Saturday, May 17, 2014 - Hamburg (Mark)

We started the day with a makeshift breakfast in our hotel room. Our room is small but comfortable. Claire is getting picky with the dairy products we offer her, but she still likes yogurt just fine. We went to the Hauptbanhof to catch a 10:00 train to Lubeck. Our train was packed with old people. We stayed in the bike and baby carriage car, but it wasn't comfortable. When we arrived, we made our way into the old city. Lubeck is beautiful and definitely the most touristy city we have been to thus far. Our first stop was the famous Holstentor, an icon of the city. Unfortunately, our view from the front was marred because they were setting up a stage for a concert or event of some sort. Our view from behind was fine, though.

We made our way to the first steeple that caught our eye, which turned out to be the Petrikirche. The inside was whitewashed so we weren't all that keen on entering. We headed to the Rathaus and town square next, where we found the nearby Marienkirche. This one we did enter. The inside is gorgeous. There was a men's choir singing old hymns a capella and I recognized a few (such as O Come O Come Emanuel). There was a display of 14 crosses (apparently a WWI memorial), an astronomical clock, and a fallen and broken bell as a memorial to WWII. Overall, the church was stunning, and definitely worth the meager 2 Euro price of admission.

We felt like it was time to eat, so we crossed the Trave river and found a grassy area to sit down in. Claire loved it whenever a duck came nearby. She also got excited at every pigeon and dog she saw.

On our way to the Heiligin Geist Hospital, we stopped to check out the Niederegger, a famout Marzipan store. We didn't buy any, but were impressed at the vast collection available. I particularly like the fruits and vegetables made of marzipan. They even had marzipan replicas of famous Lubeck buildings. We couldn't leave empty handed, so we got ice cream cones at the cafe. I had a scoop each of marzipan and almond nougat, Liz had peach yogurt and cinnamon plum. Claire approved of all flavors.

We stepped into the Willy Brandt House, the birthplace of Germany's most beloved chancellor, but it wasn't too interesting to us. On the other hand, the Heiligin Geist Hostpital was. It dates back to the 13th century and had an interesting hall of hospital cubicles.

We eventually returned to the train station, taking our time, which was good because my right achilles area was starting to hurt. I refreshed myself with a Mezza Mix soda. After a break in our hotel room, we hit the streets again to check out Planten un Blomen, a large public park and garden. Claire loved it and all the waterfowl contained therein. My achilles was really in pain now, so I was glad to call it a day.

Observations:

• Hamburg water tastes much better than Odense water.