Toy Town

Hmmm, a statue of a man dancing on one leg whilst a monkey displaying his tackle throws dice and a hog poops on the floor. Interesting...

Whilst in Dresden, I also visited the folk art and toy museum. It cost €3 entry and I needed to get out of the rain. Bargain.

I'm not sure photos were allowed, but err...well, I took some anyway.

I thought these were really special. It shows how they mass produced wooden animals. A wheel of wood is cut into a silhouette, then sliced through and shaped. There's even a DIY kit.

Traditional rocking horses, and less traditional rocking lion.

Miniature fairground.

But then there's miniature...

...and there's miniature (matchstick men!)

Toy soldiers.

Toy towns.

I love these so much. They're really clever toys shaped like pagodas - or chandeliers. Around the outside they attach candles and the heat from the flames turns the turbines, causing the central core of the tower to spin. There are little wooden animals on them, going round and round. Ingenious.

I think the dolls (left) are better dressed than the locals (right).

But the traditional caps and bonnets are very pretty.

And the lace work is extremely fine.

They also had lots of painted eggs, like the ones we made in the village, but my camera had packed in by that point.

It was a nice little museum. Full of magic and mystery. Not sure I'd like to be in there at night when the toys come to life...