Rostock, one of the three towns I visited during my two
separate calls at Warnemuende, lies just a few miles inland from Warnemuende. The
towns are connected by the Warnow, a river that is navigable by shallow
bottomed boats. It is not only an historic Hansa City but has a university
since 1419, which makes it one of the oldest centres of learning in Germany.
Bombed in WWII, under Soviet rule until the Wall came down,
the city was almost demolished. The Old Rathaus (town hall) still graces one
side of Neuer Platz. It has a curious façade, which is a combination of Gothic
and Renaissance style. St. Mary’s Gothic church was built in 1300 and has
similar features as the four Gothic churches in Wismar only a few kilometers
away.
Upon arrival in Warnemuende, my starting point, the sky
impressed with ominous black clouds and continuous rumbling thunder. It was a
matter of minutes before torrential rain blanked the view with an impenetrable
curtain of water. Ok, a thunderstorm, no big news! Armed with umbrella and shod
in walking shoes (which after almost five months of daily hours and hours of
walking have developed various holes) I made my way to the train station in
plain sight from the ship. A pedestrian tunnel leads underneath the rails,
however, without Wellington boots it was a little tough to cross the freshly formed
deep puddles.
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| Wet Dogs and Hot Dogs |
1.90 Euros buys a ticket from a dispensing machine for a
trip on the Bundesbahn, combinable with trams and buses at the destination. The
commuter trains should be the envy of ‘developed’ countries. They are modern,
quiet, on time, comfortable, cheap, frequent and allow not only people aboard
but dogs and bicycles. I shared space with a horse sized and very wet Irish
Wolf hound, who behaved better than most kids. Time table, next and future
stops, welcome messages displayed on a screen as well as voice announcements
work to keep passengers informed and at ease. I wish we had one of those
travelling every half hour or so along Vancouver Island, that would make travel
a breeze without crossing any perilous Malahat Passes or fighting Colwood plug
ups.
Rostock Station was flooded as well, and delays within the
whole transport systems were announced and displayed over screens and
loudspeakers. Little town of Rostock has an enviable train station, which looks
‘historic’ from the outside, but consists of very modern multi stories below
ground, where long distance trains, trams, and commuter trains connect to each
other. Well, the Zamboni like water sucking machines were out in force to
remove water pools, people avoided the various waterfalls emerging from
ceilings, schedules kept slipping. Station announcements cited ‘Witterung’ (weather
events) for floods and delays.
I decided to walk to Rostock centre instead of hanging
around waiting for things to revert to ‘normal’, keeping an eye on convenient
doorways as another load of black clouds and thundering rolled overhead.
The centre is very well restored, neat, quaint, with a
number of pedestrian only shopping street. There were not too many people
walking, and the ones who were congregated in entrances to stores or sought
refuge in cafes.
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| Rain-swept market place |
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| City Hall, a curious combination of Gothic over Classic styles |
With all that rain, there were not too many illustrative
photos to be had. Not too much incentive to stroll around during downpours
either, especially with holey shoes.
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| Local Hot Dog Stand, the vendor's pants show how deep the water was.... |
I tried the tram/train combination for the return journey as
traffic had been normalized with German efficiency. Not a bad way of seeing the
country, looking out of picture windows whilst comfortably seated. The entire
ride takes only 20 minutes…
