Lübeck on Saturday

My first view of the Lübecker Altstadt was the Holstentor (Holsten Gate). The city walls no longer exist, but there are several old gates (all of which I plan to visit). The Holstentor is the largest and most impressive.

Then I found a church steeple I could climb. A bit of a cheat - only a couple of flights of stairs, then an elevator. The steeple is 108 metres high; the viewing platform a mere 50 metres. 

Marktplatz und das Rathaus

Next I headed for das Rathaus, which was quite interesting and different.

One can walk underneath and through to the other side

This Utlucht is on the other side

It was quite a warm afternoon, and this little water feature near das Rathaus had a number of children playing in it.

I bought a hot chocolate and some cake, and took them to the grassy park near the Holstentor to eat.

And on the other (inner) side......

A few shots of some of the local architecture whilst wandering around.

My hotel is the yellowish building on the corner

Lübeck - canal cruise

 After five days at the Weltvogelpark in Walsrode (and I'll wait until I'm home to post about that), I headed north-east to Lübeck, which is near the Baltic coast. The town has a UNESCO listed Altstadt, which is completely surrounded by water. Lübeck is the "Queen" of the Hanseatic League which dominated trade in northern Europe from the 12th to the 17th century. My first impression was "Amsterdam!"

Of course, the best weather is on my day of arrival, so I quickly dumped my suitcase and hopped on one of the ubiquitous boats that do one hour tours on the waterways surrounding the Altstadt.

Bad Wildbad

This post is a little late - it's been over a week since I left the Schwarzwald. The first couple of shots are of my Pension.

It's the white house My balcony is the uppermost one

View from my balcony 

And looking the other way. Multi-layer building on the left is Palais Therme, a spa

The main street of Bad Wildbad is quite narrow, and runs alongside the river Enz. Hardly enough space to dodge the trains (which are actually more like trams).

This pool, where the river opens up a little, is filled with rainbow trout

This 1968 Standseilbahn sits near the station. Newer models run from Bad Wildbad up to the Sommerberg these days.

The two current Standseilbahnen, one on its way up, the other on its way down

Palais Therme

König Karl Spa Hotel

Rossini apparently took the waters here

Das Rathaus

There is a gorgeous, tiny Kappelle (chapel) visible from my balcony. I tried to fi d it twice. The second time, a lady told me that it belonged to one of the spa hotels and was only accessible to their guests. Oh, well.

Zoomed-in view from my balcony

View from behind. This was as close as I could get

At the far end of town, there is a Kurpark (some thing to do with the healing thermal waters). It's huge - about 40 hectares - and follows the Enz upstream. It's a very short walk from my Pension to the upper levels.

Spring flowers near the final train stop (of which there are four in Bad Wildbad)

Complete with train

This structure is in the part of the Kurpark closest to my Pension.

Then lower down along the riverbanks are some more interesting features, as well as lots of placesto sit and relax. On my final day, I spent the whole day here, wandering, looking at birds and squirrels and reading my Kindle.