Trip #2 Lübeck

For my second trip in Germany, I went to the city of Lübeck. It is the second largest city in the state of Schleswig-Holstein and it was listed by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1987because of its beautiful architecture. It was a 7 degrees Celsius and it was a little rainy off and on all day. That sucked a little when I was walking around but it wasn't all day so there was some good times outside.

The modern town was founded in 1143 after the old one was burned down in 1128. The town has changed ownership several times over the years. In the 14th century, Lübeck became known as the "Queen of the Hanseatic League". It went through several periods of good times and bad times. In World War II it was the first city to be attacked by the Royal Air Force. Lübeck is known according to legend as the place where marzipan was created.

I took the train to Lübeck from Luneburg which was about a hour long trip. My restaurant of choice for the day was Schiffergesellschaft which basically a museum where you can also enjoy a wonderful meal.

It is focused on the port history with many ship models hanging from the ceiling. It served many tradition foods for the area and some exotic cuisine also. It was delicious!

My next stop was Niederegger for all the marzipan I could see, smell and eat!

They have been one of the most well known marzipan brands and you may even see some of their product on American shelves. They also have a café with all sorts of torte and cakes. So this is a great place to see some history of important food in the area while also getting to eat some delicious treats!

After having a delicious meal and some tasty cake, I took some time to walk around the beautiful city and look at the gorgeous buildings.

 While walking around I found the Theater Figuren Museum which has over 1200 puppets from all over the world. And while I am not a fan of puppets it was a cool experience before I had to go get on the train and go home. I also needed some new material to fuel my nightmares of creepy aging puppets and it was only €5 to get in. What a deal!

Besides the puppets my trip to Lübeck was full of scenic views, delicious food and interesting cultural items. But that's all for now and as always there are some links for more info at the bottom of the page. And here is my gift to you, a close up of a puppet to fuel your nightmares! 

More about Lübeck: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BCbeck
More on some activcies in  Lübeck: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/germany/schleswig-holstein/lubeck/things-to-do
More about Niederegger:  http://www.niederegger.de/
More about Schiffergesellschaft: http://vorstand.schiffergesellschaft.de/

Trip #1 The island of Rügen

For my first trip in Germany, I am staying in Lüneburg, Germany. It is a wonderful scenic town very close to Hamburg. It is kind of like the Meridian to Hamburg's Boise. But for my first trip out of Lüneburg, I decided to go to the island of Rügen, Germany.
 I took the train which takes around 4 hours to get there. The trains run multiple times a day so I can do a day trip and still have time to be back in my own bed at night. Rügen is actually Germany's largest island by area so on my way to my final destination of Jasmund National Park I had to stop in Bergen auf Rügen. Bergen is in the middle of the island and is a more agriculture based town than the other more fishing based towns. Bergen also has a museum all about the history of Rügen which really helped me to embrace all the beautiful island I would be seeing.
 My real destination though was Jasmund National Park for a day of hiking and time on the beach though it was in the 30-40s Fahrenheit. I have always loved going to the beach even when it is chilly outside because there is just something so calming about the ocean. Also my favorite place to go when I don't have access to a ocean is the forest so it was the best of both worlds.
The park is actually the smallest in Germany at only 11 square miles. It was founded in 1990 and in 2011 the beech forests were added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.  Jasmund National park is mostly well known for its chalk cliffs that were painted by Caspar David Friedrich in 1818. He painted this while on his honeymoon with his wife who many think is the woman in red in the painting.
 
And here is a picture of the chalk cliffs today. Isn't it just gorgeous?
Besides getting to walk on beautiful beaches and through beech forests that have been there since the 13th century, the park office also many different tours and walks based on characters from myths and legends of the island, like the story of buried pirate treasure hidden on the island! The island has a rich history and when you are walking on the beach you may even see fossils in the chalk cliffs!

After spending some time walking around and hanging out on the beach it was time for some lunch/dinner. I went to König Gustav in the nearby town of Sassnitz. It is a Nordic restaurant that has many traditional items and also boasts of the best schnitzel on the island! I tried one of the many variety of fresh fish they had and it was delicious and the building was very beautiful too.

Sassnitz is a cute little fishing town that is one of the most popular places to travel to in Rügen. It has a population around 10,000 so it isn't that big but it does get a lot of tourists. It has Rügen's only zoo. It has been focused on chalk then fishing and now tourism so there are many people who have lived there for generations and is a large part of its cultural history. Some groups in town are De Jasmunder Plattdänzer, a folk dance group of girls and boys (aged 6–18), youth brass band, a town choir, and the Sassnitz Carnival Club. One of the coolest parts of it is the decommissioned British submarine HMS Otus, as a museum piece in the harbor. I started to get a little tired so my tour of Sassnitz was a little short but it was a wonderful place that anybody would dream of going to for vacation.
 
After a wonderful day at the beach and hiking and a wonderful meal, it was time to go so I hopped back on the train to Lüneburg. Until my next trip! Tchüss!

If you are interested in learning more, here are some sites that can be helpful:
All about Rügen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCgen
All about Bergen auf
http://www.stadt-bergen-auf-ruegen.de/index.phtml?sNavID=1838.17&La=1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergen_auf_R%C3%BCgen
All about Jasmund National Forest
http://www.germany.travel/en/leisure-and-recreation/natural-landscapes/nationalpark-jasmund.html
The website for König Gustav
http://www.koenig-gustav.de/
All about Sassnitz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassnitz
All about Caspar David Friedrich who is very important to the island of Rügen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspar_David_Friedrich