Swimming in Lübeck

I spent the six months before my surgery getting fit.  I did that in several ways, one of which was to attend every aqua exercise class I could find, so prior to my surgery I was at several classes a week.  I became so keen on the water that I was sad to think about having to stop whilst my incisions healed (and as it turned out I had a leaky one it was around a month before I could get back into the pool).  The hotel I stayed in didn't have a pool so on my way back from the consultation with Professor Schmeller, my long suffering husband joined me at the local swimming pool, Zentralbad Lübeck.  The photo above shows the opening hours (and that if  you are brave or have some German you could even join in an aqua exercise class on a Monday!) but you should check them out at the highlighted link to be sure they are current when you go.  Incase it isn't obvious, Öffnungszeiten means opening times and Zentral is central so I believe this is the main swimming pool in the town.  

The price of a swim was 4 euro each, so I thought it was good value.  The water temperature was a bit cold - 26 degrees Celsius according to their website but I can only say it felt cold to both me and my husband. He still remembers it as a bit on the cold side but says it was OK.  It was one of the coldest pools I had been in for a while so I had to move around briskly - so it did me a favour really!  We went in the shallow pool as they have a shallow pool and a deep pool - the deep one was full of lane swimming at the time.  Maybe that pool is warmer but I am sure I touched it before leaving and it felt the same!

My tips for the pool (other than be prepared for a bracing temperature!) are:
* take flip flops or pool shoes as no-one wears outdoor shoes in the locker or changing areas.  That is a strict rule and will be enforced by the staff (they are friendly and will help you and show you the way around etc)
*the changing area was separate for men and women so ensure you have separate bags and shower items if you go with someone of the opposite sex
* I can't remember if you needed a coin for a locker - if so they would take a one euro coin
* the shower was a communal open shower (but just for your own gender as I recall) - so again I recommend using your flip flops.  The shower temperature was fine though!  You will need to take toiletries with you.  
* I don't remember about hairdryers - I left mine towel dried as we walked just around the corner straight into a restaurant for dinner so I was dry before we went for the longer walk back to the hotel.  

The pool was nice and clean so I would swim there again and would recommend it to a water lover.  I wanted to get a bit of pressure on my lymphatics after the flight and before my surgery, in the hopes it would help (and I find water workouts and swimming great stress relief).  If you feel the same I hope this post helps you!

In checking the details for this post I found that there are  other swimming pools in Lübeck so I have included a link which reviews the Zentralbad and the others.