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Published: January 28th 2012
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What a day!
wasn't really much here in Hamburg that I wanted to see but wanted to make it a base to see a few places out around. Wanted to go a bit east and see some of the old Hanseatic cities on the Baltic coast, see something a little different than the usual big city spots I go to. So after some research I decided on Lubeck, Wismar and Stralsund. Sadly Stralsund is close to 3 hrs away by slow train so that was a bit too far for a day trip esp this time of year with very short days.
So anyhow got up at the crack of dawn (which thankfully is around 8!) and trudge to the train station to see how to get around. In Germany they have these great little tickets called Lander tickets. Basically you buy the ticket and you can ride all the regional (read: slow making lots of stops) trains in any state for the one price, after 9am weekdays and all day on the weekend. Unfortunately my plan involves three states: Hamburg is its own state, Schleswig-Holstein is the closest other where Lubeck is, then Wismar is in another, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Well those Germans, they rock, because the Schleswig-Holstein state Lander ticket is also valid in the other two! 20 bucks later and I'm off to the races! Oh yes, and also a chicken sandwich for breakfast on this amazing bread with huge seeds baked on the outside.
First off Lubeck. Wasn't much here I wanted to see, but it was along the way to Wismar so I figured an hour stop for quick look around was OK. Back in the glory days of the Hanseatic League (12-1500's) Lubeck was sort of its capital. Lots of huge red-brick architecture. Used to be all kinds of city gates, and apparently the best one still left, Holstentor, is one of the "symbols of Germany". according to who not sure.
anyways, right out of the train station I end up at the Holstentor. Nothing too exciting, nice to look at, take a few pics and keep on trucking. Take a walk through the old town to the Markt (city centre) which has a nice Rathaus (town hall), and a skating rink set up with lots of kids laughing and skating. Sat down and soaked up the ambiance for a little while. Went
Broken bells
left as a war memorial to a couple of old churches in town as usual. One was Marienkirche which was unfortunately partly bombed in WWII. The church bells fell from the tower when a bomb struck and they left them where they fell as a war memorial. I thought this was very tasteful and appropriate! St. Petri Kirche (I think) had a lift to a viewing platform high up which is right up my alley so up I go. Great views, got lots of pics, and glad there was a lift so I didn't have to do more steps (500+ steps each of the last two days). Beeline back to the train station for the next stop.
Was ready for disappointment as my train left 15 mins late and i had a 6 min connection in Bad Kleinen. Next train two hours later. Luck on my side this time though, the next train waited and off we go.
Wismar is on the Baltic coast, formerly part of the Hanseatic League. Very well preserved town centre, partially destroyed in the war (like everythign else in Germany it seems) with a huge central square. Just a few stalls open today - not many people around
I think this is more of a summer tourist area. Anyways, a couple of churches i town I want to check out of course, one recently restored from war damage but very spartan - a few things inside but otherwise just a shell really.
Wismar wasn't really that exciting and after an hour or so I felt like I saw everything. Not helping was the fact that it was cold, cloudy, windy and there was no where to get shelter indoors - I bet church attendance would plummet even further at home if there was no heat like here! Anyways it was still only early afternoon so I decide to make another stop before heading back to Hamburg - Schwerin.
Schwerin is the capital of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, so it had a bit of a stately feel about it. I went there for its huge schloss (castle/palace) on a little island in a lake just outside downtown. It was amazing! Took a million pics of course. I even splurged the 6 euros to go inside and have a look through the museum.
Two sections - one of the rooms of the palace, and the other a porcelain museum. Did
the rooms first which was definitely more interesting. Lots of crazy intricate celings, walls, floors, tables, beds, paintings, sculptures. Had to pay an extra 3 euros to take pictures (which i HATE) so i snuck a few anyways.
The porcelain part was OK, lots of animals, dishes, scenes all shaped and painted just so. They also had a couple of rooms with swords and guns which was pretty interesting.
Behind the schloss is a huge garden with canals and trails and bridges. The next train back to Hamburg wasn't for a while so I took a (cold) stroll around, got some pics of schloss from every possible angle and decided to head back to get something to eat. It was after 4 and I realized all I had eaten was the chicken sandwich for breakfast and a delicous but small raisin almond pastry for lunch. All of a sudden the sky started turning this crazy pink colour. Weird since it was completely cloudy all day. I think it was only partly cloudy with lots of haze/gloom. Anyways, amazing pink sky behind an amazing castle=lots of great pictures!
Made it back to the train station with lots of
time to spare. Bought a chicken and egg sandwich on sesame bread for the trainride. By this point my legs were on fire, I was tired, hungry and cold. Was ever so thankful when the train showed up.
So now I'm back in Hamburg. Just have the hotel for tonite, not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow. Might go to Bremem, or might head down to Cologne/Trier instead where it might be slightly warmer (it never got close to zero today - everything froze solid). Getting tired of wearing two sweaters and a jacket, long undies plus pants, two pairs of socks, hat, gloves, socks all the time.
Anyways, thats enough for now. See you next time!
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E. Mackey
non-member comment
Rolling along
Some fantastic castles. I would like the porcelain museum. You'll rival Karl Wells with your food pics Jason. You got some nice treats. Church bell still lying on the ground -- a touch of the dramatic! I'm enjoying following along with your travels -- good thing you thought to take lots of warm clothing. Bye, N