Welcome to the Weekend!

I was quite glad when this weekend finally arrived.  I had two exams on Thursday, one of which was the midterm for my Intro to German Literature course.  Studying was encouraging though, because I can see major improvements in my German (especially my writing) from September until now, apparent in my answers on the Literature quizzes.

Wednesday I visited the Lüneburg water tower, to take in the view from the top.  It was really cool to see the city from that perspective (picture below), and to see the inside of the tower as well.  The stairway to the top passed through a couple service and machinery rooms, now used for receptions and exhibitions, as well as through the old bowl that actually held the water.

Friday (yesterday), I returned to Lübeck.  My first stop was the Jakobikirche (St. Jacob's Church).  While the building is certainly noteworthy for its beauty, the Jakobikirche also houses an international memorial to ships and their crews lost at sea.  Under the north tower sits the remains of Lifeboat 2 from the Pamir, which sank with all hands in 1957.  Banners are hung from its bow in memory of ships and their crews, sometimes in connection with a memorial service.  The memorial goes beyond religious or cultural boundaries; one commemoration was for an Arabian ship and led in Arabic by a Muslim imam (and translated into German).  The coolest part of my visit to the Jakobikirche was that the organist was practicing while I was there!  I definitely enjoyed the free mid-afternoon concert.

Right across the street is the Heiligen-Geist-Hospital (Holy Ghost Hospital). Built in 1286 as a charity hospital, the complex is made up of a chapel and long hall of tiny rooms for patients' quarters.  The building was later used as a senior care facility before being converted into a museum.

A few blocks north is the Burgtor, built to defend the only land entrance to Lübeck (which is almost entire surrounded by the River Trave.  Not quite as massively impressive as the Holstentor, the Burgtor still sees regular traffic pass through it, especially in the warmer months as people travel to the beach at Travemünde.

One of the main reasons I returned to Lüneburg was to visit the Buddenbrooks Haus, which today is a museum chronicling the lives of Heinrich and Thomas Mann (well-known German authors who spent their childhood in Lübeck) as well as Buddenbrooks, Thomas' famous novel set in Lübeck.  The house, which belonged to the Mann's grandfather, was destroyed in World War II so that only the historic facade remained, and was rebuilt and renovated several times before it transformed into the muesum of today.

I took quite a bit away from my visit there, after reading up on Thomas Mann and Buddenbrooks before attending the play last week.  My favorite part of the exhibition on the novel was the "text rooms."  Two rooms were recreated as scenes from the novel.  In each, items were labeled with page numbers corresponding to excerpts from Buddenbrooks where the item (family letters, Hanno's puppet theater, the couch, etc.) are described.  The museum provided copies of the novel in multiple languages so visitors from all over could enjoy the experience.

The other museum I visited was the Holstentor Museum.  Located inside the massive gate, the museum documents various aspects from the city's history (maritime trade, military events, local government, even medieval torture) as well as explaining the gate's construction.  The Holstentor never was of any military use.  By the time construction finished, it was already obsolete.  Furthermore, Napoleon attacked from the north, where the defenses were weaker.  Nevertheless, the Holstentor still stands a prominent symbol of Lübeck's status as a "Free and Hanseatic City."

A trip to Lübeck is never complete without sampling I.G. Niederegger marzipan, world-famous since 1806.  Niederegger offers marzipan in every imaginable form, and displays models of prominent Lübeck buildings made entirely of the delicious treat.  I sampled both the classic chocolate-covered marzipan and the marzipan ice cream.  Naturally, both were delicious.

The other headline event of my visit was the "After Work Konzert" at the Marienkirche.  The half-hour organ concert featured works from C.P.E. Bach, Haydn, and Mozart, played on the church's smaller Führer-Orgel.  The Marienkirche boasts a very impressive program of year-round organ and choir concerts, a small part of which are their weekly Friday evening "After Work Konzerts."  It was definitely a blessing to be able to hear more amazing music played in a beautiful building on an incredible instrument.