Day 15: Stones, Goats and Flying Men

Posted on September 30, 2012 by Angels Travelling

The weather forecast was not good today, and we were a little bit tired, but we nonetheless still decided to go on an itsy bitsy walking tour. We wanted to see the longest land bridge of the island, called Schaabe, with the town of Glowe on the one end, and Juliusruh on the other. The Schaabe is about twelve kilometres long, and only about one kilometre at it’s widest point, where we started our walk.

On the one side of the Schaabe is this very wide beach with fine soft sand. Behind that are the dunes, which are stabilised and protected by the very resistant marram grass. Immediately behind that is the forest, cut through the middle of the whole length by a quite busy road.

The forest is considerably dense and spreads right across to the other end of the land bridge. This path (above) is almost at the water’s edge. At this time of the year there are also a lot of mushrooms growing in the forest, which explained why so many people were walking around schlepping baskets and plastic packets. We thought that getting pricked by thorns, OUCH! would be better. 😄 Yes, we could not resist picking off big red and juicy, though a wee bit sour, berries from the thorny bushes. Oh, and we also discovered a few relics from the past. Oh alright, so it was only a rusted military water canister, but it was old-ish. No, we did not take it, but left it there. Hmmm…Why? 😉

This is a holiday complex/resort in Juliusruh, with the typical thatched roof houses that are all over the island. This is what you encounter as soon as you exit the forest. Very peaceful, with only the sounds of the waves lapping against the shore.

The beach as seen from both ends. The left one is facing Glowe, somewhere down yonder, and the right one curving towards Juliusruh, far far away…This little boat was somewhere in the middle…

There were children playing, dogs barking, and one or two naked men dipping their titbits into the brrrrr water. Yep, part of this beach is also for nudists.

Looking at this lovely picture, you’d never say that a storm was brewing, or that we nearly got lost, trying to find our car. Hey, the beach is very big! The heavens did open eventually, boom-splat-plop-plop, but we still went to visit the Karlsdorf farmers market (the tea-pot place in day 7). Here we bought lots of delicious stuff, yummy, for our loved ones and friends at home. Erhmmm, and for ourselves too…wink wink. Another ending to a lovely, but somewhat wet and soggy day. Hello fireplace!

Day 12: Aufhübschen in Binz – primping and preening in Binz

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Angels Travelling

We did not hike today. Surprise. Surprise. The weather was so-la-la, so we decided to visit the largest of the four Baltic sea-side resorts, Binz. It has quite an unusual setting. It faces a lovely long beach with quite soft white sand on the Prorer Wiek (Prorer bay) and at the back there’s a big lake called the Schmachter See, which is quite shallow. Yes, Binz is sort of squeezed in-between two water bodies. The resort is also not too far away from Sellin (see our post on Day 6) and boasts a similar architecture of villas and houses. Although, personally, it lacked the charm of Sellin. Too touristy…

As is typical for most resorts, here is one of the many choo-choo shuttle services which starts at the pier and drives through the town. Don’t expect a steaming chimney or loud toot-toot whistling, as they are tourist trains, quiet, for weary legs, for snapshots, for excited kiddies, or just for fun. They also have rubber tyres. More vroom-vroom than choo-choo. There’s also one called the Hunting Lodge Express, which takes you right up to the historical Granitz Hunting Lodge (Jagdschloss Granitz) which is not far away. Alternatively, there’s also a blue Bäderbahn (Resort train, also with tyres!) for other destinations within the town. AND…for a REAL choo-choo experience, you can also hop onto the Rushing Roland (Rasender Roland) which has a stop in Binz.

…a real sandcastle! For the third time now, the Rügen island is hosting a big international Sand Sculpure Festival (31.03-04.11), currently in Binz. This year’s festival theme is European fairy tales. On the right is a quaint little shop selling products made ONLY from Sanddorn berries. Amazing to see the variety of jams, drinks, cosmetic articles and and and…We bought a few stuff, but only those mixed with sugar and cream. As we’ve said before, Sanddorn is SOUR. Gurrrrhhrrr…

The Pier. Here you can embark on a ship and take an excursion along the chalk coastline, to Kap Arkona (Cape Arkona), or to the other Baltic Seaside Resorts. We sat in a ‘rustic’ little hut right on the beach, and ate a delicious Currywurst (Curry Sausage) with fries, and enjoyed this view. Yummy!

The Kurhaus (Spa house) situated directly on the promenade, and near the pier, was opened in July 1890. Unfortunately it burnt completely down in 1906. It was reconstructed a year later, but this time built with bricks! The original building was a Fachwerkhaus (half-timbered house). Lots of wood! It is now a hotel, but purposely with no star ratings. It used to hold a 5-star superior hotel rating, but they gave this up in 2012. Apparently the service will still remain top class, as always.

…a very elegant sea gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), primped and preened… 😉

…tantalizing titivation’s?? The sign roughly says that this shop is a ‘primp and preen zone’ Uhmm! Oh okaaaay…we believe you!

Camera packed away…rucksacks stowed in the boot…

We left Binz then headed off towards the Jasmund National Park. Noooo, not to hike, but to go SWIMMING! Not the ‘oopsy-daisy-that-wave-got-me-wet-again’ shore-line adventure paddling, but dipping into a warm smallish indoor swimming pool. There’s also an outdoor pool, but at this time of the year you have to be really brrr-brave to want to swim in that. Well, we did!! After a few shivering minutes we rushed into the sauna. There are many types to choose from, dry heat, wet heat, cannot breathe heat. We did a few sessions in some of them, the shortest stay being in a steaming hot ‘now-I-am-fried’ rose perfumed cabin. Understandably we jumped back into the pool, and decided that we had no need to test the fitness area, nor to get a massage. Too much oilies…So we plopped ourselves on the deck chairs, and promptly fell asleep, with our wet togs still clinging onto our ‘curves’. Not so comfy, but worth it for a short snoozle. This complex, by the way, is called the Jasmar or Jasmunder SPA (Jasmar Therme).

Another highlight was that the passenger was FINALLY allowed to drive! After adjusting the seat from long legs to shorty legs, and stretching the neck so as to be able to see over the bonnet, we bunny hopped out of the parking lot and made our way home, and arrived safely too. A wonderful end to a wonderful day! Sigh. Contented sigh!

Day 7: It is tea time

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Angels Travelling

Teapots everywhere! We took the day off from hiking today, and went to visit a very big farmers market (with friends) in Zirkow, called Karl’s Erlebnisdorf. As soon as we walked through the door, we saw all these teapots. Row upon massive row. No two teapots were the same, all in different shapes and sizes! The bakery is also ‘open’ and one can see how they bake etc. The bread was hot and fresh. What else!!! Yumm-dee-dumm!

…and as is almost everywhere, Sanddorn products. The left photo shows all the various liqueurs. We’ve sampled quite a few already…hic…hic…The photo on the right shows all the cosmetic products made from Sanddorn. Uhmm…let’s see. Wrinkles or no wrinkles.

…and here is Dr. Hufschlag on the left (Dr. Hoof-beat), promoting his horsey ointment (Pferdesalbe). This is apparently very good for aching muscles. No, not for horses, but for humans. And no, we did not need any…To the right you see the many teapots up on top, and also the view towards the entrance…

After browsing, admiring, buying, we went home for lunch, and later some tea with a home-made “a-la lime cream tarte” concoction. It rained heavily in the afternoon, but thankfully we were nice and cosy indoors.

Day 4: Hidden in Hiddensee

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Angels Travelling

The weather forecast was mild, but with some showers. So we packed our brolleys, and off we went…uhm…sailed to the island of Hiddensee. The only way to get there is by boat, big or small, but boat…The phobic one was biting her nails, her knuckles, her everything else she could find…No turning back though, so we opted to take a water taxi, above, as this would take ONLY 15 minutes to cross over. Okay, so the phobic one was a little green by the time we docked at Kloster, but still breathing!!! Phew! That noisy thing pitched, heaved and yawed in and out of the waves…SEA-SAW!! The non-phobic one calls it ‘skimming’…Was that a grin on his face????

This lovely hotel called Hithim, built around 1907, is situated directly on the harbour.

What a lovely resting place, including a very big ashtray to the right. Puffing hikers??? Eh?? This is between Kloster and the next village called Grieben.

Horses grazing in the meadow, with the sea in the background…

It’s an island. Surrounded by lots and lots of water. It’s a lonely life, eh? So of course, a nice cool beer while enjoying the few sunrays of the day is also entertainment…heh-heh…

These typical thatched roof houses were in the village of Grieben. Hey, some-one is peeping over there!

Oh my word! A spy! We found this so funny…hidden in Hiddensee…LOL!

Birds. Lots and lots of birds. It was amazing to see how many there were, and chirpy too!

…this is the lighthouse at Dornbusch. We will be going closer, but first we have to explore the “Altbessin”…This is a peninsula formed by sediment and exists since around the year 1500. This is a protected nature reserve and national park. Here we were caught in the rain. There is nowhere to hide! It is flat and there are only bushes. Luckily for us we were near the very tip of the peninsula, and thankfully there was a little hut on stilts there. We were not the only ones seeking shelter! There must´ve been 10 of us squeezed into that small space…Fun. Fun. Fun.

We are at the “Altbessin”, with a view of Kloster in the background. “Altbessin” is roughly translated as Old Basin. There´s also a ´newer´ basin which is off-limits to the public, as this is a very sensitive breeding area for sea and migrant birds.

We once again opted for a ‘walk on the beach’ at Enddorn…No rain and lots of sunshine, which was very welcome as it was quite brrrrrr…In the background are ‘tepee’ twigs…Good for a big bonfire night…

…still at the Enddorn beach, with a fantastic ‘still life’ and soft waves…

The cliffs at the northern coast of Dornbusch…(we will be going up there too) The sand here seems softer, and the stones smaller, not as rocky as other coastlines we’ve visited.

Stones, glorious stones, in all shapes, sizes and colours. We noticed many people searching and digging all over, so asked why. Apparently, if you’re lucky, and if you’ve chosen the right spot, you can find some very interesting fossils and “Bernstein” (Amber), which is mostly used for jewellery. Obviously, we found nothing! Why? Because one is always holding a big camera, and the other one? Well, the other one has absolutely no idea…

Hiddensee is the only area where it is allowed to pick and eat the Sanddorn. To do so elsewhere on Rügen can be punished with a hefty fine. We did not pick or eat anything though. Remember our YECH of yesterday?? Yech!

A beautiful dragonfly! It posed patiently until all fifty photos were taken…Only joking, there were only two or three…fingers crossed…

Spindel Tree berries. This is VERY poisonous to humans. Do. Not. Touch. Shiver…

Our ascent along the northern coast of Dornbusch…pant…pant…pant…but the view is breathtaking…pant…pant…pant…(We walked from down the-e-e-re)

…on our…pant…pant…way to the top…calves are screaming, but there again…the view! .

…view from the second highest mountain in Hiddensee called the Swantiberg. One can see the “Altbessin” from here. It’s the jutting out part just beyond the row of trees, in the middle of the photo. Yes, we walked all the way from down there too..

…and to show that we were not alone…Sheep! Mää-ää-ääää…

See how high up we are! The phobic did NOT look down, and the non-phobic caused some-one to get multiple heart attacks by going so close to the edge…Boom. Baboom.

I believe I can fly…tra-la-laaaaa…It was VERY windy, and as you can see, he is getting ready for take-off! Tango Bravo 7-4-7 to Tower…

Finally! The lighthouse on the Bakenberg! More steps, more pants, more wind, but excillerating…On a clear day one can see Denmark from here! No kidding!

This is not bragging, but just look at this photo. The tip of the lighthouse seems to be opening up the cloudy sky…Great!

On the way down from the Bakenberg, we made a little pause over here to eat something. You can see the harbour of Kloster, and probably the whole island of Hiddensee. Munching nuts with a view like this was never so appetising!

…looking up towards the Dornbusch from the other end of Kloster…a lovely lonely tree, and a heart-shaped cloud over it…All together now. AAAHHHH!

Smile baby! Yes, we were tired too…but happy that we enjoyed another wonderful hiking trip. Now back to that jumping boat…

Day 2: Kap Arkona – here we come

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Angels Travelling

After a very good night’s sleep (it helps when the bed is comfortable), we decided to do a hiking tour of Kap Arkona (Cape Arcona). It is one of the favourite areas in Rügen to visit, and is situated at the most northern tip of the island. According to the hiking guide, it would only be a two hour twenty minute walk. All together now. Laugh out loud. LOL! We will tell you more about the timing later …

Fake Wittow Ferry - Wittower Fähre (das ist sie jedenfalls nicht) - Rügen

To get there, we had to take the Wittower ferry (see above left) across a tiny strip of water. As the car could not fit on it, it had to be towed behind. What?? There is no bridge. You could swim over I suppose, but it is not allowed.
So you really believed that? Hee…heeee…No, this is the real ferry. It probably only took five minutes to cross over. Five nail biting minutes for some-one with all sorts of watery fears and phobias!

Kap-Arkona-Train - Kap-Arkona-Bahn - Rügen

Horse transport at Kap Arkona - Pferdekutsche bei Kap Arkona - Rügen

After another 15 or so minutes of driving, we parked our car, packed our bananas, and excitedly started our tour. We could have taken this comfortable, faster and oh so touristy train at least halfway up to our next point of interest, but NO, we opted to walk. After all, we were still fresh and fit. The first stage would only take twenty minutes. Forward! March!

Okay, walking has it’s advantages too. Look what we found. Sea Buckthorn, or as it is known on the island, Sanddorn! It was our first ‘sighting’ of many many many MANY more. These are everywhere and in everything. In jams, in tea, in cakes, in juices, in creams, in sauces, and yes, in BEER! Basically, in EVERYTHING … See, even the snail likes it …

Horse power. Another popular mode of transport, which can be quite inviting when your legs are weary. We were still FIT and energized, so we carried on walking … Cute though, aren’t they?? All of them …

Smoked Fish in Vitt - Räucherfisch - Rügen

We then reached this lovely little fishing village called Vitt, and not after twenty minutes. We’ll leave it at that. This village only has thirteen houses, twenty four residents and these pretty pink hydrangeas. We do not know about cats and dogs, but there are many many birds too …

We also found this smoked fish ‘factory’. There are many of these on the island. It’s basically out of the sea, into the smoker, onto a bread roll, chomp, chomp and chew, then into your stomach. You get a lot of smoked eel too…so who needs a burger joint!

The harbour of Vitt. Is this not a fantastic photo? For a small village, they sure have a lot of boats. Wonderful, not so??

The protective barrier, still at Vitt harbour. Believe me, it gets very windy, huffing and puffing and blowing everything over …

Chalk Rocks from Vitt Harbour - coastline with a view of Kap Arkona - Kreidefelsen - Rügen

Strand und Kreidefelsen an der Veilchentreppe - Nordspitze von Rügen

This is the coastline at Vitt, with a view of Kap Arkona, showing the amazing Chalk cliffs (Kreidefelsen). That is our next point to reach. Yep, that one over th-ee-ee-ere…. There are two options getting there. Along this coastline, from Vitt, but not recommended by the authorities. It is quite dangerous, due to the crumbling cliffs, especially after rains or stormy windy weather. We chose the other recommended route, along the top of the cliffs.

Don’t look down. Don’t. Look. Down. Too late, we looked, then went down … down … down …

… and arrived here … The descent was worth it, even though the shore is very stony and pebbly, with not a single seashell in site. There are quite a lot of flint stones (nooooo … not the ones from Bedrock), so collect these instead. You might need it someday … Better still, fill your pockets with some chunks of chalk … messy chunks of chalk … And … hum, do not wear black!

Yours truly sitting on her throne! From here one has a lovely panoramic view over the coast of Kap Arkona. Take your time to enjoy the view. It helps when the legs are weary…We’re halfway there! Phew…

This photo emphasises the beauty and the contrast of deep blue sea, grey shore, green vegetation and white steep cliff…Aaahhhhh…

Aahhhh again. An imposing view! There are many swallows’ nests up there too…Invites one to stare, open-mouthed…

Kreidefelsen an der Veilchentreppe - Nordspitze von Rügen

Look at this contrast against the sky! Breathtaking!

View towards the village of Vitt, right at the end over there, to the left…Amazing too is the ‘still life’ of the washed up twigs in contrast to the shore…

God sculpture Svantevit at the Slavic Jaromarsburg at Cape Arkona - Rügen

Mer-man on the rocks!

An ancient wooden carved Slavic God, with one of two lighthouses in the background. This is at the entrance to the area called the Jaromarsburg, which unfortunately was closed to the public due to crumbling ground and landslides…again…

One of the lighthouses at Cape Arkona - Rügen (Peilturm)

This is an ‘observation’ tower (was used by the navy many years back) where one has an unobstructed view over the island. We abandoned the thought of climbing up all those stairs. Excuse me! It had nothing to do with our condition…ahem…but there’s an acrophobic running loose…This building also houses an interesting jewellery shop…

There’s the touristy choo-choo again. Is this not another lovely photo??? Sigh…hmmm…

The two lighthouses, right next to one another. The one on the left was built first, and is called ‘the little fat one’. We also think it’s funny. LOL!

Sailing boat before the west coast of Rügen

The coastline has a lot of rocks, and with the sail boat in the background, shows once again the wonderful contrasts that we admire so much…

The last stage of our ‘official’ route, we walked on the top of the bank, through the trees and bushes, to the end of the west coast, then changed course and walked back along the shore. This was not in the guide book, but we thought it was worth the time and the effort of trying not to trip all over the many many stones…The photo above shows the barred part (no, we did not go there), because last year a big chunk of this broke off…And to end our ‘unofficial’ tour, we had to climb up a lot of steps to get back up again. A LOT! Pant…pant..

So, after all that, we were really happy to rest our feet! Our tour took at least FIVE hours. Okay, stop laughing! Let’s explain why. We are adventurous. And yes, we are in a very good mental and physical condition too. Must be all those bananas…The guide book is just that, a guide. When we discover paths or buildings, or anything interesting for that matter, we WILL explore. And just to show you how fit we are, after ALL this, we still had time to browse in a market, also pay some good friends a visit in Lohme. So there! We did sleep like logs though…hee…heeee…

Angels Travelling

Travelling and Photography – Reise und Fotografie

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