After the evening in Kinderdijk, the next day started with a visit to the Madurodam – a park containing miniature replicas of the Netherlands’ most famous landmarks surrounded by typical elements making up the Dutch urban and rural landscape. I was skeptical at first, but once you are there, you see how much effort has gone in creating these miniatures with painstaking details. Below a few impressions from that visit.

Important Dutch landmarks have been created in miniature version – like the Royal Palace of Amsterdam facing the National Monument (a WWII memorial). (June 2018)

The park is named after George Maduro – a WWII hero, who distinguished himself in repelling the German attack on the Hague in 1940. (June 2018)

The park is a huge landscape in itself – my first thought of course went to how the vegetation was kept in proportion to the miniature buildings. The effort goes not only in replicating the buildings, but also in arranging and maintaining the plants around them to make a realistic landscape out of it. (June 2018)

Important Dutch landmarks have been created in miniature version – like the Royal Palace of Amsterdam facing the National Monument (a WWII memorial). (June 2018)

Not just landmarks, but also some elements of Dutch urban and rural landscape – like this bridge opening up to let through a barge on a river or windmills – find a place at Madurodam (June 2018)

Apart from important monuments, there are regular cityscapes with houses and gardens… the level of details is just as impressive. (June 2018)

A miniature version of the Peace Palace, now the seat of the International Court of Justice in the Hague. (June 2018)

Water is spewed out on the racetrack to simulate the skidding and sliding of a race car (June 2018)

A freight train makes its rounds through the miniature world of Madurodam (June 2018)

A scene from a horticultural facility – Madurodam (June 2018)