It’s a Small World

It's a small world after all…

Oh my goodness! That’s about the only thing I can think to say about Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany. Well, I can also say awesome, amazing, astounding as well! This truly was an incredible place!

Because we were on a limited time schedule, we decided to let Bryce be our tour guide on the recent trip overseas. We could have used valuable time standing in ‘queues’, waiting to see the standard museums and attractions but decided that could be for another trip when we were able to stay longer. So he put on his thinking cap and came up with some great things to see and do while we were there. So we were off to the warehouse district to look at miniature trains.

Yes, that’s what he said. I was skeptical at first, but remembered looking at train exhibits at the State Fair in New Mexico, growing up, and enjoying the intricacy of the landscapes. And I’ve always liked ‘mini’ things, so it sounded like it might be a good idea! And I am glad! It was one of my favorite things on the trip.

Minitatur Wunderland came about as a project between twin brothers, Frederik and Gerrit Braun. While wandering around one day Frederik happened upon a model railway shop. It brought back many childhood memories and he immediately called Gerrit and told him, “We are going to build the largest model railway in the world!” And they did!

HHLA home of Miniatur Wunderland

The twins are from Hamburg and have a deep love and loyalty to their city. They agreed the only place to build was Hamburg. They searched out a spot that would be easy for tourists to find and also which had adequate floor space to allow for future expansion. With help from the Chamber of Commerce an agreement was reached with Hamburger Hafen und Logistik (HHLA) and Miniatur Wunderland found a home.

Command Central with about 55 computers controlling the automation.

There are three floors to explore and we looked at it all. There are currently 8 completely constructed regions and plans for at least 4 more are in the works. While the areas aren’t exact replicas, the various sections are easily recognized, if you know your geography! It’s estimated approximately 580,000 work hours have been delivered by 250 creative employees to add around 1,000 trains, 375,000 lights and 250,000 figurines.

There's a little bit of everything and something for everyone!

Airports and parking...

Knuffingen Airport...Planes taking off, landing and all the action required between times included.

Parking garage at Knuffingen Airport...luggage, people, lights and vehicles.

Boats and docks...

Boats under repair.

Along the pier.

Even a raft. Complete with skinny dippers!

 Brideges and dams...

A suspension bridge. Look at the detail.

Traffic on a bridge.

Nighttime traffic.

A dam. I'm not sure what country this is. Switzerland maybe?

A view from the top.

While we were touring I was able to read the signs to know which geographical area I was viewing. But after I got home and looked at the many pictures I found I had forgotten. But I still got some great photos!

A little bit of America...

Mount Rushmore. It would have been funny to put the twins pictures there. Who knows? Maybe they did!

Las Vegas...day and night! The time cycles so all scenes are shown daylight, dusk, dark and sunrise.

Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo. Funny what we're known for, huh!

Southwest...Arizona/New Mexico Indian Pueblo

Roswell, New Mexico...Aliens!!!

Kentucky Fried Chicken. American favorite? :)

A castle. Austria maybe?

A mossy cottage. Switzerland? I'm not sure but I like it!

The seasons...

A winter wonderland.

Snow celebration.

A summer celebration. Concert?

Flower power!

A soccer game.

Country fair.

Fall on the mountain.

Tragedy...

Fire! Emergency!

Weddings and funerals...

A wedding.

A cemetery.

Humor...

No bull about it!

Dinosaurs! Caleb would know their names.

And, well...throughout the exhibit little people doing the 'dirty' are hidden. It was kind of fun to find them!

Don't wait too long at the porta potty! You'll get TP'd!

A hotel where you could peek in the windows at night. There were lots of interesting things going on in there!

The stork arrived at the airport parking lot!

Car trouble...and no help from the monks!

Something missing...

I didn't see any yarn or knitting or spinning...but there were sheep!

If you are ever in Hamburg, this place is a must see. It’s awesome. It’s amazing. It’s astounding. It is truly an incredible place!

It's just a small world after all.