A Little Drama
Miniature Wonderland is one of Hamburg’s highlights, especially if you have youngsters along.
They ask for your country of origin when you purchase your tickets because they keep a running tally of their visitors.
In a fantastic approach, they prepare your mind to start noticing and searching for tiny details right from the beginning.
They have eight glass cases showing the progression of life in the same hamlet/village/town over hundreds of years.
We noticed that each case showed someone being punished, someone dying, someone committing a crime, and how the river that flowed through changes from a pristine blue green to black with the “progression” toward industrialization.
After leisurely wandering for an hour, we met with Kai, our white male German guide. We booked an English-speaking backstage tour weeks ago so we could take a peek behind the plywood.
It was great! Kai was personable and funny, and had that “yes, yes” habit I’ve become so fond of.
We met Kai at the “Control Center” where seven staffers run the show.
We walked behind several of the displays, seeing how and where they charged the trains, cars, planes, and boats.
We learned that Wonderland is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest model train. In their mini-world, the train had to run from the U.S. to Germany and Austria to take that record.
A day in Wonderland is 15 minutes long; twelve for daytime, three for night.
Our crew got to steer one of the ships:
Tough to say who enjoyed it most.
Kai showed us many of the hidden/secret/naughty tableaus created all over Wonderland. It’s been open since 2007 and they are constantly working to add new countries and upgrade the equipment.
A train had derailed and a staffer popped over the rail to fix it.
The degree of detail and the care taken was fascinating to see.
And it also feels like the folks working their are sounding much if they’re time creating scenes for their own amusement.
The rest of us get to pay to enjoy it, too.
