The
next day we drove to the town of Ralswiek where a large outdoor
Störtebeker festival is held each summer, then to the larger town
and harbour of Saßnitz on the northeast coast.
We parked on the quayside next to the U-boat museum, ironically
a British Oberon class submarine, and walked up a
modern
steel walkway to the town centre . As it was a bank holiday
most
of the shops
were closed so we returned to the harbour, passing several
grand
hotels
with distinctive wooden
balconies, some with girls names: Villa Eveline and Elizabeth. Many had been
restored to their former glory, others were in
need of some TLC. On the harbour there was a modern tourist office with
some leaflets in English. After lunch we drove to the north west coast
and the small town of Wiek, where we watched many kite and wind
surfers of all ages and abilities making the most of the fierce west
wind. We returned along the narrow spit of forested land between
Juliusruh and Glowe, obviously a popular summer destination judging by
the large parking areas, then called in to the village of Lohme, from
where the chalk cliffs and forests of the Jasmund National
Park can be accessed.
Prora youth hostel
The next day we decided to move on to the excellent Wohnmobil-Oase
stellplatz at Prora, north of the busy resort of Binz and a short walk
to the colossal Nazi KdF (Strength through Joy) holiday camp for 20,000
people, built in 1936-9. The main building is nearly five kilometres
long and is now
mostly derelict, apart from the
central section which houses excellent museums, and the northern
end
which is now a 400 bed youth hostel, where a music festival was
being set up for the weekend. The fascinating museum had lots of
information
about the
history of the two cruise ships which preceded the camp,
which
was never actually used for workers' (indoctrination) holidays before
the war. There was a model showing the whole planned site, also
displays
of life pre- and post- WW2 and products
of the
GDR era such as cameras,
typewriters, motorcycles and military equipment.
From there we drove to
Sellin, a small resort with more distinctive villas, now mostly smart
hotels and restaurants, along the tree lined main street leading to the
pier and sandy beach, with the ubiquitous strandkörbe below the
wooded cliffs. It is also a stop on the 24km Rasender Roland narrow
gauge steam railway, just next to the motorhome parking area.
Rasender Roland locomotive
We headed back to Stralsund along pleasant tree lined roads
through the attractive white town of Putbus and across the
old
bridge to the mainland, then on to a stellplatz at the small fishing
harbour of Stahlbrode, which we could have reached from Rügen by a car
ferry (5 tonne max) saving twentyfive kilometres!
Vintage motorhome
After a peaceful night on the quay with four other motorhomes, and
admiring a vintage one parked nearby, we decided to change our planned
route, east along the coast to Usedom, and turned south through Demmin
and Teterow. We reached the Mecklenburgische Seen Platte, a lakeland region, and
the busy resort of Waren on
Müritz, the second largest inland lake in Germany. After a couple
of nights
at CL type campsites near the lake, we continued south, stopping at the
pleasant lakeside town of Röbel, with gardens and many timber-framed
houses. It was worth €1 to climb up the 180 steep steps of the
church tower for views across the lake, with its thatched
boathouses. There was a stellplatz at the yacht harbour which looked
full,
with one van even towing what looked like a mobile sauna!
bring your own sauna?
Heading south along wooded back roads, we reached Rheinsberg with
its large
schloss and modern sculptures and fountains, and after a night at
the sports centre stellplatz in Neuruppin, we drove down the autobahn to
the
west of Berlin to visit the Sanssouci Palace and Park at
Potsdam.