Nienburg & Verden (03/04/2021)

On a sunny day, we decided to do another day trip from Hamburg, this time heading south to the state of Niedersachsen or Lower Saxony. After switching regional trains in Bremen, we then reached the first stop of the day, the town of Nienburg. Located on the Weser river the town grew during medieval times specifically thanks to its position by the water which allowed it access to trade with the rest of the region. Once we left the train station we headed into the direction of the old town and soon after reached the main street, Lange Straße, which cuts through the town in a north-south line. Like other places around the area, the town is known for its typical timber-framed houses which dot the city center here and there. Along the main street, we then came across the nice town hall, a late gothic building from the 16th century with additional annexes built in the 18th and 20th centuries expanding its size further. Nearby we then reached the Kirchplatz with nice old timber-framed houses around it and at its center the main church, that of St Martin. This building dates to the 15th century and is a typical gothic structure with a bell tower that was rebuilt at the end of the 19th century. The interior is rather plain and empty with whitewashed walls and some baroque fittings. From the church we then headed south and reached the riverfront which we decided to follow and enjoy the nice view, walking along the marked path. We then passed by the Stockturm, the only surviving evidence of what was once the Neinburg Castle. This Renaissance brick tower located close to the river once made up a large defensive structure that stretched out over the northeastern part of the old town. After being damaged during the Thirty Years' War the castle was torn down and some barracks were built over the site which were later turned into commercial and administrative buildings during the 19th,20th, and 21st centuries. Only the tower still stands as it was left unscathed after the war and was located at the northwestern corner of the castle thus surviving the demolition. After that we decided to walk around town for a little longer, taking some side streets in order to admire some really nice examples of timber-framed buildings. Eventually, we headed back in the direction of the train station from where we took the next ride to our second and last stop of the day, the town of Verden. Like Nienburg, it was also built next to a river, this time the Aller, and thus grew throughout the centuries. After getting off the train we then headed on towards the old town which we reached shortly after. It runs parallel to the river on a north-south line and was originally divided into two parts, the south, and the north. The two were distinct because in the southern part lay the Cathedral which had administrative control over the surrounding area. The division was only resolved after the peace of Westphalia in 1648. Our first monument to visit had to be in fact the Cathedral, a large Gothic three-aisled building built between the 13th and 15th centuries with a Romanesque brick tower from the middle of the 12th century, perhaps the oldest in Northern Germany. To the north of the church is a small courtyard that serves as the Cathedral cloister and features some traces of romanesque painted columns and a nice well at its center. Through it, we then entered the church proper whose interior was painted in a stark white and red color in the 1960s. Of note are the 19th-century altar, the large 1916 organ, and some 16th-century tombs belonging to some bishops. After exiting the Cathedral we then followed the town's main street, Große Straße, lined by nice houses and then reached the main square where the town hall is located. This 18th-century baroque building features a nice neo-baroque tower from 1905 when the town hall was rebuilt and expanded. Behind it, we then passed by the church of St John, a Gothic structure with some traces of Romanesque architecture and a bell tower with a baroque tip. From the church, a short walk brought us to the riverside which we followed for a short while before heading back into town. Here we continued through some minor side streets with nice timber-framed houses and reached once again the southern part of the old town where the Cathedral is located. Our tour of the city was over and it was time to head back to the station from where we took the next train to Hamburg.

Timber-framed houses in the old town of Nienburg

The Kirchplatz with the church of St Martin

Another street in the old town of Nienburg

Timber-framed houses and the bell tower of St Martin

The Cathedral of Verden

The Cathedral's cloister

Main street in the old town of Verden

Verden's main square and town hall

Another view of the old town

The church of St John

A street in the old town

Friedrichskoog, Meldorf & Wilster (01/04/2021)

On another day trip from Hamburg, this time with my girlfriend Ania, we decided to visit a few places on the western coast of Schleswig-Holstein. Our first stop was the small village of Friedrichskoog, right by the North Sea on a peninsula created by dykes during the 19th and 20th centuries. The place is known for holding since 1985 the Seehundstation Friedrichskoog, a seal center that provides rehabilitation and research on native marine mammals, specifically that of gray and harbor seals. The center can also be visited by tourists, in order for it to get some funding as well, but unlike a zoo, or animal park, the seals here are just temporarily hosted and will then be re-released into the wild when ready. After paying for the entry ticket it was fun to see the cute seals enjoying their time in the water and playing with each other and my chance to see these native mammals up close. I had previously thought of heading out to the coast or surrounding islands to see them in their natural habitat however, it is not that easy to find them and if so get that close, so this clearly was the best option. After the visit to the center, we then decided to have a walk around the village, climbing on top of the dykes and admiring the endless panorama of the Wadden Sea mudflats in the distance. Then back to the village where we then took a bus which brought us to the next stop, the town of Meldorf. Once there, we walked through its small yet nice old town with some interesting burgher houses. We then reached the main attraction, the Meldorfer Dom, a 13th-century Gothic church, and one of the oldest on the North Sea coast of Germany. The exterior was reconstructed in a neo-gothic style after the building suffered a fire in 1866, however, the interior still dates to that 13th-century original construction. In fact, the central dome features a beautiful cycle of frescoes from the 13th century showing the wealth and power of the Dithmarschen peasant republic, a kind of governing body of the region that lasted during the middle ages and though formally under noble jurisdiction never formally had to answer to any lords or dukes until the 1600s. The interior also features a bronze baptismal font from the beginning of the 14th century, an altar from 1520, and a wooden chancel screen from 1603. After the visit to the church, we then walked in the direction of the train station from where we took the next ride into the town of Wilster, our final stop for the day. Here, after getting off the train we walked through the nice small old town reaching the central main church of St Bartholomew. This large baroque church built between 1775 and 1781, with an unusually shaped nave and an octagonal bell tower was unfortunately closed so we just had to see it from the outside. Continuing our walk, we then passed by some nice burgher houses with some occasional timber-framed ones. Particularly interesting was the old town hall, a timber-framed building dating from 1585 and among Schleswig-Holstein's finest preserved Renaissance buildings. Right in front of it stood the Palais Doos, a former upper-class residential building from 1786 that was donated to the city of Wilster in 1829 and later turned into the new town hall. After strolling around town we decided it was time to head back to the train station where we eventually took the next ride into Hamburg. 

A cute and friendly seal at the Friedrichskoog seal center

A sleepy one underwater

The dykes and mudflats of the Wadden Sea

The old town of Meldorf

The Meldorfer Dom

Interior of the Cathedral

The 13th century fresco of the central dome

A street in the old town of Wilster

The old town of Wilster with the timber-framed town hall

Flensburg, Glücksburg & Rendsburg (31/03/2021

After a long period in Berlin not really being able to travel or do day trips because of the lockdown we finally headed to Hamburg for the Easter holidays and from there, while Ania worked at home, I decided to do a day trip and visit a few places on the way. I headed north in the state of Schleswig-Holstein and after taking a train from Hamburg, reached the northernmost city of Germany, Flensburg, a couple of hours after. Once I got off the train, I headed in the direction of the old town, which I reached shortly after, passing by a nice city park where colorful flowers were already sprouting among the fresh green grass. After reaching the city center, I walked through a picturesque street with old townhouses leading up to the main church in town, St Nikolai. Flensburg features in fact a well-preserved old town, with a notable valuable expansion that took place during the Wilhelmine era that spared the destruction of older buildings. Also during WWII, the town came out virtually unscathed but still, like other places in Germany, it adopted a policy of getting rid of old buildings and building anew in the style of the times. This trend was fortunately limited by a lack of money, but before the policy was finally stopped in the late 1970s, countless old buildings had been demolished in the north and east Old Town to be replaced by newer structures. Once I reached the church of St Nicholas I decided to visit its interior which was luckily open. This 15th-century Gothic structure features a 90m tall neogothic spire built after 1878 when the old one was struck and destroyed by lightning. The main altar is a mix of Baroque and Rococo from the 17th century while the organ is an exquisite piece from 1609. Inside the church, there is also an interesting 15th-century bronze baptismal font. After visiting the church I then walked along the main street, the Holm that later becomes the Große Straße, which cuts the city from north to south and from there reached the bus station shortly after. I had in fact decided to take a local bus to bring me to the nearby castle of Glücksburg and from there walk back to Flensburg and continue visiting the town. So after getting my ride and reaching the destination I headed in the direction of the castle which is picturesquely located on a small island surrounded by the Schloßteich lake. Built between 1582 and 1587 for John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg it is one of the most important Renaissance castles in northern Europe. It was built on the site of the former Cistercian monastery Ryd Abbey; the monastery's building material was partly reused in the castle. The grounds of Ryd Abbey were then flooded to create a large pond, now the Schloßteich, surrounding the castle. The castle's plan is a square with sides of nearly 30 meters with each corner featuring a tower with a diameter of seven meters. The castle is now a museum and is no longer inhabited by the ducal family. It is owned by a foundation, which is headed by Christoph, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein, the current titular duke. I decided not to visit the interior but still walk around the outside through the nice garden and along the waterfront to admire the castle from afar as well. After that, I walked a little further and reached the nearby beach of Glücksburg located on the Flensburg Firth. This 40km long fjord connects Flensburg to the rest of the sea and is the westernmost fjord of the Baltic sea. As I sat on the nice soft white sand of the beach, I enjoyed the rather warm sun while admiring the nice view in front of me. In fact, just a couple kilometers on the other side of the water I could easily spot the Danish coast, so close on this part of the fjord. I had taken lunch with me so I sat a while there, dipping also my feet in the clear yet cold water of the sea. It was then time for me to continue my visit, deciding now to walk all the way back to Flensburg following the coast. I walked through a bit of forest and then the suburbs of the city, passing by the large and famous Mürwik Naval School, the main training establishment for all German Navy officers. The school was built in 1910 by the order of Kaiser Wilhelm II to replace the German Imperial Naval Academy in Kiel in a striking gothic architecture with the dominating red bricks that surely took inspiration from the Malbork Castle. After a bit more walking I then reached the Flensburg harbor, with its hyp modern buildings on the eastern part and the old town on the west. I walked back into the old town, still keeping the waterfront to my right and admiring the old fishermen's houses some of which are still well-preserved. I then reached the northern end of town where the Nordertor, the city gate, is located. One of just a few remains of what was once the medieval fortification that encircled the city, this gate was rebuilt in the 16th century over its older predecessor, with stepped gables and archway. From the city gate I continued south along the main street admiring the nice old architecture and soon later came across the church of St Mary. A Gothic building with a Neo-gothic bell tower, it was unfortunately closed, but still nice from the outside. Right next to it was the Schrangen, a 16th-century structure directly connected to the church but hosting mostly secular purposes such as a baker's and a butcher's stalls first and later police station. The building faces the picturesque Nordermarkt, a small square, as the name suggests, located in the northern part of the old town. At its center stands a nice fountain dating to the 16th century known as the Neptune Fountain. Walking further on along the main street I then passed by the Heiliggeistkirche, a small Gothic church that was closed. Then once I finally reached the Südermarkt which marks the southernmost point of the old town, it was time to head back to the train station and reach the last stop of the day, the city of Rendsburg. The place is famous for the Rendsburg High Bridge, a railway bridge made of steel, 2,500 meters long and 41 meters high, that was constructed in 1913 to take the Neumünster–Flensburg railway over the Kiel Canal from the relatively flat land on either side. It is listed as the longest railway bridge in Europe and was quite fun to go over it by train. The town though also features a small partly preserved old town. After leaving the station I passed by the nice white building of the Schleswig-Holstein State Theater and then reached the old town proper. Here I came across some occasional nice timber-framed houses, particularly around the Markt main square. I then passed by the Marienkirche, the town's main church, built during the 14th century in a Gothic style but which was unfortunately already closed. Not far on I then walked through the Schloßplatz, where once the 17th-century fortress built by the Danish forces guarding the city at the end of the Thirty Years' War used to stand. With the expansion of the fortifications, Rendsburg became the most important military fortress in the entire Danish state and a new part of the town, now the Neustadt was built on the southern edge of the city. This part, which I then walked through, features radial streets extending from the central Paradeplatz with low buildings and straight streets. Among the buildings is the Christkirche, a late 17th-century church planned in the construction of this new city. The feeling, while walking through these streets, was that of being in a Danish town, which in some way are also quite resembling other towns in Schleswig-Holstein from that period. It was finally time to walk to the train station from where I eventually took my train back to Hamburg.

The Rote Strasse and the church of St Nikolai in Flensburg

The interior of the church of St Nikolai

The Schloss Glücksburg

View of the castle and lake around it

The beach in Glücksburg and the Danish coast in the background

View of Flensburg

The old port and city center of Flensburg

A street in the old town of Flensburg

The Nortdertor city gatr

The main street of Flensburg, Grosse Strasse

The picturesque Nordermarkt square

The Schleswig-Holstein State Theater in Rendsburg

Rendsburg's old town square, the Markt

A street in Rendsburg

Stade & Buxtehude (19/12/2020)

 After heading to Hamburg for the Christmas holidays to Ania's parents, we decided to do a day trip to two nearby towns which I didn't have the chance to visit when working there. Our first stop was the town of Stade, located southwest of Hamburg on the other side of the Elbe river. Having a long history, this town in medieval times, from the 13th century to the late 17th century, was a prominent member of the Hanseatic League but was later eclipsed by Hamburg. This is why to this day, like other towns in northern Germany is still officially named the Hanseatic City of Stade. It is also included in the German Timber-Frame Road featuring in fact a lovely old town with timber-framed buildings. So after a switch in Hamburg's main station, we reached the town by using the local S-Bahn train connections. From the station, a short walk then took us into the old town where we immediately started seeing the old buildings. Not far on we then reached and entered the church of St Wilhadi, a three-aisled Gothic hall church from the 14th century with its tower dating from the 13th century. The interior is quite empty and whitewashed and features a baroque altar from Hamburg dated 1660 and an 18th-century organ. After visiting the church we walked in the vicinity admiring the nice architecture of the houses, palaces, and other buildings, and then reached the city's other main church, that of St Cosmas and Damian. The current building is the result of various constructions and renovations from the 13th to 17th centuries, with its iconic 62m tall spire dating to 1684 in a Baroque style. The church was unfortunately closed so we decided to move on and continue or walk through town. Continuing along the main street, Hökerstraße, we then reached the town's most known area, the Hansehafen, the old Hanseatic port. Featuring a central canal it is sided by beautiful timber-framed houses and once served as the main trading hub on the Schwinge river which then connected it to the Elbe and the sea. The houses on the west side of the canal go back to the 15th century, while those on the eastern side are more recent as they had to be reconstructed after the Stade in 1659 which destroyed nearly 60% of the city. Right next to the canal, where it ends and opens up into the Fischmarkt square, there is a wooden crane which is very similar to the one found in the nearby city of Luneburg. Unlike the latter, this one in Stade is a 1977 modern reconstruction of the old one from 1661 that was torn down in 1898. Among the many nice buildings facing the harbor, there is a Weser renaissance gabled house known as the Bürgermeister-Hintze-Haus and the Schwedenspeicher, a 17th-century Baroque building that was built as a warehouse during the Swedish rule of the city. From the old harbor, we then decided to head back through town further admiring the nice timber-framed architecture by walking some of the town's side streets as well. Then, once back to the train station, after just a few stops we reached the second and last town on the trip, Buxtehude. A Hanseatic city like Stade, Buxtehude features a nice historic center with some timber-framed houses as well. After reaching the station and getting off the train we headed in the direction of the old town. We noticed the nice Christmas decorations dotting the town, however, it was quite void of any people, unlike Stade, and thus not so lively as expected. Nevertheless, it was nice to stroll around and admire the architecture. We walked along the main street, Lange Straße, and ended up passing by the main church, that of St Peter. Originally dating to the 13th century but rebuilt in a neogothic style during the 19th century, it was unfortunately closed during our visit. So we continued onwards and walked through some more nice streets. Particularly picturesque was a street running on a north-south line, sided by a canal and lined by many old timber-framed houses. Not as large as Stade, our walk around Buxtehude was at an end and it was time for us to head back to the nearby station and take the next train back into Hamburg.

The church of St. Wilhadi in Stade

The interior of the church

The spire of the church of St Cosmas and Damian

The Hansehafen, the old Hanseatic port in Stade

View of the old town with the replica of the old wooden crane in the foreground

View of the Schwinge river entering the old town

A street in the old town of Stade

Another view of the Hanseatic old port

The church of St Peter in Buxtehude

The old town of Buxtehude and the typical timber-framed houses

Lübben, Senftenberg & Altdöbern (15/11/2020)

On a relatively sunny weekend, the type of sun you can get in eastern Germany during the fall with a kind of haze lingering and the low sun showing itself lazily, we decided to do another day trip from Berlin. We chose to head south and visit three small towns along the same train line. Our first stop was the small town of Lübben, located right next to the Spreewald in the historical region of Lower Lusatia. In fact here, as in the surrounding towns, you can find some bilingual signs with both German and Sorbian names and words. After getting out of the train station we headed in the direction of the city center passing through a nice park, Der Hain, before reaching the old town. As we approached from the west and crossed over the Hauptspree on a bridge we caught sight of the remains of the city walls that once surrounded the whole old town. Unfortunately, the city was heavily damaged during the last months of WWII when the advancing Red Army was nearing Berlin, losing thus 85% of its buildings. Nowadays some old architecture mixes with the typical grayish and unaesthetic east german plattenbau buildings. In the center of town, we then decided to visit the main church, the Paul-Gerhardt-Kirche. The church features a late Gothic structure and a bell tower from the 15th century while the interior and furnishing are mostly baroque additions from the 17th century such as the main altar from 1609. In the southern part of the town, we then reached the Schloss Lübben, a mostly baroque structure. Once a medieval castle stood on its spot, later fully rebuilt during the 17th century. After damage suffered during world war 2, it was restored to its baroque state and now consists of three separate structures: the Marstall which were once the stables and now house the city library, the main tower, and the Oberamtshaus which served as the seat of the government of Lower Lusatia. The latter two now hold the city museum. Behind the castle, on a small island surrounded by the Spree river, is a nice park with even a hedge maze. After heading back through town and to the train station, we then took a train in the direction of the next town, Seftenberg. After getting off the train and out of the station we headed towards the old town just a few minutes walk to the south. Like other towns in the area, it was damaged during ww2 and partially reconstructed after the war. As we walked by we passed the Wendish church, a 17th-century baroque building that replaced an older wooden one from the previous century and serving the Sorbian population of the town. Nowadays it is used as a community center. Just a few steps further we then passed the church of St Peter and Paul, the main religious building of Seftenberg. Originally built in the second half of the 13th century it suffered several refurbishments and reconstructions after a few city fires and most notable after ww2 when it was finally given its current late gothic appearance. It was known as the German church as it served the german population in contrast to the nearby Wendish church. From the church, which was unfortunately closed, we then passed through the main square, the Markt, with nice rebuilt buildings such as the impressive Wilhelmine Adler Pharmacy built in 1902. At the center of the square stands the copy of a Saxon milepost from 1741. On the southern edge of the old town, we then passed by the Schloss Seftenberg, both a castle and fortress that served as the town's main defense point. This Renaissance construction originally dates to the 15th century with additions from the 17th and 19th centuries. It features a central low castle surrounded by ramparts now covered in bushes and ivy which make up a nice little city park to stroll around. Just south of the fortress we then reached the Senftenberger See, a large man-made lake created over an exhausted open-pit mine. Here we sat on a bench and enjoyed our lunch with a view over the lake and a bit of sun lazily peering through the clouds above. After our break, it was time to head back to the station and take the next ride to our last stop for the day, the small town of Altdöbern. The train station is located a bit far off from the town center but we nonetheless walked through the suburbs and soon after reached the town's main attraction the Altdöbern castle. Built in the renaissance style during the 16th century it was later replaced by a baroque building with rococo additions. During the 19th century, it suffered some transformations with some additions in a neo-romanesque style such as the eastern part that features a somewhat medieval-looking tower. Interestingly from 1943 to 1945, Altdöbern Castle served as the quarters of the Swedish Embassy, which had moved there due to increasing air raids on Berlin. The castle also features a really nice and large park around it which we strolled for a bit enjoying the late sun and fall colors. We then passed the service buildings of the castle, the former stables and the Orangerie now turned into a nice cafè, and then reached the city center. Here surrounded by a small park and a small cemetery is the main parish church, rebuilt in 1921 after it burned down because of arson in 1914. After one last stroll around it was then time for us to head back to the train station and eventually catch the train back to Berlin.

The aul-Gerhardt-Kirche in Lübben

The Schloss Lübben

Funny sheep in Lübben

The church of St Peter and Paul in Senftenberg 

Senftenberg's main square

The Senftenberger See

The Altdöbern castle

The park around the castle