Hamburg, Germany

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Nearly a full day's train ride through Germany landed us in Hamburg, another city that Barb and I have been in before and so enjoyed that we wanted to share the experience with Larry & Lisa. The unseasonable cool and wet weather that dogged us through most of Switzerland seemed to continue chasing us up through Germany as well so we spent most of our outdoor time in warm, water proof clothing!

We had 3 basic goals on our list, the first was a visit to the absolute BEST display/collection of model railroads (and a lot more stuff) than we have found in all our travels. The Minatur Wunderland is without a doubt the most intriguing display of miniature "society" on earth! 3 floors of a large warehouse complex near the pier is filled with trains, planes, and automobiles, just to name a few. Not only do the trains roll along the tracks but many of the cars, people, and other things are animated. They even have an airport with planes that take-off and land! I encourage you to go to their website or look them up on YouTube for some awesome video.

Next day we braved the wind and periodic rain for a tour of lake Alster and the canal system that flows through Hamburg. Here you'll see some of the gorgeous homes and estates that were mostly spared from WWII bombings.

Day 3 took us to the Maritime Museum, again, one of the most comprehensive and largest collection of not only ship models, but other maritime memorabilia that we have ever encountered. 6 floors of models, of all sizes, of most every ship ever built! We especially enjoyed the cruise ship models having sailed on a few of them (with the exception of the RMS Titanic of course) !!

We also took advantage of the "normal" prices for things in Germany and enjoyed many meals out along with haircuts for both Barb and I. From here we'll fly to Olso, Norway and begin the final leg of our journey with Lisa and Larry.

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