Sunday, June 10, 2007

Lubeck and Hamburg

Finally we headed off to Lubeck, which is about 50km from Hamburg. We hired a car, which made it much easier to get around. As soon as we landed the first thing that struck me was CLEAN - not a spot of rubbish anywhere. It was a shock coming from Italy, which is a little more laid back! Also, absolutely postcard perfect. Beautiful thatched roof houses, and perfectly manicured gardens.
Old houses in Lubeck Lubeck Rathaus (city hall)
Lubeck old city gates Inside a church built in 1210
We went to the harbour, also fantastically tidy. They smoke fish straight off the boats on the wharf.
Lubeck wharf
Then we headed to Travemunde (literally Trave River mouth) for a quick dip in the Baltic sea (thanks Peter) !!. You may be able to see in the background a man actually swimming in his speedo's. He later told us he was originally from Vienna and had lived in this area for the last 40 years. For the record the water temperature was around 16 degrees and considered warm and perfect for swimming!
Temperature test of the Bering sea Travemunde at the beach
The next day we drove to Hamburg where I was amazed by the high standard of living. Can you believe it was 29 degrees? Anyhow, it was beautiful, however we only had a few hours to explore as we had to catch a plane back to Vienna at 1pm. Here are some pictures of the Rathaus (city hall) and the port area which is accessed from the North Sea.
Hamburg Rathaus (city hall) A fountain in the courtyard of the Rathaus
Swans on the river - they were hungry Buildings on the canals in Hamburg
A building near the port area in Hamburg The very busy port at Hamburg which empties out to the North Sea

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Mons,

Your whistle stop tour sounded great. We got your postcard with 'the Kiss' too! Thanks - love it : )

regards,
Marina & Gary

Anonymous said...

Hi Monica,
your card has arrived - thanks, and the training went well - thanks for organising it in such a hurry.
By the way, the guy was swimming in the Baltic see, not the Behring. I am glad you were a passanger, not the navigator :-)
Cheers, ...........peter p.