Wismar

Today we visited the small historic town of Wismar. It is listed as a "World Heritage Site" by Unesco and is also part of the Hanseatic League. 

Our first stop was Nikolaikirche ("The Church of Saint Nicholas") built in 1381 as a church for sailors and fishermen.

Outside Nikolaikirche

Inside windows

Ceiling

Without a map, we wandered down cobblestone roads through the town.

Streets of Wismar

We made it to the central market place, where there were many shops and restaurants.

Wismar Central Market

After a delicious lunch, we continued on to visit the tower of Marienkirche (St. Mary's Church). The rest of the church was destroyed in World War II, and again in 1960 under the East German Communist government.

Outside Marienkirche

Ruins of the church

We were able to catch the train back to Rostock just as it was starting to rain; we couldn't have asked for better timing.

Love,

Vanessa

Lubeck and the Hamburg Zoo

This weekend we had quite the adventure. It was filled with marzipan, beer, no sleep, and cute animals. 

I will begin our story with our visit to Lubeck…

Lubeck is a rather small city in Northern Germany that is surrounded by the Trave river. Beginning around 1200, Lubeck became a very popular international center for trade due to its abundant waterways.

Trave River

The Streets of Lubeck

The Holstentor is Lubeck’s most famous landmark. It was built in 1478 as a system of defenses and also served as a symbol of being a “free imperial city”

Holstentor

After seeing the Holstentor, we ventured to Niederegger, Lubeck’s famous marzipan shop and café. There I got marzipan hot chocolate, and a slice of delicious marzipan cake.

Marzipan Hot Chocolate

Marzipan Cake

The shop was filled with pastries, chocolates, marzipan bars and figurines. I bought quite a variety of treats.

Truffles

Goodies: Marzipan tea, seals, pigs, and starfish

Our next stop was the Lubeck Cathedral, which was originally built in 1173, and was reconstructed after a bombing in World War II.

Outside of Lubeck Cathedral

Stained Glass

Crypt

Behind the cathedral was the Museum fur Natur und Umwelt.

Museum fur Natur und Umwelt

Outside, was a statue of a seal, which I of course had to take a picture with.

Also outside was a beautiful garden filled with butterflies

Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly

Inside the museum was an exhibit of fossilized whale skeletons – my favorite!

Fossilized Baleen Whale

Me and the Whales!

In St. Petri church, we were able to go up to the top of the tower and see a 360 degree view of Lubeck.

After we had seen most of Lubeck, we trekked to Hamburg, and went out partying that night. We went to the Reeperbahn, a street in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg famous for its nightlife, bars, clubs and sex shops. I didn’t bring my camera out with me at night, so here is a picture of the Reeperbahn I found on the internet so you get the idea:

We had plenty of beer, made new friends, ate Turkish food, and heard the song “Wonderwall” about 200 times (Germans LOVE that song). Long story short, we didn’t end up back at our hotel until 7:30 AM.

After only a couple hours of sleep, we chugged some coffee and made our way to the Hamburg Zoo. Exhausted and half asleep, we were still able to enjoy the animals and the beautiful weather.

Elephant

Orangutan

Leopard

Polar Bear

Walrus

Lion

Ring-tailed Lemur 

Only 3 weeks left until I return home! Trying to squeeze in as many experiences as I can!

Love,

Vanessa

Hanse Sail

We had a beautiful weekend at Hanse Sail - a large maritime festival here in Rostock. Every year on the second weekend in August, over 250 traditional sailing ships make their way into the harbor.

Just a few of sailing ships in the Warnow

We were able to walk onto a German Navy training vessel which was built in 1958.

Along with the ships, there were several carnival rides, delicious food stands, and souvenir booths lining the streets in different areas throughout the city of Rostock.

We definitely went a little crazy with the food...

Meat Skewers

Potato Pancakes with Applesauce

and especially the Nutella...

Nutella Waffles!

Marzipan-Nutella Crepe

We also found some pretty cool souvenirs. Megan and I both got seashell rings that are made out of shells with a hole drilled through it! They solidify out mermaid-ness even more.

Our mermaid rings. 

We visited a "fun house" at the fair which was pretty silly, but still oddly fun.

Inside the fun house

There were also other carnival rides that we did not dare go on...

And to top off the whole weekend, we ran into travel guru Rick Steves at the train station! I read a bunch of his stuff about Germany before I left, so it was pretty awesome to meet him in person!

Megan, Me and Rick Steves

All in all it was a super amazing totally awesome weekend. Seeing all the old ships in the harbor made you feel like you were living hundreds of years ago. It was such a great feeling. 

Onward to more fun adventures!

Love, 

Vanessa

Hamburg

On Sunday, we made a day trip to Hamburg! It was a jam-packed day filled with old churches, delicious food, and beautiful views.

Our first stop was the Rathaus, or the city hall, home to Hamburg's parliament and senate. It is one of the few completely preserved buildings of historicism in Hamburg.

Hamburg Rathaus

In the courtyard, there is a large fountain with the statue of Hygieia, the goddess of health in Greek mythology. It was built in remembrance of the cholera epidemic in 1892.

Statue of Hygieia

We then headed over to the ruins of St. Nicholas' Church, which now stands as a memorial. The church was actually the tallest building in the world from 1874 to 1876. The church was severely damaged during the bombing of Hamburg in World War II. These bombings occurred between July 25th and August 3rd 1943, meaning we were there exactly 70 years after the bombings. Pretty crazy.

St Nicholas' Church

And we went to the very top of the tower!

View from the top of St. Nicholas' Church

At this point, we were pretty hungry, so we stopped at the Portuguese quarter of Hamburg and got food at a tapas restaurant. We shared a plate with a variety of grilled fish, along with pork covered in a gorgonzola cream sauce, juicy meatballs covered in a thick tomato sauce, and bacon wrapped dates (possibly the most delicious thing I have ever eaten). Needless to say, the food was absolutely AMAZING.

After our stomachs were satisfied, we took a ride on the ferry around the Elbe River. From the ferry, we were able to see the huge shipyard, the fish market, beaches, and beautiful river-front houses.

The ferry

View of Hamburg from the ferry

Once we were done being on the river, we walked through the tunnel that is 12 meters below it! It was unbelievable to be walking underneath such a large amount of water!

The tunnel underneath the Elbe River

Our next stop was St. Michael's Church, where we walked in right before the Sunday evening service began. We were able to snap a couple pictures of the inside of the church before we had to leave.

Inside St. Michael's Church

We were however still able to go through the church's crypt, as well as take the elevator up to the tower.

The Crypt beneath St. Michael's Church

Another beautiful view of Hamburg, this time from the tower of St. Michael's Church

Across the street from the church was a large carnival called "Dom." We walked through the carnival which was filled with rides, flashing lights, games, and food and candy stands. 

Dom Carnival

And of course, we got ice cream...

Megan and me with our delicious ice creams!

Our beautiful day was all we had dreamed of and more. It was hard to leave at the end of the day, and we decided that we will need to make a second trip to Hamburg before we leave Germany.

The more places I visit, the more I realize how absolutely beautiful this country is!

Love,

Vanessa