Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [622]
Born in Danzig (now Gdansk), Poland, Günter Grass had been living just outside Lübeck for 13 years when he collected his Nobel Prize in 1999. But this postwar literary colossus initially trained as an artist, and has always continued to draw and sculpt. The Günter Grass-Haus (Günter Grass House; 122 4192; www.guenter-grass-haus.de; Glockengiesserstrasse 21; adult/concession/child under 18yr €5/2.50/2; 10am-5pm Apr-Dec, 11am-5pm Jan-Mar) is filled with the author’s leitmotifs – flounders, rats, snails and eels – brought to life in bronze and charcoal, as well as in prose. You can view a copy of the first typewritten page of Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum; 1959), while the man himself occasionally appears for readings.
Both museums have English annotations.
OTHER MUSEUMS
If you’re travelling with children, or have a particular interest in marionettes, don’t miss the TheaterFigurenMuseum ( 786 26; Am Kolk 14; adult/concession/child under 18yr €5/2.50/2; 10am-6pm Apr-Dec, 11am-5pm Tue-Sun Nov-Mar), a wondrous private collection of some 1200 puppets, props, posters and more from Europe, Asia and Africa; and try to catch a performance at its theatre Click here.
You’re most likely to enter the former Heiligen-Geist-Hospital (Königstrasse; admission free; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun, 10am-4pm Dec-Feb) if you’re here for December’s Christmas market. Although the building is largely an elegant shell these days, there are resonances of Germany’s first hospital (dating back to 1227). Through an early-Gothic hall church, you come to the hospital hallway, where you see the little chambers that were built around 1820 to give the infirm privacy.
The St Annen Museum ( 122 4137; St-Annen-Strasse 15; adult/concession/child under 18yr €5/2.50/2; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun Apr-Dec, 11am-5pm Tue-Sun Jan-Mar) houses a browsable mishmash of ecclesiastical art (including Hans Memling’s 1491 Passion Altar), historical knick-knacks and contemporary art in its modern Kunsthalle wing. The latter houses the Andy Warhol print of Lübeck’s Holstentor.
GOTHMUND
Lined with fishermen’s cottages, this little village on Lübeck’s outskirts is impossibly quaint. After strolling along Fischerweg, a path running in front of the cottages, take the same path west, which leads through a nature reserve beside the Trave River.
Take bus 12 (leaving three times an hour from Lübeck’s central bus station) to the last stop.
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Tours
The Trave River forms a moat around the Altstadt, and cruising it aboard a boat is the best way to get a feel for the city. You start off viewing an industrial harbour, but soon float past beautiful leafy surrounds.
Quandt-Linie ( 777 99; www.quandt-linie.de; adult/child under 15yr €10/6) Leaves from just south of the Holstenbrücke bridge. One-hour city tours leave every half-hour between 10am and 6pm from May to October (plus limited services November to April).
Stühff ( 707 8222; www.luebecker-barkassenfahrt.de, in German; adult/concession/child under 12yr €7.50/6.50/3.50) Runs boat tours up to six times daily (call ahead outside the summer months).
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Sleeping
BUDGET
Campingplatz Schönböcken ( 893 090; campingplatz.luebeck@gmx.de; Steinrader Damm 12; per tent €4-5, adult/child €5/2, electricity €2.50) This modern camping ground is a good bet for its grassy sites, kiosk, restaurant, entertainment room and children’s playground. It’s a 10-minute bus ride west of the city centre (take bus 7).
Rucksackhotel ( 706 892; www.rucksackhotel-luebeck.de; Kanalstrasse 70; dm €13-15, s €28, d €34-40, linen €3, breakfast €3-5, ) None of the rooms at this 30-bed hostel are en suite, but it has a relaxed atmosphere and good facilities including a well-equipped kitchen, as well as round-the-clock access.
Hotel zur Alten Stadtmauer ( 737 02; www.hotelstadtmauer.de, in