It’s our first full day in Lubeck, and we are excited to set out and explore. The weather is absolutely perfect, so we plan to just walk around a lot.

It was a very warm day. We walked around the city, starting down by the water and making our way to the old city gates. They are enormous and beautiful. The kids weren’t that fascinated. They were, however, happy to sit down for coffee and cake across the street afterward.

The cafe was adorable, and we sat outside overlooking the canal. Halfway through Oly’s rhubarb cake, I realized it was seriously moldy. The server was super nice about it and comped the entire bill. Oly was very sad his cake was thrown away, but he recovered with a bit of snuggling. As we were walking across the bridge, Oly launched one of his Cars into the river. He was a bit sad, but then explained that “he went down, went splash in the water, and then went really really fast swimming in the water,” so perhaps the car enjoyed the adventure. When we returned to the apartment, Oly found the double of the car and lamented his lost friend. We helped him make friends with the other cars, so he wouldn’t be too sad.

St. Mary’s Cathedral sits up the hill from our apartment, so we’d already seen it a couple times. We decided to go inside. It was beautiful. There are bells the church left in exactly the same place they fell when bombs hit the city and shook the bells from their rafters. It was moving. Lillian found it all a bit boring.

For lunch we ate at a great restaurant just up the street from our apartment, Schiffergesellschaft. I’d recommend it for anyone, especially those with kids. It was a guild house for fishermen for hundreds of years, and amazing boats hang from the ceiling. It’s pretty special. The food and service are very good. Reservations are highly recommended as this seems to be a popular place with both locals and tourists. We had a wonderful time and were super full the rest of the day.

After naptime we went searching for a playground a local told me about earlier in the day. It’s on top of a museum at the edge of the island. We found it quickly and it’s awesome. The museum is on the grounds of a very old church, and the reconstruction is starkly modern next to the remains of the old worn brick. It’s striking. In the center is a nice cafe and playground. The kids were instantly happy. Stefan and I had a beer as the cafe was preparing to close (30 minutes before closing time). These Germans are serious about time. And the kids played their hearts out. We have to return. I’d recommend this cafe to anyone, with or without kids. It’s a great place to sit and enjoy a quiet spot overlooking the rooftops of the city.

We walked around in a bit of drizzle looking for dinner. A couple spots didn’t work out. One in particular is across the bridge along the water. It had a very nice patio that lured us over there, but it turned out to be a German version of a TGIFridays-type place. Not our style. The service was so bad that we eventually left. We ended up going to an Italian restaurant, Gusto, near our apartment that was recommended to us by the property manager who let me into the apartment. It was really delicious. The best shrimp scampi I’ve ever had. Just simple and good. The wine (a bottle for only 22 Euros!) was amazing.

On the way home, the kids got ice cream from the shop next to our apartment. The owner was a very nice woman who loved the kids. So she gave them each a lollipop to eat with their ice cream! Oh goodness.

Despite the late hour, the kids still had a nice long bathtime with bubbles. We haven’t had a bath tub in years, so we are taking full advantage of every opportunity to let them linger when we have a tub. In fact, when booking apartments, I favored those with bathtubs because it makes the kids so happy. It really is the little things sometimes. 😉