Not too early a start today, 9:30 am, because it is a shorter bike ride to the town of Lübeck. It was only 57 km (35 mi) to the next hotel. Malente is a quaint village on the lake and it will be sad to leave. We are all biking the same route that I took for my short ride yesterday through the town of Eutin. We biked primarily on paths until we arrived at the seaside town of Scharbeutz on the Baltic Sea. It is a vacation town with plenty to do for families and bike path along the water. The sky was blue and the water was calm, but probably cold. There was no one swimming. We pedalled through the town and then to a fishing port.
From the tiny fishing village wse were told to see the best strawberry place you could ever imagine. In the small town of Warnsdorf, we found it - Karl's Erlebnis-Dorf or as the guides called it Strawberry World (not to be confused with Disney World). It has all things strawberry, wine, jellies, ice cream, pastries, and desserts and it is all homemade right in the store. When we headed outside, there was a large children's area with a climbing gym shaped like a strawberry, petting zoo, and slides. We walked around the store and tried samples of wine and jellies.
After another 11 km, we came across something that I had never seen or tried, a bus shuttle for pedestrians and cyclists. We had to cross the Trave River and the only was was with a motor vehicle. To allow both walkers and bikers to cross the river, the town runs a free bus shuttle. As we rode up to the bus stop, the bus was just pulling in. We walked our bikes on and locked them in place. The ride only takes about 10 minutes and you end up on the other side of the river so you can continue on to Lübeck.
We rode into town under an ancient castle gate, Burgtor, erected in 1444. Lübeck was once part of the Hanseatic League (Confederation) of merchant guilds and their market towns. The town's location on rivers that flowed to the Baltic provided access for trading with Scandinavia and other region on the Baltic to the east. The Hanseatic League was established in the 1100's and peaked during the 1400's. The league found itself in a weak position at the start of the 16th century as the Swedish empire began to take control of the Baltic Sea. While in Bergen last fall, we did see many buildings in the harbor that had once been part of the Hanseatic League. We found our hotel after riding on cobblestones and lots of traffic. After showers, we headed back out to explore the city and visit some of the many churches. One of the foods that Lübeck is known for is marzipan. Marzipan is confection consisting of sugar or honey mixed with ground almonds. It can be shaped into different shapes or used for decorating cakes. We stopped a well-known shop and purchased some to bring home. Their shop window featured the village of Lübeck sculptured in marzipan. Below are some pictures of the city and its churches as well as the marzipan village.
For dinner, we went to Schiffergesellschaft, a tradition German restaurant. We were lucky to have an English speaking waiter who explained the menu and the specialities of the house. We both had pork loin with red cabbage. Mark was able to try a local beer while I had a local wine. After dinner, we walked around the island and tried some ice cream.
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