I saw Bigfoot!

Seriously, I did! He was hidden within Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg.*

*Are you sick of hearing about that place? You shouldn't be, because it's DANG AWESOME.

Car towing: Wiesbaden vs. Minitaur Wunderland

When I went to my first Fasching parade in Wiesbaden, I enjoyed a little bit of Schadenfreude when I saw that some ding-dong who had parked in a no parking zone got towed. I was also super excited to see the tow truck because I had never before seen a tow truck that actually picks up the truck (link to that blog entry here)!

Miniatur Wunderland also has a car being towed. Push the button on the display and the car is lifted, just like in real life. It was nifty to watch.

Miniatur Wunderland is warped

Man, did I ever love our visit to Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg! I seriously can't wait to go back, which is strange for me because I'm so not into model trains and the like. I will definitely look for more of the hidden jokes within the exhibit. Some of them are quite naughty! I won't include some of the really naughty ones, but below are a few that I wouldn't exactly share with small children.

This guy left the stau (traffic jam) to relieve himself.

Crazy office party...the kind likely to get one fired!

Yeah, this is totally warped.

The Strawberry Sellers of Hamburg

I love spring time in Germany. Okay, to be honest, I like every time in Germany, but spring time is especially lovely! In addition to the lovely weather and more buoyant moods of everyone, there are other fun things to anticipate.

For example, it's time for the return of some lovely local produce. Spargel and strawberries are for sale in full force. Even better yet? Little strawberry huts pop up! It's so fun to buy strawberries from someone who's sitting in a giant strawberry. (Oh lawdy, I wish they sold everything in huts shaped like what they were selling. How dang fun would that be?)

Hamburg was no exception; check out the cute strawberry hut we saw in the Schulterblatt neighborhood:

I was even more delighted when I saw something similar, reproduced in a small scale, at Minitaur Wunderland:

A trip to Hamburg: Day 3, Part 2

After our delicious lunch at Teheran, we finished our Hamburg trip with a visit to the Hamburger Kunsthalle, which was an extensive collection of art. One of our main interests was the special exhibition called "Feuerbach's Muses -- Lagerfeld's Models," a juxtoposition of the 19th century German classicist painter and Karl Lagerfeld, a fashion designer and photographer who portrayed the story of Daphnis and Chloe.

Here's my thoughts on Feuerbach: he liked to paint tons and tons of paintings of his mistress, Nanna, with her head turned. Lagerfeld's photos look like a fashion shoot (which is not surprising). His model, Baptiste Giabiconi, who is deliciously handsome, cannot sit on a horse properly to save his life. I can't help it; I'm an equestrienne and it kills me to see such poor equitation, even though it has nothing to do with the art exhibition.

And, uh, yeah, we also saw a guy doing parkour* outside the museum.

You get on with yo' fancy self!

We wrapped our museum trip up then headed to the Hauptbahnhof, which was conveniently very close, to return home. I loved our visit to Hamburg and hope to go back again soon-ish. Every German I've talked to about it (granted, it's a small group) loves it there and I did too. It has a bit of the fun and funkiness of Berlin; a little bit of the old stately glamor of Wiesbaden; the bustling atmosphere of a port city; and the natural beauty afforded by the lovely parks.


*I call it "fancy walking." Yes, I know it's so much more than that, but that's what I like to call it.

Restaurant Review: Teheran, Hamburg

Teheran

Adenauerallee 70, 20097 Hamburg

After our visit to the Kunst und Gerwebe Museum, we were ready for lunch. We were on our way to one restaurant when we came across Teheran, a Persian restaurant close to the main train station. We took a look at the menu and decided to give it a try. It was a great choice!

C. and I sat in the patio behind the building. It was a lovely area, surrounded by greenery and reasonably quiet despite its proximity to the main train station.

We deliberated over the menu. Even though the vegetarian section wasn't huge (there were four main course options), I had a hard time deciding. I finally settled on kaschke bademjan, a delicious dish of roasted eggplant, layered with a creamy whey sauce, caramelized onions, fried herbs, and possibly some goat cheese. Oh, were the complex tastes wonderful! There was a slight bit of smokiness from the eggplants, combined with tanginess of the cheese.

Kaschke bademjan: nom nom!

C. ordered the chicken kabob (#64), grilled in saffron and lemon. She said it was citrusy and delicious. It was served with a salad and the dressing tasted similar to 1000 Island.

Chicken kabob

 We were also given an appetizer as part of the meal. It was flat bread, a huge pile of fresh herbs, some goat cheese, radishes, and some onion slices. It was very refreshing to eat flat bread with the herbs, which included mint and parsley.

Appetizer

Our dining experience was very pleasant. Prices were fine; my dish was 8,50 and C's was 11,50. Service was fast, the food delicious, and the outdoor patio was lovely. 

A trip to Hamburg: Day 3, Part 1

On our third day in Hamburg, we planned to see a few museums before our trip back home. The first museum we visited was the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (Museum for Art and Industry), conveniently near the Hauptbahnhof.

I feel that the museum is not necessarily a must-see, but we still enjoyed it. Some of the pieces seemed so mundane and everyday, but perhaps that's just because they were from within our lifetime or just before it. For example, a Nizza bathroom from the 1972 Munich Olympics was on display. Who thought that a plastic potty would be in a museum?

A special exhibit really made our trip, though; it's called Small Worlds and it's a collection of miniatures made by Willard Wigan, a British sculptor who uses materials like carpet fibers and paintbrushes made from his eyelashes (more about him here). His sculptures are completely amazing: they fit within the eye of a needle as he was influenced by the Biblical quote “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven."

During our visit, we entered the exhibit, which is in two small rooms with rows of microscopes to view the sewing needles and the sculptures within their eyes. We were completely blown away by the intricacy of his work; he had created everything from the Last Supper to camels.

I was incited to a fit of giggles when I read about his techniques. The first part is serious: he has to control his breathing and heartbeat to be able to work with such small sculpture; pieces can literally be breathed in if he's not careful. Poor Little Red Riding Hood met that fate as a misplaced breath sucked her in. I couldn't help it; I laughed about that one. After all, how many artists accidentally eat their sculptures?

It was a fantastic exhibit and a high point to our visit at that museum. Our next two stops were lunch and another museum. More to follow...

Restaurant review: Sahha, Hamburg

Sahha Syrische Küche
Hauptbahnhof 16
20095 Hamburg

 
After our visit to Miniatur Wunderland, we were a bit hungry, but it was late. We decided to take our chances at the Hamburg Hauptbahnhof for dinner. It ended up being a great decision! The Hbf has a great selection of restaurants, with everything from a Syrian restaurant to gut-rotting fast food.

We chose the Syrian restaurant and it was a fantastic choice. Since it was late, the first two things I tried to order weren't available. I ended up getting a plate with grilled vegetables and rice topped with grilled eggplant. It also included a yogurt sauce.

Oh my goodness, was it ever delicious! The chef cooked up it fresh before my eyes, and tossed some spices into it. I have no idea what they were but they really made the dish. Everything was just perfect, from the fresh veggies to the smoky taste of the grilled eggplant mixed with the sliced almonds. At only 7 euros, it was a delicious, inexpensive, and filling dinner.

C. ordered some grilled chicken and thoroughly enjoyed that too. We highly recommend the restaurant. Mmm...my mouth is watering right now, just thinking about it.

Hamburg Day 2: Miniatur Wunderland

Miniatur Wunderland (website)
Kehrwieder 4, 20457 Hamburg

At the end of day 2 in Hamburg, we were to make the visit that I was most excited about for the trip: Miniatur Wunderland! According to their website, it's "the largest model railway in the world, and one of the most successful permanent exhibitions in Northern Germany."

I have read many other bloggers' posts about this place. At first, I was not moved to action. I'm not really into model trains or anything like that. However, the response to M.W. was so positive in the blogs that I found myself getting excited about visiting it! In fact, wanting to see it was one of the main reasons I chose Hamburg for our mini vacation.

Having read other blogs, I knew some hints for visiting Miniatur Wunderland, such as booking tickets ahead of time and going at an odd time. Our appointment was at 7 p.m. and we were there for almost three hours! I had no idea that the exhibition would draw me in so much. Three hours wasn't enough time to see everything, but it was a start and we found many hidden secrets, jokes, and naughty things in the exhibition.

Even though the place really caters to kids, adults will find plenty of interesting things to look at (and be surprised at some of the naughty surprises inside). Also, the exhibit is constantly evolving. For example, a section for Italy is in development. When we visited, we saw temporary displays with videos about the various political parties in Germany. These were just informational, not meant as propaganda, but there were certainly many jokes in the displays!

It's definitely worth a trip and I can't wait to go back and see what other little things are hidden.

One of the tamer jokes - a guy taking a break from a traffic jam.

There's even a model of Miniatur Wunderland itself!

This is a model of the Elbphilharmonie, which will be Hamburg's new opera house. I wasn't impressed by the real thing in the construction phase, but now that I can see what the final plan is, I find it very striking.

Push a button and it plays music and slowly opens.

A trip to Hamburg: Day 2

On our second day, we had a leisurely wake-up and enjoyed the breakfast buffet at our hotel/hostel. As part of the Ameropa deal, breakfast was included. Otherwise, it's 6 or or 7 euros.

After eating, we headed out to the Goldbekmarkt (UBahn stop Borgweg), a weekly market in the Winterhude district. Oh my goodness, was it ever lovely! The neighborhood is fantastic, filled with trees, a beautiful canal lined with Schrebergärten (allotment gardens for residents), and just a wonderful vibe.

The market is on the right, behind the canal. Isn't it a beautiful area?

Our next stop was St. Nikolai Church memorial. It was bombed during the war and only the spire remains, which is constantly covered in scaffolding, it seems. For 4 euros (we had the Hamburg Card discount), we took an elevator to a viewing deck on the spire. The views were impeded by scaffolding but we still got a look at the town. The documentation was interesting; it mentioned how Hamburg had been firebombed during WWII and that more people died there than those who did in Dresden.We also visited the museum, below the memorial. It was well done, a thoughtful documentation of life during and after the War.

Inside the museum.

Part of the memorial, the remains of the church.

After that somber experience, our mood was lightened by a strange sight: this car had no driver's side door! It was so strange and didn't look like a legal way to drive.

Recovering from that odd sight, we visited the Reeperbahn (which means "ropewalk," or area where ropes were made) in the St. Pauli district. Basically, it reminds me of Las Vegas and is the party area, red light district, and nightlife area all rolled into one. It wasn't really my thing.

Part of the district. Very Vegas-y.

I was a bit amused by their customized ATM sign.

We moved on to a neighborhood that I did love: the Schulterblatt ("shoulder blade"). It is a hip, creative, and crafty area that reminds me of the Friedrichshain area of Berlin or the Neustadt are in Dresden. We stopped by Herr Max for a sweet treat. I had a berry muffin with chocolate ganache topping. It was a disappointment, unfortunately; the muffin was super dense and a bit dry and the topping was just too sweet. I loved the vibe of the bakery though; it was super, super cute with a kitschy theme of Dia De Los Muertos skulls. I have a friend in the US who loves making sugar skulls so I was very fondly reminded of her during the visit.

Even the dishes on the wall on the left side have skulls painted on them!

 

We were quite tired after all of our gallivanting so we returned to the hotel for a nap before the highlight of the trip: the visit to Miniatur Wunderland. That will get its own entry as it was quite the experience! More to come...

A trip to Hamburg: Day 1

My friend C. (a different C. from the Macedonia trip) and I took a weekend trip to Hamburg. I found a deal from Deutsche Bahn for 188 euros per person for the high speed train and two overnights. Their Ameropa travel service often yields some decent enough deals, especially when one books as far in advance as possible. If not booking very far in advance, one will find that the hotels on offer are often sold out. I booked three weeks out and was able to secure a room at the A&O Hotel&Hostel.

Our train came in before 9 on Friday night. We walked to the A&O from the Hauptbahnhof; it was an easy 10 minute walk. It was jam-packed when we arrived, apparently with school groups, bachelor parties, and other travelers. What a mish-mash!

We dumped our luggage in our room and took the train to the Planten un Blomen Park. We picked our way carefully through the insufficiently lit and deliciously fragrant park to see a cheesy tourist attraction: the Wasserlichtorgel, or water light organ. It's a water fountain in the park's pond that is synchronized with light and organ music. It was sufficiently touristy and kitsch, but also very pleasant to stand among the wonderfully aromatic plants and enjoy the sight, which is free, and a good end to our first day's journey.

Roadside Candy Machines: Hamburg

We saw this machine in Hamburg. The prices are really low, at 20 cents per item. I was wondering what the "eye poppers" are -- apparently it's sour bubblegum.

Hamburg's Mannequin Scene

Continuing on my Tour d'Mannequin, I came across another interesting mannequin in knock-off Harley clothes. He was on the Reeperbahn in Hamburg.

I'm impressed because:
-he does not appear to be beaten up then subsequently patched up, as the French and Macedonian mannequins appear to have been;
-his facial hair appears to be factory-installed and not after market (à la Sharpie markers);
-and he seems to be genuinely thrilled with his (knock-off) clothing.

I'm concerned because:
-he has crazy long glue-on eyelashes;
-but if he didn't have eyelashes or if they were painted on that would be weird too;
-and I spend too much time pondering this.

  

 "Whoa, man! These knock-off Harley clothes are the bomb! I'm also glad that no one drew in my facial hair!"

The mobile chef in Hamburg

We took a trip to Hamburg this past weekend. I saw the van below and thought it was super cute with a pot on the top of it. As I was grabbing my camera and giggling about the van, the driver came out and grinned at our goofiness. I think it would be awesome to drive a van around with a pot welded to the top of it!