Sights in Schleswig Holstein
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Holstentor City Gate & City Museum
Lübeck's small Holstentor city gate really is quite stunning. It captivated Andy Warhol (his print of it is in the St Annen Museum) and it's a sight where people sit and stare. Its twin, pointy-roofed circular towers, tilting together across a stepped gable, have made it a true German icon, which has graced postcards, paintings, posters, marzipan souvenirs and even the old DM50 note, as you'll discover in the engaging City History Museum inside.
Built in 1464, the gate been under renovation recently, but should be out of its trompe l'oeil wraps by now, so that its famous Latin inscriptions are visible: 'Concordia Domi Foris Pax' (roughly translated as 'Harmony within, pe…
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Naturpark Holsteinische Schweiz
Sprawling over 75,328 hectares between Lübeck to the south and Kiel to the north, the Naturpark Holsteinische Schweiz is the state's largest outdoor playground. Germany's propensity to label its most scenic areas 'Swiss' (the name translates as 'Holstein Switzerland') reflects the park's undulating green hills, golden fields and wildflower-strewn meadows, and hedge walls dating from 18th-century farming laws. This chocolate-box-pretty landscape is interspersed with a string of some 200 lakes, of which 70 are over one hectare in size. Visitors heading off the beaten track will also find caves, red beech forests, and (if you're lucky) rare white-tailed eagles and shy bitte…
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Buddenbrookhaus
The winner of the 1929 Nobel Prize for Literature, Thomas Mann, was born in Lü- beck in 1875 and his family's former home is now the Buddenbrookhaus. Named after Mann's novel of a wealthy Lübeck family in decline, The Buddenbrooks (1901), this award-winning museum is a monument not only to the author of such classics as Der Tod in Venedig (Death in Venice) and Der Zauberberg (The Magic Mountain) , but also to his brother Heinrich, who wrote the story that became the Marlene Dietrich film Der Blaue Engel (The Blue Angel). There's a rundown of the rather tragic family history, too.
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Trave River
Just behind the Salzspeicher lies the Trave River, which forms a moat around the old town; and if you arrive between April and September one of the first things to do is to take a boat tour. Sure, you start off viewing an industrial harbour, but the trips soon start passing beautiful leafy surrounds. Boats are scheduled to leave every half-hour, although many wait until they're half-full.
Maak-Linie (www.maak-linie.de) runs good one-hour tours, leaving from the north of the Holstentorbrücke. Quandt-Linie (www.quandt-linie.de) leaves from just south of the bridge.
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Emil Nolde Stiftung
By far the biggest and most impressive collection is in Nolde's former atelier at Seebüll, now the Emil Nolde Stiftung. The exhibition is worth a half to whole day's excursion, which is lucky because that's what it will take you, depending on where you're coming from. The closest train stations are Niebüll (15km from Seebüll) or Klanxbüll (8km from Seebüll), from where you can catch a taxi to Seebüll.
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Rathaus
Sometimes described as a 'fairy tale in stone', Lübeck's 13th- to 15th-century Rathaus is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful in Germany. Unfortunately, the impact of its facade is diminished by new buildings around the marketplace, which block previously open views. Inside, a highlight is the Audienzsaal (audience hall), a light-flooded hall decked out in festive rococo.
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U-Boot
At the mouth of the Kiel firth, on its eastern bank, the village of Laboe is home to a WWII-serving U-Boot and associated Marine Ehrenmal. The sub is the kind featured in Wolfgang Petersen's seminal film Das Boot (1981). It's now a museum where you can climb through its claustrophobic interior. From Kiel, take the ferry or bus 100 or 101.
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Dom
The Dom was founded in 1173 by Heinrich der Löwe when he took over Lübeck. Locals like to joke that if you approach the Dom from the northeast, you have to go through Hölle (hell) and Fegefeuer (purgatory) - the actual names of streets - to see Paradies, the lavish vestibule to the Dom. Otherwise, the building is quite spartan.
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Günter Grass-Haus
he Günter Grass-Haus is filled with the author's leitmotifs - flounders, rats, snails and eels - brought to life in bronze and charcoal, as well as in prose. You can view a copy of the first typewritten page of Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum; 1959), while the man himself occasionally appears for readings.
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Schleswig-Holsteinisches Freilichtmuseum
South of Kiel, in Molfsee, is the excellent Schleswig-Holsteinisches Freilichtmuseum, featuring some 70 traditional houses typical of the region, relocated from around the state, and providing a thorough introduction to the northern lifestyle. Take bus 501/502 from Kiel's central bus station.
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Salzspeicher
Just behind the Holstentor (to the east) stand six gabled brick buildings. These are the Salzspeicher, once used to store salt transported from Lüneburg, which was then bartered for furs from Scandinavia and used to preserve the herrings that formed a substantial chunk of Lübeck's Hanseatic trade.
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Gosch
Coming to Sylt without visiting Gosch would be like coming to Germany without ordering a beer. Established by eel seller Jürgen Gosch some three decades ago, this nation-wide chain of 'fast-fish' outlets is a Sylt institution, and its seafood tastes exceptionally fresh here.
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Theaterfigurenmuseum
If you're travelling with children, or have a particular interest in marionettes, don't miss the TheaterFigurenMuseum, a wondrous private collection of some 1200 puppets, props, posters and more from Europe, Asia and Africa; and try to catch a performance at its theatre.
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Malerwinkel
If you head south along An der Obertrave, you pass the idyllic Malerwinkel, where people sit on garden benches among blooming flowers in summer, looking out at the houses and white picket fences across the water. This is one of Lübeck's most lovely corners, and shouldn't be missed.
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Glandorps Gang
Almost 90 such Gänge (walkways) and Höfe (courtyards) still exist, among them charitable housing estates built for the poor, the Stiftsgänge and Stiftshöfe. The most famous of the latter is the beautiful Glandorps Gang.
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St Annen Museum
The St Annen Museum houses a browsable mishmash of ecclesiastical art (including Hans Memling's 1491 Passion Altar), historical knick-knacks and contemporary art in its modern Kunsthalle wing. The latter houses the Andy Warhol print of Lübeck's Holstentor.
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Füchtingshof
Almost 90 such Gänge (walkways) and Höfe (courtyards) still exist, among them charitable housing estates built for the poor, the Stiftsgänge and Stiftshöfe. The most famous of the latter is the beautiful Füchtingshof.
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Marienkirche
Near the Markt rise the 125m twin spires of Germany's third-largest church, the Marienkirche. It's most famous for its shattered bells, which have been left where they fell after a WWII bombing raid, as a peace memorial.
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Museum für Puppentheater
If you're travelling with children - or have a particular interest in marionettes - don't miss the Museum für Puppentheater. It's a private collection of some 1200 puppets, props, posters and more, from Europe, Asia and Africa.
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Katharinenkirche
Art lovers will enjoy the towerless Katharinenkirche for its sculptures by Ernst Barlach and Gerhard Marcks, plus The Resurrection of Lazarus by Tintoretto.
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Petrikirche
Panoramic views over the city unfold from the Petrikirche, which has a tower lift to the 7th floor.
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