Hamburg's Miniatur Wunderland has several names, all of which make children's hearts beat faster. It's the largest model railway in the world, and every boy wants to go there. Mention the doll's houses and girls' eyes light up. But to understand what an amazing world this is, you have to see it for yourself.
This little wonderland was the brainchild of brothers Frederick and Gerrit Brown. Thanks to their efforts, ten kilometres of toy railway link cities and continents. The museum is divided into seven geographical sections, and the fact that Hamburg is next door to America doesn't diminish the pleasure of being a Gulliver visiting Lilliputians.
The mini-world lives just like the big world next door. People are busy: rushing to work, walking, hiking, travelling in cars, trains and planes, gathering in stadiums, having fun in amusement parks.
The busy traffic on the highways obeys the traffic lights, although here and there traffic jams and even accidents can occur. Houses, offices and shops are lit up. Even in a theme park, nature is still nature: day and night change every 15 minutes, and the tides rise and fall in the sea.
It's hard to say what's most interesting about Miniature Wonderland: the scaled-down copies of landmarks, the amazingly reproduced landscapes, the huge number of human figures, or the peculiar humour of some of the stories.
We also recommend visiting the International Maritime Museum, the most interesting exhibition in the city.
For example, there are penguins with suitcases waiting for trains on a snow-covered platform, and a snowman skiing on a snow-covered slide. And in some places, fairy tales are woven into everyday life: you might see a mermaid by the river, or elves in the forests of Scandinavia.
Not all children can just watch without being involved. At the push of a button, a rock concert starts on stage, or the movers pack up their cigarettes and get to work.
For a fee you can take a tour of the backstage area of Miniatur Wunderland. You can find out what makes the cars run and the planes take off, why the windows of the houses light up at night and the tricks behind the models. The museum is expanding every year, with three more geographical areas to be added in the near future.
