By Marina Aagaard, MFE
Exercise should be followed by recovery and longer stints of exercise ought to be followed by longer periods of recovery e.g. in the form of a holiday … if there is no time for a real holiday, maybe a couple of intensive days off will do the job.
Luckily my parents invited my husband and me on a weekend trip to Flensburg, Germany, just south of the border. A very popular shopping destination for Danes in this part of the country.
Flensburg is a nice and cozy city with reasonable prices. Compared to Scandinavian prices they are generally lower. Also the supermarkets have many specialities a.o. lots of organic food.
Flensburg lies 7 km south of the Danish border by Flensburg Fjord in the state Schleswig-Holstein. There are approx. 83.971 inhabitants (2013), which apart from germans include the Danish minority with own churches, schools and libraries.
The city is a commercial town from around 1200 and has a city centre with a small harbour (and museum harbour) and an old part of town with well-preserved old buildings … and novel street art.
Apart from art and architectural sightseeing, there are also several small museums, a.o. a rum museum, as well as theatres and libraries. In the summer there is a regatta and festivals and in December there is a Christmas market, so it is a good idea to do some research before heading for Flensburg.
The town or small city is a university city as per 1994 and also boasts a Technical School and a Naval Academy at Mürvik for all German naval officers.
Flensburg has a long pedestrian street – and smaller streets – with boutiques and shops and department stores. On Saturday mornings there is a fruit-vegetable-flower-and-more-market on one of the town squares, Südermarkt.
Flensburg has many restaurants with hearty and tasty dishes. In that category e.g. Gnomenkeller (Porthouse in Gnomenkeller) – which from the outside is nothing but a door and a very touristy sign – but inside cosy and with special steak menus.
Flensburg sightseeing
It is wonderful to get up early. Then you can enjoy a walk or a run, also in a new town. When it is very quit and with hardly any other people in sight, you spot interesting details, when you look up, down or around. Here are a couple of photos from an early Saturday morning walk in Flensburg.
Flensburg wellness
Germany is well-known for its baths and spas and in the Flensburg area there are also ample opportunities for wellness, if you want even more relaxation.
Flensburg fitness
Germany is in the forefront of fitness exercise and has lots of fitness centres, you can check out fitnessstudios in Flensburg, if you are on the lookout for a workout.