We have seen a lot of Denmark and been to Sweden a few times, so with Grammy and Grandad, we really wanted to make it to Germany. We talked about a more in depth trip, but instead opted for a day trip to Lubeck. I had been interested in going there because it was one of the larger cities that was the closest to us. Plus, it's an UNESCO World Heritage site. And I think the only thing that disappointed us about the trip was that we weren't able to stay longer.
We got up early and drove to the southern islands, just below Sjælland and took a Ferry over to Germany. It was pretty cool. We just drove our car right on the boat and then enjoyed the ride on the upper decks. Driving into the Old Town of Lubeck was a little crazy. The older parts of the city date back to the 13th and 14th century, although there have been settlements in the area dating back to the 6th and 7th century. So old! The city has a lot of history, that I won't go into. You can read more about it
here.
Anyway, it was crazy driving through the old town because the streets were so narrow and crowded. We finally found a place to park and then we set off to explore. The city has tons of old churches and cathedrals and lot of other old things to look at. I felt like it was a bit more dirtier than Copenhagen, but the buildings were so neat. During WW2, much of the city was heavily damaged, including several of the large churches and cathedrals, but over the years, they have rebuilt them and they now retain their former glory.
It was really fun to make it to another country. Hopefully we'll get back to Germany again soon. There is so much to see there!
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| Getting ready to depart from Denmark. |
Old Hospital
Hospital Interior
Noah was so excited when he found his Arc.
See that block the devil statue is sitting on. Well, the legend goes that it was not placed there by the church construction crews. It just showed up, placed there by the devil's own hand. The legend is said that the devil thought the workers were building a
drinking hall and so helped the construction team. When the devil
realized it was a church, the devil tried to destroy the walls (claw
marks are still evident on the boulder). The people convinced the devil
to leave the church undamaged in return for a drinking hall across the
street.
St. Mary's church was so amazing. It was really destroyed during the war, but they have built it up almost exactly the same as it was before.
Huge Clock.
During the bombing of Lubeck in 1942, the church roof caught fire and the inside of the church was almost completely burnt out. These bells fell during the fire and have remained in the same place where they fell over 70 years ago. Amazing!
This is a replica of a Gutenberg printing press. Amazingly, this old guy spoke excellent English and Myra got to print a page from the bible on the printing press. Really neat!
These stairs are one of the oldest structures on Lubeck.
Entrance to the City. And no, the picture isn't crooked. The gate is tilted because the ground is soft and it has begun to sink into the ground on one side.
We were standing outside of an antique shop when I noticed these plaques in the ground, in front of a neighboring entrance way. These are placed all over Germany in front of homes of where Jewish people who were killed during WW2 lived. It says:
Here lived ---
js. 18-- (maybe a birth date? Not completely sure)
Deported 1941
Murdered in Riga
I grew up listening to my grandpa's tell WW2 stories. I've read a lot of books and seen movies pertaining to that era. But, this really brought it to life.
Throughout the city there were a ton of these narrow entryways that opened up into pretty little courtyards.
Sunset on the ride back.
