Museum of Miniatures

This little-known and mostly unadvertised gem is securely hidden within the courtyard of the Strahov Monastery. It took me three attempts to find and finally enter the place but I can guarantee you that it was well worth the effort.

Equipped with microscopes and magnifying glasses, this bite-sized museum dedicates its viewing space to the inconceivably small. Most of the 30 or so pieces on display have been painstakingly produced by world record-holding Siberian Anatoly Konyenko. He uses self-designed instruments that have even been employed in eye surgery and has spent up to seven years on one work alone. One particularly time-consuming piece is a flea sporting golden horseshoes and grasping a key, padlock and tiny scissors in his minute paws. The horseshoes measure a slight 0.25 x 0.25 millimeters each and the scissors are just 0.9 millimeters long.

Other highlights include the smallest book in the world; the Lord's Prayer written on a single piece of hair (I'm not kidding!); a train with passengers, riding on a hair, placed in the eye of a needle; and a mini Eiffel Tower - you guessed it - in the eye of a needle. So as not to further spoil the surprise, I won't divulge any more of the museum's collection, but I'm sure you can see a pattern emerging.

This place is astonishing and generally quite empty - unless, as I did, you arrive at the same time as a tour group seemingly composed of the entire population of Slovakia.I realize that most of you are probably laughing your pants off at this point - I had to laugh too, and I'm still laughing now - but that doesn't mean that this place isn't amazing. The Miniatures Museum will definitely be one of the most memorable places you ever visit.