A couple of days in Hamburg.

As I write this we’re speeding across northern Germany on the ICE (Inter-City Express) from Hamburg to Copenhagen.  The trains through Europe have been amazingly efficient – clean, fast and mostly on time.  Apart from the Eurostar, which was a bit of a disappointment – a little tired and worn and seating was tight (then again we were in 2^nd class) – they’ve been very comfortable.

Hamburg was a bit of a surprise – quite a nice city with wide streets and lots of greenery.  It is the 2^nd largest port in Europe after Rotterdam and the gateway to industrial Germany.  The central city area was pretty much destroyed in 1940-45 and has been re-built quite beautifully.  It’s very busy and a harbour cruise pointed out to us, just how large and busy it is.  A huge dock area with container handling facilities which stretch for many kilometres, the port (although over 100 kilometres from the North Sea) seems very efficient.  There are quite a few very modern buildings, particularly in the old dock area which is undergoing regeneration.  There are a couple of large lakes near the city centre and extensive parklands.  In fact, one evening we stayed in the Planten Und Blomen Park, not far from our hotel, where there is a sound and light show every evening at 10pm – quite amazing.

However, the main reason for being here in the first place, was the Miniatur Wunderland (Google it – a great video on the website), the largest model railway in the world.  Over 6400 sq.metres of warehouse space over 3 levels, all fully integrated, 64 computers running 930 locomotives and many thousands of carriages, both freight and passenger and a motor pool of 270+ operating motor vehicles.  There are more than 215,000 human figures, many actually operating machinery, etc., and a day-night simulation (a 24hour cycle) operating every 15 minutes.  There is a fully operational airport with many types of planes taking off and landing in a constant stream and it’s amazing to watch them.  From small turbo-prop planes (designed for local operation) to Airbus 380s and huge Antanov freight planes, there is a fascinating and continuous show going on and the sounds of jets and props are loud and appropriate.  Each plane pushes off from the terminal, proceeds via taxi-ways to the waiting ramp and lines up, takes off and disappears through a ‘cloud’ screen at the wall.  At the other end, planes appear through a similar screen to land, taxi away and taxi to the terminal, where stairs are driven to the exits and catering trucks appear for re-stocking.  Over 40 airplanes are operating as well as the ground personnel belonging to them.  Just amazing!

Throughout the facility, there is an entire section devoted to Hamburg with a re-production city, fully operational with cars, trucks, trains and crowds of people, as well as a dock area and ships coming and going.  There are sections depicting Switzerland, Austria, Scandanavia and America and there is an Italian area currently under construction – also on display.  Each section is true to theme, with appropriate buildings, weather themes,  population in proper dress and correct and appropriate motor vehicles and trains.  The whole facility is constantly expanding with plans to 2020 and beyond.  Next projects will be France (after Italy), Britain and parts of Africa.  This is Germany’s greatest tourist attraction, with over 11 million visitors so far.  Even though the Princess wasn’t quite as sucked in as I was, we still spent more than 3 hours absorbed by the experience.  Of the couple of hundred photos I took, I'm still trying to decide what to post, so hang fire for a day or so.

 

So far the food in Europe has been great – fresh, well prepared and interesting and nowhere near as expensive as in the UK.  There, the food options were limited and much less interesting and expensive in comparison.  We regularly opted for take-away, pre-prepared meals and sandwiches from Tesco and Sainsbury’s, as they were the better options rather than the fried fish & chips and hamburgers that seem to be the norm.  They (UK) have great pre-packed fruits and salads, but apart from that, the options were limited.  Where salad was offered with a meal, we were disappointed with the quality.  Nothing like good, fresh produce.