25 September 2023

Sophie and Hans-Heinrich met us at our accommodation and whisked us off into Lübeck for a day of exploration.

We last saw each other in October 2022, when they visited Jens and Georgia in Newcastle, and we will see them again in December when they return to Australia for the wedding. We have some “catching up“ to do!

Our “River boat cruise” took just over an hour to circle the old town. The tour was conducted in German, but with Sophie’s help we got the gist of the commentary, my Duolingo German not quite “cutting the mustard”.

Lübeck was once the capital of the Hanseatic League, so naturally the maritime and trading history of the area features strongly. Despite being partially destroyed during the War, it has been reconstructed and is now UNESCO world heritage listed.

A visit to St Petri (Saint Peter’s) Church was our next stop. It was destroyed during the war and has been restored more as an arts centre than a church. It’s vast empty interior is now used for arts and craft markets, exhibitions and concerts.

Back in 2019, we had visited Coventry Cathedral and it had a left an indelible memory on me. It too was bombed during the war and its reconstruction resulted in a sombre reminder of the futility of war. I was touched to read that on the reopening of St Petri’s, a combined choir from both churches had performed Benjamin Britten’s “War Requiem” here.

The visit to the viewing platform way up high was well worth it. Fortunately, today it is serviced by an elevator! The view was spectacular.

Due to Lübeck’s Hanseatic trading links, it had access to some of the finest quality products. And luckily for Marzipan lovers, one of these happened to be almonds. In the 18th century, the marzipan produced here started becoming well known for its high quality, due to its higher than usual almond content. The I. G Niederegger Store ( Shop, Café and Museum) is still riding that success to this day. We visited the store and I was blown away by the Marzipan “items” on sale.

Lunch time!! We sat in the marketplace outside the Rathaus and Grahame and I devoured our first quintessentially German meal. I chose Currywurst and Grahame , Bratwurst. Loved it!!

Another day, another Cathedral. (Basilica?) This time it was Marienkirche (St Mary’s).

We came across this little guy sitting on a stone slab just outside. Legend goes that when the Basilica was being built, the devil turned up at the worksite to see what was going on. The workers who were afraid to tell the truth, told him they were building a very grand wine bar!!! This pleased the devil and he decided to give a helping hand. Towards the end of construction he put “two and two together” , got angry and was going to destroy it. A quick thinking worker convinced the devil to put down the slab of stone he was about to throw, on the promise they would still build a wine bar in the vicinity! The Ratskeller Tavern now sits across the road! And the little bronze devil sits cheekily on his stone slab.

We wandered Lübecks narrow streets for another hour or so, enjoying the architecture, the narrow streets and the colourful houses

It was time to head to home. We whizzed down the Autobahn for just over 2 hours. (Some cars were “whizzing” an awful lot faster than us!). So here we now are in Mellendorf with the dogs,the chickens and the……. Hedgehog(!!) in Sophie and Hans Heinrich’s little oasis within the village……

….. drinking beer and eating …….. Marzipan!!!