The Charming Bavarian Town of Rudesheim, Germany

 Wednesday, November 6, 2024, afternoon.

Clinging to a hillside, dotted with fall color, is the village of Rudesheim.  Our primary destination here was a visit to Siegfried's Mechanical Music Museum.  A bright, toy-like train came to transport us, in a meandering fashion, from the ship to the museum. 

We were crammed in, knee to knee, with me looking backwards as we rode.  It was a short zigzag through the hilly town, culminating near this unique museum.  Housed in what had been a knight's residence since the 15th century, was a collection of instruments that mechanically produced music.  

Portions of this building date back to 1310.  Rooms were small, so we had to really crowd in.  Some of the around 350 instruments were big enough to almost fill the room.  

I didn't catch the names of many of the instruments that were demonstrated for us, but all were fascinating.  Our museum host was lively and enthusiastic, so perfect for the job.  She danced and sang along with the instruments. 

Every detail was beautifully painted.  These larger units would have been prohibitively expensive, and usually only owned by public establishments.

In the mid 1960s Siegfried Wendel and his wife, Gretel, were honeymooning in Los Angeles and discovered a museum full of mechanical musical instruments.  For the next several years he dreamed of creating something similar in Germany.  

This is one of the most elaborate of its kind, with six violins, a player piano, and flutes.  Each violin has only one string.

It took a few years to find the perfect location for the Music Cabinet, as it was called.  The half-timbered building that houses it in Rudesheim has some beautiful detail but our focus was on the instruments.  

Of course Thomas Edison's phonograph earned a spot in the museum. 

 

All of the earlier instruments relied on fragile paper rolls.  Improvements were made through the years so that they would last longer.  Here our guide is holding a large, heavy roll for an "organ grinder" that would have been used on city streets.  If I recall, there was often a monkey involved.

When our 45 minute tour was over and we'd had a browse through the giftshop, we were free to wander the town for a couple of hours.  

I did my usual routine of getting turned around and walking twice as far as needed before finding my way back to the little train.  Many had already walked back to the ship so it was quite empty.  I got a front-facing seat for the relaxing ride back.  

On my return I rapped on the my friend Irma's door and invited her to go for a swim with me.  Then, before dinner, a nice hot shower to chase away remnants of another very chilly day.