Leisure Pursuits In Hamburg (Germany)
1. CHOCOVERSUM CHOCOLATE MUSEUM:
Attention, sweet tooth! When on holiday with children in Hamburg, you too can visit your own paradise. The CHOCOVERSUM Chocolate Museum in the very centre of the city is the very place where you and your children will feel absolutely happy. The chocolate museum occupies an area of ​​1200 sq. m. The organisers of this cultural and gastronomic establishment are sure that they bring pleasure to people, because chocolate is a product that promotes the production of the pleasure hormone.
If you want to tell your child what chocolate is, how it is made, from what ingredients, and also want to learn something new about this magical delicacy, then you should go straight to CHOCOVERSUM. This big chocolate world will introduce your inquisitive tourist to the cocoa tree. The child will learn what this plant looks like – cocoa trees from equatorial forests grow in the museum’s winter garden. You will be shown how the most delicious chocolate is made from a small grain, told how cocoa beans are brought from distant countries, and even offered to take part in unloading a ship in the port.
For children, such close contact with the exhibits of the CHOCOVERSUM museum is especially important, because only by touching them with your hands and feeling their influence can you become truly initiated into the mystery of making chocolate. So, if you are ready to take a fascinating culinary journey with the museum staff, then go ahead, to the embrasure! You will go through all the stages of making this divine drink, which, when hardened, takes the form familiar to all children. Local chocolatiers will reveal to you the secret of more than 500 flavors of chocolate! By the way, you can create your own variety from different ingredients, and then eat the resulting dessert. Before leaving the CHOCOVERSUM museum, do not forget to look into a small shop where you can buy any kind of chocolate. Sweet, aromatic and delicious souvenir from Hamburg – what could be better? Unless you also visit the Chocolate Museum in Cologne, which will leave the best impressions.
2. MINIATUR WUNDERLAND:
The Hamburg museum Miniatur Wunderland, “Miniature Wonderland”, has several names, and any of them makes children’s hearts beat faster. It is worth mentioning that this is the world’s largest model railway – and any boy will ask to go there. A casual mention of doll houses – and girls’ eyes light up. But to understand what kind of amazing world this is, you have to see it with your own eyes. The little wonderland was invented by brothers Frederik and Gerrit Braun. Thanks to their efforts, ten kilometers of toy railway connected cities and continents.
The museum has seven geographical sections, and even though Hamburg is adjacent to America, this does not diminish the joy of the fact that visitors become Gullivers visiting the Lilliputians. The mini-world lives just like the big world lives next to it. People are busy: rushing to work, walking, hiking, traveling by car, train and plane, gathering at stadiums, having fun at amusement parks. The busy traffic on the highways is controlled by traffic lights, although, as it happens, there are traffic jams and even accidents here and there. Houses, office and commercial buildings are illuminated with lights. Nature remains nature even in a toy park: day and night change every 15 minutes, the sea ebbs and flows.
It is difficult to say what is most interesting in the “Miniature Wonderland”: reduced copies of landmarks, amazingly reproduced landscapes, a huge number of human figures or the peculiar humor of some of the plots. For example, penguins with suitcases are waiting for a train on a snowy platform, a snowman is skiing down a snowy hill – there are a great many such details. And in some places, a fairy tale is woven into everyday life: you can see a mermaid by the river, and elves in the Scandinavian forests. Not all children can only watch without the opportunity to participate.
For them, there is a great opportunity to bring the picture to life: pressing a button – and a rock concert begins on stage or the movers take a break and get to work. For an additional fee, you can go on a tour of the backstage of Miniatur Wunderland. There you can find out what makes cars drive and planes take off, why windows in houses light up at nightfall and what tricks are hidden in the models. The museum is expanding every year, and soon 3 more geographic sections will be added here.
3. INTERNATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM:
It is not surprising that Hamburg, a major port in Germany, has acquired a Maritime Museum. However, the circumstances of the museum’s origin and its exposition are surprising. It is based on an extensive collection of ship models collected by Peter Tamm and donated to the city. The building of a former port warehouse was allocated to house the unique exhibits. If you plan to visit the International Maritime Museum Hamburg with a child, be prepared to spend several hours in the halls.
The museum exposition occupies 9 floors-decks with a total area of ​​16 thousand square meters. It contains objects and documents covering 3 thousand years of maritime history. But the greatest temptation awaits collectors and lovers of ship models. The museum has a thousand large models and 36 thousand small ones. The display cases display antique models made of precious metals and ivory. All of them are made with amazing precision. But can the work of those enthusiasts who assembled copies of two large liners from Lego bricks be called less scrupulous? The models of the Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth 2 ships made from toy parts look as grandiose as serious models. In general, many exhibits are designed for curious children. For example, in one of the halls there is a sextant, with which you can independently determine the location of the ship, i.e. the museum.
In another hall there is a periscope used on submarines – with its help you can look to the next floor. In the third, conditions have been created for playing pirates. No, you can’t wave sabres there, but you can sit in the cockpit among the carpets and pillows, remembering battles and dreaming of new exploits. Even listing all the delights of the museum would take up a lot of space. Someone will be interested in the ship’s menus, someone – in the flags of the international code of signals, someone – in the devices for pulling out ropes. Some are surprised that a lighthouse is not a pole with a huge lantern, but both a home and a workplace. Others are amazed at how the craftsmen chose the wood to build the ships. Boys are fascinated by the display cases with weapons, and their shoulders literally feel the weight of the epaulettes.
And girls, perhaps, can find similarities between sea knots and macrame, or even become interested in cutting out the sails. A very interesting exhibition is the gradation of a storm. The mirror-smooth sea during a calm becomes truly scary when the wind strengthens to 10-12 points on the Beaufort scale. But, as if in defiance of all storms, the flagship “Hamburg” rushes forward – its model hangs under the ceiling of one of the halls. If after this museum the words “lag”, “line”, “kabeltov” seem magical to a child, do not be surprised. And to make your visit to the Maritime Museum a memorable one, you can buy a small model of a ship in the souvenir shop on the first floor.
4. HAGENBECK ZOO IN HAMBURG:
The scientist and businessman Carl Hagenbeck opened his zoo in Hamburg in 1907. Having extensive experience in keeping and training animals, he considered it possible to keep animals and birds not in cramped cages, but in spacious enclosures. During all this time, six generations of the Hagenbeck family made titanic efforts to create one of the most picturesque zoos in Europe. And to this day, the best conditions are created for the inhabitants of the zoo, in which they feel as if they were in the wild.
A rich collection and a wonderful park area make this place attractive for recreation with children and one of the most popular attractions in Hamburg (the zoo is visited by about 1.7 million people annually). Due to the absence of high fences, there is a feeling of being present in the animals’ habitat, and the zoo itself is more reminiscent of a large park with countless paths and trails, through which hares and roe deer run every now and then. If you come to the zoo with your child for the first time, most likely you will want to look at lions, giraffes, elephants, i.e. those animals that the child has only seen in a book. But if you have visited animals many times, then the Hagenbeck Zoo will still be able to surprise you. For example, it is not often that you see a large rodent with the body of a hare and the muzzle of a capybara – but here the Patagonian maras (that is what these animals are called) feel at ease.
Children are especially happy to meet small animals: rabbits, guinea pigs. And in the petting zoo, kids will be offered to feed the kids, who not only accept treats, but also invite them to play. You cannot feed other animals, but you can watch them being fed. It happens at certain hours, you just need to come to the enclosure with elephants, seals, pelicans in time. But the turtles are not averse to a snack at any time of the day, they eat slowly but thoroughly. In total, there are more than 1850 animals in the zoo, these are inhabitants of polar latitudes, and inhabitants of the tropics, animals familiar to us and species rarely found in zoos. But the most outlandish and capricious creatures living on our planet are collected in the tropical aquarium. Here you can see not only colorful fish, but also insects, snakes, lizards, crocodiles, African birds – in total, there are more than 300 species of inhabitants in the aquarium.
Three times a week, a show with crocodiles and sharks is held in the troparium. Contact with the animal world sometimes happens in an unexpected way. For example, just stepping off the path, you can meet dinosaurs. And on the playground, an elephant slide awaits children. Children themselves can feel like agile monkeys, climbing the suspension bridge. By the way, the bridge leads to the kingdom of these close relatives of man. The Hamburg Zoo also has a wonder forest, through which children travel by train. During the trip, they will meet their favorite characters from children’s fairy tales. On the territory of the zoo there are several cafes and a restaurant where you can have lunch after the excursion.
5. HANSA PARK AMUSEMENT PARK:
A trip to an amusement park is always a joy for children: some have their favorite rides, while others are looking for something new. Therefore, a real gift for a child will be the opportunity to try out a variety of rides, for example, in Hansa Park. This is the fifth largest amusement park in Germany. It opened in 1977, and almost every year new carousels, roller coasters are opened here, and entire play worlds are built. Today, the park has 125 rides designed for visitors of different ages. Having looked at the map of the territory, you can first of all go to one of the theme zones.
The Land of Adventure awaits the inquisitive and restless, the Land of Vikings and Bonanza City – the brave and gambling. An eternal holiday reigns in the “Mexico” zone, and you can feel the atmosphere of old fairs in a separate corner of the park. But the most grandiose theme area is still under construction, and a medieval town is gradually emerging here, symbolizing the Hansa – the union of free cities. The park got its name in honor of the Hanseatic League. The little ones have their own Children’s World with fun and safe entertainment. But even the little ones can join their parents on a train ride or ride with them on a boat on the lake. Special performances with animals are also held for the little guests.
An adventure play center awaits younger schoolchildren, where they can feel like Tom Sawyer and Robinson Crusoe at the same time. But those who like to tickle their nerves will not be left without pleasure. Here they can rush on a roller coaster, soar steeply into the sky and dive down again with the “Flying Shark”, feel like the tongue of a giant “Bell” or ride a chain carousel, but at a height of 85 meters. And all daredevils without exception can climb the 100-meter Holstein Tower, where you can feel the salty wind of the Baltic Sea and see the entire territory of the park.
In autumn, when it gets dark early, Hansa Park is decorated with a scattering of lights. Shining garlands, flowers, mythical creatures disperse the darkness, and fireworks scattering in the sky resemble multi-colored autumn leaves thrown up into the air. Tired of noisy fun, wander with the whole family along the cozy alleys of the park and admire the flowering plants. Almost all the theme zones are equipped with picnic areas, so you can have a delicious lunch on the lawn. There are also cafes and restaurants on the territory of Hansa Park, where a children’s menu is offered. In addition, there are several colorful shops and souvenir shops here.