DISCLAIMER : I appoloize for any inconviences caused by my lack of abilty to spell or write in complete sentances. However, I'm in the middle of my vacation and I'm having too much fun to take the time to correct for these short comings.

Last updated 8/29/01

August 29 - Lubeck

Today we traveled from Edinburgh to Lubeck Germany. We had a charter flight so we didn't go to the airport, the busses just drove onto the tarmac and we walked the stairs to board the plain. It made me feel like an opera star. (I'm sure the crowds of baggage handlers would have been wildly cheering for me if they weren't so busy doing their jobs.)

Lubeck is an old (read medieval) city situated on an island in between two rivers. Well, it might be that one of the rivers is a canal, but in either case, it's fairly easy place to defend and it has access to the North Sea so it was quite a prosperous place early in the second millennium. The main gates have the town Motto "unity within peace without". This picture is not of the main gate but of inside of the north gate. (Our hotel is a short walk on the other side of this gate.) Since the island is just about a mile across, we decided to spend a few hours wandering around the city.
Here's a bunch of singers in front of HeilgenGeist Hospital. There were several information booklets and signs telling more about the buildings but they are all in German so not too helpful for me. Happily, most German people I've spoken to can answer some requests in English.

From here, we walked down to the West Shore and got on a tour boat around the island. Lubeck is still a working city and not a tourist mecca so a lot of the shoreline has been built up and is still used for shipping. Here's a view of the skyline from the North side. You can see the spires from the old churches as well as more recent buildings (1800's or so) in the foreground in the dock area.

This is the southwest side of the island which was/is the richer section of town so it is still picturesque and not rebuilt industrial looking.

There are at least four big churches in this little city. There may be more 'cuz there are more spires than that. I'm not sure they are all officially cathedrals but they are all BIG. This is the altar of St Mariens. I took this picture hoping to show the size of this place, but I'm not convinced the picture has the same impact. Part of this building was destroyed during WWII and rebuilt after. It's kind of strange to be at a war memorial for the enemy. Given my American training, I have no remorse or regret about the bombing raids in Germany during the war but I have a great sadness for so much damage and loss of history.

This city is old but still very much "lived in". There are lots of people on the street going about their business. Very few of the shops are tourist oriented. Most are everyday life kind of stores. After about an half hour of more of walking, we decided to wander back to the hotel.

Lubeck is an old (read medieval) city situated on an island in between two rivers. Well, it might be that one of the rivers is a canal, but in either case, it's fairly easy place to defend and it has access to the North Sea so it was quite a prosperous place early in the second millennium. The main gates have the town Motto "unity within peace without". This picture is not of the main gate but of inside of the north gate. (Our hotel is a short walk on the other side of this gate.) Since the island is just about a mile across, we decided to spend a few hours wandering around the city.
	Here's a bunch of singers in front of HeilgenGeist Hospital. There were several information booklets and signs telling more about the buildings but they are all in German so not too helpful for me. Happily, most German people I've spoken to can answer some requests in English.
	From here, we walked down to the West Shore and got on a tour boat around the island. Lubeck is still a working city and not a tourist mecca so a lot of the shoreline has been built up and is still used for shipping. Here's a view of the skyline from the North side. You can see the spires from the old churches as well as more recent buildings (1800's or so) in the foreground in the dock area.
This is the southwest side of the island which was/is the richer section of town so it is still picturesque and not rebuilt industrial looking.