Over the Christmas holiday last December, myself and a friend went on a 10 day long road-trip to the northern coast of Germany, visiting the Hanseatic League cities of Hamburg, Lubeck and Rostock along with some other smaller towns. I wanted to share some of my favourite moments from this trip, and my favourite places to see in Lubeck.
The photo above is the Holsten Gate (from the city side, not the outer side), and this beautiful, colourful and slanted building has been standing since 1464! This UNESCO World Heritage Site is an emblem of the power and grandiosity of the time, when trade brought incredible wealth to these cities. The most impressive thing about this structure is that it's sinking (evident in the photo) was a cause of embarrassment for the locals until it was heavily restored in the late 19th Century. Now it's a fantastic and stunning reminder of the past, easily reached on foot from the centre.
On the other side of the city there is the equivalent gate, a little less impressive and grand, but still wonderfully historical. The reason Lubeck captured my imagination so strongly was that walking around every part of the city, you can find little (or sometimes big) pieces of history.
All of the Hanseatic League cities are packed with the past, but Lubeck especially has winding cobbled streets, signs showing the location and function of Medieval shops and plenty of buildings still standing from that time. There is also a great town hall that sits in a large open square that makes the perfect place to plan a day's sight-seeing as well as taste some local food. The small cafes are directly underneath Medieval architecture and history, and are well worth seeing all on their own!
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Joe Thorpe
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