Having written less than a month ago about the places I’d like to visit in Germany, I’ve now ticked one off the list: Lübeck.
My teaching job is such that if I work two consecutive weeks at different schools (as is often the case), then I will likely spend the weekend in a third place. It so happened that since I was working in rural Schleswig-Holstein one week, and rural Mecklenburg-Vorpommern the next, that Lübeck made sense as my weekend stop.
I arrived in the early afternoon on the Saturday and left the following day around the same time, so here’s a look at what I did in 24 hours in Lübeck.
I had no particular plan of what to see when I arrived in Lübeck, so when I saw a sign for a tower with views over the city, I decided that if it was a lift and was €3 or less, I would check it out.
It was both, but I was rather disappointed with the view, partly because it was obstructed by scaffolding, but also because it’s really quite a small city and there isn’t that much to see from high up.
The only picture I took in there was of a model of the church in the entrance to the lift.
So I had lunch, then wandered around taking in the pleasant scenery.
I walked through the iconic Holstentor…
…snapped some shots of the oldest buildings in town…
…and the love locks on one of the many bridges.
In the evening, I stumbled upon a small festival in the main square of the old town. There was a band doing cheesy covers (Dancing Queen and Mambo No. 5, for example), to which some people were dancing like the stereotype of the drunk, embarrassing uncle at a wedding.
There were also fairground rides as well as several food and drink stalls with seating areas, where locals were out enjoying the mild late October evening.
The next day, after breakfast at my hotel, I walked around by the canal again, then decided to go on a boat tour. There were several companies offering the same route, the only difference being the timetables and prices. I opted for an €11 trip, which took around an hour.
We went through the industrial harbour of the city…
…passed under iron bridges…
…and got views of the city’s seven tours.
It was a nice way to see the city (especially if you don’t want to walk much), though to be honest it didn’t give me too much more than I’d already got from walking around.
Back on dry land, I wandered around the old town some more and popped into a very pleasant café for a slice of civilisation before going off to the sticks to work.
I ended my 24 hours in Lübeck back at the main train station, just where I’d began.
24 hours might seem like a short time, but for a city this size, it felt just right. I didn’t feel rushed, and though I was doing a bit of work and research for an upcoming vegan guide, I didn’t leave with the impression that I’d missed a lot.
