Goodbye Luneburg

 

My time in Luneburg has come to an end.  I am glad I went to see the city.  Would I recommend going there?  No.  There are other cities like Bamberg and Rothenburg ob de Tauber that are more interesting.  I found Luneburg interesting but my stay there could have been two whole days instead of three. 

I would never stay where I did again.  The location was fantastic.  I could walk to the town square in six minutes.  I could walk to the grocery store in three.  What I couldn't do was climb 42 stairs repeatedly.  What I couldn't do was get warm.  Didn't matter that I had the radiator cranked as high as it would go and said three Hail Marys, there was no heat.  The building is old.  It dates back to the 15th century.  I don't think there is much insulation so the brick walls like to throw cold air at you.  The room was okay but the stairs were murder even after two days of climbing up and down them.  I just noticed the muscles in the top of my legs hurt when I sit down!  I wonder what year that last happened?

I had a hard time sleeping last night because all I could think about was how the heck I was going to carry my suitcase down the two sets of spiral stairs.  I also left at 7 am in the morning so didn't want to wake up the other residents.  In case you've forgotten what those *#&@ stairs looked like, let me refresh your memory..

I got my suitcase down the stairs by turning it on its side and kinda of sliding it down one step at a time.  In July if you'd asked me what kind of place I like to stay in, I would have told you an old building with character.  Not anymore!!!  I've written notes to myself to remind myself exactly what kind of Airbnb to book - no stairs, must have elevator if the room isn't ground level, a TV in my room, near the city centre and heat!!!  I'm too friggin old to be climbing stairs carrying a heavy suitcase.

The door knobs on the outside of most houses in Germany don't turn to open them.  You need a key to get in.  Every time I left the building, I'd experience angst.  This morning was no different.  Once you close the door and the keys are inside, you can't go back into the building.  I must have trippled checked to make sure I remembered to take everything with me.  The reason - a previous trip to Berlin.  Thought I had everything with me.  Shut the door and realized my purse was still inside the apartment and so were the keys!  I was a mess.  The doorman got in touch with the owner who lived 30 minutes away.  I missed my bus to Hamburg.  Blah, blah, blah.  It was traumatic at the time so this morning, I was making sure I had everything before I shut that door.

My bus stop to the train station was across the street from my room.  As I crossed the road, I saw the bus coming.  It mustn't have been a pretty sight for the bus driver to see me running with a purse, backpack, bag and suitcase.  He opened the door to me gasping for breath and watched me trying to get my suitcase on the bus.  When I reached for my bus fare, he shook his head and waved me on.  I didn't care because I was looking around for oxygen!

I'm now at the train station over an hour early.  I roam around and keep looking at the train schedule.  I noticed a woman who earlier had looked at me.  About 20 minutes later, I sit down and she asks me if I need help.  Odd?  I tell her I'm good I'm waiting for the train to Hamburg-Harburg.  She tells me it's going to be late.  What?  I look at the digital departure board - nothing beside my train saying it'll be late.  I ask how does she know that.  She said it's written beside the train number.  I look.  See nothing.  I tell her what time my train is.  She says it will be late arriving.  Now I'm really puzzled because the 8:28 train will be late.  I can read that but my 9:32 train doesn't say that.  Turns out the old woman was hard of hearing.  She thought I said the 8:28 train!  She's now got me worrying that my train might end up late too so I decide to take a train that leaves an hour earlier.  I get to the train, stop, look at the stairs up into the car and just may have had a tear run down my face.  A guy stopped and said let me get that up into the car for you.  You all know I didn't say "No thank you!".  The trip is over in 30 minutes.  No problems.  I kinda throw my suitcase down the stairs and onto the platform.  I find my train platform for my next train that will take me to Bremen and take the elevator down to track 3.  An elevator and it worked!!!

Get on the train, relax for 30 minutes and here some gargled words over the loud speaker saying something about the next stop and Bremen.  What?  This is Bremen station?  I ask a young girl if it is.  She says yes.  I scramble to get my backpack, etc. to get off the train.  She automatically says "I'll take your suitcase."  She ended up walking through the train station and showing me where the elevator up was.  She then asked where it was that I was going.  There are numerous exits at train stations.  You want to take the one that will take you in the direction of where you're staying.  She actually walked me to my exit and said she would look up the directions for me to get to where I was staying.  This was a young woman maybe in her 20's.  I thanked her and said that wasn't necessary.  I had good directions from Airbnb.  I have met amazing strangers.

I walk out the station door to go to my room.  Right across the street people are setting up for the Bremen Freimarkt (fair).  It starts tomorrow.  Timing is everything.  I am looking foward to going to that.

I have an hour to waste before I can check in so I walk about 10 minutes to find where I'll be staying.  I then walk around to see what is in the neighbourhood.  There's a Netto (discount grocery store) three minutes from my room!  Thank you!!!  I am always impressed with the gardens you find growing beside an apartment building.  The Germans use every space regardless of whether it's next to their house or an apartment buildidng.  The weather is milder here.  The flowers in the garden could also be sheltered from the cold.  Anyway, it looked like a garden from the summer.  This is the type of pictures you take when you're trying to kill time!

It's now 1 pm.  I can check in.  It's a self check-in.  Little black box, put the code in, the box opens and your keys are inside.  I open the door and see four steps.  I knew about them.  Four steps - that's nothing.  YEAH, I'M BRAGGIN!  I open the door to the apartment.  I am happy!  Great decision to stay here.  No one is around so I explore at leisure - kitchen cupboards and bathroom.  My room is great too.  The bed seems a little hard and the bed frame creaks but this place still gets an A+.

Little sitting area in the foyer.

Neat to see this.  It's the hot water tank for the kitchen.  When I was six living in Germany, we had one of these in our kitchen.  It wasn't modern looking like this but did the same job.

My room.

Balcony off of my room.  I'm not at ground level though.

I putt around for a bit and decide to go get groceries at the nearby Netto.  I walk outside the apartment door and look to my left.  OMG, more stairs but these I don't have to take.  No wonder most Germans are in excellent condition.  Who needs a gym membership?  No one!

Look at the top of the picture.  Another set of stairs to the 2nd level.  In Germany, the ground level is 0, the 2nd level is 1, the next level is 2 and so on!  Remember that because your life my depend on it!

Christmas is in the grocery store.  It will be here before we know it.

Back to my room.  Had a video chat with Beth and Leila, unpacked, had a shower, made some dinner and relaxed.  Great first day in Bremen.

Steps today = 10,552