In my last post I promised to tell you about our "real" reason for going to Hamburg, our destination located within the historical Speicherstadt. The picture above is a clue and those of you who already guess where we went - congratulations!
It's the no. 1 tourist destination in Germany (no, it's not Neuschwanstein Castle!)
Miniatur Wunderland ("miniature wonderland") has been on my wishlist for a long time. Both the Geek and Kaefer had already been there and have raved about it ever since. They really wet my appetite!
The largest model railway in the world started out with three theme worlds in August 2001 (Central Germany, Knuffingen - a fictional town -, and Austria) - by now there are 12 complete sections, spread over two buildings in the Speicherstadt, connected by a bridge over Kehrwiederfleet. The newest section is Monaco (the background in the top photo) which had opened in April 2024. At the moment they are working on the Rainforest and Atacama Desert.
This is a very photo-heavy post. I've tried to consolidate the photos, but it's still a lot. I've decided to divide Miniatur Wunderland in three parts. Today I concentrate on Germany and Europe. Please come with me and let your inner child experience the wonders of this big small world.
We start out with Provence where the lavender is in full bloom at Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque. After that maybe cross the Pont du Gard?
Or do you prefer to go to Italy and visit Cinque Terre and San Gimignano? Or would you rather have an audience with the Pope? Or just tour Rome?
Of course you want to visit Pompeii - just make sure not to be there when Vesuvius errupts (which it does every 15 minutes in Wunderland).
The days in Wunderland are very short - 15 minutes. Then it gets dark and everything is beautifully illuminated for a few minutes until the "new" day dawns.
Venice at night...
... and during daylight.
The Hundertwasserkirche in Bärnbach, Austria. This is a beautiful church which was built after WWII and then in 1988 rededsigned by the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. I have seen the "real" church and can attest that the model is exquisitely done.
And what will we find further up in Northern Europe? A sauna of course!!!
I was thrilled with all the details - no wonder that we spent more than seven hours here, because there was so much to see.
Farmers market and a natural history museum.
Laundry day, plein air painting, a playground and a truck that was losing its wheels of cheese that it had been carrying. Oh what fun!
There is also the opportunity to play minigolf and when you're done you can go to the pumpkin patch.
There was a lot of action going on as well. Here are the fire trucks racing to extinguish a house fire.
It is no surprise that Hamburg plays a major role in Wunderland, but it doesn't dominate it. Here are the Landungsbrücken (embarkation quay):
Of course Köhlbrandbrücke (Koehlbrand bridge) is quite prominent - it's an important landmark of Hamburg.
Remember that in my last post I wrote about Elbphilharmonie, the beautiful concert hall in Hamburg? Of course it's in Wunderland as well, and here you can actually look inside. You just press a button and the building opens up.
Renewable energy is important in Germany and it's no wonder that wind turbines have found their way into Wunderland as well. There are a lot of wind turbines in Germany, especially near and in the North Sea. And do you notice all the roof top solar panels?
The heart and probably most exciting part of Wunderland is the airport.
Some very interesting objects are flying here, like Biene Maja (a children's classic).
But there are also "real" planes landing and taking off at this busy airport.
As a child I loved to play with my brother's model railway. I was actually the one who enjoyed assembling the model houses (these are all HO gauge) and seeing so many of them in Wunderland brought back a lot of childhood memories. I especially liked (and still do) the old timber-framed houses. I had quite a few of the following.
At the top I mentioned that Neuschwanstein Castle - that many in the US only know as the Disney Cinderella castle - is NOT the most visited tourist attraction in Germany, but you can sure see it in Wunderland. Why not turn into a Bavarian beer garden afterwards?
There are a lot of bridges in the mountains and high up you might find some peace in a monastery. It's a long way up there!
So much lovely details in the mountainous world. A bear stealing honey while the beekeeper is taking a nap in the hammock, sheep on a mountain meadow with their shepherd and walking up a winding mountain road (the letter M was part of a game the day we visited).
If you have never seen an Almabtrieb (festival celebrating the return of cattle from high-altitude summer pastures in the Alps to the valleys at the end of summer), here's your chance:
Who is hiding here? It's Fuchur, the luckdragon from Michael Ende's Die Unendliche Geschichte ("Falkor" in English, from The NeverEnding Story).
Of course there are tunnels in the mountains (and elsewhere) and there were many in Wunderland. Again, such love to detail. I think many of the model cars in Wunderland are by the company SIKU from Lüdenscheid in the Sauerland, where I grew up. Summer jobs at SIKU were highly sought after.
And now the details I fell in love with. They show some characters that were highly popular when I was a kid. I think they're still are, otherwise they probably wouldn't have made an appearance in Wunderland.
Pippi Langstrumpf (Pippi Longstocking), the strongest little girl in the world, was my favorite fictional heroine when I grew up. Astrid Lindgren's books were extremely popular in my childhood and I hope they still are.
Käptn Blaubär, an anthropormophic talking bear with blue fur who lives in the very north of Germany and spins tall tales. Oh, and please note the yellow telephone booth - that's a classic by now!
Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer ("Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver"), based on a book by Michael Ende (the Fuchur creator, see above) and lovingly recreated by Augsburger Puppenkiste (marionette theater in Augsburg, Germany). Augsburger Puppenkiste made wonderful little marionette movies based on several children's books, the most popular ones being the Urmel series by Max Kruse and Jim Knopf. I can still hear the Jim Knopf song Eine Insel mit zwei Bergen - here's a short video if you're interested, with characters from the marionette theater. How much we loved this as children (and I still do!).
Sesame Street - or Sesamstraße as it is called in German - was popular in Germany, too. My personal favorite was Oscar, but I also liked Ernie and Bert. Please note who's in their kitchen, eating all the cookies!
If you're still reading this, thank you. No Wunderland would be complete without a German Christmas market. Mhm, I can almost smell the roasted almonds.
Do you think all these tiny faces count for Nicole's Friday Face Off? If not, at least the ones in the first photo.
Next time in Wunderland: The US (very little), Brasil, Patagonia and Antarctica.
2 comments:
OHHHHmgosh!!!! I see how you can spend 7 hours there. What an absolutely incredible place. You are right the detail is magnificent. I'm glad you included the videos. The airport where Lufthansa took off reminded me of when I worked for the airport in Anchorage AK. I put all the food and drinks into the containers for Lufthansa. What a memory. I was so young. There is not one place that I like best. It is all so spectacular. Thank you for this treat.
Beautiful photos, Carola! What an amazing place!!! Thank you so much for sharing.
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