Days 50 & 51 – When giants walked the earth . . .

Original thinking, observation and inventiveness. Three pillars that have been at the core of man’s endeavours since his time began. Insatiable curiosity to discover and understand all things, his perfect catalyst.

Today we step back into the land of the giants. Decide to culture some culture. Refresh what we used to know. Learn what we didn’t know. Gather up something new, from something old.

Lucky bus number 66 clickety-clicks us up directly outside Campingplatz Mockritz. A twenty minute free-be, drops us into the heart of old Dresden and its Zwinger. A massive palatial complex that houses today’s main go-to.

Mostly destroyed by WWII carpet bombing in February 1945. Rebuilt by 1963.
It’s over 30C so we dress to kill . . .
The massive surrounding grounds and gardens
Its huge inner courtyard under reconstruction – to improve the drainage systems.
An old master on his way to view some real old masters’ works.

A couple of hours fly by. Trance-like, we lose ourselves in the remarkable galleries. Marvel at the marvelous. Many paintings portray towns and cities as they were centuries ago. The incredible and skillfully applied detail sits on canvas after canvas, like immortal time capsules.

It’s no wonder the camera was a late invention. It could have served no better purpose in this era.
Aldstadt reconstruction to match old designs conjure some wonderful skylines

We complete our visit with a move just around the corner. Go step inside the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon. Throughout history there have been golden eras of thought. Times of unique revelations. Brought about by intense study and original consideration. Manifested inspiration. A world of clocks and invented scientific instruments on display. Demonstrably illustrate the base on which today’s technology depends.

It wasn’t sufficient just to create a utilitarian piece. Precision engineering was an artistic endeavour in its own right too. From the simplest compass, to a miniature pocket watch. Have we lost that element of art?

An ingenious mechanical calculator – Pascal’s 1642 invention. Helped to calculate taxes in Rouen!
A mechanical battery of beauty. An aesthetic wonder of its time

Earlier, back in the gallery, some twenty-first century inventions are being put to use. Computer components collaborate. Investigate. Establish ingenious ways to repair and restore original masterpieces to their former glory.

Sophisticated hi-tech equipment equips the restorers. It’s all very utilitarian. Boring to look at even.

Today’s technology and inventions are often put to use in the most unusual of ways. In the Porcelain Museum, this amazing vase had lost one of its elephant handles. What to do? Answer? Scan the other. Then 3D print it!! Sorted.

One trunk won’t do.
Which the original? Which the newly 3D printed? Can you tell stork from butter?