BOOK CLUB DAYTRIP Buddenbrooks Tour in Lübeck
By Michaela Anchan
Inspired by this year ’ s summer reading of The Magician by Colm Tóibín and Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann , on Friday , September 30 , the AWCH Book Club took the train to Lübeck for a day trip . The group very generously allowed a male interloper — my father was in town for a week , so he joined us too . We were lucky with the weather — an absolutely perfect , blue-sky day greeted us as we made our way from the Lübeck Hauptbahnhof to meet our guide for the morning .
Bettina met us at the Holstentor , always a fabulous and impressive start to a Lübeck day . She had crafted an English tour for us that took in all the usual Lübeck sights , but with a Buddenbrooks “ theme .” We saw the salt warehouses and talked about Lübeck ’ s role in the hanseatic trade . The group members had visited many of the other hanseatic towns , so it was interesting to compare notes .
The Marktplatz and Rathaus are a Lübeck highlight , and Bettina had plenty of stories for us — it is thrilling to imagine Thomas Mann growing up there and to think of how Lübeck looked in his time ; he lived there until the family moved to Munich in 1891 , when he was just six years old , but returned often to visit family .
Bettina was also able to point out to us many spots that were used for the filming of the various Buddenbrooks movies and TV series — the most recent being the
2008 version . We stopped at the Buddenbrook House — actually the home of Thomas Mann ’ s grandparents that he used as a model for the Buddenbrook family home , and the frontage of the house was used as that in the 2008 film . The Buddenbrook House served as a museum for many years but is currently under major renovations and expansion . The government has purchased the neighboring properties and the new center will ( so the website promises ) offer “ more Buddenbrooks , more of the Mann family , more literature , more interactivity , more education , more research , and more independent discovery .” It is due to open in 2025 . During the years of construction , however , there is a small shop and information center , “ Buddenbrooks on the Market ,” close to the Rathaus .
In the beautiful Marienkirche , we were lucky to see the incredibly elaborate atomic clock strike noon and the poignant “ Broken Bells ”— the church bells that were left to rest as they fell after the World
Classic Lübek ! Photo by Michaela Anchan
War II bombing . Our tour ended after a walk to the other large gate , the Burgtor , stopping on the way at the Katharineum ( the school of Thomas and Christian Buddenbrook ), the Heiligen-Geist Hospital , and the Sievers Thorweg , one of the picturesque “ back alleys ” of Lübeck .
A day out in Lübeck needs , of course , a big German lunch at the astonishing Schiffergesellschaft restaurant — we had a lovely lunch that felt very well-deserved after our walk , with lots to discuss , too .
After lunch , my dad ( who had a wonderful time and felt very welcomed by everyone ) and I had to hurry back to Hamburg , and the rest of the group had time to stroll back to the train station via the famous Niederegger store and the other main street shops .
With much thanks to our two treasured Carols — Carol Strametz and Carol Harbers — for their wonderful organization and to the rest of the group for being such great company .
30 The Clubs within Our Club