Postings from Germany: Baltic Sea Bike Tour Lübeck to Stralsund July 23

I gotta find a way to rank these major bike trips, but what I know is this will not be either Number 1 or Number 2. But it could well be Number 3. Overall, the weather was amazing, highs between 70° and 74°F (20°-22°C), partly cloudy to sunny; in six days we had maybe one hour of rain while biking and that was not anything to write home about. But I would rather see more nature and less of the busy places where so many folks go for a holiday. But, it is summer and we were biking along an incredibly popular place for folks on holiday, so I can't complain a lot about that.

Anyway, off we went! A friend in Jacksonville thought we were transporting cabbages! LOL - but the neon yellow covers on our caps are great for being seen.

Lübeck isn't so far away, a few hours by train, so we had time to eat breakfast at home on the 23rd, clean up, and get going without having to get up so very early. That's nice. There's no two-hour check in time at the train station! We were ready on time, but our first train was delayed (so it is with the Deutsche Bahn). After a couple of transfers and in Lübeck a bus ride to the hotel, we got to our bikes and did some adjustments; that's usual and quickly done because Werner is a wizard (though the right tools help!). Then to dinner. Just like in the USofA, restaurant portions are TOO BIG here and we have to watch what we order. We opted for the Chinese place next door and without thinking, ordered the buffet for both of us. BIG mistake. We quickly reordered - two appetizers and one duck dinner. Perfect.

Some folks got their orders delivered by robot. WEIRD.

A little walk-about and then prep for:

Day 1 - Lübeck to Boltenhagen 54 K, 3 hours 20 mins riding time.

Breakfast on the 8th floor was fun - lots of windows and a nice view of the city. It rained like crazy early, but then stopped.

First, we biked into the Lübeck Altstadt and made note of a few of the iconic buildings we've seen before. The Holsten Gate, the symbol of the city:

and part of the Town Hall and cathedral.

Then we wended our way through lots of city streets and along highways heading to Travemünde. So far, pretty uninteresting.

At the Trave (the river) we had to board a bus to take the tunnel under the river and finally in Travemünde it started looking good - sailboats! Beaches! Lots of shops and vacationers.

Entering through the old City Gate.

The St. Lawrence Church in Travemünde, first mentioned in the 13th c., restored after fires and added to here and there.

As with so many churches, the outside plainness belies the interior. Inside it was so decorated - lots of painting that reminded me of the churches we saw in Denmark and Scandinavia so Werner reminded me that the Swedes had ruled this part of Germany for some time. The influence is real.

At Travemünde, we take a ferry across to the other side (no, not our ferry - a merchant marine ship from the 19th c.)) and continue on.

And finally, we reach the Baltic! Sand! Beaches! But way too cold for swimming for me. We didn't even think about bringing bathing suits.

It's not Florida and it's not the Gulf of Mexico, but it's not bad! There are no significant tides here, so the beaches are quite different - no big waves but lots and lots of pretty sights. We would be near the water almost the whole trip.

The wooded areas go right up to the beach (the water is not so very salty) and around the touristy areas, full of walkers and bikers.

There were lots of entries to the beach the whole trip, some with a gate keeper to make sure you've paid your Kurtaxe - the fee for using the "public" beaches, but further out from the busy areas, there's no fee. Germany designates certain areas official "spa" areas that can charge a fee for using the beaches. It pays for infrastructure, cleaning, and public toilets which are at almost every beach entrance - and they're clean!

You can tell we're well above the beach here - there are cliffs! And warnings, too, because the cliffs are unstable. Don't camp under a cliff or you might get whacked by falling debris.

We reached Boltenhagen and pounced on the first available place for coffee and cake, and then found our accommodations for the night - by heading down Wichmannsdorfer Strasse!

And nice accommodations they were - it's an old manor house, very elegant. And very quiet, which was very welcome.

LOL (that happens to us a lot), we discovered that we had been using the wrong (considering male-size versus female-size) bikes, so we made the appropriate adjustments. Werner to the rescue as usual! Dinner was lovely - the seasonal chanterelles for me, Matjes and green beans for Werner. Delish.

Day 2 Boltenhagen to Wismar 37 K

Breakfast matched the beautiful surroundings and off we went on our newly adjusted bikes. Good move, Werner.

Getting back on the trail meant biking down this lane of willows. I wondered if there were some active basket-makers in the area since the willows were so so old and clearly often trimmed so that the young shoots were available for basket weaving. Sadly, we didn't find a basket shop and I really need a new market basket. I bought mine when we moved here and there is a growing number of broken parts.

There were detours today, some planned and some not, and the detour signs were not always so obvious, but we got to where we were going.

One holiday house really caught my eye. Note the alligator on the corner!

It was a short 35K today and while making adjustments the day before, we lost a screw (no pun intended) and since we had so much time, stopped at one of the recommended shops for a fix. After waiting for 8 ladies to get their rentals arranged, we finally got served, but he didn't have the special screw we needed and I decided I didn't like that "basket" on the front flopping around all the time anyway, so we just stowed it.

Off again to the countryside/seaside.

Nothing awkward here.

Lunch today? Ice cream at a shop along the route we finally found.

There are of course so many charming little houses along the way, lots and lots with thatched roofs.

And then there's the "Plattenbau" apartments still around from the old DDR time. Even in small villages you'll run across these. Still in use, forever ugly, though this has been upgraded with new windows and paint.

Our hotel was just inside one of the old town gates, very near the harbor and the touristy area.

The back side, which we have, is very different from the front side, done in the Brick Gothic style.

We walked around the old town and specifically looked for the bronze reproduction of the city made for blind visitors - and cast on a model done by a friend of ours! Yow. Harald has had a hand in several models in Germany - among them Oldenburg, a town near us. There is also one in Bremen.

The Altstadt is full of lovely old buildings.

We had really traditional German food in a really traditional restaurant. The place was decorated with approx. 800 coffee pots on shelves. I do believe the owner was the chef and his wife the server since they were the only two people around (I think she said there were only 400 pots, and she had collected them - who else!), and she was not young! But the food was good and she had a great attitude.

Afterwards we got to see some street theater, a representation of Nosferatu, a character based on Stoker's Dracula. Weird ...

Day 4 - Wismar to Bad Doberan 62 Kilometers, 3 hours 15 minutes ride time

We get up at 7:30 every day, NOT our normal, but we have to do the morning routine and get our bags ready to pick up before 9am.

All of the breakfasts are wonderful, but getting a bit boring if you want to complain at a high level of expectation. Mind you - some even offer some bubbly "Sekt" with your bacon and eggs. And off we go. Lots of this trip seems to be along well-worn paths, but we had a couple of unexpected sights today. Windmills are always a treat.

Then a church in the middle of nowhere (Rerik), so old, so wonderfully preserved 17th c. interior.

We bike through Kühlungsborn und Heiligendamm and, both of which could be movie sets.

Then we ran into the longest Linden tree allee in Germany (5K) and it was impressive.

The small-gauge train runs along here all summer, and we'll take it tomorrow. Meantime, find the hotel. Well, kinda nice. A former city villa for royalty, Hotel Prinzen Palais.

You can see the train tracks right in front of the hotel.

We had dinner at a Greek restaurant and had enough to take goodies back for lunch tomorrow. Later we had the bar at the hotel to ourselves and felt a bit like royalty ourselves.

Day 5 Bad Doberan to Ahrenshoop 62 K 3 1/2 hours ride time

Though the hotel was beautiful, it wasn't set up for good sleep - too much light, too much street noise. It was raining like crazy when we got up but was done by 9. Breakfast was great - again!

We had planned to visit the local church before heading out, but we were slow, so that didn't happen. We got our tickets to go back to Heilengendamm on the train and pick up the day's trail from there. What fun!

Coolish today after the rain, but no rain during the day. And most of it along the Baltic. In Warnemünde, we stop at the market, pick up a salad from a vendor, and have our leftovers.

The church was of course interesting, but this time the folks out front were a bit more interesting. An elderly man (older than me, but that doesn't take much!) asked about our bikes and riding and such and very soon his wife came up to ask something and then said something to me. Well, of course she recognized I wasn't German and asked where I was from. Turns out she had a stint in the US after the war and was in Minnesota for a while, where she also has relatives. I could hardly get in another word! She seemed to really want to use her English. We learned she is the niece of a well-known north German artist. And she complimented Werner on his German - he sounded like a native speaker! Well, he is. LOL.

We took a ferry across the Unterwarnow to Hohe Düne to continue the trip - lots of traffic, including a monster cruise ship.

On the other side there were fewer towns and lots more nature. Very relaxing.

Our hotel in Ahrenshoop was a thatched-roof wonder. Though I thought about a sauna, we didn't do that, but enjoyed a dinner outside and a quiet, quiet night.

Maybe it helped that we took a walk on the beach and wiggled our toes in the sand.

Day 5 Ahrenshoop to Barth 50 K 3 hours biking

I think this was my favorite day. the guide book advised against taking the "Boddenweg" which they warned would be boggy after rain, and again it rained like crazy early in the morning! But we accidentally got on that road somehow and it was a happy accident.

Pretty houses.

Pretty doors.

Then quiet views.

Lunch was Brat and fries - delish!

And a parade to entertain us.
Antipasti and a small pizza for dinner was enough, but Barth still looks a lot like the old DDR.

However, down on the waterfront there had been some work done and there was this huge moustache (a play on the word Bart), a perfect place for Werner to stand for a portrait.

Day 6 Barth to Stralsund 47 K, 2 1/2 hours ride time

The guide book told us there were few places to get anything to eat along the way, so we got sandwiches at the bakery before heading out.

It was an uneventful day. A short stop at the Brick Gothic church in Barth before we left, The interior was unimpressive, but we are not easily impressed. The Baptismal font though was quite nice, and quite old.

We had some nasty strips today for biking - old concrete plates we've run into before. Very uncomfortable whether you're driving or biking! Thank goodness, it wasn't a long way.

Like I've said before, there's lots of flat here, but it's pretty.

We made a detour to look at a "castle" that was on the map, definitely not worth the time. Could well be the dumbest looking "Schloss" in all of Germany.

And then, Stralsund. It's a major port and another old city.

Our hotel is right on the harbor with a view of the Gorch Foch, an old merchant ship.

We unload and get all the bike things in order so they are ready for pick-up in the morning. Then we are on our feet!

Dinner was fish and chips from a stand at the harbor, and a nice walk-about. Sigh.

Total: 304 K or so.

Next day we took our time getting up and then headed for the cathedral. We were just in time for a public tour which was just the two of us for a bit till another couple joined us.

It's a beautiful church and well cared for, but it takes more than a city to keep up these artistic treasures. Our guide talked almost non-stop for an hour without the first note. She knew her stuff!