Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg — Attraction in Hamburg

Breathtakingly beautiful... if quite warm. I wanted to spend a lot more time in there but it was uncomfortably hot. They had a few fans in a few rooms.

Neat things: Mortal Kombat on the NES over by the samurai helmet exhibit. Those crazy colorful costumes that looked like the Midsomer Power Rangers. The totally metal silver goat-head serving dish. Holy Water, for your vampire elimination needs.

Beautiful things: the pianos. THE PIANOS. The endless styles of tea bowls. The samurai helmets. The vase illustrating the funeral of Hercules (I think it was). That incredible ornate door. The clay sifting caps for the water vessels.

Moving things: the display on Flint, Michigan. The display on Standing Rock. Beautiful.

Last, I don't speak or read German. I was alone in the museum and often had difficulty communicating with staff. They were super nice, but that didn't really help me find a water fountain. Most of the display texts were in multiple languages, and it was really disappointing when it wasn't and I didn't have any idea what I was looking at. That added to the frustration from the heat. I wish it had been more...

⭐️Eclectic and inspiring. Love the hands-on experiences with water calligraphy and painting scrolls on the 2nd floor (that is the 3rd floor in the US sense).

Other recommendations from me include: ⭐️Hitting the piano keys mounted in transparent boxes on the wall of the music room. The mechanics are fascinating! ⭐️Tumble in the kid’s room in the basement even if you are 55 yo! ⭐️Check out the open studio right behind the ticket counter. Read, lounge, create. Tools waiting for you right there. ⭐️Access: Right across the street from the south side of the central station. The entrance of the museum also faces a huge bus station with many lines. ⭐️Luggage: Coin-operated lockers of various sizes. Your carry-on suitcases can fit in the bigger boxes. Not sure about huge suitcases. Lockers take both 1 and 2 euro coins. You get the coins back as you put the key back in.

⭐️This is a museum I look forward to revisiting whenever I’m in town. Every pore of it...

I feel of two minds about this museum. On the one hand, some of the exhibits were fantastic, like Hello Image, Tin, and Arab Graphic Design. On the other hand, the standard exhibits feel very dated by comparison.

The glitter exhibit in particular felt very forced and nonsensical. It's very loosely connected, and the works that were there didn't feel very inspiring. A timeline of the use of glitter in popular culture doesn't really work.

I was also disappointed by the musical instruments exhibit, which was focused almost entirely on pianos. I feel there're so many unique, beautiful instruments out there, I would love to have seen more saxophone production or something. I would still come visit, it's a very good museum. The Der Spiegel room is like something out of a dream, and it's worth visiting...