Hansestadt Lübeck

Continuing our cultural explorations in northern Germany, we took the kids to another beautiful, historic port city today: home of the world's best Marzipan, Lübeck. I've not been here in over 20 years and it was even more impressive than I remember.

As we did in Hamburg on Monday, we began the day with a fun and informative boat tour. This took us through the harbor and canals which virtually surround the entire island-like city and gave us a great synopsis of the city's expansive history as well as tips on significant points of interest. Next we headed to the St. Petrikirche where we enjoyed vistas of the entire city in all directions from the top of its 50-meter tower. The panorama here was breathtaking. Then we headed into the market square for lunch and a little shopping (no trip to Lübeck is complete without a visit to Niederegger). Finally, we took a guided tour through the 700 year-old Rathaus. The photo above shows a small corner of the elaborately decorated reception hall. There were so many magnificent treasures of art and architecture here that it was hard to choose from the hundred photos I took.

We had hoped to tour the Holstentor museum as well, but after several hours of being nipped by the bitter north wind, we decided to call it a day and head home to thaw out. The drive from Hamburg is less than an hour, so we'll return if summer ever arrives :)