Last Part: Hamburg (A Little Wunder on Top)

If you're thinking Rodin, you're right. One of the many great surprises of our three-day post-Greece jaunt to Hamburg with my main gang. If you're thinking further that this is Rodin's depiction of my mistaken soul after pushing three teenagers past exhaustion in Greece, well, that certainly was my fear during the planning stages. But with Suzy's encouragement, I booked it nevertheless, and the three and I went to Hamburg,

and loved it--just loved it! It was amazing, or I guess I should say

WUNDERBAR! The hotel was nice, with a great breakfast included, and that was about all I knew to hope for. But we scoped out the scene when we arrived and found a great art museum only a pleasant lake-side walk away from the hotel.

Now, if you're thinking, Of course, the Hamburger Kunsthalle, one of the largest art museums in all of Germany, well, my hat's off to you; you're amazing, yourself--like Galatea.

Yea, we saw a little bit of this,

and a little bit of that

--wait, that last one needs a little something more.

Ah, that's better. Here are a few of our other favorites.

I am thinking some of you will recognize that last one. Anybody? It's used on a cover of Thus Spake Zarathurstra. Love it! Now, that's some good home cooking... Actually, one of my favorite moments so far in Germany occurred afterwards: Charlie came up to me and said, "Dad, I think I am starting to get why it's great to go to museums." Then he and his two siblings spent the next half-an-hour running up and sliding down some slanted parking garage thing in the gathering dusk. Well, the next day, we went to one of the two other things I booked:

Yep, we went back to Italy--to get a little Venice! No we didn't. Did I fool you? We went to Miniatur Wunderland, an electronic-train set on steroids!!! It was breathtaking in a totally different way.

When we first entered, we all thought it was pretty cool. But then I wandered into the next room and stopped, and waited for each of my three to follow. Each one of them, each in his or her own time, walked into this next room and mouthed, "Whoa!"

Even Miniatur Swiss Alps have that effect. (For me, I also had the added effect of remembering my own father's train table in the basement at 2393, where we DeStefanos grew up. Dad, I want to take you here: it's like walking into Wonka's Chocolate Factory--like being a kid again--or, at least, like being a lucky kid with a great father.)... Every twenty minutes or so, they would dim the lights to affect night,

and all of a sudden everything came to life on its own, the special effects gaining that much more on reality.

Trains and cars and boats and FedEx airplanes landing at an airport and the airport, itself, and other buildings and music halls and football stadiums, even movie theaters, would all light up, and cotton clouds about the mountains would thunder and lightning; even miniatur Mount Vesuvius would erupt. The electronics were really something. Check out this amusement park.

Or this concert in the park.

Can you believe it?! They had a glass room filled with employees monitoring everything, and amplifying effects.

Scout took a picture of a TV screen in an apartment, and she was on TV, taking a picture of herself. I'm not going to lie, it did have a strange effect on me when I left. I actually could imagine some giant hand reaching down from the sky and plucking one of us up. But I embraced the thought, even while I was at Wunderland: I huddled my three together and said, "My sweets, we are such things as dreams are made on."--or something to that effect. Miniatur Wunderland has five out of five stars on the internet, and, we all agreed, it deserves every one of them.

Well, then we had a whole afternoon to regain our grasp and check out the real Hamburg,

which is as much a highlight for me as all the rest.

(Hamburgers in Hamburg, courtesy of Charlie! "Greatest thing he's ever tasted," he said.) But that night, we went to the second thing I booked (--kind of last-second on the recommendation of my nephew Carmen), which was a concert in the Elbphilharmonie.

It, again, was amazing! Icing on top.

The Immanuel Wilkins Quartet, a jazz band. Another personal joy of mine shared most successfully.

Look him up. They played their latest album straight through, and it is exhilarating. But it was late, and we were tired, so Scout and I took in a little woman's boxing match through the window of a Porsche dealership to calm down before bed.

When we fell asleep, we did so contentedly, visions of everything dancing in our head.

What a fall break we had put together... The truth be told, Charlie, Kiefer and Scout are easily my three favorite travel companions, except for maybe one other--you know:... Larry, of course. Okay, I better get back to work, people. Love from the DeStefanos, and, as always, gratitude. To see the world is great. To have you to share it with, though, means everything...