And the “sightseeing” tour continues! Our past travels had brought us to Kiel and to Lübeck however this time we didn’t go to any city as I was in no shape to drive too much and the weather was rather poor as well. So I came up with the idea to visit some nice spots in the surroundings villages of my hometown. Needless to say my wife and my crazy Chinese mother-in-law were not really that interested as one main aspect would be missing in that tour: Shopping…
Indeed it took me a while to convince them that it might be nice to get out on that day even though the weather wasn’t that great. Furthermore MIL barely saw anything of this town except the city center and some grocery stores around our apartment. After a while I succeeded and hence our tour started by going to the north to visit Lake Einfeld (Einfelder See). It is a small lake in the northernmost part of my hometown and the district itself was 1970 a small village but got integrated into Neumünster due to changes in the county border/ district management. During warm summer days the lake is full of people trying to escape from the heat but on this particular day it was just too windy and rather cold resulting that only few people were windsurfing without anyone bothering them. Our little Nathan tried to hunt down the geese but they were tough opponents and in the end he had to escape himself. MIL wouldn’t be MIL without anything happening and she actually managed to get her feet soaked in the water and Nathan’s as well while posing once again for some pictures.
After the lake we drove to the town Bordesholm to visit the old abbey and the old lime tree which is called just “Bordesholmer Linde”. What is so special about a lime tree you might wonder, well it is a pretty old tree as it is around 700 years old. It is located in the historical center of the town and the diameter of the trunk is 2,30m. Even though the tree is taken care of by professionals it is still slowly dying due to the environmental changes. Behind the tree is the abbey dating back to 1332 so the tree pretty much was there from the beginning on. The original monastery to which the abbey
belongs was torn down somewhen in the early 1700s as due to the reformation nearly everyone became Lutheran and thus the monastery lost all its members over the decades. In the abbey are several tombs of old dukes and other high-ranking people of their time. Right next to the abbey is these days a retirement home in which is also a museum about the history of the area and there is also an entrance to the old vaults of the monastery which had been found during the construction of the retirement home. Furthermore there are some small parts left of the old monastery wall including a tunnel leading into the vaults and other secret places.
Our last destination for that day was the Boxberg, a “mountain” here with a height of 76,8m over the sea level. It is located in the Aukrug Nature Park and the Boxberg is part of the moraine landscape. At the base of this huge mountain is a restaurant in which we strengthened ourselves with coffee and cake before attempting the dangerous climb. It was so steep that even Nathan had troubles getting all the way up himself but in the end he managed and was faster than his mother and grandmother! From the top we had a wonderful view of the surrounding area and it really felt peaceful there and secluded even with a herd of goats in the background. Seriously, why on earth was there a herd of goats? Because of them I could not even read several information boards regarding the history of this area as they were inside the goat enclosure which was protected by an electric fence!
Even though all these places are located in the surrounding area of my hometown it took us the better part of the afternoon until we were again back home. Remember that MIL and my wife were in the beginning not really interested due to the lack of shopping possibilities? This changed and in the end they were rather happy that I convinced them to do this little sightseeing tour as it was a nice day and a new experience for them. I must also admit that I had never visited those places before in my life (except the lake) and was truly amazed what wonderful secret spots are so nearby my home.
Did you ever find some “hidden” places near your home?
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Crazy Chinese Family 
WOW! It looks absolutely stunning there! And that old tree seems amazing! I am sure if the tree could speak, it would have some amazing stories for us!!
I bet the tree really could tell us a tale or two 🙂
Sometimes it’s nice just to explore locally, even if there is no shopping… Great photos ^^
I was very glad for the shopping free time and even the women liked it in the end 🙂
So true! We travel far away to see the sights and miss those close to home. I have an old friend coming to stay with me for a few days next week. Maybe we can explore something close to home that I’ve never seen.
Your first picture is really stunning! And I love the idea of a 700-year-old tree. It’s too bad it’s dying. And what a shame that the original monastery was torn down. I guess everything from the past can’t remain. That’s why we appreciate whatever is left.
I think all monasteries got torn down in north Germany after the reformation as even though Catholics were still allowed to practice but they could no longer gain new followers and hence the religion fade away here slowly. These days there are around 5-10% Catholics again in northern Germany but the dominant remains still Lutheran.
Perhaps you will find some nice treasured places in your region which you have never visited before
You are right to explore the area around you! Sometimes we don’t recognize and appreciate what is right outside our own front door until someone points out how amazing it is.
I love being outdoors, especially on cooler days. That view in the first pic is just beautiful – I could look at it for hours.
And you can tell by the look on Nathan’s face that he knows something is going to happen.
The view from that huge mountain was really stunning. It felt as if you are in an another place and time as even the traffic from the busy street right next to it couldn’t be heard at all 🙂
Very funny to hear all of your fueled up with cake before the climb. I hope none of you had an energy crash halfway up there. That sounded like the perfect energy food for Nathan, beating MIL to the top and I’m sure she didn’t mind that at all 😀
There are always hidden places around Melbourne where I live. All you got to do is turn the corner or go in the laneway you’ve never been before and you could go on an adventure of a lifetime. Sometimes I just like to pick a random train line and ride out into the suburbs for an hour and see where I end up.
Oh cake is a great way to fuel up with energy, I think I got never any energy crash due to that 🙂
Most of these places I found myself by my bicycle tours which I take around this area. There are still plenty of other places to visit but just not enough time
I don’t think your MIL is interested with sightseeing at all. I think the only reasons she visited you guys are Nathan and shopping.
I like that first picture. Your MIL is smiling, but Nathan doesn’t seem to thrilled with her. In fact he looked annoyed! 😀
I think this feeling annoyed by MIL was something the whole family shared in the end :p
Indeed I believe she only came for Nathan and for shopping, nothing else 🙂
It can be nice to play tourist in your own hometown. It looks lovely. I especially liked reading about the old tree and secret tunnels 🙂
I just love such secretly little things as the tunnels. I guess it’s mainly because they have been only found by chance when building this retirement home. No one had any memories of such tunnels right next to the abbey/ leading even into it 🙂
Wow, the “Moraine landscape” picture looks stunning! Like being in Scottish highlands or something mystical….
It was really great there, even the Bundesstraße next to hit couldn’t be heard at all thanks to the landscape itself and all the trees covering the street