All things miniature

Today, it was all about Miniature Wonderland. In 2016, Shannon and I visited this spectacular place in Hamburg and vowed we would return. Today we did. Miniature Wonderland is just that. Over four floors of an old warehouse is a complete wonderland of miniatures...people, railway, cities and countries.

It is hard to describe this place well. Many of you will have seen a miniature railway before perhaps, but it's more than that. The producers have
created different scenes with their handmade miniature figurines. Over the course of  15 minutes, you can experience a full 24 hours, so you get to see all of the different miniature lands lit up. Last time we visited they had just started on Italy and today, we got to see it in its completion. The photos don't really do it justice but go to some extent to highlighting how fabulous this place is. We spent a good 5 hours here and barely noticed the time pass, except when we paused for a coffee break and currywurst with pomme frittes for lunch!

As we had been to Hamburg before and explored the city well, we decided after 5 hours at Miniature Wonderland, there was no need to go back into the city. We needed the quiet of the country! Last night we explored the map and found a few different towns of interest. The beauty of having a rental car is you have the freedom to travel to places you wouldn't ordinarily. So we left Hamburg on route to Eutin. Part of the reason we chose Eutin as a visit, is because it has a lovely old castle that originated in the Medieval period and was expanded over several centuries. We drove through beautiful tree-lined streets, that dwarfed the vehicles driving underneath them. From the passenger seat, I admired the countryside including cow and sunflower spotting, while Shannon concentrated on the road.

We parked our car on the outskirts of town and walked into the centre, following signs to reach the 'schloss'. (castle) We strolled through the castle gardens, enjoying the slight breeze, large trees and the lake. The castle still has its original moat! We were glad to have the use of an audio guide in English, because sometimes when you visit museums/castles etc, information can get lost and you wind up not having a great experience. This castle was really lovely. The royal family of the time resided in the rooms we walked through, which are impeccably kept and very elegant.

Eutin also proved to be a gorgeous little town, full of interesting little streets, half-timber houses and a delightful square where we enjoyed an ice-cream before heading back to Lubeck for dinner on the harbour.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Germany. While we have enjoyed the small towns of northern Germany, we are very much looking forward to being back in Italy.