Leaving Germany

---

Well, I have gotten way behind on this blog again. Having too much fun and activity!

We left Leipzig on 13 June and visited Luneburg and Lubeck on our way to Norway. Luneburg is the town where J.S. Bach spent three years as a choral scholar at St. Michael's School. It is a beautiful town with a long history of trade. It has a connection to the Baltic Sea via the Elbe River and a series of canals. It was a member of the Hanseatic League and became wealthy mostly on the salt trade which only stopped in 1980 after more than a thousand years!. We only stopped here for the day to see the school and church. We visited the tourist info office and as I was asking the young man behind the counter how I could find the school, the man behind us said: "I can help you find that! I live right in the neighborhood". So Erik became our personal guide for about a half hour and not only escorted us to the church but gave us a bit of history. The salt was taken from underground and the earth above slowly settled leaving many of the buildings leaning (including the Mikaeliskirke). He is a retired journalist and also told us of his time as a border guard. Luneburg is in the former West Germany so he has a very different perspective than Anna in Leipzig. He jokingly said that the job was not difficult since the communists did such a good job of keeping the East Germans in! Meeting Erik is the kind of experience which makes travelling on your own so interesting and delightful.

Then onto Lubeck, another former Hanseatic city, where we stayed the night. I only wanted to stop here since it was the longtime home and workplace of Dietrich Buxtehude a Danish born organist and composer who was very famous in the early 16th century. Bach visited him for about four months and probably studied with him although there are no specific records. Lubeck is only about 30 miles from Luneburg and also became wealthy as a trading city. The old city is on an island surrounded by the Trave river and connects to the Baltic via canals to the Elbe river.

Next: On to Norway.

---

Photos

Luneburg Street to Mikaeliskirke
If you can zoom in you will see the walls of some of these houses leaning!

St. Michael's Church - Luneburg
I downloaded this photo to show a better view of the church. It is the first church on our tour which was built of brick which was typical of the "Baltic" style. It was completed in 1412.

Site of St. Michael's School
Though not the original building. Students at this school (all boys) sang at church and city functions in exchange for tuition.

Mikaeliskirke Interior
You can easily see the slant of the main columns due to settling. We were assured, however that the building is constantly monitored and was safe!

Arial View of Lubeck
Again, I downloaded a tourist promo photo to show the unique setting of this city. The Trave River passes either side and makes a natural moat.

St. Mary's Church and City Hall
The church where Buxtehude worked for nearly 40 years.