Love Me More Than Salt: Lüneburg

Hanseatic City of Lüneburg, is a charming town of the Lower Saxony. Lüneburg, the former capital of the Old Salt Road, currently has been the political capital of North Germany.

                                                            Lüneburger Saline, Salt intake to below the pan


The Lüneburg Saltworks (Lüneburger Saline) which was closed in 1980 has been serving as German Salt Museum and it is one of the main attractions of the city especially for kids and youth.

Rathaus (town hall) & a Saturday market in front of it.

Another historical place is St. Michael (Michaeliskirche) where Johann Sebastian Bach was a choirboy.

After having a city tour, we had lunch at Mälzer, one of the oldest pubs and brewers of the city. This old and charming city reminded me an old fairy tale from my childhood:  

Once upon a time, there was a king. He had three daughters. He asked them "How much you like me?" The eldest said "I love you more than gold." The second daughter said "I love you more than honey." And the youngest said "I love you more than salt, father." The king was appalled to what his youngest daughter said. Just more than salt? One day, the kingdom ran out of salt. People of kingdom became sick. The food did not taste. Then, the king understood, what his youngest daughter meant.

Luxembourg: The Balcony of Europe

Some call Luxembourg jewel of Europe. And that is not exaggerated. It was autumn when I visited Luxembourg, so I could see all colours of nature together.

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is situated between Germany, France and Belgium. So, no wonder the Luxembourgish language sounds a bit of French and a bit of German but actually it is none of them. But no panic. I could communicate with the locals in German and in English. Language is not a problem at all.

I started my tour from Tour Muenster. Then walking the whole way down, I reached the Casemates.

                                                                                            The Tour Muenster

The casemates were not just offering a natural fortification. They have strong bounds to the history of the city. They witnessed many wars. Since 1994, they are on the list of UNESCO World Heritage.

Don't surprise when you see a sign saying: "Don't forget the sand!". At the time of the second World War, the casemates were used as shelters against air attacks. And at that time there was no running water in the toilets.

                                                                                             To the Alzette river...

Like all mystic cities, Luxembourg has myths, too. The most famous one is the legend of the beautiful Melusine:

According to legend, Melusine was the wife of Sigefroy, the first count of Luxembourg. On their marriage, Melusine required her husband never to see her during a particular day of the week. But Sigefroy could not resist his curiosity and spied his wife in her bath through the keyhole and discovered her fish's tail. Melusine noted that Sigefroy was watching her and vanished forever into the torrents of the Alzette river.

After visiting the casemates, I crossed the river and had a look at the Neumuenster Abbey which has been serving as an art centre.

Getting hungry, I headed to Gëlle Klack at the Rue Sigefroi (Sigefroy Street). Their monk fish served in a jar was really delicious and the prices were normal compared to the other places in the city.

Since I was in Luxembourg, I took the opportunity of visiting Villeroy & Boch atelier. Just don't dare to imagine the prices are cheaper here...

                                                                                 Villeroy & Boch atelier

This small and rich city was a mixture of classical and contemporary and it worth seeing it.