To Lübeck with Friends
Two of my old and dear friends came to visit Leo, Fernando and me last week. Though Rebecca had spent time in Germany in previous years, she had never made it this far north, and Shanley was new to the country. To take advantage of their vacation week and see as much as they could, R and S spent their first European Saturday night in Amsterdam before showing up the next morning, a little bleary-eyed and still somewhat jet-lagged, at our apartment in Hannover. Once in Germany, my friends wanted to do additional sight-seeing, and I enthusiastically agreed. So we planned on a one-night trip with just the three of us. Not surprisingly, each of us had her own notion of what this Germany touring should entail. While S. envisioned old castles and medieval fortresses, R. pictured strolling around—virtually anywhere—and catching up in a café. While both my New Yorker friends clearly sought a break from their city environs, my desired destination was more urban and sophisticated, either Berlin or Hamburg. After several emails, internet searches and guide-book consultations, we decided on the medieval city of Lübeck, located north of Hannover and just south of the Baltic Sea. Large enough to have “culture”, decent restaurants and lots of cafes, but old enough to have castles and Romanesque churches, Lübeck seemed the perfect compromise.We were able to hit all of this charming city’s major sites in just a few hours, but I’d be lying if I said the city really impressed me. It’s not that it wasn’t great, or that I’ve become blasé about Germany’s characteristic old grandness. Not at all. We were just so busy catching up, and I was so thrilled to be with people who already knew me, that I missed most of what Lübeck is famous for. Also, since we went in February, a.k.a the off-off season, much was closed. To jog my memory of our trip, I’ve consulted my Germany book (Lonely Planet, 2004). Here’s a brief description of what we saw and did.
Hotel Excelsior
This reasonably priced, bright yellow brick three-star hotel right behind the train station turned out to be fine even though it wasn’t listed in the book and lacked both the sauna and pool that R and S wanted. The somewhat lackluster breakfast buffet did, thankfully, include a big bowl of Nutella.
River Tour
The nearby Trave River and its medieval channels made Lübeck an important European commercial center in the 12th century, and also make for a fun boating tour for modern tourists, but tours just don’t happen in Germany in February, the Tourist Office informed us.
Holstentor Castle
This castle, at the entrance to the old part of town, is famous for its “Prague-esque”, “Disney-like” gates. My German teacher informed me today that the Holstentor gates are one of the country’s most photographed sites. So I kick myself that I didn’t snap a single shot in all of Lübeck (photo credits: R), even though I carried a camera with me the whole time. At the gates, we struggled for awhile to get inside the building, but a sign indicated that it doesn’t open until March.
Unfortunately, as we were walking by this small museum on a quaint, cobble-stoned side street just inside the walls of old town, we were also in the process of discussing our next meal. S. wanted to find a typical German pub, but I wanted to actually eat. We settled on bratwurst at a standing-only, outdoor cart in a little market square. I’ll spare you R’s photo of this. So we never actually made it inside to see the international collection of puppets and posters from different time periods.
Marienkirche
While R. took photographs and S. stared at the shattered church bells on display (yes, a result of WWII), reflected on life while sitting at a pew and briefly hunted for matches to light a candle, I just walked around, finding the huge Gothic church to be a pretty place, if a bit dark and drafty. An enormous astrological clock took up one entire wall near one of the entrances and caught my interest. It looked like the Wheel of Fortune but bigger and more detailed, with mathematical and astrological symbols corresponding to each day of the year, as well as an unusual name. I dedicated several minutes to looking up the names for all the birthdays of people I knew. The name for June 17th (Leo’s birthday), was Nidegeer. My birthday’s name, I think, was Hilda. Good thing we don’t consult this wheel in America when naming babies.
Günter Grass-Haus
As we were walking in the general direction of this museum, set in an old two story building on a quaint commercial and residential street, R informed us that the Nobel prize-winning author had recently received some heat for his confessed connection to the S.S, something he had denied for decades. After hearing this anecdote, and glimpsing from half a block away the museum’s dark, and closed, appearance (which we never actually verified), we allowed ourselves to be side-tracked by a gourmet sweets shop advertising “the best chocolates in the world.” After touching all the pretty candy tins, sniffing around for samples, and buying nothing in this richly scented haven, we continued on to a cute little boutique, which, like so many in Germany, specialized in pillows, candles and ornaments. The Germans could take or leave high fashion, but chic candles and pillow cases are serious business here. We left with home-decorating fantasies and cravings for some dessert.
Café K…..?
This café looked so grand and inviting from the street, it was a bit disorienting to find it almost deserted on the first floor, and to have to sit at a table directly under the stairwell, only to be waited on by distracted waitresses who were secretly serving their skinny boyfriends free coffee. Only after R. ventured to the bathrooms did she discover that the real Café K…., bustling with conversation and customers, was located two flights above us. But we sat there talking for about three hours, with multiple variations of Apple Kuchen, and had a great time.
Buddenbrookhaus
This award winning literary attraction is the museum for yet another Nobel prize-winner from Lübeck, Thomas Mann. Supposedly he set one of his novels in the gracious Mann family home now converted into a public monument. It was first on our list of things to on day #2, but when the second day came, itchy feet made us head back a few hours early, with a train stop in Hamburg.
Café Neideregger and the Marzipan Salon
With 37 minutes remaining before our new, earlier train was to depart for Hamburg, we decided to “do” the marzipan museum. The almond and sugar confection is native to Lübeck and Neideregger is one of the world’s older and fancier brands. After sprinting to the old town and spotting the café, we galloped up the three flights of steps leading to the swanky but free-of-charge Marzipan Salon. Interrupting a guided tour narrating the history of the Orient’s almond trade, R quickly led us to the back of the museum, where she falsely assumed free samples would be awaiting us. So we turned on our heels, flew back down stairs, passing the famous, bustling red velvet interiored Café on our way, and bought some marzipan products before hopping on the train to Hamburg. On the train I learned I was the only one of the three of us who actually liked to eat marzipan.
Hamburg in three hours
Yes, it is possible if you do it on a double-decker bus and with a guided tour. The city is beautiful, with more canals and ports than Amsterdam and Venice combined (according to local lore, though no boats running in February). The tour was not very informative as the white-haired guide’s English was hesitant, at best. We learned only a few vague stories about flying banana peels at a weekly market and of old Danish kingdoms once being part of Hamburg. Also during the tour, the 24-hour bug that would eventually ruin S’s day was beginning to rear its ugly head. During the first leg of the tour, we ooh-ed and aah-ed at all the waterfront mansions to be found in Germany’s second largest city. During the long, drawn-out leg of the tour showcasing Hamburg’s enormously dreary industrial port, we tuned out our taciturn travel guide as I recounted for R and S the intimate details of my labor and delivery of Leo. So rarely is a woman invited to expand on this topic, I just couldn’t pass it up. But I do hope no other passengers understood my mix of English superlatives, expletives and medical-technical vocabulary.
Back to Hannover
We arrived at around 7:30 in the evening. S was truly sick at this point and Leo was giving me the cold shoulder for ditching him at daycare the day before. Fernando was relieved to get some Leo relief. But things got better and we all had a very pleasant rest-of-week together.
So, if you’re still thinking of a Germany visit, don’t let this story of closed attractions and missed museums discourage you. I could even go back to Lübeck if you wanted, and would do it happily, any month except for February.
posted by J&F at 6:45 AM
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