Just when I was closing the hangar doors, I saw this beautiful butterfly:
I stopped, quickly reached out for my camera, took a photo – and the next moment the butterfly was gone. It was a nice spring “hello”, and the first time I saw a butterfly this year. Easter was coming, the weather looked promising in Germany, and I was on my way to Dresden.
Bur first – Lüneburg, where I was going to stay over, and to see that charming Hanseatic city:
Though I was flying south, and against the sun, it was colder than I had expected, and I was freezing. My jacket was in the bagage compartment, and I distracted myself with the beautiful scenery I was flying by.
The picturesque town of Mölln, in between the Ziegelsee and Stadtsee lakes:
Known since the 12th century, it was an important brick in the Old Salt Route, where the salt from Lüneburg mines was transported to Lübeck (and further to other countries).
Closer to Lüneburg, I saw that elegant Schiffshebewerk Lüneburg-Scharnebeck, which is is a 38-metre (hight!) twin boat lift. Built in 1974, at that time it was the largest ship lift in the world:
Soon Lüneburg was at my feet:
I knew, the airstrip was just 1 km from the city centre, and of course I had looked at the maps before departure, but what I saw, way surpassed my expectations. It looked like the airfield was in the middle of the city:
I live in Copenhagen, 1 km from the City Hall. Imagine, there was an airfield – sounds wild, doesn’t it? Frederiksberg Alle could easily be transformed into a leisure aerodrome! That’s purely a fantasy, but I had that kind of thoughts, landing in Lüneburg.
Jurgen, a pilot from the flying club, welcomed me in:
We had a good chat, and Jurgen was kind to give me a lift to my hotel in the town – Bremer Hof, located in the pedestrian area (on the right), by the Sankt Nicolai church:
It was a very nice hotel, and beautifully decorated:
I dropped my bags, and went for a stroll. Town Hall building, the largest medieval town hall in Northern Germany, founded in 1230:
Lüneburg was first mentioned in 956 AD. The town is well-known for its salt mining history. A legend has it, the salt was first discovered by a hunter who saw a wild boar bathing in a pool of water, shot and killed it, and hung the animal skin up to dry. Later, the hunter discovered white crystals in the bristles — it was salt. It was there, the Lüneburg Saltworks was subsequently established for many centuries. In the town hall there is a bone preserved in a glass case; the story goes, it is the leg-bone of that boar.
I continued to Auf dem Meere, a picturesque cobblestone street with historic and cute buildings:
After spending some time walking back and force in Auf dem Meer, I got back to the town hall area, and stumbled upon the imposing building of the old Lüneburg Raths-Apotheke (farmacy, also today):
Designed in 1598 in Gothic style, and a massive nine-stepped gable (not on the photo – it was too high!) the building looked very decorative. And its colorful portal was particularly striking.
And this is Deutsche Bank branch, open 24/7, with 6 machines, surveillance cameras, and enough of room and light:
I needed cash to pay for refuelling etc., and I was simply stunned by how beautiful an ATM-place could look like. I couldn’t resist taking a couple of pictures.
Back on the streets of Lüneburg, I would often stop to better see the architectural details. I actually liked most the area next to my hotel.
Some of the buildings were from the 16th century, many of them residential, but they all were difficult to photograph. So I simply silently admired them…
Around 4 million tourists visit Lüneburg a year. I will definitely return!
I spent my evening relaxing in my hotel room, preparing for the flight ahead. The room was comfortable and quite big, with a sitting area, good lighting, and many small pillows that I like so much.
I was tired, but very happy. And the day after I was going to be in Dresden!
