Miniatur Wunderland, Hamburg @ 2026-06-04

Many, many years ago, my darling and I planned a long weekend in Hamburg, including a sightseeing bus tour, a harbor cruise, and all the other things you typically do in Germany’s northernmost metro area when you’re there together for the first time. Since even as a grown man, I can hardly shake off my inner child, I suggested visiting the famous Miniatur Wunderland (Wikipedia) in Hamburg’s Speicherstadt, and she didn’t mind, even though she seemed skeptical at first. Girls just don’t usually play with model trains, but what Gerrit and Frederik Braun, the founders of Miniatur Wunderland, have built there in the space of a 150-year-old warehouse has since become famous far beyond the borders of Hamburg, so she let herself be persuaded. Now we’re both die-hard fans of this XXXXXL model train layout (biggest in the world!), because what sets it apart from others isn’t just the size, but also the attention to detail and the humor of its builders, who are also too stubborn to give up when…