Sunday Travels

The day we had here in northern Germany on Sunday provided unique weather and lighting conditions. I managed to sneak into Ahrensberg for a few morning shots, and then we went to Lubeck in the afternoon. Throughout the day we had everything from sun to rain to hail with plummeting temperatures, which made for some dramatic skies.

Ahrensburg

A typical scene - a properly dressed elderly couple out for a Sunday stroll.

Lubeck

The man with the bicycle began speaking to me when I walked by the bookstore, where he had been studying something through the window. As he began in German, he instantly recognized from my face that I didn't understand much. He then switched immediately to French, and I just shook my head "No" again. "Spreken Englesh" was my feeble response. "Ah, you speak English!", was his lingistically nimble exclamation. He then explained, literally with a tear in his eye and the same emotion in his voice, that he was back here visiting, because he was born in Lubeck 60 years ago, "the greatest city in Germany", as he called it. I wished to stay longer and learn more from what this man wanted to tell me, but my traveling companions hadn't noticed that I was stopped, and I was already way behind from taking pictures. At the last second, I just turned back and preserved what I could of the moment.

This was my favorite shot of the day, standing under the main gate of the town, the same gate as in the picture above. I had about two seconds to grab the shot while this couple was in the right spot at the right time. The sun was also about to be eclipsed by the enormous storm cloud.

I learned from my friend here that the rounded blocks in the corners were to keep the carriage wheels from hitting the walls as they pass through.