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side·track (sīd´trăk): n. 1. A diversion from the main course. 2. A detour taken with children that you would never, ever take without them.
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Who:

Chet, his Dad, and an intrepid hunting fanatic, Mommy (that’s me – who is actually being sarcastic with the intrepid hunting bit).

What:

The Deutsches Jagd- und Fishereimuseum Muenchen, otherwise known as Munich’s Hunting and Fishing Museum.  You’d never think to look at it but this museum could second as a great Natural History Museum.  Just with lots of weapons displays next to the stuffed animals posed in their natural habitats.

Why:

My family regularly visits Munich.  It’s a great town and never disappoints.  Given its prime location between the Marienplatz and the Frauenkirchen, we’ve likely passed the Jagd- und Fishereimuseum a good few dozen times.  We’ve even posed our kid on the large bronze boar statue outside for photos.  Though we wondered just what might be inside such a gorgeous, historic building, we’ve just never managed to get  inside.  With a few hours to kill until the oom-pah-pah band started at the Hofbrauhaus, we figured it was time to give it a shot.

The Low Point:

If you check out the Museum’s Web site, you’ll see they don’t have any English links.  Similarly, there were no English descriptions on any of the displays.  For the most part, it’s not much of a problem.  But then you encounter something like this:

Yes, that appears to be a hare dry-humping a chicken – at least far as I can tell.  Thanks to the Muppets and Gonzo, Chet thinks chickens can end up “marrying” all kinds of different species, so he was good.  But I really wondered what the heck this display was supposed to represent.  My pidgin German simply wasn’t up to the task.

The other slightly disturbing point was a room I believe houses traveling exhibitions.  We arrived in December, just as Munich’s Christmas market began – and so this room housed all kinds of old and interesting Nativity mangers.  It was just a  little weird to look at these antique baby Jesus’ with the myriad of crossbows hanging behind me reflected in the glass.  There’s a message there, I’m sure of it, but it would take a smarter woman than me to figure it out.

The High Point:

It was a lot of fun!  Like your garden variety natural history museum, the Hunting and Fishing museum had all kinds of great displays of animals in their natural habitats.  And then, adjacent, displays of all the cool weapons that could have been used to kill them.  Chet didn’t make the connection – he just loved checking out all the cool displays and ran amok yelling, “Deer!”  “Bunny rabbits!”  “Beavers!”  “Star Wars!”  (Currently, in the boy’s head, all swords are light sabers).

The Kid’s Take:

Chet loved it – a particular favorite was the hands-on children’s area on the second floor.  There he felt pelts, examined teeth and pressed buttons to make some of the animals native to the area “talk.”  He could have happily stayed there all day.

The Bottom Line:

If you have an interest in hunting and fishing (or just a slightly twisted sense of humor like me), this museum is a must-visit.  It’s a great way to kill a few hours as you explore the city of Munich.

January 3rd, 2010 | by Kayt Sukel 2 comments