Baltic Sea and More, May 2025 -- last days

After touring the camp, we had hoped to eat at the cafe in the museum on-site. It was, however, absolutely overflowing with teenagers, and there would have been no possibility of finding a seat.

So we went out to the little cafe/Imbiss (snackbar) by the parking lot. I had a bratwurst with fries, Norbert must have had something similar.

We then headed south, in the direction of Berlin, and our hotel for the evening. It was the "zur krummen Linde" Gasthof and Hotel, in Stolpe, a village to the northwest of Berlin. Like our previous Gasthof, one got the impression from the websites that it was in the country, while both of them were actually in older residential areas in villages.

We had a nice room with windows on two sides, and much nicer furniture than in your usual hotel room.

We ate there, and all I can say is that was adequate. Afterwards we went for a walk. This is at the front. The name of the hotel means "at the crooked Linden (tree) and you can see how it got the name.

Of course Norbert had to test the local beer. 

Breakfast was, again, adequate, nothing more. I guess we were spoiled by the wonderful breakfast buffet at our hotel in Graal-Müritz.

We then drove around Berlin to Königs-Wusterhausen, a suburb to the southeast, This town was the reason for this whole trip. Norbert's hobby is repairing and restoring old tube radios, and the group he belongs to meets once or twice a year. Königs-Wusterhausen was the site of Germany's first radio transmitter (1920) and the building is still open.

We arrived at the hotel too early to check in, but ran into several other group members, so we all had a good visit. We had a nice big room, with a large sitting area but twin beds instead of a double. 

It was time for a late lunch, so we strolled first toward the K-W Hunting Lodge and Garden, now a museum. 

We walked around it and found a lovely wooded and water area.

This led us to the Mühlencafe (Mill Cafe) and yes, it is located in an old water-driven mill. The first mill on this location dates from 1375! It has a unique and modern menu. They were actually still serving late breakfast, so I had this pancake sandwich. Two pancakes with 2 or 3 small bratwurst (sausages) in getwen, and topped with a fried egg. So unusual and good!

In the later afternoon we went up (literally, it was on top of a hill) to the Transmission and Radio Technology Museum on the Funkerberg. Unfortunately, the location proved to be a bad choice for most attendees. It is an old industrial building with few to no facilities, like heat or rest rooms. At some point I told Norbert that I was going back to the hotel, which I did.

I also did not attend the next day. I had a lazy morning in the room, and then took off in search of lunch. I headed back to the Mühlencafe but it was closed for a private party. So I wandered a bit further and was beginning to give up hope when I saw a sign that said Imbiss with an arrow.

I followed the arrow and found a small food truck with the inevitable bratwurst and fries, which were quite good. And it had a lovely location, right on the water!

Went back to the hotel room and watched a bit of whatever cycling race was on. Norbert joined me during the afternoon, saying even he didn't want to put up with it any longer.

This is the hotel. The building to the left is the related restaurant. We ate dinner there, and it too did not live up to expectations.

The next day was Sunday and we made the long drive home. All in all it was a satisfactory trip. After our road trip in Canada and North Dakota in August 2024, we wanted to make a road trip here, and all worked out well. We saw several place that we had always been interested in seeing, so we can cross them off our list.

Baltic Sea and More, part 4 -- the Concentration Camp

January 2025 saw the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps in Germany. We watched the tv coverage of the events, and when we were planning this trip, Norbert said he would like to visit one of the memorials.

So on the Thursday morning, we left the Müritz area and drove about an hour and a half south to Oranienburg, just north of Berlin.

The Gedankstätte and Museum Sachsenhausen is the site of the Sachsenhausen Kz (Konzentrationslager) a concentration camp. It was operated by the Nazis from 1933 to 1945. Overall it held more than 200,000 prisoners, with more than 30,000 killed on site. After the war, the Soviets took it over and used it until 1950. Around 60,000 people were held there over the five years, and at least 12,000 died of disease and malnutrition.

It is now operated by a foundation and is open free of charge. 

Guard tower.

The guard house and main entrance to the camp itself.

This the "neutral zone". Wikipedia tells us, "The neutral zone was located between the camp wall and the prisoners' camp. Between the zone and the wall was a trip wire, cheval de frise, barbed-wire obstacles, an electrified barbed-wire fence, and a sentry path"

And if that wasn't enough, this sign warns that anyone found there would be shot on sight,

Of the many barracks, only two remain. 

You can visit room Nr. 51, which is stripped to the walls. Eleven Jewish youths were held in this room for one year, as tests were conducted on them with such diseases as hepatitis. Surprisingly, most or all survived.

German law required an autopsy for every death. The sheer number of deaths made this difficult, so they resorted to short cuts, with most of the autopsies done by prisoners. 

Some of the photographs and descriptions on display may be disturbing, but on the whole there is nothing gruesome there. It is more a place of quiet and reflection on man's inhumanity to man.

it is also heavily visited by teen-aged students. There must have been several hundred there when we visited, and we heard at least three different languages. One can only hope that they understood the message of the camp.

The Baltic Sea and more, May 2025, part three

 We said goodbye to the Baltic and drove about an hour and a half south to the Müritz Seenplatte (Muritz Lake District). Lots of water! Our first stop was the city of Warem, more or less the main point of the area.

The attraction there is the Müritzeum, a museum which serves as a "visitor center and discovery center" for the area. It had various exhibits, and a small aquarium. On the whole, we found it rather small and disappointing, especially considering the entrance fee of 15 Euros per person.

We drove on and a bit further on we found a Rewe grocery store which had not only a bakery with cafe but also a small bistro. Perfect for lunch!

We continued south towards our hotel, but, it being too early to check in, we continued on to the town of Robel, pretty much on the southern end of this particular lake. It offered a large parking lot just across the street from the harbor.

There were various shops and food stands, of course, but this being a warm sunny day, there was only one thing that would hit the spot.

At last time to check in, so we did. The Müritzer Landhotel zur grüner Baum.

Friendly staff, nice room, good restaurant and lovely outside eating area next to, what else, a small lake. 

Local fish for me, and shrimp scampi for Norbert. Excellent food and a lovely atmosphere. 

The breakfast the next morning did not match the quality of dinner. It was completely adequate, though. After a lazy morning we drove around the lake to Rechlin. 

On the way, we stopped here. NETTO is a chain of discount supermarkets throughout Germany. We passed many NETTO stores like the ones we know, and were surprised to see NETTO stores with a totally different logo and color scheme. So of course we had to visit one!

We asked the cashier whether the two NETTO chains were related -- they are not. She told us that this NETTO is a Danish chain which had established itself in (the former East Germany). How they all cope with copyrights, etc., is beyond me.

Lunchtime! We found another outdoor cafe (covered, fortunately) and ate there. This was our view. It is hard to tell but there was a public harbor, and we could watch people unload their boats from the trailers and sail away. Except for one guy who couldn't really figure it out, and had to give up in disgust (and to the smirks of the harbor employees).

Naps in teh afternooon, and a quick dash to Robel for sandwiches from Aldi, which we ate in the room. Aldi Nord has excellent sandwiches!

On the whole, we were disappointed in the area. Lovely landscape, very little access to the water. Many of the "attractions" looked like cheap knock-up "make a quick Euro" type things. It's a large area, though, and perhaps we just weren't at the right area.

The Baltic Sea and more, May 2025: Part 2

 We decided to visit the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (given city rights in 1234) but not the neighboring island of Rügen, a popular tourist destination. The "new" bridge connecting the two is undergoing massive renovation, with long backups as everyone is forced onto the "old" two lane bridge.

Along the way we saw storks! It is hard to tell, but that is a stork nest on the chimney top. We also saw several flying. 

We also saw this. Graffii about the "local" football team is very common. 

We arrived in Stralsund and the major impression is of roadworks. Everywhere. We did manage to find the parking garage we were seeking, but it was definitely not easy.

We also learned something which proved true later as well. Just because a parking garage is named for an attraction, does not mean that it is actually near the attraction. Unless you consider a 10-minute walk near.

Our goal was the Ozeaneum (Ocean Musem), located in a lovely modern bulding on the waterfront. 

These may look like bird skeletons, but they are actually from whales!

They also have an aquarium.

We ate lunch at the museum cafe, and then admired the old buildings as we strolled back to the garage.

This was on the grounds of a pottery, made using shards. Love the eye!

We made our way back with difficulty out of the Old Town and Norbert decided we would, indeed, visit Rügen. Fortunately the traffic was very light and we had no back up.

It is a very large island! We avoided the beachy-resorty areas and headed to the Jasmund National Park, which feature the island's white chalk cliffs. There is a skywalk at one called the Königsstuhl (King's Chair). 

A lovely experience!

The afternoon traffic jam was apparently starting by the time we left, but fortunately for us it was backed up in the other direction. And I do mean backed up, quite a long way!

We topped off the day with a dinner of sandwiches from Aldi, which were quite good!