The Doll House....

The Doll Museum in Hanau Wilhelmsbad - 

Finding a vision for tomorrow by glancing back into the past.....

Donna.......

The famous "Hessisches Puppenmuseum" - (The Doll Museum of the state of Hessen) is like a 10 minutes drive away from the city center of Hanau and each time I drive by, I always promise myself I´ll pay them a visit. Well, well last weekend I finally kept my promise. The Doll house, like I love to call it :-), is situated in an exhibition space in the unusual atmosphere of the baroque "Wilhelmsbad" Spa building.
Wilhelmsbad represents one of the earliest landscape parks in Germany. Its spa was frequented by society in the eighteenth century for about a decade. The original eighteenth century layout has largely remained unchanged. The promenade is flanked by the late-baroque spa buildings.

Wilhelmsbad baroque Spa building complex

more of the Spa complex

the former Spa quarters

 The name "Wilhelmsbad" dates back to a mineral spring in the 18th century. The park and the former Spa complex also dates back to the 18th century. Since the end of the 19th Century, the Spa Complex has been closed down, due to the mineral spring drying out. Today one can find the very spacious park, created in the English style, with different highlights such as a pyramid island, a lake, a hermitage and a Gothic castle ruin.  

I love the atmosphere around the Wilhelmsbad quarters, especially the park. It is great to go for a walk and also to relax in its natural surroundings. 

relaxing in the very spacious park

The Gothic Castle

the Gothic Castle

the lake with its pyramid island

gateway into the Gothic Castle

part of the Gothic Castle ruin

Wilhelmsbad’s main attraction is undoubtedly the historic horsedrawn carousel. Fortunately it has found support for its renovation. Presently it is wrapped up and waiting for its restoration. 

a model of the famous horsedrawn carousel

carousel horses on exhibition

In the Spa building complex is situated the "Doll House". The museum exhibition has on permanent display, more than a thousand dolls of particular interest and historical importance. What I love most about this exhibition is their ideology of  using - "Dolls as a learning aid and mirror of society" and also"Creating an identity and building Cultural Bridges" through dolls. 

the doll museum is situated inside this building

"The Doll Museum also sees itself as a mediator in the dialogue between cultures.  European dolls from antiquity up to the present day are contrasted with dolls from other countries.  This is intended to emphasize the common elements of play as well as the differences.  The Hessian Doll Museum cooperates with important partners such as the Japanese Warabekan Toy Museum.  Through its intercultural character the Museum contributes to the comprehension of historical cultural epochs, international understanding and tolerance.  The Doll Museum is proof that a museum can unite a regional identity with international character to a high standard which will be reflected in multilingual information after the reconstruction." (source:Hessisches Puppenmuseum) 

 The exhibition displays dolls from antique times (before christ) until present day.

an antique doll

religious dolls

japanese doll

gypsy dolls

 One of my favorites is the largest minature department store in the world........

part of the largest minature department shop

ladies in the mini department store doing what ladies luv most, shopping :-)

entrance into mini-department shop :-)

Additional objects are also shown in the museum in special exhibitions. The present show in the special exhibition is from July to November 2011 and is called "Living Dolls". I was very fascinated and captivated by a doll presented by the artist Sabine Vogel. I love the way she uses her creation(dolls) to express her thoughts and also spread her message. Her doll was presented as "Beauty ideals, the girl Tuk Tuk". (click here if you are interested to know more about the creations of Sabine Vogel).

the girl Tuk Tuk

the girl Tuk Tuk

As a little girl I was a passionate doll collector, so walking around these rooms packed full with dolls brought back lots of childhood memories. I had a great time in the doll house and I will definately pay them a visit again. Now, I know where to go each time I feel like going back in time to my "little girl" days :-) 

Hope u all did have fun exploring with me. Anytime, u are around the Frankfurt area, make time and pay them a visit. You would definitely love it like I did, even my hubby did like it too :-)) 

Wish u all a great start in the new week. Stay cool until we meet again.

click here for more photos of the doll house

from Deutschland with luv, 

Nakutana

A walk in the zoo !

 Lucy......

On this lazy Sunday afternoon, Thomas & I needed to get out of the house, take a walk with our son & get some fresh air. You all know the feeling , you’ve been sitting in the house the whole day , too lazy to go out and so happy you finally have sometime to spend with your family other than having to spend it at work. But after a few hours in the house as a couch potato you realise you need to go out and get some exercise ...uhh... life !

So when Thomas suggested we take a walk in the zoo, i gladly accepted . The zoo in Kaiserslautern is quite small & cozy. It’s really small that many people in Kaiserslautern don’t even know it exists!!!! No matter how small it is ... i really must say it is still beautiful. Lets just say its beautifully small :-))

Unfortunately for us, while we were out there our camera-shutter stopped functioning properly, so we were not able to take as many photos as we wanted. Below are a few photos we succeeded making......

A peacook

Humans ! :-)))))......ha! ha!ha! (my darling Thomas and baby Leon)

Peacock again :-)

A baby!!.....:-)))) ha! ha! ha!............ (my boy Leon)

Zebras

Ostrichs

A Lama and humans :-)))) .................Oh! that´s me admiring the Lama :-)))

Geese

more Lamas

porcupines

an Eagle

more Porcupines

Just as it was getting interesting and we finally approached the african corner, our camera gave up the ghost.....just like that :-((((.....I bet it was scared when it saw these fierce looking giant cats :-))) 

the king of the jungle

a caged tiger :-)))

From this point onward we just quietly enjoyed the rest of the visit. Then as we walked through the zoo, i just couldn’t help but compare it to an african wild park or game reserve ... ...they are worlds apart......

The animals here are kept in  cages while their cousins out there run free in the wild... though the space in some game reserves may be limited, it’s not as limited as it is over here, caged up in a zoo. I do look forward to the day I can finally show my son(when he is old enough) the natural habitat of most african animals....I don´t want him growing up thinking exotic wild animals belong in cages in zoos :-)))) 
Hope you did enjoy exploring the zoo with us. Wish you all a fantastic week and don´t forget to go out and get some fresh air when you can. Stay cool.

from "Deutschland" with luv,
Nakutana

When the leaves begin to fall.....I love autumn

Donna......

When the leaves start their transition from green to the gorgeous yellows, oranges and reds which they so excellently accomplish each and every year,.... the chill in the air and the cool wind blowing makes it definitely clear that Autumn has finally arrived. Autumn brings with it one of my favorite seasons of the year. It is bye bye to the sometimes stifling hot, and humid summer temperatures and a big welcome to breathing cool but fresh and comfortable air :-) Yes the days get shorter and colder but some of my favourite colours appear in Autumn. Autumn is a gorgeous time of the year. I appreciate the mood and climate it brings.

Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.

~Albert Camus

photo by "my hubby"

The first two weeks of autumn this year were just perfect. Lots of sunshine and mild temperatures too. The best weather for outdoor activities and yes, I was out and about enjoying this to the fullest. I love to go for walks along the river or lake. One of the great things about the Frankfurt area are the many river promenades....one can go for very long walks along the Main river or just relax at one of the many river beach clubs. It gives me this feeling of being home. Me and water is like a never ending love story :-) I come alive each time I am around her :-) Water is my greatest source of inspiration.

Me being a little mermaid at heart, has to do with my growing up in a little coastal town called Limbe (along the Atlantic Ocean in West Africa). When I see a ship, I cannot help but think of my darling daddy. God I miss him so much and it hurts badly even after so many years :-((. As a Ship Captain by profession, my daddy was what I like to call a water rat :-) He was at his best behind the ship wheel steering off to the  high seas. He taught me all there was to know about the wide deep oceans. His adventure stories fascinated me and my love of the sea was greatly influenced by him. 
Now living in a city far far away from any ocean, I see myself being attracted to any form of water be it a river, lake or even a pond :-)) I spend each chance I get going for long walks along the Main River. I love to watch the ships sailing by or just relaxing and enjoying the beach feeling at the beach clubs. This gives me that feeling I always had back in my little coastal town of Limbe. It is kind of a connection to the spirit of my daddy and it makes me feel so good inside :-)) The first two october weeks were just perfect for this.

one of the many Beach Clubs in Frankfurt

at the entrance to the beach club

beach feeling :-))

watching the ships sailing by.......

at another beach club in Frankfurt east river port

the beauty of water.....I can never get enough :-)

a beautiful autumn evening

In this time of the year, nature gives us a spectacular show of colour and richness to enjoy before we are plunged into  the cold and grey winter. I love to take long walks in the park watching the leaves fall and just enjoying the beauty of nature all around me and the day ends perfectly for me,  when I sit and  watch the fading rays of sunshine peeking through the trees, as the sun slowly kisses the day goodbye and quietly goes to sleep in the west.     

the beauty of an autumn sunset

a walk in the park

the colours of autumn

I luv autumn

falling leaves :-)

I love everything about autumn, the falling leaves, cool breezes, pumpkin decorations and the smell of scented candles. Also I love to see how in the shopping malls the stores change so quickly their displays from Beach and Vacation themes into Halloween and Harvest themes and some are even showing off christmas items already.  I love the mood this brings.

I love the wolf head on this display......so halloween :-))

Oh yes, autumn does make me fully aware though, that the season I dread the most (winter) is just around the corner, waiting impatiently to show it´s ugly face.  But hey, for now I won´t waste my thoughts on the inevitable....I will just focus on autumn alone and enjoy her to the fullest :-))) Please don´t get my wrong though, I am fully aware each of the seasons serves an important purpose, but autumn is by far my absolute favorite. 



Wish you all a happy and fun halloween season. Stay cool.




click here and here for more photos of our adventures



from "Deutschland" with luv,
Nakutana