Lüneburg — Part One

One issue that confounds Americans living in Europe is that there is often little to do on Sundays, local traditions dictating that mornings are reserved for church and afternoons to visit to relatives or friends. Coming from California where the sabbath is utilized for shopping and the stores are always open, considerable mental readjustment was required. I responded by vacating Hamburg on Sundays and going off on train trips.

Lüneburg, an ancient Hansa city about an hour's ride south, was a perfect weekend day-trip. By some oversight it had escaped Allied bombing in the War, a reminder of how much of Germany's national heritage has been lost. The town reached its economic apogee in the late Middle Ages when it manufactured and exported salt all across Europe. When the money eventually ran out, the city remained frozen in time as it was in the late 15th century, built mostly of red brick, since building stone is rare in the north of Germany.

Am Sande.

St. Johanniskirche, begun in 13th century.

Ich bin die schönste Katze in Lüneburg.

In the St. Johanniskirche.

Its splendid Baroque organ.

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