Living in Lübeck

This week was a quiet one; we just lived in Lübeck as if it's a normal thing to do. Gary wanted to help Peter start installing a new walk-in shower in our flat.  The two of them removed the old tile and carried it in buckets down the stairs, while I continued working on the illustrations for a children's book I'm writing (and illustrating) with a friend of mine. It's been a productive week for us all.

Wednesday night we walked all the way to Peter's bistro (about 20 steps from our flat) to hear a group called RoadBird: two excellent guitarists and a vocalist with a powerful, lovely voice. Peter snapped this photo of us while we hung out as if we belong here. The trio was entertaining and professional -- really fun -- and all of the original songs were in English, so we understood every word! 

Gary and I at Essig-Fabrik Bistro

After the show, we walked all the way back to our flat, and got here in no time!

Today we decided to visit a big-box hardware store, called BauHaus. The nearest BauHaus is only 2 km away, so we walked there. We discovered that after you leave the old town of Lübeck -- passing the Trave River harbor and the old river warehouses (slowly being renovated and turned into restaurants and office space), and crossing over the railroad yards, you are in suburbia. It's faster and newer and louder there -- but you can see the cathedral steeples of Lübeck in the distance, so it's okay.

Here's our destination:

Except for the fact that all the tools are metric, the appliances are 230 volt, the prices are in euros, and it has a backerei, it was just like Home Depot. There was another big-box hardware store nearby, so we visited that one too. They had these cute bird feeders with thatched roofs:

.... and these stylish wood stoves:

... but I felt I could have just as well have been at any L&M Fleet store in Minnesota when I came upon this familiar guy, browsing in his favorite department: