Lübeck

Last Saturday I was fortunate enough to get to go on one final trip of the semester; a day trip to the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) in Lübeck, northern Germany. Things I love about living in Copenhagen include the fact that cool places like Germany and Sweden are but a casual drive away. It was really nice to be back in a country where I could communicate with the locals. It's impressive how fast a language comes back to you when you're surrounded by it, and I really enjoyed spreching ein bißchen Deutsch.

Look at all those happy Germans with their wursts and glühwein.

A giant spinning candle thingy. I know there must be a proper name for it, but I don't know what it is.

 

The famous gate of Lübeck. And Lukas' back.

Lübeck is another old Hanseatic state, so it's got a lot in common with many of the eastern European cities, especially Tallinn and Riga. The gates are some of the biggest giveaways of this.

The gates once again. Majestic.

The thing I love about Germany, other than the food, the beer and pretty much everything, is how surprised and happy Germans are when they find out you speak their language. And you really benefit from this. Thanks to a delightful gentleman named Klaus that we ran into in a bar, we ended up eating at the oldest restaurant in Lübeck: Schiffergesselschaft. And mother of pearl was it delicious. There's just something wonderful about eating slabs of pork in a 500 year old beer hall.