It has been a long time since Vagn and I had a flight together… We decided to go to Flensburg, a town at the tip of Flensburg Fjord in Northern Germany:
None of us has been there before – it sounded like an attractive destination. Flensburg airport, a welcoming place:
We took a taxi to Nordertor, the last remaining city gate built around 1595. With its stepped brick gables and an archway, Nordertor is a symbol of Flensburg, and we wanted to enter the city from the right place:
Nordertor bears two plaques: one with the royal coat of arms of the Danish King Christian IV and another one with the coats of arms of Flensburg. The former plaque is believed to be from the time when the gate was built.
Today, in a room above the archway the ceremonies for civil weddings are performed.
We walked down the Norderstraße, historical street of Flensburg that exists since the Middle Ages when there was just a settlement there. Norderstraße once was the main street of Flensburg. Nowadays, it is a a historical heritage with strong multicultural ambience.
Flensborghus, the cultural centre of the Danish minority, on Norderstraße:
The house was built in 1724-1725 – with the Royal permission – of stones from the Duborg Castle ruins that was a fortress in Flensburg during the Middle Ages. In the course of time, the Flensborghus was an orphanage, a merchant residence, a prison, barracks for the Danish soldiers, and a hotel. Since 1920, it has been a stronghold of the Danish minority in the region, and a cultural centre.
You might noticed the worn out dangling shoes on the rope across the Norderstraße on the photo above. It is called Shoefiti, and this art subculture is considered to be an unofficial landmark of Flensburg. Around 500 hanging shoes (according to different sources) can be seen across the city. At first we liked this bizarre expression of something, but our attention quickly switched to other interesting things around.
We needed a coffee break which we chose to have in one of the Norderstraße’s cafes:
It was a sunny warm morning, and we enjoying sitting there and soaking in the autumn sun, having good coffee and a huge apfelstrudel with ice-cream for breakfast!
Flensburg is one of a few cities that wasn’t destroyed during the WWII time. And for that reason one can see many interesting old buildings there.
The centuries-old buildings are well-looked after. The old warehouses are turned into luxury residential homes. The old town is very charming and has a romantic atmosphere.
The Nordermarkt, thought to be the oldest square in Flensburg, with cafes and restaurants, and a fountain in its centre:
It was Saturday, and all tables were taken. Frankly, we didn’t like any of the burger-style menues of the restaurants there, so we continued our journey through the old town till we found something we liked. It was the Olli’s Weinlounge – a wonderful place, with not many food choices (good sign), and a clear leaning towards high quality in food & wines. A non-alcoholic aperitif before lunch:
It was really good, from a local producer, with gentle bubbles, and very tasty. Vagn and I enjoyed the drink whilst we waited for our food to be prepared, and watched people walking by.
We had Flammkuchen for lunch which was a bit too crispy for our taste, but otherwise great.
Many small side streets and alleys go from the main pedestrian one. On one of them I discovered this adorable cat:
There are around 15 of different kinds of them in the old town of Flensburg. I loved them so much that I googled the artist when I came back home. Have a look: http://inkognikunst.de/streetart.html . The artist created them secretly during night time since 2016!
Vagn and I wanted to see the famous Isted Lion sculpture (photo below, right), and from Große straße we turned to Heiligengeistgang, near the Church of Holy Spirit (photo below, left). The church is from the 14th century, and today it is the main church of the Danish minority.
Via a a narrow passage of Christiansensgang we reached the Old Cemetery, a beautiful and quiet place. We found the bronze Lion which is a Danish war monument commemorating the victory of the Battle of Isted of 1850. Originally erected in Flensburg, the Lion was later moved to Berlin, then to Copenhagen, and finally in 2011 was returned to Flensburg. It is a very important piece of Danish history.
The historic harbour of Flensburg is a must-visit place. Alexandra, a saloon steamer from 1908:
Alexandra is the last seagoing coal-fired passenger steamer in Germany. The boat had many roles in the past; today it is a heritage. Alexandra does short tourist trips during the summer season.
There was a number of historic yachts in the harbour, and one could read about the history of each of them.
A walk to the Rote Straße, one of the oldest streets of Flensburg, is also a must:
On its 200 metres it has 40 different kinds of shops, galleries, cafes and restaurants. For centuries, it was mainly the street with inns, traders and craftsmen. Today, all the houses are nicely restored. This picturesque street is particularly known for its charming backyards:
In one of them, on the sunny side, we saw a cafe where we had a cup of hot chocolate (made of rich chocolate), before we took a taxi back to the aerodrome.
We left Flensburg feeling we would come there again soon.
Mürwik Naval School attracted our attention from the air, what a beautiful place:
The Naval Academy was established in 1920, and the unique architecture of the buildings was inspired by a Polish castle from 13th century. During the final days of WWII, Adolf Hitler named Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz his successor. When Hitler committed suicide, Dönitz moved to the Naval Academy in Mürwik where he established a government, and Flensburg was a capital of Germany for about 20 days!
Vagn and I had such a great day in Flensburg. We talked about this city and the things we experienced there, when we flew back home.
