Other nerdy things to do there:
- Visit the container terminals of Europe's third busiest port
- Go to the Miniaturwunderland
- If you are into architecture or music: Elbphilharmonie
"Easily" as in "26th to 30th of December, and tickets are available on three days in November if you can click fast enough" ;)
Also, clicking fast is what we nerds excel at, right;-)
More seriously, when it comes to tickets my impression was that the post-pandemic years were pretty relaxed with only last year becoming more difficult again.
I wish more big industrial sites were set up for tourist access: mines, quarries, dams, ports etc. But maybe I'm just strange.
It's not like you could walk or ride around in there, and you shouldn't either.
It's all fenced, secured.
There are a few vantage points from where you can see into them, from afar, or the other side of the river, but that's it.
Drones? Uh Oh! Better not! Lingering around the fences to get a better view? Are you trying to find the smuggled drugs in some container? Trespassing into some empty quay which has recently been torn down, then elevated, now lying empty, to explore the growth of so called 'pioneer plants'? Better not, because signs say fine is 1000EUR. GULP!
It's one of the most beautifully designed museums on a specific topic like this I've ever seen (it's also very accessible). The entire museum and all of its stations are translated into various languages by scanning a card you set up at the beginning, including customizing your information experience with certain topics you're particularly interested in (I chose naval architecture, if memory serves).
There's a cute coffee shop or two right there in the complex too, and the entirety of Lübeck is a beautiful, cozy area too. Many of the old Hanseatic buildings still stand as they were relatively untouched by the war.
Another hour in the same direction on the train takes you to the Travemünde beaches which are also gorgeous. Makes for a good day trip.