EUROPEAN RELOCATION: HAMBURG, GERMANY

DESTINATION NORWAY. TAKES 2 DAYS TO GET THERE. WELL, ACTUALLY 3 DAYS INCLUDING THE FERRY RIDE. FIRST STOP ALONG THE WAY WAS HAMBURG, GERMANY. HAMBURG IS AN INTERESTING CITY. A FEW CHURCHES AND OLDER BUILDINGS BUT IT DOES NOT HAVE THE CHARM OF SOME OTHER EUROPEAN CITIES. MUCH OF THE CITY WAS REBUILT AFTER WORLD WAR II. THERE WERE SOME INTENSE AIR RAIDS BY THE ROYAL AIR FORCE DURING 1944-1945. THEY ESTIMATE THAT OVER 42,000 CIVILIANS WERE KILLED DURING THESE RAIDS AND THEN THEY EVACUATED A MILLION RESIDENTS. THERE IS SOMETHING BACKWARDS ABOUT THAT WHOLE SCENARIO.

IT'S THE SECOND LARGEST CITY IN GERMANY AND SURPRISINGLY IT HAS MORE BRIDGES THAN VENICE AND AMSTERDAM; 2,300! THE ALSTER RIVER RUNS THROUGH THE CITY AND WIDENS NEAR THE CENTER CREATING A GREAT PLACE FOR SMALL SAILBOATS, ROWING AND A LONG RUN ALONG THE PATH. THERE ARE MANY TOUR BOATS TO TAKE THROUGHOUT THE CITY AS WELL.

WE STAYED RIGHT IN THE CENTER AT A MARRIOTT AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THE WEATHER WAS VERY NICE. LOTS OF NICE SHOPPING AND RANDY FOUND A CIGAR SHOP WHERE HE COULD INDULGE IN THE PURCHASE OF SOME LEGAL CUBAN CIGARS.

HAMBURG TOWN HALL; BUILT IN 1897; TOWER IS 367 FEET TALL

CITY HALL WAS DAMAGED DURING HEAVY BOMBING DURING WWII. RECONSTRUCTION WAS FINISHED IN 1957.

THE FACADE IS ADORNED WITH STATUES OF EMPERORS OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE

SUMMER FESTIVITIES ON THE ALSTER RIVER

THIS IS GOTTHOLD LESSING - A FAMOUS GERMANY WRITER AND PHILOSOPHER FROM MID-1700s

THE RUINED STATE OF ST. NICHOLAS' CHURCH IS THE RESULT OF WWII BOMBINGS. SOME RESTORATION WORK ON THE REMAINING PARTS OF THE CHURCH OCCURRED IN 1990s AND IN 2012. THE CHURCH WAS ORIGINALLY COMPLETED IN 1874. THE STEEPLE IS 482 FEET AND YOU CAN NOW TAKE AN ELEVATOR UP THROUGH THE TOWER TO GET A NICE PANORAMIC VIEW OF HAMBURG.

I HAD TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THIS LINE OF PEOPLE OUTSIDE ...wait for it....ABERCROMBIE & FITCH! THERE WAS A LINE OUTSIDE THE STORE ALL DAY AND AT IT'S SHORTEST IT WAS 20 PEOPLE. AM I MISSING SOMETHING?

ON SUNDAY MORNING WE WENT TO MINIATUR WUNDERLAND. THIS IS THE LARGEST MODEL RAILROAD IN THE WORLD. CONSTRUCTION STARTED DECEMBER 2000 AND THE FIRST 3 SECTIONS WERE COMPLETED AUGUST 2001. THE LIGHTS ARE ON A 20 MINUTE CYCLE THAT REPLICATES 24 HOURS IN A DAY. THE NIGHT LIGHTS MAKE FOR SOME DRAMATIC LOOKING SCENES. AS OF 2011 THERE WERE 12,000 METERS OF TRACK IN HO SCALE. SOME STATISTICS: 890 TRAINS; 300,000 LIGHTS; 215,000 TREES; 200,000 HUMAN FIGURES. AS IS USUALLY THE CASE FOR MODEL RAILROADERS, CONSTRUCTION IS ONGOING. THEY ESTIMATE THAT BY 2020 THEY SHOULD BE FINISHING THEIR FINAL CONSTRUCTION PHASE WHICH WILL INCLUDE MODELS OF FRANCE, ITALY, POSSIBLY THE UK. THEY EMPLOY 270 PEOPLE! THIS IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WAS ON THE ROTERMUND BUCKET LIST.

I COULDN'T BELIEVE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THEY PUT IN THE SCENE.

FROM DAY TO NIGHT - THE NEXT FEW PIX.

YES....MY KIDS ARE GIANTS.

THIS AIRPORT WAS FINISHED IN 2011. IT IS VERY IMPRESSIVE. MODELED AFTER THE HAMBURG AIRPORT.

WATCH A PLANE IN MOTION.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKhm3hPBd_I&feature=youtu.be

THE BRAINS OF MINIATUR

THIS IS THE AMERICAN SECTION OF THE LAYOUT. IT THINK IT'S FUNNY WHAT THEY CHOSE TO MODEL. FOR INSTANCE, THE "DECADENT" USE OF ELECTRICITY AT CHRISTMAS TIME.