There's always a place you'll never expect to find. On my trip to Reutte, a small tyrolean city, I was looking to unwind and forget about long walks, sightseeing and hectic.I had just been in Vienna, where it was all about monuments and an afternoon dedicated to the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History).
I was mentally prepared to dilly dally and procrastinate. I had even picked out a novel from the bookshelve of the house I was staying. I had all the intentions to finish Remarque's "The Night in Lisbon". But my plans quickly changed and there wasn't a single day of the week in Tyrol where I stayed home.
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| Perfect mornings in Tyrol. |
Susi and Hartmut Galgoczy, our lovely hosts and friends, which by the way own one of the BEST holiday homes I've ever stayed in, recommended as a funny visit the castle Ehrenberg. Another small town museum, I thought. But I was surprised to find out that the Castle Ehrenberg had so much to offer, as it is probably one of the most interactive museums I've ever visited.
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| Hartmut (third one from the left) and Susi (sitting next to me), our lovely hosts in Reutte |
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| Entrance to the Ehrenberg Castle Museum |
Turns out to be, this little town is located on the Via Claudia Augusta, a Roman road leading from Italy to Germany. This road was one of the most important ones within the Empire because it served to secure the Roman northern frontier and played a role in the development of settlements which later became cities.
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| Via Claudia Augusta |
The museum presents a very complete overview of life during the Middle Ages in this region. All explanations are on german and english, which makes it very accesible for all visitors. And now my favorite part...
There's a large section dedicated to shoes used during this period of time and you can try them on.
I had to try them all!
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| The Minstrel shoe. I felt like I could go from town to town performing songs. |
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| Couldn't walk with this pair! hahaha |
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| Roman gladiators. Very popular nowadays, you can try them on, too! |
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| All the shoes and the description to every one of them |
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| Which gladiator do you like the most? |
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| I think this was the common peasant shoe. I'm not quite sure, since I tried them almost all! |
After the shoes, there's a whole room for the armour. You can try it on, but it seems easier than what it is. The truth is, my arm almost fell down when I held one of the helmets!
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| Looks like fun but it was quite a challenge to carry that on my head |
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| They had to be crazy... |
We almost never think about what it would be like without all the commodities we have. Well, during the Middle Ages, spices were probably one of the most important elements of daily life, as they played a role in the preservation of food, like for example, meat.
Without salt, keeping meat fresh would have been impossible. The word salary comes from the Latin salarium, possibly referring to the money given to the soldiers to buy salt. Roman roads also served to transport these precious goods that we can now find in every supermarket.
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| The museum's spices section includes explanations about the importance of salt and other spices |
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| During the Middle Ages, spices played a similar role as the one oil plays for us. In Europe, pepper was 18 times more expensive than in India, cinammon 24 times and ginger (Ingwer) even 45 times more expensive. |
A museum about the Middle Ages can't exclude some characters that we commonly see in every movie, like pilgrims and crusaders.
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| To protect themselves against storm and rain, pilgrims wore large cloaks and hats. Sewed to that was the pilgrims' sign obtained at the arrival point: a scallop at the road to Santiago de Compostela, a cross at Jerusalem |
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| Learning about the cruelties that crusaders committed mostly against muslims, is also part of the museum experience |
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| In display you can see the uniforms worn by the different orders of crusaders |
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| The Battle of Hattin |
So much for a day at the museum. Last but not least, a picture of the Ruins of Ehrenberg Castle and Fort Claudia, named after Claudia Medici and the incredible background of the Alps.
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| Ehrenberg Castle and Fort Claudia, as seen from the Wolfsberg. My favorite pic of that day.Magnificent! |
For more info on Susi and Hartmut's holiday home go to www.ferienwohnung-wolfsberg.at or contact Hartmut via e-mail: dr.galgoczy@ferienwohnung-wolfsberg.at! Lovely place for a relaxing vacation!
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| Living room of Ferienwohnung Wolfsberg in Reutte, Tyrol |
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| Reutte and the Alps as seen from the balcony of the Ferienwohnung Wolfsberg |
