Exploring the World’s Largest Model Railway

Once Aircraft Interiors Expo and the World Travel Catering Expo were over, my friend and I had spare time in the afternoon to visit Hamburg. We used the Hamburg U-Bahn underground and headed to Miniatur Wunderland.

Opened in 2000, Miniatur Wunderland is the world’s largest model railway and also one of the most popular permanent exhibition in Northern Germany. As of today, there are nine sections of the Wunderland which are Hartz/Central Germany, Knuffingen, Alps/Austria, Hamburg, United States, Scandinavia, Switzerland, Knuffingen Airport and Italy. The work is far from over as the team is working on expanding the exhibition thru the following years to come.

The Knuffingen Airport was definitely my favourite section of Miniatur Wunderland. I wonder why?

The Knuffingen Airport was definitely my favourite section of Miniatur Wunderland. I wonder why?

I personally thought the airport was awesome. The designers paid attention to every detail. One thing that is amazing about this airport is that you can visually see the aircraft takeoff and land on the runway. Additionally, the planes can move around the airport and even head to a gate. Once the aircraft is parked at a gate, the jet bridge will move and align with the aircraft’s main door.

A Gate Gourmet truck loaded with beverages and meals.

A Gate Gourmet truck loaded with beverages and meals.

Even the baggage loading vehicles and the catering truck pictured above can move around the airport. The airport, the planes and the small trucks all had lights. You could even see the orange blinker of a truck that was turning left or right at an intersection.

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From back to front: Lufthansa (Boeing 747), Air Berlin (Airbus A330), Air France (Boeing 777), China Eastern (Airbus A330) and Emirates (Boeing 777).

The airport's schedule.

The airport’s schedule.

It was cool to see the actual schedule of the airport published. While looking at the schedule, you could anticipate what aircraft and airline would be the next departure and arrival.

Even though we spent most of our time at the model airport, we managed to visit the nine sections of the exhibition. There was a lot to see!

Grand Canyon, Nevada.

Grand Canyon, Nevada.

Pictured above is the Grand Canyon that can be found in the state of Nevada. It was fascinating to see the lively city of Las Vegas at night.

Train station.

Train station.

Visitors can find railways in multiple sections of the exhibition. Like the airplanes, the  trains move around the cities from station to station.

I would call it a "Centre of Operations."

I would call it the “Centre of Operations.”

It was intriguing to see “behind the scenes” of how everything worked to make this Miniatur Wunderland an attractive place to stop by. I believe these employees were  controlling and monitoring some of the trains, cars, boats, airplanes, aerial tramways, chairlifts, etc. I am sure there is automation involved but they need humans to make everything work perfectly.

I really enjoyed spending a few hours in this “miniature world.” If you visit Hamburg, I would totally recommend you to go take a look. Tickets are only €9 per person!

Until next time!

Nicolas

The Queen City

My internship has given me a serious case of wanderlust. Lexington is new to me. It’s different from my hometown in Maryland and it’s a big change compared to Daytona Beach. I’ve taken it upon myself to truly explore the area and surrounding cities. A week ago my boyfriend visited for Spring Break, and although we indulged in all things Kentucky, we made it our mission to see as much as we could of The Queen City.

Downtown Cincinnati has several art galleries, museums, and an aquarium all close by. In two days we saw it all. The first was the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Many of their exhibits were heart-wrenching to say the least. The center not only addresses slavery and racism, but sex trafficking of all kinds throughout the world. It was difficult to walk through at times, but it was eyeopening. Their most valued exhibit right now is a slave pen from the 1800s.

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959d2dd2bcaa46d6bc69b6a92b49e947Recovered from Mason County, Kentucky, it housed slaves prior to auctions. The building was repaired and moved to the Freedom Center for display. Standing in its presence was truly haunting. The structure itself brought an eerie vibe to the room, but not as unsettling as it was to step inside. My boyfriend and I hesitantly walked inside. We were in awe. To step foot in what once housed hundreds upon hundreds of slaves, and to now be walking in and out freely, was significant.

Although it was our favorite, our visit to the Freedom Center was much more jarring than we had anticipated and decided to recover at the Cincinnati Art Museum. It was relaxing to roam among such amazing artworks. The visit was planned solely because of Undergrowth with Two Figures (1890) by Vincent Van Gogh. f6be3cfd8793427e9000661a737fa640

His artwork has always been my favorite and certainly lightened the mood after our trip to the Freedom Center. I search for him in every city and was pleased to find him in The Queen City accompanied by Georgia O’Keefe, Georges Raoualt, Arshile Gorky, and many others.60f87f4333a74c99af54c10f8c40420b

 

We planned to visit galleries and museums, but we ended up visiting a new side to ourselves. Wanderlust unexpectedly accompanies internships, and embracing that is half of the excitement.

⋆ Dani

 

 

Short Trip to Ottawa and Winnipeg

Last Friday was a holiday for the province of Quebec. Yay, a three day weekend! Friday morning, I from Montreal to Ottawa to visit the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.

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Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, Ontario.

The museum had many artifacts and aircraft on display from WWI and WWII. It was amazing to see how aviation has evolved over time. It started from human-powered aircraft to state-of-the-art commercial airplanes such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the Airbus A350, and the CSeries. If you are a prospective student interested in anything related to aviation, Embry-Riddle is your #1 choice. We offer many degrees and programs such as aeronautical science (pilot), computer and technology, engineering, aviation business, and space. You can consult the complete list of what ERAU has to offer here.

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My flight itinerary generated by The Great Circle Mapper.

After the museum, I headed to the Ottawa MacDonald-Cartier International Airport. I was flying to Winnipeg, MB, then to Toronto-Pearson (Canada’s busiest airport), and finally back to Ottawa on that same day. Unfortunately things did not go as planned as my flight from Ottawa to Toronto got cancelled. A WestJet guest service ambassador told me that the flight cancellation was due to the fact that the crew that was supposed to take us to Toronto was delayed in New York-LaGuardia and had exceeded their duty time. There were no other crew available at that time of the day. The airline gave me a hotel voucher and three food vouchers worth $45 total. I finally arrived home the next day in the afternoon.

Sunset over Ontario on my flight between Winnipeg and Toronto.

Sunset over Ontario on my flight between Winnipeg and Toronto.

You think that was a crazy trip? I did a trip back in February with my friend where we flew nearly to the four corners of the continental United States.

Read it here: Flying All Over America – Part 1 / Part 2

Other than working, eating, and sleeping, I do homework for the online class I am taking this summer. I am taking Leadership as an elective class. We are almost halfway through this 9-week course. I will post a blog soon comparing online classes versus regular classes. They both have their pros and cons.

This week will also be short since it is Canada Day on Friday. Another three day weekend! Americans, you will also get your three day weekend for Independence Day, which is next Monday.

Until next time!

Nicolas


Contact the author at berniern@my.erau.edu

June 23

With two long days of traveling behind me, I am finally back in Daytona Beach. The last week seemed like a blur, rushing by so fast that I can scarcely remember what happened. It’s hard to believe how far away from home I’ve been for the past five weeks. Only two days ago I was still sleeping in a cozy monastery on the hills outside Siena, and now here I am, back in the Florida heat and loving it.

For our last few days in Italy, we all took the time to enjoy what we loved most about the culture. I made sure to fully enjoy my last cup of chocolate chip and mint gelato. Also, Joe and I spent a lot of time wandering the shops of Siena, buying the rest of our gifts to take home to friends and family.

On Wednesday morning after Italian class, Enzo took us to the Torture Museum in central Siena. I think the place is more of a tourist attraction than a natural Sienese sightseeing stop, especially since we passed one in Florence a few weeks back. However the features inside do relate to much of Europe in the medieval times, and many of them even claimed to still be in use. We saw all kinds of torture tools from spiked interrogation chairs to limb-trapping metal splints and a cat-o-nine-tails whip. The museum also boasted amazing life-like figures that either demonstrated the use of a torture tool or represented some of the famous horror myths of the times, such as zombies, werewolves, and the many faces of Dracula and vampire creatures. Although I believe we were allowed to take photos I refrained because frankly, the images we saw were not ones I want to remember.

Later in the day we went as a class to the Duomo of Siena. This would be our last view of the beautiful churches of Italy. We gazed one last time at intricate mosaic panels on the floor, solemn religious paintings on the walls, and great statues and carved altars spread our around the magnificent rooms. There was even an enormous pipe organ high on the wall. As each of us wandered through the church our thoughts began to turn to packing and preparing for the trip home and we soon began to slip away in small groups to head back to Vico Alto.

Before saying our goodbyes and taking our leave of the area, we had one last hoorah at the Irish pub in Siena. Then we all began to head out in ones and twos for our points of departure.

Friday morning, Joe and I left bright and early with five pieces of luggage between us. We had accumulated a bit of extra weight with all the gifts we had bought so it worked out that I had gotten that extra suitcase in Rome. We dragged the luggage down to the bus stop, took our last city bus to the train station, and were soon on our way to Rome. Once there it was a fairly quick trip back to the airport and before we knew it we were in the air.

The fantastic feeling of being home after a long journey is keeping me from feeling any longing to return to Italy just yet. But perhaps after a week or so I might have enough distance to reflect on what I’ve experienced and how my perspective has changed. For now I think I will focus on delivering my Italian gifts, dining on hamburgers and fries, and relaxing on the hot Florida beach.