From the Editor, to Museum Spotlight Europe (November 25, 2022)

One year ago, on Black Friday, I purchased my Eurail pass—three-month duration, unlimited use, first class seats. That was my first hard commitment to what became an eleven-and-a-half week trip to Europe, from April 12 to June 30, 2022, through 28 cities and 66 museums. Here’s the link to my route, and another link to the museums I visited.

The trip was necessary because our ambitions at Museum Spotlight Europe had out-grown our expertise. Our authors were taking us to amazing moments at incredible museums, and as Editor, sometimes all I could do was cheer them on. But as the Editor, I’m supposed to do more—I’m supposed to help conceptualize the assignment, propose an angle or two, offer some insights, guide the work, and edit constructively, all while keeping our readers in mind.

Now, five months removed from the trip, I can’t promise that I’ve become the ideal editor here. But I can say that the trip was very worthwhile, and hopefully our readers have already sensed this. We’re posting some terrific articles, and our readers will love the articles that are on the way.

One thing we’re doing here is to integrate our site’s postings. We have a calendar of special exhibits throughout Europe; we have regular articles that preview the upcoming special exhibit seasons; and we have particular articles on those same special exhibits, so our readers can follow through on their favorite events.

We’re still focusing on subjects like benefactors who have launched some of Europe’s greatest museums. We’re still writing about unique museums that offer an outstanding experience for the visitor. We’re still loyal to the odd-ball museum, the one-of-a-kind museum, the museum that strays from the mold.

I want to conclude this post by talking about my trip. Click here to view the 2022 itinerary. 

I traveled in the spring, and at the end of the pandemic. In April and May, I almost always had the museums to myself (not to mention the trains). The Pinacoteca in Bologna was outstanding—and deserted. The amazing Kunst museum in Basel had only a few visitors on a weekday. In Munich’s Museum Brandhorst, I stood in the middle of the huge gallery devoted entirely to Cy Twombly’s “Lepanto;” I was able to enjoy his suite of works without having to look through other visitors. The far-reaching automobile collection, brilliantly curated, at Volkswagen’s museum in Wolfsburg, Germany, was all mine.

If you’re lucky enough to be able to travel, to see the places you’ve dreamed about—whether they’re museums, historic sites, recreation destinations—do it. You might encounter crowds, lines, chaos (aka, the Louvre), but you might also have the kind of moment that illuminates you forever.

We hope we can help.

— Whitney