LUBECK: marzipan & so much more

lubeck is a quaint, little city northeast of hamburg and it's quite well known--especially at christmastime. my friend anja told me, "when december comes, i am taking you to lubeck one day." when i told people what i was doing that particular monday, they all reacted the same: "oooohh, lubeck. you are going to love it." and i did.

anja was a great tour guide of this beautiful city. our tour began with walking through what used to be the city gate-you know, back in the days when the city was enclosed by a wall--only one way in and out. that's the 1st picture above, and here we are standing in front of it.

okay, so lubeck is known for their weihnachtmarkts...christmas markets...and they were quite impressive. they seemed to be in every nook and cranny of this little city...and the smells from all of the various vendors were heavenly. the one above was selling sugar & butter roasted almonds (mandeln).

but while walking the cobble stoned streets of the christmasmarkts you can't just walk by and ignore the gargantuan churches. i mean, they are quite old and you really don't have an option but to go in and pay your respects and take a holy peek.

they were big and beautiful and ya, beautiful

one you could take an elevator to the top of the spire/steeple and have a fantastic view of the city.

oh, look at all of these old buildings. you know i love old. and while we were walking the city and i was admiring it's charm and antiquity, i was trying to put my finger on why exactly it felt so different than hamburg. then i realized what it was: it hadn't been through the multiple devastations of hamburg and thus it has been wonderfully preserved. these buildings and streets were OLD. you just feel privileged to even walk the streets of such a city.

but our dear hamburg--was burned down in 1025, then again in 1842, 'the Great Fire,' and what took 40 years to rebuild was then bombed and lit aflame in the firestorm of WWII. i have loved looking at the old buildings in hamburg--but they are not old in comparison to lubeck's. for whatever reason, lubeck has come through the years unscathed. this actually made me a bit sad that day, thinking of all that hamburg has gone through. anyway...back to lubeck and what it's best known for...


marzipan.

and not just any marzipan.

it has to be from Niederegger.

you go there with a zillion others (as if it's disneyland or something) to buy it and then if you're posh enough you go upstairs to their fancy euro cafe and have some upscale coffee und kuchen--marzipan cake, of course. and we did, because anja is a classy lady and wouldn't give me a taste of lubeck in any other way.

what i especially enjoyed was that the cafe was dotted with the elderly, and they were all dressed up: the men all dapper and the little old ladies in fancy hats--i thought, they must have been doing this for years. this is their special place. and they are so proud of it and they are so proud to be here. it was sweet.

by the way, in case you're wondering, marzipan is like a sweet yet bitter almond paste...and they make it into just about anything...and the germans go crazy over it. me, not so much. you can get it covered in chocolate (above)...



...as fruit...if you want to pretend like you're being healthy when you eat it...

and good heavens, they even had a baby jesus in marzipan. thankfully he wasn't for sale. don't think i'd feel right about taking a bite of him. he was in the store window...you know, in an all done out all in marzipan manger scene.


here's the gate where we came in, and out we walked a few hours later. i really, really enjoyed our time in lubeck. being with anja anywhere is a treat, yet our time here, especially seeing it all decked out in christmas attire, was extra special. if you come to visit us here one day, we definitely should take the train to lubeck.