First stop on this beautiful fall day was the UNESCO town of Lübeck! If you like marzipan, Lübeck is the place to go, being a leading world-wide manufacturer since 1806. Personally, I think marzipan tastes like it has been sitting on the shelf since 1806, but that’s just me! The Halstentor city gate is a national icon and what all non-marzipan-lovers come to see.

The Halstentor Gate

Next, we drove on to Kiel for a fish lunch, some seal-viewing, and more importantly, to see the German Marine Ehrenmal in Laboe. Originally a memorial for the Germany Navy, it now serves as an international place of remembrance for all sailors who are “still on patrol”. Beneath the memorial, underground, are flags, wreaths, and plaques from numerous countries, commemorating those who have given their lives at sea.

280 foot memorial on the left, U-Boat on the right

Across from the memorial is a U-Boat museum, which allows you to actually climb through the submarine and see just how cramped it really was. Sorry…it was U-995, not U-571, so no Jon Bon Jovi sighting today.

“I’ll flip you for who sleeps under the torpedo.” “No way, I slept under it last night.” “Okay, I’ll sleep under it tonight, but you have to sleep next to it.” “Deal.”

And finally…after 26 months…we finally made it to the beach in Germany! Joe doesn’t look happy about it, but he really was. It was actually ridiculously sunny on this day.