Münster Altstadt, Burg Versicher, Burg Lüdinghausen, Schloss Nordkirchen

I didn't have to give any lecture today as it was a public holiday (Ascension Day). Thus, we went sightseeing in Münster, the bicycle capital of Germany.

Our first stop after breakfast was the Altstadt (old town). True to its name, Münster, which means cathedral in German (and not the cheese, which originates from the Alsace region of France), there are quite a few grand churches in Altstadt. But the old town was in chaos this morning: hundreds of cars parked in open spaces near the churches while their owners were at mass, then a large number of trucks, vans and huge Warsteiner mobile stalls juggling for space in preparation for the Eurovision-hung-over-party-cum-music-fest, aka Eurocityfest, in the following three days.

But we battled our way through the crowds coming out of churches and the Warsteiner beer kegs and saw a few spots: the town hall where the Treaty of Münster (part of Peace of Westphalia) was finalized, St. Paulus Dom, Lambertikirche, and Clemenskirche.

After lunch at an open air cafe, we returned to our hotel to pick up our car and went south for a tour of the Wasserburgen ("castles on water" literally). Our first stop Burg Vischering is less than 30 minutes away. After spending some time at its museum to learn more about knights, we went to the nearby Burg Lüdinghausen, followed by Schloß Nordkirchen. We actually didn't enter the ground of the Schloß as it was getting late (and I had to return to Münster for a conference call with my North American colleagues), but it certainly looks magnificent from the outside.