Germany 19 Lubeck - an Hanseatic port/a C & A store /the devil helped build the church /thanks for the free parking

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Our nights sleep was very much disturbed as the fairground music went on until the early hours of the morning . The driver with better hearing than I have told me over breakfast that it had gone on until 2am. I had perhaps fallen asleep . With the hearing aids taken out and my head under the pillow I felt the music beat rather than heard it . The parking place overnight had been a second choice . The first had been closed by the time we drove off the ferry. We found the second one just down the road . Next to a sports club with a bar open and free showers . The showers were part of the sports club and communal so we gave them a miss . The plots were large . Electricity and water was available and it cost 20 euro a night .

We only had a short drive into Lubeck this morning . The driver managed it Ok but did pronounce that driving was getting more and more difficult . Gabby looked as if she had to go. That made me feel saddened . She had been part of our holiday life for the last five years. And all in all we had enjoyed the freedom of ten years of motorhoming . But all good things have to come to an end . There is a Zen saying " Breathe deep and let go " . So perhaps that was what we were having to do . It felt hard though. Each of my sayings on the calendar seemed to be telling me something "The future is completely open and we are writing it moment to moment " Why was I finding the words of Pema Chodron so apt this morning ? Perhaps someone was telling me something.

We drove through a fairly quiet Sunday morning in Lubeck . The massive car park we had earmarked was almost totally empty bar for a couple of German motorhomes . I walked over to the machine which suggested that we could have parked here overnight . That might have been noisy but would it have been more noisy that the site we stopped at ? It was close to the river with the empty riverboats moored up. They would be plying their trade in the daytime taking visitors to Lubeck around the city . This morning there was no life at all anywhere near them. It seemed too that we could park up for free on a Sunday . We locked Gabby up and set off along the river bank with the Hanseatic port merchants houses on the opposite bank . All very photogenic .

We were walking along the River Trave which flows out into the Bay of Lubeck. Lubeck was famous for being the cradle and the capital of the Hanseatic League . The skyline on the opposite bank was off the stepped roof of each house and the twin towers of the cathedral and four other main brick built churches . We knew a little about the Hanseatic league having been taught about it in school . The League was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe .It grew from a few North German towns of the 12th century to 200 settlements in seven different European countries by the end of the 15th Century . From the Netherlands to Russia , from Estonia to Krakow , from Britain to Portugal and beyond the league had its fingers in many pies . At its height it had a monopoly over maritime trade in the North and the Baltic Seas. I suppose we had expected as we walked to see information on the league or even to find medieval cranes but there was nothing . By the 16th century the league was losing its importance and was under threat from other nations . However it is seen now as the start of what was to become the idea of a European Union .

Our walk along the river was unimpeded. I guess in the week there would be a flurry of activity but today we could count on one hand the number of walkers , joggers and tourists . Apart from a group of German men and women we saw no other tourists all morning . They were waiting for their guide to arrive . We moved on quickly to get ahead of them .

We were heading for a cafe but found none open so early . Perhaps arriving early was a double edged sword . No-one standing in front of what we wanted to photograph but no opportunity to buy a drink or something to eat . The seats were outside of cafes . As we approached each the thoughts went up - OPEN - but each time it was just the seats left outside and a dark closed up interior.

We arrived eventually at the Holsten Gate . This is the symbol of the city . This city gate marks off the western boundary of the old centre of the city. The brick built structure was constructed in 1464 and is one of two gates still surviving. The other gate was the Burgtor but for some strange reason we did not go on the hunt for that one . What can you say about the Holsten Gate?For a start . Monumental . Fascinating . It comprised of a south, north and central tower. It rose up over four floors . A gate passageway opened through the middle . Wide enough for pedestrians, bicycle and horse and cart . The two towers looked as if they were built at the same time and the middle joined at some later date . The two outer towers had conical roofs and the middle a pediment which did look slightly at odds with either side . A portcullis was installed apparently in 1934 to enhance the medieval look of the towers. Various latin inscriptions were cut into the brickwork . Inscriptions suggested the building was constructed in 1477 with a later date of 1871 which must have been reconstruction work dates and the dates of the Third Reich. We stood for a while clicking and clicking the camera . Photographs to be added to a book of the holiday which surely we would complete when we got home.

Perhaps if we had visited on a weekday we would have had the opportunity to see inside. Three gun chambers, slits for guns and other openings ideal for defending the city from attack. Windows and openings designed for dousing invaders with pitch or boiling water. Sadly the double edged sword was working its way into our lives again . Plenty of clear photo opportunities but no sign of any opening this side of Monday morning . Inside there would have been narrow spiral staircases to climb , guns hooks and chains used during the firing process . And no doubt we would have read more about how this Hanseatic city protected itself from outside threats . The Nazis had turned the gate into a museum and called it the Hall of Honor and Glory . It was supposed to represent Lubeck and German history from a Nazi ideology . Had we been able to go inside we would also have seen relics from historic Lübeck, models and pictures and models of ships from the Hanseatic league . A torture dungeon a rack and other devices were on display .

As we were unable to force an entry we moved on to the historic heart of the city which included the shops, the town hall and the many churches plus a C & A store . That took me back to the 70's and 80's when C & A were on every British High Street . Long gone we only see them in Europe on our travels . It has become a spot the C & A store . Friends have commented that they have seen them in Madeira and in Krakow . So watch this space for sightings of this iconic store .

Lubeck cathedral too was sadly closed . No doubt it would open later in the morning for morning prayer. The cathedral had been completed around 1230 and was apparently said to be the first large brick church in the Baltic region . It has the second highest steeple facade after Cologne , the highest brick vault and the second highest brickwork structure . The story went that the devil became involved with the cathedral as it was being built . The Devil does seem to show his face everywhere a church rises up. The story goes that when the church was being built Satan stopped by to see what was going on . The workers who were frightened told him they were building nothing less than a wine bar . This of course excited Satan who imagined all those lost souls going into the wine bar and of course if he lent his hand to the construction the souls would come to him more quickly . Only when the church was almost finished did the Devil realise he had been tricked by the workmen and picked up a large slab which he intended to use to destroy the building . A bit of quick thinking by a labourer resolved the situation . They promised to build him another wine bar close by . He dropped the slab right next to the church but out of harms way . We stood in front of the rather small and ugly smiling devil that sat upon his stone. The Devil has been produced by Goerler the sculptor in 1999. Apparently the Devil is happy with the way it all turned out and smiles at passers by who rub his ears and his feet and turn them shiny . We had to do it too before we left . I dont know what the church looked like inside but do know that much was rebuilt after the bombings of the second world war where Lubeck was targetted by the RAF.

Our last port of call was the Town Hall always a centrepiece of any continental city . Lubeck was no different .

Our visit had been interesting . It was a good stop off on the route to Pennemunde and on to Gdansk which we had originally planned . Equally it was on a good route home . We were roughly two days aways from Pennemunde and another three days from Gdansk . Then another five days from home . Or to look at it another way we could just head down through Germany to Holland . Stop at Het Loo the royal summer residence of the Dutch Royal Family and then head home . Perhaps option two was the preferred one with Glenns knee still playing up.

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Comments

[Ava Garcia]

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Amazing place! Thanks for sharing, Keep posting!