Today’s port was Warnemünde in Germany. Many people on the ship chose to go to Berlin. But, it was nearly 3 hour bus ride each way for a three hour stay in Berlin. We (along with Suzanne and Katy) chose to wander around Warnemünde, an old fishing village. It is also the home of a 2 mile long beautiful beach and as a result was full of vacationing families. Clearly tourism is the driver of the economy. We stopped in the city museum which had a record of the early days in the city. The city streets were very tidy and well kept. Away from the tourist areas, it was very peaceful.
We went to the Evangelic Church of Warnemünd that was first established in the 1300s. The current building has been in use since 1871. It was quite beautiful both inside and outside. The altar piece was carved in 1475.
We wandered through a park on the way to the beach.
It was a cool, windy day so there were not a lot of people sunbathing or swimming (the water temperature was reported to be 69 (pretty chilly even for this Nordic). But, the beach was very nice and clearly popular. Apparently, at least parts of this beach are clothing optional. I’m guessing it was way too cool and breezy for many people to be sunbathing. I didn’t even see any people in bathing suits, never mind without clothes.
We stopped for a lunch in one of the many restaurants along the canal next to the beach. I had two small pan fried herring. If you are in the Baltic, by law you must eat herring <well at least Chuck’s law>. It is the equivalent of being in Louisiana and not eating gumbo. (However, this does not apply to Caroline! Her small farm-town Ohio roots would not permit such a thing!!)
