my dad had a miniature railway when we were kids. it was a very serious and special affair, which me and my brother weren’t allowed to touch by ourselves. it was kept on its box and reserved for occasional weekends spent at home, when he was feeling especially patient and had plenty of time on hands. we loved setting up the tracks in complicated routes with overhead bridges which quickly took over the rug of the living room…
so when i found out about loxx through uberlin, i was blown away by the idea. i mean, i knew for some people this is a serious hobby, but doing a whole city? was that possible?
it turns out, not only it is possible, it is also super awesome, and one of the coolest things we’ve seen in berlin so far!
there are moving trains of course, all kinds of them, from s-bahns to the ice – but also trucks and buses that move around the city and magically stop at the traffic lights. there are miniature versions of the brandenburg tor, the tv tower or the reichstag, where you can see and listen to jfk doing his famous “ich bin ein berliner” speech. there’s even an airport – yes, with planes lifting off and landing!
my favourite part was really all the small details. it seems like everywhere you look, there’s something to be discovered, little events and scenes being enacted. we went around it pulling on each others sleeves, excitedly pointing out every scene we’d discovered. i believe you could spend the whole day doing that and still leave with lots you didn’t notice…
and every once in a while, the lighting chances and you can see the city during twilight and night time.
i don’t have words to describe it. it’s just magic. go see for yourself! :)