A Walk Through The Town Of Lubeck - #11

By now we have made a complete round of Lubeck town. Though we did not go through every street, we have walked a few hours and seen a good representation of the town. I would not mind walking a few more hours but we have to get back to Hamburg. We walked across the bridge to come back to near where we first started our walk.

We went to one of this riverside alfresco café for a nice warm cup of coffee under a cloudy sky and cool summer breeze. I did not want to be anywhere else and laid back to soak in the atmosphere and remember this day.

Across from where we sat were a couple of student studying under the over a blanket thrown over a wooden bench under the sun. They must think they can study better that way. I do not know but I no of no other more pleasurable way to study. One is a Caucasian and the other an Asian, just like me and Hendrik.

Source: Wikipedia

After our tea break, Hendrik wanted to buy some marzipan and Lubeck is famous for its marzipan. I never thought much of marzipan as in my mind, they tasted like wax. At least, all the marzipans I have ever eaten tasted like that. Was I in for a big surprise, read more about it in - "My Marzipan Memory".

As we walked back to our car, I could not help taking a shot of these skimpy dressed mannequins in a strategic corner straddling two roads that met in front of the approach to the town. They seemed a bit out of place in relation to this historic heritage site or are they?

As I could not end the Lubeck walk with skimpy dressed mannequins, let us take another look at the Holstein featured at the beginning of this walk for nostalgic purpose.

At the slanting road level from where we stood, the tower seemed to be tilting heavily to one side much like the leaning tower of Pisa. In actual fact, it does lean slightly though not as acute as shown in the picture. We bid our farewell to our lovely walk in the wonderful city of Lubeck.

The End.

A Walk Through The Town Of Lubeck - #10

After the church, we came across a spread of greenery and knew we had reached the edge of the town once again. There was a lake and lush green trees hiding mansions that peeked out from the leaves. This part of the walk is very tranquil and bird songs accompanied us all the way.

Soon we came upon the sound of rushing waters. Before long, we came across this building controlling the sluice gate that regulates the water which surrounds the town. We were unsure if it was still in used, probably not from the look of it.

It still created a big roar as it churned up the water passing through. But no matter how loud, the sound of rushing water is not an unpleasant sound and it blended it well with the songs of the birds and the calls of the insects.

Certain parts of the building have interesting architecture designs and we spotted a few garden chairs on an open piece of land but partially hidden by the trees.

We crossed the moat and walked between the road on one side and the moat on the other. From the road we could see the town spread out from among the tress.

There are white ducks swimming and people leisurely boating on the serene water of the lake.

As we approached the road that leads into Lubeck we could see more boats and buildings and channel side cafes lining the moat. The cool weather and gentle breeze made alfresco dining highly tempting, so we headed over to one of the outdoor café for a break and a cup of coffee.

A Walk Through The Town Of Lubeck - #9

We ducked into the back lane alley to discover the difference with the main streets. Would not do that in just any city but Lubeck is a very safe town so should be alright, we hope.

We were delighted to find that the alleys are just as well maintained and clean as the main street. They are just narrower and we can find more personal effects such as bicycles but they are not crowded or cluttered with useless wares of the inhabitants that you will find in the alleys of many cities. We do not feel threatened in any way taking a leisurely stroll down the Lubeck alleys.

Even here we found flowers to be a common feature lending aesthetic to the place. Here is a glorious rose plant in bloom.

Or this pot of beautiful red flowers and dark green leaves placed in the recess of the white pillar and wall. A striking contrast that would not fail to attract the eyes of any passerby. I imagined the owner opening the door to go out pausing for a moment to appreciate his flowers before departing.

At the end of one alley, we came to a brick wall that hides a garden. How mystical – a hidden garden. We peeped in to a well kept sanctuary. We would like to admire it but worry that the owner may not take kindly to trespassing so we followed the wall to look elsewhere.

After some time, we came out into the main street again. We saw a man pushing a wheelbarrow in which sat his happy young daughter. I wanted to take a picture but worried they may think me rude so I took this picture after they have passed me. What a delightful sight.

I passed by this shop (not even sure what it sell) and quickly snapped a shot. Hendrik asked if I shot that picture because I’m captivated by the picture of the girl or the building. Guessed it is both for the lovely picture of the dreamy eye girl looking out from the window compelled me to make that shot before I lost it to memory.


Hendrik asked me more than once whether I wanted be in, in any of the photos I took and I said no. I’m not an interesting subject, I said. He said I’m different from 99% of Asian photographers who wanted their mug in every shot. I laughed. I’m not interested to tell others where I had been, I’m interested to share especially with friends about the places I had been. At the time of this trip, I’ve not even started blogging yet or I may have taken more photos and some maybe a bit differently to allow me to tell my story better.

Our wandering took us to this old church with a lovely green lawn in front of it which together with the luxuriant trees gave a very soothing feel. There was a couple dressed in black in front of the church. My first shot caught them standing with their backs facing each other.

My next shot caught them in a deep long embrace.

My third shot saw them drawing apart – all these within a few minutes. There must a story somewhere in there. Write your own tale and ending. Xi xi.

This is a shot of the side of the church.

Inside, was this several storey tall stained glass that stood imposingly above the altar. The design is quite modern and departed from the regular themes we observed in other stained glasses. The church interior is rather dim making this structure even more impressive.

There were a lot of very old structures, furniture and constructions like this very old clok that formed part of the structure itself. However the dim interior did not allow good photos to be taken on the go. I did not want to take up too much of Hendrik’s time and hurried with just a few shots which did not do this place any justice at all.

The layout of the church is a little confusing for one who is not familiar with the Catholic cathedral. There seems to be more than one place the chairs seem to be facing and there seemed to be more than one altar. We did not have the time to slowly take it all in and did some research. I would like to go back to this church again. It is unlikely I’ll ever be back there. Wonder if a prayer will help?

As we walked in silence through the church, we looked out one of the arched window and saw the skeleton of a whale in a glass house adjacent to one of the church building. “What is the skeleton of a whale doing in a church?” Hendrik asked a little sarcastically. Good question. I also wondered.

Remembered in an earlier post, I asked whether any of you know what these Da Vinci numbers meant? Well, we found these numbers also posted in this church but a different set. Hendrik was also curious so he went over to a lady who was sitting alone with her own thoughts. She brightened up when asked the question and found the two clueless ones amusing. They refer to the hymns that will be sung in the service. The numbers refer to the pages of the song book so there is no need for any announcement. They are found on all strategic pillars. Well, what are taken for granted in one culture can be pretty mysterious and daunting for another. At least, we made her day and gave her some cheers.

To be continued...

A Walk Through The Town Of Lubeck - #8

Our walk took us to this interestingly designed building. The door and the steps leading up to it are sunken into the building. Also the lower windows are built low as like basement windows. The ground floor is painted a more subdued color while the first floor is painted a bright yellow. Then, there is that huge climbing rose which is trained to curve around the window and over the front steps. It was quite a spectacular view.

Not everyone went for roses. Here is one who chose a plant with delicate purple flowers with rich green leaves against a very light blue wall and door.

I tried but just could not get this fat cat to look at me. It treated me coolly totally disregarding my many attempts to attract it. It must be very well fed from its size and truly pampered. Give me a dog with its waging tail any day. A cat chose to bestow or withhold its affection according to its fancy very much like a…..

We came out of the street a short distance away from the Hospital of the Holy Spirits.

And meet the Seaman’s Guild Building from the other end.

We then decided to take a smaller street and took that street along the Seaman’s Guild building attracted by the overhanging arches.

As we walked along that street, we looked up and saw this lovely façade outlined against a blue sky and white clouds.

We now decided to be even more adventurous in our walk. We turned into a small alley to see what we can find in less traveled places.

A Walk Through The Town Of Lubeck - #7

After the blackbird has flown away, we continued our walk. There was this bicycle leaning against the wall of vines.

We took our time to admire unfamiliar flowers.

Hendrik told me that is an old smoke bucket from East Germany. It is a noisy, smoky, fuel guzzling bone shaker. I forgot what is the made he told me. After the unification, this car disappeared. Now, they treated as a relic, a museum on wheel and is again in demand because of all its notorious qualities. Kind of amusing.

You can see graffiti on the white wall as well as the wall next to the car. It is very sad and upsetting to see this beautiful place being disfigured with ugly graffiti. If this is my town, I will take such pride in it and will do my utmost to preserve it.

It is now used for advertisement. But what is it advertising? Anyone know German out there? Is it advertising for a gourmet café or Buddhist meditation?

Whatever its fault, you can say it don’t have a smiley front. Reminded me of one of the cars in the cartoon movie. It is a quaint little vehicle.

By now we have walked to the edge of the town. It is not a very large town. Across the road, you’ll come to the sea and the port. We did not head towards that direction and instead turn back and took another path to return to where we started.

The tower gate’s architecture showed a Moorish influence.

This is the other gate into the town.

We reentered the town and came across this lovely secluded alley that is higher than the street it is joining to. It is quiet and very cool. It is such a pleasant feeling to be walking leisurely through this historic town.

We can’t wait to discover more of this town where every turn is a pleasant surprise.

A Walk Through The Town Of Lubeck - #6

As we were walking, the air was suddenly filled with the melodious sounds of a bird song that was sweet, varied, quavering with a fantastic range from low sweet notes to shrill high pitches. We instinctively searched for the source of the song.

And found it perched high on the roof a building. I quickly sneaked a shot and caught this. Interestingly, there was a statue of an owl with a wire running to the top of the building. I had no idea what is the purpose of that ‘owl’ but guess it had something to do with attracting bird or providing food for it, maybe? Another mystery of life apparent to ‘the know’ but mysterious to the one who have never seen it.

“A blackbird!” Hendrik exclaimed. Having never seen a blackbird, I thought blackbird was like an Asian crow. And who can forget the nursery rhyme –

Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye;
Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie!
When the pie was opened the birds began to sing,
Oh wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?

And in all the illustrations I had seen related to that nursery rhyme, the blackbirds looked like crows. So I am not to be blamed. Thus, it surprised me that the blackbird looked like a flying black tub with yellow beak. It is fat, I thought a bit unkindly. But it could sing heavenly. It did not fit my bias image of a lovely singing bird. Who would have thought but then I remembered the late Pavorotti and was chastised.

After my initial shot, I trained my camera for a clearer and better shot. It decided to have none of that and away it flew to my regret. I tried to follow its flight and saw it flew into this wall of vines and disappeared inside. The whole of this building was completely covered. What a lovely shade of green.


That was a whole block away and we walked towards it all the while not taking our eyes off it and hoped it will stay long enough for the hunters to arrive. As we neared the house of leaves, we slowed our paces into cat’s steps trying to land softly on the cobbled street. It was no longer singing choosing not to give away its position but I can still hear its refrain through the lines of Edward Thomas –

And for that minute a blackbird sang
Close by, and round him, mistier,
Farther and farther, all the birds
Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

We were practically standing right beneath the wall and no matter how we searched, we just could find where it was. We stood there and searched and searched but we just could not find the blackbird hidden in the vine. So I implore it with the lyrics of The Beatles –

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free

And I realized that the lyrics suited the blackbird better than me. I could not see with my sunken eyes and the blackbird was waiting for its moment to be free. So I pointed my camera at the general direction where I thought it was and clicked and clicked. As I moved in even closer to try to unravel the mystery, the blackbird decided it had enough of me. A shaking of leaves, a flurry of movements, a dash for freedom and the blackbird was free of me.

p.s. could you see the blackbird hidden in the vines in the last photo? But if you want a real challenge, try finding it in the second picture, ha ha.