Blogs from Lübeck, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, Europe

Today we made a day trip to a city I'd been wanting for years to see, Hansestadt Lübeck, northeast of Hamburg on the Baltic Sea. Whereas Hamburg's medieval center was thoroughly destroyed—though Hamburg was firebombed in some of the worst destruction to be dealt by the Allies in WWII, its medieval center had been lost a decade before, to a great city fire in 1842—Lübeck's was damaged but preserved and restored. This makes Lübeck also fairly touristy, the result being medieval brick façades oddly interspersed with shopping mall boulevards. The train ride to Lübeck was interesting, passing through scenic farmland that it's hard to imagine can exist in a country so densely populated, but it does. S... read more

My overland travel vision through Mexico, Central America and all the way to the southern tip of South America somehow got diverted part way through when I got an email from my folks informing me that my cousin was getting married and I was invited to the wedding. I wouldn’t have missed the celebration for the world; the only thing, however, it was on a completely different continent and mere weeks away. It was thousands of miles away but how could I turn down the offer of, in addition to the wedding, traveling with my folks for five weeks throughout Germany and the surrounds? I would have to rethink this entire Central/South America adventure. Little did I know it would be postponed for years. After returning from Guatemala, I finishing a month-long commitment house/kitty-sitting for my ... read more

Sziasztok, Hansa turnenk masodik hetenek vegen jelentkezem ismet, Hamburgbol, a Sutra Collective kalarijabol. Floraval vagyunki kinnt Lucie-eknal, thaiamsszazstanfolytamot tartunk, es az esti fozocskezes utan, amig mindenki bennt acrozgat lazan a szentelyben, egy picit megulok bloggolni. Nem rossz kis utunk volt idaig - 14 oras vonat at Pozsonyon, (aludtam,majd elmentem wc-re), Pragan, (itt szabaditottak ki a wcbol, miutan 3 nyelven sikerult segitseget kerni, es jo 25 perc utan technikai egyseget hivtak, aki berugta az jo MAVos budiajtot:) Drezdan, (ahol hihetetlen szigoruak a rendorok, mintha nem is europaban, hanem legalabb Feheroroszorszagban lennenk, 25 evvel ezelott) Berlinen (itt mar elokerult a backgammon)keresztul vegul este 8 korul megerkeztunk Hamburgba. Corinne vart minket, akivel kellemesen vegigsetaltuk a belvaros legszebb kertjet egeszen a jo oreg St. Pauli negyedig, ahol a... read more

A german friend G.. and N.. took the kids for an indoor play day. The sun was hinting at coming out, but it had a hard battle with lots and lots of clouds. We didn't want to sit around and wait to find out if the Sun would win or not. After all, every silver lining comes with a cloud.... read more

After the day trip to Legoland, we returned from Copenhagen to Kiel by train. Once again the train went on board the ferry while crossing onto Puttgarden, and it's still an amazing thing to see a train on board a ferry. The weather the last few weeks has been mostly rainy, with an occasional hint of a sunny day. Maybe Denmark is known for its inclement weather, but from Paris onwards,we've been encountering more cloudy and rainy days than sunny hot days. But, according to the forecast, that's about to change. From Sunday onwards, it's likely to be sunny in Northern Germany and Poland is quite hot right now. The overcast days are good travel days, but not good beach days. ... read more