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| Canal Promenade in Warnemuende |
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| Beach Promenade |
Warnemuende means ‘Mouth of the Warnow River’. The town has an enviable position at the
shores of the Baltic, with a few miles of white fine sandy beaches making it a
popular summer attraction and resort for sun starved Germans. The prices for
lodging, food and clothing have not yet caught up to the dizzying heights of
other European countries – it won’t be long…
Warnemuende is a small and pretty town, it has two shopping
streets in Old Town, one adjacent to a canal dug in parallel to the Warnow
River and the other lined with streets and historic ‘captain’s houses’. It has
a long maritime history, and a long past of shipbuilding. The latter made the
whole Rostock/Warnemuende area a prime target for allied bomb raids in WWII.
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| Strand Koerbe on the beach |
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| Strand Korb used as restaurant seat and table in Teepott Restaurant |
It’s claim to fame is first of all the beach, which is
covered with ‘Strand Koerbe’, which seem like a throwback to the early 20th
century, when people sat in these cane basketry beach chairs with an adjustable
hood to protect themselves from wind and rain, and – if lucky – strong
sunshine. No sunshine during my visits, though.
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| Church dedicated to St. Nicholas (Santa Claus), the real one, not the Coca Cola version |
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| Altar Girls |
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| Altar Boys |
A small church harbours a medieval (1475) carved wooden
altar. A pre-war light house of 32 meters height and a 500 meter long pier have
survived the war as well.
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| 32 meter high lighthouse |
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| End of the Pier at Warnemuende |
A soviet style building with a wavy shaped roof,
named the Teepott (teapot) at the foot of the light house serves as restaurant.
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| Chanterelle Season at the Teepott |
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| Seen through the Looking Glass |
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| Teepott and Light House |
The suburbs of Warnemuende are covered with soviet style apartment blocks,
where students from the nearby Rostock University can rent a small apartment
starting at about 90 Euros a month. The town itself consists mostly of historic
(possibly restored) captain’s homes, which feature wood frame construction;
many of them are rented as vacation homes.
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| Historic Captain's Houses |
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| Captain House used as Vacation Rental |
There are generous green spaces and
parks with band stands. Rail Service, which is frequent and punctual, reaches
right into mid-town at a historic dead head rail station.
Accommodation for visitors is presently affordable as well. Vacation
Rentals and B&Bs are well under 100 Euros per night; some even less than 50
Euros.
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| B&B for 39 Euros |
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| Smoked Local Salmon from the Baltic |
Fischbroetchen, which are tiny baguettes filled with fish or crustaceans,
smoked or fresh, are still cheap and wash down with a Two Euro local brew. Smoked
eel is a local delicacy available at every stand. Warnemuende still has an
active fishing fleet, and captains sell fish each morning right from Alter
Strom, which is the promenaded canal penetrating into mid-town. Quite a number
of smoke houses stand right beside the designated vending stands of each
fishing boat.
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| Fish Lunches |
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| Unfed by human hand - feeding gulls is prohibited and carries a fine of 5000 Euros. |
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| Fishing boats at rest |
Cafes, beer bars, restaurants and bistros, all offering
fresh sea food, are plentiful throughout town. So that’s what visitors do: walk
the promenades, rent a beach chair (Strand Korb) and swim, fly a kite, eat,
drink, take a little boat ride and shop – and that’s it. Pleasant, restful, if
a little on the wet side this time!
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| Go Fly a Kite |
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| Or sit on the beach |
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| Or just listen to a little splashing of water... |
