Parlour @museum.de

Ladies and gentlemen, let us continue our tour on the upper floor ... and enter the humble realm of the Kliemt family of farmers. The old flight of stairs gives off a strident series of creaks, and the hallway is nice and spacious – almost like a ballroom!

The room that takes pride of place on the upper floor is the Gute Stube, the parlour, on the left-hand side. The entrance is next to the large cupboard. The family gave this room a tongue-in-cheek nickname; they called it the “Fürstenzimmer” – "the Prince's Room".

The Prince's Room? Don't make me laugh. I've never set sight on any prince in here.

Erm... meow! Who's that talking?

Me, over here... the farmer. The one with the red breeches. And the plough. And old Dobbin – the horse.

The china figurine?!?

China figurine or not – there are no princes here. Wherever you look, there are just farmers doing donkey work. Like me. Or the Kliemts. Their family photograph may be hanging over the sofa, but they're never here in person. Or almost never.

Well, this is the parlour, after all ... people only come in here on special occasions.

At Easter, Harvest Home, Christmas, or perhaps on the occasional birthday. And to do the cleaning and dusting – especially of the china figurines.

Or if there are visitors. Because those visitors, ladies and gentlemen, are then lodged here in the Prince’s Chamber, also known as the parlour. Where they sleep in the two beds. Right here in the living room.

Even chamber pots stand ready for those supposedly princely visitors. Ha! And everything else in here is of the finest quality: the good china, the Silesian coffee set, Bohemian glassware, a gramophone to provide entertainment and an enormous sofa that’s liable to swamp anyone who sits on it.

Yes, and all sorts of china knickknacks....

I beg your pardon?!

... erm... I mean to say ... elaborate, hand-painted "minachoors" of a wide range of delightful "fig-you-reens".

Exactly! Like me. Or those two ladies standing in my way. Or the fat turkey-cock on the sideboard to your left. Hmm...or maybe it's a turkey-hen? But what I like best is the cushion on the sofa, hand-embroidered by a family member. Did you see that? It reads “Nur ein Viertelstündchen” – "No more than 15 minutes”. Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a little nap! 15 minutes! Or even just ten minutes. But... I'm a farmer, and even as a china figurine, I have to guide the plough and cut the furrows, day in and day out. Right, Dobbin?

And here in the parlour as elsewhere, snoozing is verboten, even for fifteen minutes. So: Walk on.