Lübeck
Early this morning we arrived in the great Bay of Lübeck and made our slow approach to the city of Lübeck up the Trave River. Lübeck is sometimes described as the “Hanseatic Queen,” the greatest of the Hanseatic cities. Here, the last meeting of the Hanse was held in 1669. Not that Lubeck was thereafter lost from view. Its famous sons include authors Heinrich and Thomas Mann, and we visited their reconstructed family home, Buddenbrooks, on our morning walking tour. The towering cold war statesman Willy Brandt also hailed from Lübeck, a town with strategic importance on the border with East Germany. Our walking tour also included a visit to Marienkirche (with the highest brick nave in the world), Katherinenkirche, the remarkable Rathaus (with its dark glazed brickwork), and the Holstentor, the fifteenth century twin-towered gatehouse featured here, the emblem of the city. The city is also famous for its marzipan production, almonds having been imported to Lübeck from the Mediterranean lands during Hanseatic times. Our walking tour included a stop at the Niederegger marzipan shop, where this wonderful confectionery (insert) has been produced since the Middle Ages using imported Italian almonds. Altogether it was a day of rich experience.
Early this morning we arrived in the great Bay of Lübeck and made our slow approach to the city of Lübeck up the Trave River. Lübeck is sometimes described as the “Hanseatic Queen,” the greatest of the Hanseatic cities. Here, the last meeting of the Hanse was held in 1669. Not that Lubeck was thereafter lost from view. Its famous sons include authors Heinrich and Thomas Mann, and we visited their reconstructed family home, Buddenbrooks, on our morning walking tour. The towering cold war statesman Willy Brandt also hailed from Lübeck, a town with strategic importance on the border with East Germany. Our walking tour also included a visit to Marienkirche (with the highest brick nave in the world), Katherinenkirche, the remarkable Rathaus (with its dark glazed brickwork), and the Holstentor, the fifteenth century twin-towered gatehouse featured here, the emblem of the city. The city is also famous for its marzipan production, almonds having been imported to Lübeck from the Mediterranean lands during Hanseatic times. Our walking tour included a stop at the Niederegger marzipan shop, where this wonderful confectionery (insert) has been produced since the Middle Ages using imported Italian almonds. Altogether it was a day of rich experience.
