“Gott gebe glück mit frieden”

I had my breakfast in the Flensburg harbour, waiting for the ferry to Sandwig. It was damn cold, +5C and windy, but later the air temperature would come up to +17C. My intention was to sail to Sandwig, and then go from Sandwig to Glücksburg Castle, a pleasant 1-2 km walk through the forest and by its lake.

I bought coffee and a cinnamon roll at the Migge’s Danish bakery – boring filter coffee and the cinnamon roll was from the day before! That’s the price for getting up early – you get leftovers! Nevertheless, I was in Flensburg on a weekend trip, I slept good, and I was happy.

The ferry never came, though on their website they had announced their departure times for that day. I went for plan B – taking a bus. What do you think is that beautiful white building on the photo below is used for?

It is Polizeidirektion Flensburg, the headquarters of the Police in Flensburg! Well, good choice! I’ve never seen police residing in such a gorgeous building.

When going to Glücksburg by bus, it is best to get off the bus 1 stop before the final one, and walk to the castle through its small and nice park.

Schloss Glücksburg was built between 1583 and 1587 by Johann The Younger, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein. It is one of the most significant family seats in Northern Europe (every castle seems to claim being the most significant in one or another way!). Johann was the forth child of the King Christian III of Denmark (and Norway). Johann The Younger was highly valued by The German Emperor of that time, but wasn’t politically active and insted dedicated his life to farming on his estates and happy life. He was married twice, and had 23 (OMG!!!) children – 14 with his first wife, and 9 with the second one. The motto of Johann The Younger was GGGMF “GOTT GEBE GLÜCK MIT FRIEDEN” (God grants happiness and peace). Glück means happiness, hence the name – Glücksburg, the castle of happiness.

The cablestone way to the inner yard on the picture above, and further to the castle itself:

It was quite beautiful inside:

Impressive tapestries were covering many walls of the castle; big chandeliers, paintings and nice furniture:

The upper floor was used for the servants. The picture below is of a small room in the centre of that floor – rather different from the luxury of the Royal residence, isn’t it? (God gives happiness, remember?)

That small room was used by the servants as a shelter, to get some warmth from the heating pipes passing by.

After the castle tour, I went for a walk around the lake. There were a couple of memorable stones here and there; I don’t speak German, could therefore not translate their inscriptions.

I spent my lunch time sitting on a bench by the lake for a couple of hours, enjoying my lunch and the sunshine, watching the birds swim by with their babies. There were a restaurant and a cafe on the castle’s grounds, but I wasn’t sure they’d be open, so brought my own food & drink.

Glücksburg town has a small center with a big supermarket, a church, a bakery, several resturants and cafes. The area surrounding the castle is full of charming old houses:

It was nice to go for a stroll there. Jardin a la Monet:

Alter Friedhof was a historical landmark on a steep hill in the centre of Glücksberg town. It was probably created as a burial place for one of the Dutchess of Glücksburg, because her grave was right on the top, surrounded by trees. There were other graves, too, mostly to the soldiers fallen during one or another war.

The stone in the middle was to the memory of 23 Danish and 14 German soldiers, buried together in 1864. And the stone on the left had a very touching text in Danish, dedicated to a Danish soldier.

It was time to go back to Flensburg. At the bus station, I had a chat with an elderly man, who was sitting there just enjoying the spring. He spoke German, me – Danish, and a stray cat that came by made our conversation easier.

At first, I thought the charming bulding was the bus station office – but it was a library:

In the old days it was a railway station (1883). Today, all rails were long gone…

I got to Flensburg, and went to a supermarket to buy some chocolate. The prices displayed were both in euro and in Danish krone:

One could surely also pay in Danish krone. The chocolate was half the price we give in Denmark! I should have bought at least 10, but didn’t want to carry them around.

There were no available hotels/properties for rent in the city center or close by (for the price I’d pay), everything was booked. But I had found a hostel with a double room available, and booked it for 2 persons, to make sure nobody else would stay with me. For 100 euro it was ok. I loved the fact that there wasn’t any air-condition, windows could be opened and central heating controlled, ensuite bathroom, and the bed was fine.

I was pleasantly tired after walking for most of the day with all those new experiences, and happily spent my evening relaxing in my room, reading FLYV magasin and making plans for the next day.