A ship-run excursion to Lüneburg for the morning, with the most eccentric guide ever. She's really interesting and knowledgeable, but you tune out for 10 seconds and then have bugger all idea what's going on! She's sung the Hamburg anthem, talked about Danish submarines, John La Carre, the Greater London Authority, corruption in Ukraine, and hunters hunting a boar and salting meat.
The medieval town was rather picturesque dusted in snow, but it was also bloody cold. It was interesting to see the streets that had entirely collapsed, having been undermined for salt, and to see yet more churches with wonky spires (starting to doubt the architects of this part of the world). The restored houses of Lüneburg were a far cry from the red-grey covered buildings that were apparently prominent in the 1970s. The bell tower of the town hall has beautiful porcelain bells, but which don't ring in the cold winters for fear of shattering them. We managed the cobbles without breaking any bones, and with the 45 minutes of free time, we managed to find a bar serving a lovely local beer, before heading back to Hamburg.Read more