We went to the Museum of Fine Arts to view their old masters and enjoy a beautiful Capra photography exhibit. I think we were spoiled by the extensive collections in Munich and Vienna, but this was still an enjoyable museum to visit. And let's not forget the old masters.

We took a brief morning bus tour of Vienna to reach the city from where the ship was docked, but decided to skip the scheduled tours as we had had our fill of detailed histories. Instead, we wanted to visit a couple of museums. Vienna boasts over 140 museums, and we chose to visit the Belvedere Museum, which houses many of Gustav Klimt’s paintings , and the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, known for its old masters and various artifacts.   Both museums were impressive. The Belv

Munich boasts numerous museums, and for us, traveling is all about art and architecture. I always relish the opportunity to see both old and new masters, especially pieces we haven't encountered before. Fortunately, Munich managed to protect its art during the war. We visited the Alte Pinakothek , which houses a vast and significant collection of old masters and contemporary art. Highlights included works by Rembrandt, van Gogh, da Vinci, Raphael, Botticelli, Lippi, El Greco,

Berlin is loaded with art from old masters to modern. Even the Berlin Wall is a work of art as after it was taken down, artists and just plain folk were given the opportunity to paint on a section of the wall and it became known as the East Side Gallery. The Old Master Museum is known as the Germaldeggalerie. We got our fill of old masters and what we loved about this museum, was that there were very few visitors, so it was a joy to hang with Botticelli's, Vermeer’s, Rembrand

Another day trip to consider is to the Meissen Factory to see how their porcelain is created and decorated. I now understand why they charge what they charge, because it is labor intensive, and all done by hand. Remarkably, we came away from the museum store with nothing but pictures and no tzotchkes. From there we went to Maritzburg, an old hunting palace built by none other than August II. It is known for its many mounted stag heads (no comment), a bed that was decorated by

If you desire to get out of town and see the country, this is a nice day trip. We took the train to an area they refer to as Not Switzerland Saxony where they have rock formations out of sandstone which reminded me of Sedona but surrounded by verdant forests instead of desert. When we got back into town, we visited their main concert hall, the Palace of Culture , which was built under the communists and was surprisingly beautiful in a mid-century modern way. The murals inside

The artwork from the Old Masters Gallery was relocated to safety during the war and returned afterward. The collection is extensive, but their centerpiece is Raphael’s famous Sistine Madonna, known for the little angels at the bottom that we've all seen countless times on holiday cards. Below are just a few of the many paintings we viewed including works by Rafael, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Correggio, and Tizian. SISTINE MADONNA BY RAFAEL We also visited the Albertinum which houses

The final significant site we toured was the Kariyee Mosque, originally constructed as a church in the 6th century. Following the conquest of Istanbul, it was converted into a mosque in 1511. The site is renowned for its frescoes and mosaics, which were created between 1310 and 1317. These Byzantine frescoes are remarkable and naturally religious, depicting scenes from the Old Testament, New Testament, and the Gospels.

The Topkapi Palace , home to many sultans and their very many wives, concubines and eunuchs. Construction began in 1459 and was completed in 1856. Highlights included seeing the imperial treasure, library and harem. The palace became a museum in 1924. Aside from experiencing pleasure from their many wives and concubines, the Sultans collected many beautiful jewels including an 86 carat diamond known as the Spoonmaker’s Diamond and the Topkapi Dagger decorated with 3 large em

We hired a guide to take us through the Tokyo National Museum with a goal to learn something about Japanese art. People from the West (which means me) are familiar with western art from the renaissance to impressionism and abstract expressionism, but learning about Asian art is not something one gets taught much in an arts humanities class in college. At the gallery, we had the pleasure of being guided by Rafa, the most organized and exceptional guide we've ever encountered.