Lubeck

 Another brilliant day thanks to tour guide Ruth. After breakfast we met Ruth at the train station, just a short walk from our apartment. We boarded the No.6 train bound for Timmendorfer Strand, about a 30minute ride away. It is a small holiday village but also an important port on the Baltic sea. 

A really nice beach but the weather is now cool enough to deter most beach goers. 

We are used to beach towels and umbrellas on the beach, these guys have beach seats. Robyn’s pictures will describe them better than I can but basically they are two or three seat loungers which you can rent by the hour or by the day. The flasher ones have little port hole  windows and sunshades. The guys who rent them set them out according to which way the wind is blowing especially when it is coming from the North. 

The town is bordered by the Trave river which is deep enough to allow container ships and cruise ships to dock at the extensive port. The town itself is just boutique shops and holiday apartments. 

It was nice to just wander along the promenade and out on the breakwater. I couldn’t resist a paddle in the Baltic sea and although brisk if I had my togs I would have been in. 

We wandered around a little market which was quite cool and lunch was krankenwurst sausage in a bun. Yum, the Germans know their sausages. 

The original lighthouse still stands but is no longer in use as there is a really large apartment block in front of it so it can no longer be seen from the sea. There are idiots in every city council I suppose. 

We did climb up the 140 something steps and were rewarded with a wonderful view. We are at the top in the photo. The view to the east over the river is into what used to East Germany. Ruth tells us the first km or so was no mans land and it was dotted with watch towers. Although there were many escape attempts apparently none were successful. 

We caught the little ferry across the river which is now just an extension of the village with more shops and apartments. As we were walking to the ferry a large container ship passed by heading yo the Baltic Sea. 

By the time we returned back again it was time to return to Lubeck  but instead of the train we caught a ferry which dropped us right back into the city centre 1 1/2 hours later

This was a small village we passed. If anyone in the village wants to sell up it has to have everyone’s consent first as it’s only family or extended family who live there. 

Beautiful old ship moored. 

What a great day but we weren’t done yet. Ruth had booked tickets to the opera. It was in an old wharf warehouse with temporary trestle seating involved. There was about a 20 piece orchestra, a chorus of mainly young girls and boys and the main characters were all very accomplished opera singers. The opera which was all in German, loosely told the story of Vivaldi’s life and was set to his music and in particular the 4 seasons. 

We didn’t understand a word of it but we were nothing mesmerised by the performances of these people. An absolutely fantastic show and we left with big smiles 2 1/2 hours later. 

Then we wandered to the restaurant's and found a Vietnamese place for a much needed dinner. 

Thanks Ruth for another fantastic day.