The Adventure Part 1 — Flensburg

Having recently arrived in Malmö, Sweden after a few days exploring Iceland, the UK, France and Denmark, I still had a few travel days left on my Eurail pass. To make the most of the money I spent, I chose a few destinations that were far enough to feel different, but close enough to do in a day trip.

The first of these trips was to Flensburg, Germany. It’s one of the furthest cities north in Germany, so close enough to get to relatively quickly from my new home in Malmö. I had also only briefly been through Germany on the train between Paris and København, and wanted to see more of the country (and also pick up a souvenir flag to prove I had been through). Even though it was as close as a German city could get, it was still around a 5-hour train ride. Doing this both ways in a day meant waking up early, and also having limited time to explore the city.

But a few hours was all that I needed to fall in love with the city. The city’s population is less than 100,000, and is not by any means a big tourist city. However, for a wanderer such as myself, the city still offered so much for me to enjoy. The city lies at the end of a fjord, and after my walk to the city centre from the train station, the water was one of my first sights. From this point, I very quickly identified a church steeple that I would eventually head towards. This became a trend in all of my travels, playing “follow the steeple” to guide me through the city to the beutiful churches.

My first stop, however, was the flag shop. It was the seventh flag in my rapidly growing collection. This side quest took me closer to the busy pedestrian streets lined with fun stores and bakeries. I also found several more cool churches hidden in the rows of shops whose steeples weren’t quite tall enough to be noticed from a distance. But they were still impressive nonetheless. I remember walking past a fantasy-themed store and a museum which at the time had some sort of butterfly exhibit. I finally made my way towards the St Jürgen Church, which had stood out on top of the hill.

Its area was more residential, but enjoyable nonetheless. The stone streets headed downhill lined with cute houses is something that my camera doesn’t seem to have captured to its full glory. And of course, the church itself was a highlight from that part of town. From there, I decided to walk around aimlessly (a trend in my travels) and ended up passing through a university campus. Further on, I walked through some forest that led to a bridge passing over the railways. I ended up in a less historic part of town, but found some very brightly coloured houses, which I quite enjoyed. And that’s pretty much all I saw in Flensburg on that one day.

During the winter, I had the opportunity to briefly revisit Flensburg during a layover on a train journey back to Malmö. It was neat to revisit the city during a different season. Though I can’t say it had the same appeal as it did during the autumn. Either way, I loved seeing the city again, and I hope to revisit it in the future.

Highlight

I got excited every time I saw an old church, but the highlight of this trip was being by the water. I’ve travelled to many cities and appreciated the amazing feats of human architecture, but nature just hits different. Somehow, being by the water, even with the city built around it, the air feels fresher and purer. I ate my lunch by the water and took some time to just enjoy being there. Plus, it was a great location to take in the the whole city at once.

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The Adventure Part 2 — Schleswig

Finding that I had seen most of what I wanted to see in Flensburg, I decided to continue my day in Schleswig, just 20 minutes or so away by train. Schleswig also lay on a body of water, but I didn’t get as close to it as I did to the fjord in Flensburg. Naturally, upon seeing a steeple in the distance, I locked it in as my destination and began the walk over.

It was a very hot day, but the church at the end of the journey made it worth the sweat. After walking what Google says is a roughly 40-minute walk to the church past some sort of Nordic arts festival, I arrived at Schleswig Cathedral. This was most of what I saw in Schlweswig, and also undoubtedly the highlight, so I’ll just write about it in the next section.

Highlight

Surprise! The highlight of Schleswig was the cathedral! Shocker. Entrance was free, so I actually went inside this church. At the time, it was one of the most impressive churches I had seen. The interior was magnificent. Intricate artwork covered the insides of the gothic arches holding up the building. There were impressive statues, carvings, stained-glass windows, and an organ. The church wasn’t massive, but every inch of it was filled with detail. What was especially appealing about it was the art everywhere. Where most churches I had seen before featured intricate statues on the walls and pillars, both exterior and interior, Schleswig Cathedral’s ceilings were covered in paintings. I know other churches have done this, but I found the style of the paintings in the cathedral unique and especially appealing. Rather than being overwhelmed by artworks everywhere, the details added to the already existing structure rather than pulling all of your focus to the artwork itself. For a smaller city, this church is magnificent, and a must-visit if you get the chance.

I’ll also quickly note that the area around the church was beautiful. There were several cool houses that I really enjoyed walking through, and their proximity to the water makes it an amazing location. Again, the stone streets lined with the cute houses is a wonderful vibe, especially in a smaller city where there’s less foot traffic, and less modernity imposing on the historic buildings.

Concluding Thoughts

Overall, a great day. There’s nothing like discovering some hidden gems. Smaller cities may not attract as many tourists, but they still have so much to offer. After visiting these two cities, I developed a love for Germany that was only deepened by my later trips to other German cities. Flensburg in particular stuck with me, and I had even briefly decided I wanted to live there. For myself, I’ve always enjoyed being outside big cities, but not so remote that there’s nothing to see or do. Flensburg is big enough to have many things you might want in a city, such as shops, restaurants, shopping centres, and a movie theatre, while still maintaining the small-town feel. Though my future is currently very uncertain, if the opportunity arose to return to Flensburg, I would gladly jump on it. I even started preemptively learning German in preparation. Even if I don’t end up there for any extended period of time, I would gladly return, and I recommend you visit it (and Schlweswig) too!