Lubeck and Helsinki

Before we left Germany, we took a day trip to Lubeck, another Hanseatic Port on the east coast of the country.

It was a very attractive town, entered from the railway station through the impressive Holsten Gate, a fortification befitting Lubeck’s trading wealth and status. It was also very busy, with crowds around all the points of interest and an abundance of walking tours.

We took a look at Marktplatz, with the rear of the Rathaus to one side and the Marienkirche to another, then went off grid slightly and strolled around some quiet, picturesque side streets.

After a while, we came to the Hospital of the Holy Spirit, one of the oldest social institutions in the world and dating from 1286.

Accommodating up to 170 sick or needy people, and only closed in 1970, it seemed a little inhumane. People were housed in very tiny wooden chambers constructed within the hall, or nave, of the building. The expectation around care for the sick and elderly has clearly changed over the past 740 years!

The Burgtor, the 1444 northern city gate, was quite impressive, and nearby was a viewpoint over the river and to a rather unpicturesque industrial area on the other side.

The Burgkloster - Castle Monastery - was also adjacent, a complex that developed on the site of the founding of Lubeck as Germany’s first Baltic harbour town. In 1229 it became a Dominican monastery dedicated to St Mary Magdalen, a statue of whom stands in the grounds.

Pleasingly, the trains ran on time all day.

Then we found ourselves in Helsinki for a single day.

We revisited some of the sights, on a day when the city was loaded with cruise passengers. It proved again to be a picturesque, easy place to visit.

And that was the end of our European holiday. It was a fascinating trip, once we got used to the cyclists, the cigarettes, the sirens and all those other little things that make a holiday fun.

If only they could make the trains run on time.Read more