Well today was another day trip to another city! Though my hotel is still in Kiel for a couple more nights. I took the train to one of the northernmost cities in Germany, city of Flensburg, which sits right on the Danish/German border, known for having an old sugar and then rum trade route with the Caribbean islands, being a formerly Danish city, that won its independence in 1864, and then joined Prussia and later became independent again, and then in 1920 the League of Nations voted it should belong to Germany. The town is also known the being the home of the  runaway government of the Nazis. After Hitler killed himself, Admiral Dönitz was named head of state, and he and the dwindling number of followers fled to Flensburg in the last days of the war. Just a couple weeks later the Allies had captured them and disbanded the fledgling government. The town still has a decent sized population of Danish descendants, and the name is also often spelled Flensborg. (The Danish spelling of it)

It, like many other cities I have been to so far has a neat little port district with shopping, boat tours and museums – unfortunately today however the Ladenschlussgesetz was in effect. Also known as the “Store Closing Law” this mandates virtually all stores and shops all across the country be closed on Sunday whether they want to or not. Every Sunday, every week of the year, nearly all shops must close so the employees can spend time with their family. There are exceptions though such as museums, most restaurants/bakeries, fast food chains, pharmacies, gas stations, and tourist attractions like theme parks, which can all remain open. But gift stores, clothing stores, home-wares, furniture, service companies, all shopping malls (regardless of what’s inside) and countless other types must close every Sunday. Most all stores are required to close by 6 every other day of the week, so if you work a full Monday through Friday shift, your only real option for shopping or going out is on Saturdays.

After walking down the 95% closed but still busy main shopping street, fortunately I was at least able to make it to the Maritime museum, which was pretty neat. There was a separate room with all kinds of engines and machines from old steam ships, and an employee would pull the knobs and levers and twist the wheels and you could watch the parts move, hiss and groan as they worked. There was also a video of the history of Flensburg about the Rum and Sugar trade the city went through in in the 1800s which turned the city into a major shipping port. I tried to make it to the Braasch Rum Factory where they show you how they make rum, and give samples (Mmmmm!) but it was closed sadly.

After the museum I got on a bus and headed northeast to the city of Glücksburg. There also happened to be the “Ostseeman Triathlon”(Baltic Man Triathlon) going on, so the streets were (more or less in some areas) lined with spectators and runners. Though in this town lies the famous Schloß Glücksburg, a really neat palace on a lake. This palace “…is one of the most important Rennaissance castles in northern Europe. It is the seat of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and was also used by the Danish kings. Situated on the Flensburg Fjord the castle is now a museum owned by a foundation, and is no longer inhabited by the ducal family. Its board of directors is chaired by Christoph, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein, the current titular duke and head of the House of Glücksburg and House of Oldenburg.” Now this brings me to the name of the post. Unglücklich is the word for unhappy, or unlucky. Now I was unhappy and unlucky because when I got there I found out the palace was closed. There was no mention on the website or on google about it being closed, but a sloppily handwritten sign on the front door of the palace said it was closed today due to the triathlon event. Boooo! But the waterside palace is still quite beautiful and unique from the outside! A short and sad while later I made my way back to Flesnburg via taxi, as it was Sunday and the bus service was very very limited. I had a very interesting political discussion with the Iranian driver, (who is a wild Trump supporter) and we talked about about ourselves. He mentioned first he lives in Kiel, and then I mentioned my hotel is in Kiel, and he offered to drive me all the way back for free (nearly 60 miles) Though I declined and took a direct train ride back to Kiel!

Now for the only reason anybody comes to these posts! But first! A much awaited map! I’ll update it as I go, I started in Hamburg, having flown in from Gatwick. Then made a day trip to Bremerhaven. Then my next city was the island of Borkum. After that I came east again and spent a night in Lübeck. Then headed north to Kiel, and spent a night. Then today I made just a day trip to Flensburg and am back in Kiel, and will be in Kiel all day tomorrow. The black lines will be the path I have traveled, and the red will be where I had gone that day (if to a new city). I think this map might be a bit too small, but I will try and fix it later.