A Georgia Girl in Germany

And boats, buses, fire trucks, helicopters, bicycles and even a space vehicle and U-boat too!

While Nana and Papa were visiting, we took a day trip up to Speyer to the Technik Museum. It was absolutely amazing how much there was to see! There truly was something for everyone.

We started inside the museum, where the kids enjoyed climbing on many of the exhibits. MacKenzie liked being at the controls of this locomotive built in 1940 for the German Reichsbahn.

Benjamin enjoyed watching the model trains in motion. He even thought one of the outdoor models was "Thomas the Train" sitting beside “Green Percy.” You need to understand Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends to appreciate that, especially since the paint jobs on these engines weren’t nearly as bright as in Thomas’ world.



Papa’s favorite exhibit was the Soviet Antonov AN-22 with counter-rotating propeller engines. I enjoyed watching him slowly stroll through the cargo area looking around, especially since he was a cargo pilot before retiring. Benjamin had quite the opposite energy level inside the plane (and on all the exhibits!), and barely slowed down enough for Papa to lift him up for a view of the Antonov’s cockpit.

MacKenzie seemed to appreciate this 1923 houseboat, "The Sean O'Kelley." Note the German U-boat in the background!



Of course, we had to make a trek through the U-9 built in 1966 for the German Navy. It was pretty small and compact inside (as all submarines are), and carried a crew of 22, but Zachary and MacKenzie didn’t have any problems navigating their way through its passageways.

We made one final trek through the indoor museum before calling it a day. Some of the other highlights of the museum included a 1963 Aston Martin of James Bond fame (sans the ejection seat), Burt Reynolds’ Skoal Bandit NASCAR and a Soviet Cosmonaut suit. MacKenzie and I even rode a slide down from a Lufthansa Boeing 747 on display 65 feet above ground! Talk about a thrilling ride!!

If you’re interested in seeing more of what we saw at the museum, go to http://www.technik-museum.de/uk/speyer.

Labels: Benjamin, Germany, MacKenzie, Nana and Papa, Travel, Zachary