Lovely Lubeck

We woke in Lubeck this morning feeling rested and ready to explore. Shannon was starting to feel much better and decided he couldn't bear another day staring at four walls and needed to get out. First, we gave Linda and Julian a call. It was nice to check in with them and the beagles! Shannon had read about a resort-type town that the German's travel to for their summer holidays. We decided it would be a nice place to spend the morning and we weren't wrong. Travemunde is about 15 minutes drive from Lubeck. It's a port town, much like a Portarlington only much bigger. After successfully parking the car, we wandered into town, pausing for a pastry from a little bakery for breakfast. They're big on their bakeries in Germany and the goods are excellent.

After our break, we kept walking, admiring half wooden houses and little shops. In one such shop, where we were admiring the ceramics, the owner came over for a chat. Her English was excellent and after chatting for a while, she told us she had once spent a few months in Australia back at the turn of the millennium. She explained that everything in her shop was handmade from local artisans. We couldn't resist some cute ceramic house bells to bring home to hang in our kitchen window. The lady was so friendly, telling us what to check out in town. We kept walking, enjoying the sunshine on our faces and the slight breeze in the air. We walked all the way to the end of the promenade where we found a beach that is no doubt popular in the Summer. We stopped in at one of the cafes dotting the waterfront and enjoyed a cold drink.

One of the benefits of staying in apartments over hotel rooms is you can prepare some of your own meals. We save money when travelling by eating breakfast in and cooking an occasional evening meal. So, it was time to hit the supermarket. I like to think of them as archaeological adventures because you never know what you're going to find! We like to pick up different snacks we haven't seen before and produce that is in season and grown locally. Well, the bananas we bought were from Nicuagura, but everything else was German! All stocked up, we headed back to Lubeck to rest for a while and enjoy some lunch in our apartment. I called mum for a chat and discovered the Cat's were down by 20 points in the last quarter - lot's of unhappy Geelong fans at home tonight no doubt!

As Shannon had improved well, we decided we would go out for dinner. We used trusty Tripadvisor to find a place and made a reservation. Before dinner, however, we spent time in the old town of Lubeck. The 'old town' isn't all completely old...some Medieval buildings remain, but many were bombed and burnt out during the war, then rebuilt. One beautiful example is Saint Marien's church. It was almost completely wiped out and has been lovingly restored to its former glory. One particular part that I found quite emotional was seeing the original bells. When they fell on impact, they partially melted and landed with a great thud, smashing to pieces and also the ground underneath. Instead of removing them, when the church was rebuilt, they built the walls around them so visitors can still view them today. A constant reminder of the hell the people of the day no doubt lived through, but also a symbol of hope and peace moving forward.

Lubeck apparently, is most famous for Marzipan! Now I've never been much of a marzipan fan myself, so was interested to find out what all of the fuss was about. We went to the famous store where it is still made today. You can buy marzipan in any form you can imagine...covered in chocolate, infused with different flavours, in the shapes of fruit, animals and in the form of liquor. We purchased a few varieties to bring home, so if you're lucky you might be able to try some. The centre of Lubeck is a real mix of old and new. It is a much younger demographic that live here, unlike Wernigerode which was full of oldies.

 

Tonight we had one of those dinners that won't be forgotten in a hurry. We made a reservation at Lubecker Hanse after reading quite good reviews. The interior was restored to original German architecture and the owners have gone to great lengths to make it feel warm and inviting. The owner greeted us, realised we spoke English and rushed over with an English menu. (PS, this doesn't happen often in restaurants) Put quite simply, the food was amazing. Simple, fresh ingredients, paired well, with no German stodge in sight. (potatoes and heavy cream) Shannon had a shrimp cocktail for entree, followed by beef cheeks and I enjoyed beetroot carpaccio followed by roasted pork chop. They were cooked perfectly and accompanied by fresh vegetables. We don't usually order dessert, but we didn't want this meal to end and so ordered chocolate mousse for Shannon, and vanilla ice-cream with baileys for me. We thanked the owner wholeheartedly for his beautiful food and invited him to Australia. Haha! We still have three more nights in Lubeck, there's a high chance we'll be back there.