Lübeck: City of Seven Spires

By Megan Hulshizer

In Hamburg there is a saying: Für einen echten Hamburger gibt es in Hamburg sowieso nie schlechtes Wetter, nur falsche Kleidung (for a real Hamburger, in Hamburg there is no bad weather, only wrong clothes).

Even though the forecast predicted cold, grey, rainy weather, a group of us decided to brave the weather and take a train north to Lübeck for a Saturday adventure. Fortunately, we were greeted with blue skies and an insane sunset that evening. This further supports our claims to never trust the local weather apps and just hope for the best.

Upon arrival in Lübeck, we came across the Holsten Gate, which is a symbol for the city. As we took fun pictures in front of the gate, a group of tipsy revelers passed by and threw confetti in the air – clearly celebrating something at 11 am. We were a bit confused but as we walked around and saw more and more, we realized it was the traditional celebration of university students during their first week of school. They wear funny hats and/or clothes, and have to complete different challenges and drink a lot.

We wandered through the main square by the Rathaus and found ourselves in a marzipan shop with many delicious looking treats and snacks. It made me so excited for the Christmas markets that soon will be flooding the whole country.

Then we visited St. Marienkirche, which houses a very interesting astronomical clock. When the bell strikes, miniature people of all nationalities (depicted in a slightly non-PC way) come out and are blessed by a miniature Jesus. Also inside they show destroyed bells from when the church was bombed during World War II.

We needed to have lunch and warm up a bit, so we stopped at Cafe Calma and I had an amazing cafe Baileys and a pumpkin-apple-coconut milk soup. I offended the waitress horribly by being unable to eat it all, but in my defense I asked if I could get the appetizer size and was turned down.

Our group visited the beautiful Lübeck cathedral before stopping at Thomas Mann’s home. He is a Nobel prize-winning author who’s most famous work, Buddenbrooks, is inspired by his family’s home in Lübeck. We wandered the cute streets of the city, which has beautiful, brightly colored buildings, and had a snack at the Fisch-hutte. Despite my general “meh-ness” toward seafood, I had an amazing fried fish sandwich that is pushing me closer to accepting seafood as an option for dinner. (I did have a Hamburg fish breakfast at school the other day, and I must say I am not yet sold on seafood for breakfast).

Finally it was time for a drink, so we went to Cafe & Bar Celona, because it was right along the water and we could watch the sunset over the city. They also had wifi so I could check my football scores, which is incredibly important to me. However, the others did not seem to understand that OU/TX weekend overshadows everything.

It was such a beautiful city, and along with my amazing friends, I had a wonderful weekend exploring more of the north. I’ve been told many times that I’ll have to return when the weather is nicer so I can experience the beach, and now I know that I must go!

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