Willkommen in Deutschland!

After a wonderful week in London with our English family, it was time to say goodbye to Tony and Norma this morning and begin the next leg of our journey to Hamburg, Germany.
We were up at "silly o'clock" to leave for Heathrow, to get our flight to Hamburg. After a quick breakfast at the airport we boarded our flight on a Germanwings plane. After the comfort of flying on an A380 to London, we were brought down a peg or two, when we stepped on to one of the smallest passenger plane's we'd seen. We were crammed in like sardines! Fortunately, someone didn't show up who was supposed to be sitting next to me, so I moved across to the aisle seat, giving Shannon and I more room to breathe. Although the plane was small, it was a pleasant flight to Hamburg - we were quite impressed with the snack we were given on our flight, which only lasted an hour or so.

Sandwich with cold cut (some type of meat)

We were surprised how quickly we got through passport control and out to the street in Hamburg! They literally looked at our passport, then we picked up our bags and walked out the front door. It was very easy to find the train station at the airport. We caught a train into the Haupbahnhoff and walked to our accommodation - Hotel Henri. It's a quirky little place - decked out in 1950's decor, an espresso machine and 'fill your own mini bar'.

After we settled into our room, it was to check out our surroundings. Hamburg is bigger than what we first realised. The main thoroughfare is quite busy and is loaded with shops. We wandered up one of the main strips and had some lunch in the sunshine. It was then time to head to Miniatur Wunderland! Shannon discovered it on the Internet some time ago - the day finally arrived where we would get to visit it - the largest miniature railway in the world. We certainly had underestimated the size of this place. Miniature Wonderland is literally the world in miniature. It is far more than just trains....the creators of this place have thought of everything. Replicas of buildings, teeny tiny people in all manner of poses and outfits. Cars drive themselves, planes fly overhead and ships sail on the water. There are buttons you can press at every turn that make something move, flash or light up. There's a weird sensation when you go from morning to afternoon to evening every 15 minutes. It really is an amazing sight to see - highly recommended for kids big and small if you every get the opportunity to visit Hamburg. The photos below don't really do the place justice, but it will give you an idea of what some of the models look like.