Now that we had established that Germany isn’t scary, Indi was more than happy to lead me across the border once more, only one week after our Previous Excursion. Mostly, I had messed up the Christmas gifts, offering her tickets to a concert in Paris, which we both knew I’d enjoy way more than she would. So, in revenge, she got us tickets to one of her most unusual artists, jokingly treating me to my own medicine. And as luck would have it, the concert was set to take place in Hamburg.
The Salt Warehouses of Lübeck, crucial to store perishables in an age before refrigeration.
Thankfully Indi let me modify the plans a little, allowing us to begin our weekend in the medieval trading town of Lübeck. Situated conveniently between the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea, this place has for centuries been a hub for the most powerful and richest merchants of Europe, transporting lumber, amber, and grains from East to West, and wine, fabrics, and weapons back East. As Indi used to call Venice home, she found many curious and interesting links between Lübeck and her own trading city. And as far as my own beloved Antwerp is concerned, I could bring some impressive stories of my own to the table.
Did you know? Lübeck was the centre of a trading network known as The Hanseatic League, stretching from Novgorod in Russia, to Bergen in Norway, London in the West, and down Southwards to Cologne on the Rhine. Brugge and later Antwerp used to host one of its four headquarters, exporting the renowned fabrics of Flanders! These broadcloths and silk were traded either in exchange for the furs and pelts of Russia, the dried and salted cod of Norway, or the red and white wines of the Rhine and Moselle River Valleys.
However, little Lübeck truly fails to compare to Hamburg. My Dad had warned us, having visited this great, eternally buzzing engine of the German system long ago, that we would find Hamburg to be a place of power and energy. He had seen the city halfway through metamorphosis, buildings torn down, not yet replaced by the uncertain future, or foundations laid, but without heavy loads to bear. As Indi and I followed in his footsteps, we called him to deliver some good news. The vitality of Hamburg still survives, we told him, it has built not only strong and impressive, but also elegant and beautiful. The city has followed through with its metamorphosis, and it could not have turned out better.
What better place to refurbish a former East-German cold-storage cargo ship, park it between a slew of unfinished developments, and turn it into a concert hall? Indi certainly agreed, no better place than Hamburg. So with the sun setting far downstream in the fast current of the Elbe River, we boarded the M.S. Stubnitz, and crawled into its dark, atmospheric belly. The music began loud, stayed loud, bounced between the steel structure of the ship, echoed in my skull, and, after finding its way up and out through the vents and ducts, flowed out over the glassy River.
We spent our third and final day in Bremen, well known to many because of The Bremen Town Musicians, one of the most famous stories in Grimms’ Fairy Tales. Despite the fact that neither of us had read the tale, or even had a basic understanding of its content, we quickly looked for their statue, sending a picture to Indi’s Dad. Because, coincidentally, years and years ago, he used to work and live in Bremen.
Church doesn’t have to be boring!
After a visit to the stunning Central Square, with its richly decorated buildings and statues, we made our way past the picturesque old homes, on our way to his old house. Indi led the charge, curious to find out where her Dad had lived, perhaps thirty years ago. He was happy to have us visiting his good old Bremen, to tell us about the good parts of town, and the great parts of course. However, he scoffed at the pictures we sent of his old address. Repainted yellow and blue, he concluded that the new owners must be out of their minds.
In fact, he told us:
“Listen to me! Really, it was much better, and of course more cozy, when I used to live there!”
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