Historical Location: Bathwick, St. Mary’s Church

We’ve had one harpsichord, yes, but what about second harpsichord?

They have a complete Wurlitzer organ on display — it’s fully functional! On Saturdays, they play it so folks can experience the utter ridiculousness in person.

And, finally, this challenging… thing. An orthotonophonium. Honestly, really interesting reading, but my brain kind of broke when I saw it. Please note: the concept of an instrument like this goes back to 16th-century Italy and the archicembalo.

There was a whole second floor full of more modern instruments — like a Moog theremin — but I was kind of Done™ photographing things at that point.

I really hope folks enjoy this peek inside a fantastic museum! Stick around; I have a post about the Neuesmuseum going up next.