Walk Around The Block

The sun is out and shinning today. What joy! I went out for a walk this afternoon around the neighbourhood. I just wanted to see how much there was to see in the close vicinity of our home.

Usually, on days like this, most of the people living in cities like Hamburg or Luebeck head out to the Baltic coast. The walkways along the beaches are choc-a-block, the coffee in the cafés are twice as expensive as in the cities, but oh how wonderful it is to see the sunshine reflecting off the sea like a million diamonds.

Yet, my walk around the neighbourhood was delightful. I saw still life of winter and springtime flowers, two elderly male friends deep in conversation as they walked along the canal, a Muslim couple walking arm-in-arm on the sidewalk ahead of me, and grandparents on an afternoon outing with their grandchildren.

I saw four front doors similar to each other, but each unique. These doors are from houses on Purgatory Lane, left of Hell Lane, and right before Paradise: a piece of grass at the front of the Luebecker cathedral.

Paradise of Luebecker Cathedral
History has it, that years and years ago, if someone committed a crime and somehow made it to Paradise at the end of Purgatory Lane, then the church gave you asylum from being tried by civil law. Instead, you were tried by the church’s laws. You had to be a bit careful about who caught you: if you were an adulterer then you stayed away from Paradise: if you embezzled some funds you just had to outrun the police and into the arms of the pastor for a more lenient sentence.