Day-Tripper

 Day-Tripper

noun

1. a person who goes on a trip, especially an excursion, lasting all or part of a day but not overnight.

One of the great things about Großenaspe Germany is it's location.  Very centrally located to enable one to take easy day trips and see some amazing sights. Here are a couple of day trips during my stay in Germany.  These enabled me to visit with family & friends, as well as visit some of my favorite places

Lunch on the Elbe River in Hamburg

Elbphiloharmie in Hamburg with cousin Mausi

Hamburg Rathaus

 

 

Marienne Kirche - Bad Segeberg

Neumünster

Neumünster - lunch at Fisch Thiele

Lunch with Ingrid in Bad Segeberg

Town centre - Bad Segeberg

Segeberger See (Lake)

Music festival in Neumünster

 

Laboe - visit with Heidrun

Good-bye Rügen

'What day is it?' asked Pooh. 'It's today,' squeaked Piglet. 'My favorite day,' said Pooh.
- A.A. Milne

We timed our visit to Rügen perfectly, the weather was about to change, that did not and would not have stopped us, but as it happens, we had planned to take a drive to the eastern side of Rügen for a look around before driving back home.

Firstly, one last walk along the beach and Strandpromenade, as well as some play time for Louis in the park. 

Once we had stretched our legs and blew out the morning fuzzies from our bodies we headed east towards the island of Ummanz... a small island that is part of Rügen Island, accessible by bridge (Die Ummanzbrücke), we headed to the village of Waase where we planned to have lunch.

The drive to Ummanz took a wee bit longer than expected, a few small detours along cobblestone roads and small dirt roads to just simply "have a look". The roadways and small villages along the way were so lovely to see, rolling hills and fields upon fields of wheat and corn. The tree lined roads, simply spectacular!

We arrived at Waase and had an amazing lunch at the Pension & Fischrestaurant “Holzerland” - amazing fish dishes and the restaurant was packed! thankfully that we were invited to share a large long table with another group of people.

Afterwards we went for a drive around Ummanz and made a couple of short stops.  They were short stops at that.... the mosquitoes were out in swarms!  

We circled around Ummanz by car and made our final stop again in Waase for coffee at the Cafe in der Pfarrscheune, Louis had ice cream :)

Our time on Rügen was at an end...a beautiful island that I will definitely return to for a longer period of time and extensive exploration.  This trip was just a small taste of what Rügen has to offer and I enjoyed it immensely.

Rügen Island - Part 2

“Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life”
― Michael Palin

Day 2 started out with a stop at Prora, which is located between Binz and Sassnitz. I knew nothing about this place and it was Lars that had expressed an interest in seeing it, largely due to its somewhat dark history and his interest in seeing the "renewal" of the area. 

In a nutshell, Prora was the brain storm of Hitler, he had built a seaside resort for the military prior to WW11, he also wanted it to be convertible into a military hospital in case of war.  The buildings at Prora cover a stretch of land 4.5 km long and are only a few meters away from the beach. 

In  2013, developers began marketing refurbished apartments currently, four of the buildings are in the process of redevelopment, a fifth is used as a youth hostel while the remaining three are in ruins. In 2016, the first of the new apartments opened.

 Our next stop was in the Jasmund National Park, north of Prora to see the Königsstuhl - Kings Chair an amazing chalk cliff  which is 118 m above sea level. Once in the park you need to take the shuttle bus up to the Kings Chair - no driving up. The buses come often so you can take your time and wander the trails and stop at all the highlights for photos opportunities. The views are spectacular!

From the Jasmund National Park we drove up to the northern point on the island to see Kap Arkona (Cape Arkona).
On the cape there are two lighthouses, a navigation tower, two military bunker complexes, and the Baltic  fortress of Jaromarsburg. You cannot actually drive directly up to the lighthouses, so we parked the car and took the horse drawn buggy tour up to the Kap.  

Our last stop of the day was only a short walk from Kap Arkona to the fishing village of Vitt.  Again no cars allowed... so you have to walk... and OMG!  village is an apt word for this place.  Nestled  near the beach, Vitt is famous not only as a fishing village but for the fact that it has exactly 13 homes and only 19 people living there.  We spent a long time strolling the rocky beaches and it is a great place to see the Kap Arkona in the distance.

 That's today's installment.... stay tuned.... more to come!

 

Rügen Island - Part 1

I was fortunate enough to have a mini get-away in July to Rügen Island, Germany.  

Rügen is Germany's largest island, located at the far North Eastern part of Germany in the Baltic Sea. Very close to the border of Poland.

The coast line is amazing and ever changing, beautiful long sandy beaches, peninsulas, lagoons and large open bays.  

The Jasmund National Park is a UNESCO world heritage site, amazing chalk cliffs here, very stunning but not for those with a fear of heights.  

Rügen is very popular as a tourist destination and since it was the beginning of the summer holiday season it was very busy.  
I had booked a hotel in advance, before leaving Canada, in the town of Binz.  

Binz is located on the east coast of the island so we planned our day trips to ensure we covered a vast majority of the island in a short period of time.

Here are some photo collages of our first day.

Our Hotel "Strandhotel Rugard"

Louis braving the cold Baltic Sea and then enjoying his ice cream

Pier at Sellin

For more information about this pier there is a good

write up at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sellin_Pier

Jagdschloss Granitz

 For more info about Jadgschloss - which is a hunting lodge - you can find it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granitz_Hunting_Lodge

Original Cobblestone Roads

 

  Der Friedensberg - Peaceful Mountain is a place of meditation and quietness

The main goal of this amazing park is for your to reach inner peace - body, mind and soul. A flight of stairs takes you from the hustle and bustle of everyday life into a world of Norse gods. Guided by signs you begin to access your own feelings and begin your inner meditations.  Albert Einstein visited Sellin in 1915. He knew, that problems are never solved with the same consciousness that created them.

 

Stay tuned for Part 2 - Adventures on Rügen Island....

Germany 2017 Adventures

Passion Scrapper Adventures

It's time to say goodbye, but I think goodbyes are sad and I'd much rather say hello. 
Hello to a new adventure.  
-Ernie Harwell -

Posting regularly has been quite a challenge, so I've decided to change things up a bit with the blog in order to at least keep family and friends somewhat up to date.  

I plan only to post photos and stories of my adventures...and they won't just be travel adventures... Adventure comes in all shapes, sizes and sometimes in the most unexpected way.

For now here are a few photos...

Unexpected tour of Mile High Stadium, Denver Colorado

 

The journey home can be so beautiful. Salt Spring Island to Vancouver

Figuring out how to use the subway system in St. Petersburg Russia