Last May we visited our son who is a student in Luebeck, Germany. We had a number of wonderful restaurant experiences, even one which ended up being a favorite haunt.

We stayed near the famous St. Mary's Church, in fact it was right across the street from our Hotel Marienkirche, which was indeed a great little place. The first night we arrived, our son had met us at the airport in Hamburg, traveled with  us to Luebeck, which was alll made possible by skipping part of his classes. He then had to go back to school.

After we walked around a bit, and picked up the rental car, the day was almost over. Our hotel room over looked a ruin across the street directly in front and to the left was the church. Down the same street were a few restaurants, among other shops. We decided to get something to eat, and made our way to the first restaurant. It was raining pretty hard, we were tired, on our own and our hotel did not have a restaurant, and perhaps most importantly, we did not want to get too wet. It turned out to be a great little place. We ended up eating at this delightful place on  four separate occasions and it was one of the few restaurants that our son had also been to, we found out later. It was an Italian restaurant, pizzeria, and the food was lavish, plentiful and delicious. More than anything I think it was the hospitality that really engaged us too. 

It was not an extremely busy place, but when we came in each time, it was very welcoming and they found a nice table for us and we were always comfortable. We were never the only guests in the restaurant and at regular mealtimes, when it was busy, we were still lucky to have a table. The atmosphere was Mediterranean, with warm Tuscan colors, decoration,  and murals. Though it has been some time since I was in Italy, this was a place that reminded me of it.

 There is a bit of a legend that surrounds Marienkirche, St. Mary's Church, it is that the Devil thought the workers were building a beer hall, or tavern and because of that he helped the workers. When he realized it was a church, he tried to tear it down, but then, was placated with the promise of a pub to be built nearby. Here is a rendition of the actual little story courtesy of Wiki:

" The courtyard to the south of the church gives an impression of a medieval cityscape with its enclosure, the northern facade of the Lübeck city hall, the office buildings even the St. Mary workhouse. Lübeckan legend provides sparse substantial detail of the sculptural arrangement on the cladding: a large granite cuboid right next to the entrance was not placed there by the church construction crew and forgotten about, it was put there by the devil’s own hand.

 A modern statue (1999) of this devil now sits on the cuboid. The legend is said that the devil thought the workers were building a drinking hall and so helped the construction team. When the devil (der teufel in German) realized it was a church, the devil tried to destroy the walls (claw marks are still evident on the boulder). The people convinced the devil to leave the church undamaged in return for a drinking hall across the street."

The restaurant that we liked so much was called Diavolo (Devil in Italian). Like most restaurants in this area of Luebeck, you could sit outside with table and chair right on the sidewalk. Sitting there you can watch an almost endless stream of people, many being led by tour guides in medieval attire at night, or natives hustling to go about their business at any given time during the day. You can have some drinks with the cook when the kitchen is closed too and be within view of the place where the sculpture by Rolf Gorler of the little devil can be seen today. Perhaps this restaurant is built upon the very ruin that was the drinking hall built to placate the devil. Who knows?

 The most important thing is that when you are at this place, you are treated well, fed well and become one of the regulars without even making too much effort to do so. We were fetted on more than one occasion to some free after dinner drinks, Italian liquors and traditional trattoria ambience.

It turns out our host could not speak fluent German, little English, did speak some Italian, but was from Bosnia. He was married to a German woman and the cook was Italian. He worked very hard to communicate and ask about our family, and share about his and his life in both Germany and Bosnia. He told us some stories about the Sarajevo Olympics, which I remember because I worked at Merrill Lynch at the time and several of our people attended it. He told us of one of his friends who also was a great chef, who now drove a cab in NYC. We appreciated his comradarie. His name is Kololli Gzih.

While we would dine, an old Turkish man who wandered the streets at night with bouquets of roses would come into the restaurant and ask if anyone would like to buy one. I was amazed in a way that he could walk inside and no one bothered him as he was just trying to make a living in this manner. It reminded me of something from the long ago past, that we would not see here perhaps, in the USA. Many people on the street came in late to have a drink and talk to Kololli. I got the feeling that this was a neighborhood hangout for people who were not tourists, and maybe not even German. Every other restaurant we went to were not like this one.

 I remember a very long time ago praying for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. There was so much destruction there about 15  years ago and  such a long seige on the capital of Sarajevo, that historians have now said that nothing like that had occured in Europe since WW II.

I remember the people in our then church when I mentioned it in a prayer petition, seeming confused and out of touch with such an important and difficult European, and really global, event. I remember a child being gunned down, this one seven year old child in particular brought the war home to me.

Nermin Divovic - 7-year-old Bosniak boy killed by Serb sniper in the besieged Sarajevo (http://bosniangenocide.wordpress.com/2011/03/12/bosniak-child-shot-dead-by-serb-sniper-unclaimed-at-the-morgue/)

 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,981963,00.html

 They wrote about him in Time. I wrote about him that Christmas and it was the first time someone I really did not know told me I was a writer, that I should write a book. People  were being separated by the fighting, ethnicity and religion. It was a hideous time.  It is no wonder this man, Kololli was who he was, perhaps so welcoming and genuine because of what he had lived through. 

It was a pleasure to meet him and I know that people everywhere are sometimes looking for that little touch of humanness and comfort when they travel. You would be sure to find it if you stopped here, at Ristorante Diavolo. 

 

 

The restaurant a few steps from our hotel Diavolo.

 

 

Myself and Kololli Gzih. 

 

 

The first antipasto we had there.  

 

 

The last antipasto we had there. Both sublime, accompanied by a special spread, olive oil and breads. 

 

 

The is the rear part of the seating area, as you walk in there are tables near the window and also a bar, then an opening to this room with a step up. This area feels very private, and you also have a large picture window view out to the street. 

  

This is the view from our second story room at the hotel. This is what is referred to as a ruin. When a person wants to develop a lot, they must first inspect for ruins. If there are ruins, then a several people get involved with the building plan as the foot print of the ruin is to be maintained even for new buildings. While we were staying there a large group of inspectors, etc. came one day to review the ruin. It was fascinating. 

 

 

This was our hotel directly across the street from the ruin and also on the same street as the Marienkirche. 

  

 

This is me sitting next to the Rolf Gorler sculpture at the Marienkirchehof. 

 

 

Here is a little blurb that was inside the church about the sculpture.

 

 

 Here is more of a description in English located on the outside of the church.

 Here is a little something from Wiki on this church.

" The Lutheran Marienkirche (St. Mary's church) in Lübeck (German: Lübecker Marienkirche or officially St. Marien zu Lübeck:St. Mary's of Lübeck) was constructed between 1250 and 1350. For many years it has been a symbol of the power and prosperity of the old Hanseatic city, and as Germany's third largest church it remains the tallest building of the old part of Lübeck. It is larger than Lübeck Cathedral . Along with the city, the church has been listed by UNESCO as of cultural significance.

It is a model for the brick Gothic style of northern Germany, reflected in approximately 70 churches in the Baltic Area. In Lübeck, the high-rising Gothic style of France was adapted to north German brick. At 38.5 meters (125 ft) the church has the highest brick vault in the world. Taking the weather vanes into account, the towers are 124.95 meters (406 ft) and 124.75 meters (405.5 ft) high.

St. Mary's is located in the merchant's borough, which stretches from the docks of the River Trave all the way up to the church itself. It is the main church of the local council and the people of Lübeck, and was erected near the market and town hall."

 

I am planning an in depth post on the wonder of Marienkirche with plenty of pictures later this summer. 

 

 We had an incredible variety of foods at that restaurant, Diavolo, but I actually liked the spaghetti carbonara so much I had it twice. From pizza to delicate gelato and special ice creams dressed with cookies and cake, you could not have been better fed I think, if you love Italian. The full bar also included many tempting wines, beers and liquours, including non alcoholic German beers. 

 If you are ever in Luebeck Germany, hungry and looking for a great dining experience, be sure and visit Kololli, you might tell him that Sheila sent you! :) 

 

 Copyright 2011 by SheilaTGTG55 Words and Pictures