Miniatur Wunderland

It is Hamburg's train wonderland located near the Elbphilharmonie. On the Kehrwieder (come back) island, the world's largest model railway is built on 1490 square meters in a disaffected Schuppen (storage building). The idea started in 2001, and since then, the exhibition has grown into Germany's top tourist attraction. In 2016 more than 1.3 million people visited the show. More than 900 trains, the longest one measuring 14 meters, run on tracks of a total length of 13 kilometers.

Forty-six computers control 1270 signals and 3050 switches. The train tracks are decorated with 8850 cars, 228,000 trees, 215,000 toy figures, and 3670 houses and bridges. Every 15 minutes, the main light goes off, simulating night scenes illuminated by 335,000 lamps.

Already months ago, Red Baron had reserved a time slot for the coveted exhibition, which was not necessary, for I arrived at lunchtime. However, when I left around 4 p.m., the place was extremely crowded.

Here are some impressions starting with the city of Rome:

St. Peters's Church with the pope greeting a small crowd

Night views are always impressive. You recognize the Colosseum at a distance.

The Spanish Steps

A street scene near the central station Roma Termini

The Forum Romanum

Where are the trains? Here are two Italian long-distance trains.

Night at a small town in Lower Saxony

The following morning, the Pacific steam engine is still waiting.

Here the train eventually is on its way into the Harz Mountains.

Helmut Schmidt Airport in Hamburg

An actual landing at night

The usual situation at airports: Waiting in line for take-off.

More of Hamburg: Simulated Dammtor Station where all crowned or non-crowned
heads of state arrive by train and are officially received still today.

The opened-up Elbphilharmonie. Note the simulation of water on both sides.

Scandinavian off-shore oil platform. Ships are floating on actual water.

A too narrow Grand Canyon

Ernst Udet, ace of World War I, flying
the Grand Canyon in the 1920ies.

Las Vegas by night

End of January, the people of Miniatur Wunderland built a wall around Las Vegas
well ahead of President Trump ... (©Calgary Sun)

.. while in another part of the Wunderland, the opening of the Berlin Wall in 1989 is celebrated.
Quite some Trabi cars try to pass the narrow opening into the west (©Miniatur Wonderland).

Do not worry:
The people at Wunderland promised to tear down their wall
 by the end of February (©afp).

As the French say: Ça vaut un voyage (It's worth the trip).

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