Let's start talking about our weekend in Biel where we stopped last time. Our Sunday in the city was not so adventurous as we were tired from Saturday night. I love parties, but the day after is never easy. We were able to get a late check out, so we could sleep a bit longer.
At first, we planned to drive back home, but then we decided that it would be a shame to waste such a nice day. We wanted to walk a bit, but we didn't want to spend all day outside, so our friend suggested to walk for a few kilometres to the New Museum of Biel, locally known as le Nouveau Musée Bienne in French, or das Neues Museum Biel in German.
We did the check out, put of luggage in the car and off we went. We walked and walked and walked, and I started to regret my choices as my legs hurt from the night before. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time, but I just wished that we would be there already. We walked along a canal towards the lake. It was a nice area where the streets were lined with tall trees, and there were plenty of small bridges over the canal leading to the residential buildings. It was quite charming.
The museum consists of two separate buildings that both used to be different museums in the past, and then they merged into one as we know it today. The first museum in this place was opened in the 19th century, and the new museum was created in 2012.
Let's cross the bridge and enter the museum!
The exhibition is spread over 4 floors, and we needed several hours to see it all. We took our time as it was really interesting, and many parts were interactive, so we had a lot of fun too.
We started our tour with this map of the city created by the local artists. It doesn't seem interesting at first, but when you look closely you will see a seagull in the lake, a bird flying over the hill, a parachutist, a train, and many other small details.
There was a large model of the city with every single building that was constructed at a certain time. There is a screen where you can enter any street and any number of a building, and there is a laser that will point that place on the model. We don't know Biel, but our friend tried several addresses and it worked. We could spend hours and hours playing there. Every time the laser pointed the place we were excited like little kids checking it out.
The views from the museum were not too bad...
Next section showed some specific items from the 19th century. This is a gym equipment simulating swimming and rowing. I guess that the seat was shaped for what was considered the perfect buttocks, but it didn't look very comfortable.
There were threads hanging out of the shower head to animate how it worked in great detail 😊
Yes, the period toilet was there too. This one was fancy as it was not only a porcelain container, but comfortable chair was built around it.
We continued to the music room. It was right next to the other room, so it didn't make much sense. There was a piano, and the music was playing out of the speakers. There were also portraits of musicians who were born or lived in Biel. It was interesting to read their stories.
My favourite item was this radio from the beginning of the 20th century. It's in the perfect condition and looks like new.
One of the reason our friend suggested this museum was to see the process of watch making. She works in the watchmaking industry for one of the most important luxury brands in the world, and I haven't met anyone before who was so excited about their job and so genuinely happy with how the company treats its employees. She was explaining the entire process with such passion.
And here are some of my favourite watches from the exhibition...
This one was about 3 cm in diameter, and the amount of details is incredible...
It was interesting to see the inside of the watches. Some time ago, we had a chance to visit the IWC production, and we saw how the technicians patiently worked with those tiny pieces using long thin tweezers. It takes so much time to make one watch, so I understood why there are such long waiting times when you place an order.
Biel is the city of Rolex who is one of the biggest employers there, so I was not surprised to see such a poster.
And this is our friend's specialization called movement in the watch. These are tiny spirals without which the watch wouldn't work. Imagine that you make such spirals all day. Well, my head would spin too!
One of the two houses that held the museum today used to be a private residence of a painter family until 1975. The last member of the family who lived here was Dora Neuhaus bequeathed it to a museum that was to be founded. Large part of the museum is dedicated to this family, and when you walk through their rooms you feel like they still lived there. It's a cosy space with beautiful details. It's what I enjoyed the most, but you know me, I like history, period furniture, and spaces with character.
We are actually thinking of putting some wood panelling in our house too.
You can reach all rooms from the corridor, but you can also walk through each room to an another one, so each room has 3 doors. What a hassle to make sure they are all locked if you wanted some privacy.
Most of the furniture is original as it was left in the mansion.
There were some period gowns as well as many games in the room that was used for entertainment...
Game of cards anyone?
I had a similar horse when I was a child 😊
This must have been a kitchen paradise in the last century. It was equipped with so many tools and utensils that I'm sure it could be easily used even today.
The dining room was attached to the kitchen which surprised me as usually the residents of noble houses would not like to see what was happening in the kitchen.
Then we continued to the library which was decorated with elegant furniture...
And a beautiful bookcase full of books...
The private apartments were the last part of the exposition. As I mentioned, we spent there a few hours, and even though we enjoyed it, we were tired and thirsty. Luckily, there is a small café in the museum too, and as it was a nice day we could sit outside and enjoy the peace and quiet.
I think that most people went for a swim in the lake instead, so we were the only ones in the museum. I must say that I like it this way 😊
Our tour was complete, so walked back to the car, and I almost forgot how far it was. It was getting late, so we went straight home as we had more than 2 hours drive ahead of us.
See you next time...