Topic: Hamburg

A toy harbour scene: The Miniature Train World in Hamburg's attracts millions of visitors each year.

Hamburg: The world’s largest model train exhibition

10.12.2020

Where’s Gulliver?

If a long-hatched childhood dream is ever to come true, entrepreneurial reason mostly isn’t the proper leverage to make it happen. Frederik Braun and his twin brother Gerrit still bravely ventured out on a project not only demanding a vast amount of courage, enthusiasm, utmost technical aptitude, congenial logistics and never-ending perseverance – but also a mighty portion of disregard towards the shaky economical outlook and the financial risks lurking virtually everywhere. A browse through a model railway shop in Switzerland’s capital Zurich back in 2000, triggered the idea for what was to become the largest and most successful exhibition of model railways worldwide.

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Exterior of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Copyright: Thies Raetzke

Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie: What’s another year, Elphi?

2.03.2016

Haste makes waste. The very first proposal came as early as in 2001. For a while it seemed as though the bride would transmute into a spinster by the time she could be given away – although her prerequisites had been privileged from the beginning. Something old: her massive warehouse brick base stemming from cocoa-traders’ times. Something new: her extravagant self! Something borrowed: generous funds. And something blue: the surrounding waters of Hamburg’s Harbour City (with a bit of cheating on the colour side). Maddeningly slow progress had been made over the years, much controversy stirred, and her engagement phase could well be tagged „Roman“ (definitely more than a day). But now, eventually, the historic day lies within reach and both, family and in-laws, are over the moon.

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