Oops, we did it again! With sunshine predicted for the whole day, we chose a three and a half hour hike (double that for us) from Sassnitz to Lohme. This coastal route is entirely in the Jasmund National Park, with lovely views of the coastline from the top of these amazing cliffs. The er…uhm…official coastal route…We could not wait to see the shore, so took the first wooden steps down, and had this amazing view of the chalk cliffs.

             

This view of the same part of the cliffs can be seen from above. A few metres more and then the next flight of steps going down, to a little gorge called the Piratenschlucht (Pirate Gorge). This was apparently the hide-out of a famous pirate called Klaus Störtebecker. Sorry, no gold coins found…

  

We stayed on the coast. Look at all the obstacles in our way! It did not look so bad from a distance, but as we got nearer, it was obvious that we had to crawl under these trees (at different points), or climb over. Or paddle in the water. We crawled on all fours!

H.E.L.P! Landslide ahead! Again, it did not look threatening from our viewpoint, and we were now getting used to overcoming obstacles…ahem…We could definitely not turn back now, so we crawled over more dead branches, scrambled over soft, unstable and crumbling earth…Scary…but we made it!

                                    

If we had walked up on the cliff as we were supposed to be doing, we wouldn’t have had the pleasure of this amazing view. It is scary and very imposing walking under these! Look at the trees dangling on the edges. A huff and a puff and they would certainly fall over and come crashing down. Oooh…the excitement and the rush! Also on the left photo we´re nearing the landslide…Oh boy!

No, this photo is NOT skew. This tree is really growing horizontally!! ..and we’re under it!

…looking back to where we’ve just lost a litre each of water (beads of perspiration) and skipped a few heartbeats..The next ascent to the top is still VERY far away…

                                    

This is why it was still worth all the trouble. Great! But do you see all those stones and rocks dangling so loosely on the cliff???!!! We ran, uhm…no…SPRINTED, past this one as quickly as we could…

Feeling like ants looking at this imposing cliff. It is HUGE, and all eyes were on every point, in case of crumbling…More loss of beady water   😉

Making progress. Another “oh-we-made-it” view. Notice that the cliff is not as white as the others, due to more moisture…(not from us)

                                    

Look at these babies! Grandioso!

More aaaahhhh!

More arghhhhh! (Well, at least we’re over that one…)

Could be a giant pot plant! Wow!

Swans. Ships. Boats. Obstacles.

Rocks ‘n boats

Bottoms up! Swans looking for something to nibble on. There were quite a few, which sort of calmed us down. Would swans concentrate in a dangerous area? Of course not!

High. Higher. Highest. Standing under this is…well…you know…

More swans, and a lovely view of the horizon. The water at this shore was also very white. On all the coasts we’ve been to on the island, this was the only time we’ve seen this…

…peaceful, serene, quiet…and then you go around the corner…

…and oh-oh-oh-no! Another landslide…

 

…Olympic hurdles. Up to now everything went well, when suddenly, at the last hurdle, panting and puffing, yours truly sunk knee deep into the very sticky mud. See the proof on the right photo. IT. WAS. SCARY. Thankfully, with a lot of muscle power (No, not mine. Thank you my Superhero! ), the very stuck-in-the-mud foot could be pulled out, and without losing the shoe. Geez, wonder how much deeper I would have sunk…

…made it! Nearing the steps…

…a seven metre waterfall right at the ascent point, called Kieler Ufer. Halleluja!

                                    

We climbed up those steps. FAST! But we’re still close to the edge over here (well, not the phobic breathless shaking one   😉  wink-wink…)

                                    

Look at this! Shrubs and berries growing on the side of the cliff (left). The one on the right shows the spectacular view from the Kollicker point towards the Wissower shore in the foreground, and the Gakower shore. This is postcard perfect!

Horizontal tree defying logic! Aahhh…nature…

Tarzan, the daring one with the camera, is virtually dangling over the cliffs! He is standing on a platform at Victoriasicht (Victoria view), which is precariously jutting out at least two metres, and over nothing! It’s a long way down…but beautiful…

…one hundred metres from top to bottom…see the lovely shadows of the cliffs cast on the shore.

The view of the famous Konigsstühl (King’s chair???) taken from Victoriasicht…and he’s still standing on that jutting thing…shiver….

Yep, we walked down these. Again. Do NOT be fooled by the red kiddie’s bicycle parked so nicely at the bottom of these steps. There are 412 of them! (Steps, not bicycles) It says so on a wooden board at the top, warning you that it is quite strenuous, so please be sure you want to descend. We were sure. It’s only 412, so how bad can it be. Ha! Going down was sort of easy (knees ow-ow), but going back UP! They must’ve miscalculated, because we definitely ‘puff-puff’ counted ‘pant-pant’ more! It WAS strenuous, especially for the short-legged one, who had trouble keeping her upper body vertical! And then to crown it all, the red bicycle owner just whizzed past, babbling and not even out of breath. GEEZ!

Here the cliffs have very lush greenery clinging to its sides. The view of the Konigsstühl again…

After all that exciting adventure, we finally arrived in Lohme, and paid a visit to friends, who kindly drove us back to Sassnitz, to pick up our car. On the way we stopped at this pedestrian bridge leading down to the harbour of Sassnitz. OMG! It is high!

…see how high? and snake-like? View from the almost bottom part of the bridge, towards the harbour. A storm seems to be brewing too…

Proof that I fought my demons and walked on that OMG snake!!! Okay, so I was holding tightly onto very helpful arms, and my knuckles were white, but I am STANDING! and with a smile…So there! Nyeh-nyeh!   :-p