We take (in) Berlin

Brandenburg Gate

Old architecture, palaces and Cathedrals everywhere in amongst a huge amount of construction work

This square had a Cathedral at each end - we went up to the dome of one, the French Cathedral

looking down

these are the bells that were up there, they didn't toll, they played a tune

Berlin Cathedral

Guy selling hot dogs

me at the wall

we may eat at Subway but look at the view!

Malcolm at the wall

A  shame the artwork is tagged

We took the train to Berlin and walked around for more than 6 hrs!  We did a walking tour that was outlined in the Michelin guide - it takes in all the main sites, starting at the Brandenburg Gate.  We walked 'under the linden' around all the old squares and past all the magnificent buildings.  we only went in one museum, one about life in East Germany during the cold war.  This was very interesting but also very crowded.  We went out to see the wall in the afternoon.  One side was painted by artists from lots of countries, the other side was lots of tagging and people writing their names and where they're from.  it was a shame some of the great artwork on the one side was also a bit tagged and graffitied.

We took the train back to near where we were staying which was near a big lake and we had cold drinks there.  Then we got on the bus back to the camp site and had drinks there too.  It had been quite hot, maybe 24-25ish but that's hot enough with all the walking.  Well that was Berlin - better the I remembered from the 70's but as capital cities go I prefer Paris and Stockholm. 

Canal on the old East-West germany border

relaxing in the afternoon

view of our (blue) tent and car from across the canal

sneaking through the woods we came across this cut out in an old sentry box

looking down from the bridge it looks peaceful, but it wasn't a couple of decades ago

on the bridge - ex-border

now a camp laundry but once a watch tower

To Berlin

We woke to the sound of church bells (and a cock crowing)at 7.00 in our tent in the field under the apple and pear trees.  We drove for around 4 hrs on the motorways, circling Berlin from the northeast to the southwest.  We then spent well over an hour around Potsdam trying to find the camp site!  Between the gps trying to send us down roads that are no entry or 1 way, and road works etc we ended up in a maze of cobbled narrow roads full of cyclists.  Then we saw people camping so drove into a sort of compound which we discovered was for gypsies!  A friendly gypsy told us to look for McDonalds and there were signs there.  More by luck than anything else we finally did that and camped beside a river, had lunch, then sat on a covered deck over the water reading up on Berlin.

In the evening we went for a walk along the canal.  There was a bridge that we wanted to cross which seemed overgrown and all blocked off.  We did a detour through the woods and came to the bridge area which we realised was an old border patrol area, it still had old flagpoles etc.  Then we found a memorial board to a couple who had been shot in 1961 when their launch accidentally got too close to the East German side.  It was all a bit freaky.  We also realised that our camp site was an old border security place, it still had the viewing tower - now a place for campers to do laundry.  The people at the camp site were not very friendly, lots of people gave us bad looks.  But hey, who won the war?

Baltic Coast 2

lifting bridge

It IS rocket science!

rocket museum in power station at Peenemunde

me on the longest pier

crowded beach with in-sea advertising!

horse and cart in ex-east Germany

behind the pizza restaurant under the apple tree

scarecrow

German pizzas - better than Italian!!

wooden boats at 'museum'

lots of these markets have stalls devoted to sweets/lollies

I really liked this little town...

...Malcolm really liked the cake!



 

rocket man!

Baltic Coast 2

The photos are out of chronological order because they are numbered -Malcolm's first, then mine and blogger doesn't let me put them in my order.  We don't have time to go through and name them so they have to be out of order!

Yesterday we went to Greifswald.  We found out it was Saturday because the tourist info wasn't open (until 10.00)- so Happy Birthday Janet!  This small town was by the coast on a river and had an open air wooden boat 'museum' of moored boats.  The tomn had an impressive square with interesting buildings.  We visited 2 churches and a cafe.  Malcolm's eyes fell upon a huge German 'Danish/cake which he had to have!  Then we drove to where the river met the sea with a lifting bridge and some fisherman's cottages.

Next we went to Usedom Island,one side of which is in Poland.  We went to Peenemunde where rockets were developed.  Malcolm was very, very, very interested in this museum.  In the afternoon we drove along the seaward side of the island, stopping at the resort of Heringsdorf which has the longest pier in mainland Europe.  There are 3 resorts joined by 10kms of promenade - all full of Germans having fun. 

Finding a camp site is not easy in Germany.  The tent sign will point off the road and after about 10kms you realise you've missed it.  The night before we had several abortive loops off the road and spent some time puzzling over maps they provide in villages before chancing upon one. Same thing here but finally we arrived at a tiny village called Lassan on the mainland facing the lagoon.  Usedom Island with its hordes was across the water, we were alone in a field behind a row of thatched buildings, one (the camp owners) was a pizza restaurant.  We strolled around the village in the evening (in a lane behind an old row of cottages the people had fenced back yards with geese, sheep, chickens etc.  -This was presumably the former East Germany - we had also seen horses and carts on the roads and in the fields).  There was a small boat harbour.  Then we went back and had pizza.  I don't like pizza but this one was good, thick crust, not much tomato sauce and the cheese baked crusty!  We also had big glasses of wine.  I am so not used to drinking that I had to pretty much go straight to bed then - 8.30!! 

Germany - the Baltic Coast

Malcolm liked the signs in the genst at our last camp site in Denmark

I last visited these lions in Lubeck in 1973!

market place Lubeck, Germany

window at the town hall Lubeck

Lubeck

tourists beware - thieves steal your clothes!

The Baltic Coast

August 23

Today we drove south into Germany.  The weather was fine and sunny, around 24 degrees in the afternoon.  Because we didn't plan to come to Germany we had no map or clear ideas of where to go and what to see.  I had been to Lubeck in 1973 and remembered it was nice so we headed for there first.  We looked around the sights, bought a map of Germany and a Michelin guide then drove west along the Baltic coast. 

back to denmark

South Sweden

kitchen at the campsite South Sweden

gardens at the castle in Denmark

the guy liked hunting!  This is only a small part of his trophies

Mum - we took more photos at the fuscia garden at the castle

castle

on the bridge between Sweden and Denmark

Malcolm finds me in the middle of the maze at the castle - he stuck to his theory of only turning right, I went through a hole!

castle, moat

quirky campsite office in South Sweden

Back to Denmark

Today we drove to Malmo where there is a bridge from Sweden to Denmark.  Amazing to be out there with ships and also wind turbines.

We drove across Zealand and across the bridge to Funen (that we crossed going the other way a few weeks ago).  This is also very long.  On Funen  we went to a castle called Egeskov built in 1554.  This place had huge formal gardens, mazes, a moat, museums and you could go into a lot of rooms in the castle.  We were there about 5 hrs, had (expensive) lunch at the restaurant and pretty much looked at everything except not all the museums.

Then we drove to the edge of Funen and took a ferry to the Jutland peninsula quite close to the German border.  This crossing took about 1 hr.  (Every time we go on a ferry our car alarm goes off!  We unlock the car from a distance then it stops and we just look innocent!)  We camped close to where the ferry comes in at a beachfront campsite.  Back to good old Denmark of the immaculate camp sites and wine in the supermarkets! 

The weather is much better now we are further south.  T- shirt weather from dawn till dusk though probably only about 22 degrees.