On the trail of the Lion in Ratzeburg

In the morning, we arrived at the parking space next to the swimming pool at Kleiner Küchensee in Ratzeburg. We got a spot with a view of the lake. The "no overnight stays" signs confused us for a moment, but later we asked at the tourist information: They just hadn't gotten around to removing them yet.

Since we didn't have a map of the city, we first went to the tourist information in the town hall. It was also the starting point for the 'Tour of the sights of the city island in the footsteps of the Lion' (a paw print from the lion's front paw in front of the cathedral).

So we followed the pink paw prints that led us through the city and took us back and forth through the streets and past the shores of three of the four lakes around Ratzeburg.

The tour led across the island where Ratzeburg originally stood. Today, the city boundaries go beyond that.

The city's museums were not yet open, but we were able to visit the churches from the inside: St. Petri's church from the 18th century is located near the marketplace.

Of course, the Ratzeburg Cathedral was also impressive. It was built between 1160 and 1220 and is the oldest brick cathedral in northern Germany.

Its creation is thanks to Henry the Lion. In 1143, he had already transferred the settlement in what is now the Ratzeburg area, which was previously a Slavic settlement, to Count Henry of Bodewinde. He built a stone castle here. In 1261, Ratzeburg received its city rights.

In the adjoining monastery courtyard, you can see a bronze cast of Ernst Barlach's beggar since 1978.

Since Ratzeburg is surrounded by four lakes, a tour on a ship is a great option. We had taken a COVID-19 test in the morning, so we were allowed on board the passenger ship.

Our journey first took us across the Domsee and then across the much larger Ratzeburg See to Rothenhusen.

On board, we fortified ourselves with coffee, waffles, and cake. Since the wind was quite cold, we spent most of the time in the interior of the ship, which was spacious but almost empty. There were only a few other passengers on board besides us. It was the first day the ship service resumed after the COVID-19-related closures.

In the evening, the sun came out again, so we completed the day by walking around Kleiner Küchensee, where we also spent the night.